The hybrid workplace is a concept on the lips of every industry trend in the world today. With digitalization becoming more normalized across every sphere in the global village. Every workplace needs to maximize and transcend obstacles and innovations to ease into the hybrid workplace. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a wave for an increased need for a hybrid workplace. Although some countries have relaxed the lockdown in their states, businesses are taking their time to set up a more formidable work arrangement. Many are already operating the hybrid system while others are running fully remote. The pandemic has taught the work a lesson of preparation and planning. Beyond that is also the lesson of flexibility and adaptability in the workplace. In prioritizing the future of work, there is the need to embrace the hybrid workplace model. Indeed, the future of work would likely be the hybrid workplace model.

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The geo-politics and geo-economics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) littoral are interconnected to each-other with a large scale of Afro-Asian population and a tremendous maritime economic potential. Welfare interests of the populations of IOR littoral states demand tapping of the Sea-based economic potential, but the geo- political dynamics of the region are not conducive due to diverse dimensions of multiplayers in the region and gradual Sino-Asian power shift, where philosophy of enhanced cooperation for peace and sustainability is highly needed. The addition of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has provided new avenues to harness the true potential and uplift the poverty by improving existing socio – economic ties. The BRI has many challenges, and its opportunities can be exploited by China, Pakistan and Iran, through an extra efforts on diplomatic front. Based on qualitative research and content analysis method, this paper aims to analyse the various aspects of the geo-politics and geo-economics of the IOR viz-a-viz Sea-based economic potential and rationalizes the need of enhanced cooperation for peace and sustainability in order to promote socio- economic uplift and prosperity across Afro-Asian region.

Land is one of the most vital nonrenewable resources that guarantee the survival and development of humans on planet Earth. In the 21st century, rapid population growth accompanied by expeditious industrialization and urbanization has led to land degradation and irreparable damage. In Pakistan, land degradation has affected the livelihood of 3.58% of the total population. This study aimed to identify the soil erosion-based land that is degraded in Pakistan through an analytical hierarchal process (AHP). For this purpose, climatic parameters such as vis-a-vis precipitation, temperature, land use/land cover, soil parameters (i.e., soil pH, soil texture, soil bulk density, and soil moisture content), and topographic parameters (i.e., slope, elevation, aspect, and drainage density) were taken into the consideration. Weights and scores were assigned in integration with a weighted overlay analysis (WOA) to the prioritized parameters. The findings revealed that Zone A comprising high mountains is severely affected by land degradation, followed by Zone D and E (Sindh and Balochistan). Key factors operating in Zone D and E are hyper-arid climatic conditions along with inefficient land management practices. The overall results validated the hypothesis that soil erosion strongly correlates with an increase in the magnitude and severity of land degradation.

The external influence due to the severe repercussions of unprecedented and un-attended pollution has put vulnerable marine ecosystems at high risk of irreversible damage. This business-as-usual scenario could render them unfit to offer sustenance along with innumerable ecosystem services. Since the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment 1972, there have been global efforts to raise awareness, build capacity, and govern the pollution issue for a sustainable solution. However, there is a growing concern about the adequacy of the desired level of mobilization and readiness so far achieved at the level of various stakeholders to respond to the issue of maritime pollution. In this context, the present study was aimed at assessing the relationship between knowledge, perception, and attitude of the stakeholders regarding their engagement towards maritime pollution at sea, beach, and coastal environments, by incorporating multi-criteria quantitative analysis method for a case study of Karachi area in Pakistan. The structured questionnaire incorporates Knowledge, Perception, and Attitude as three key variables for three principles; four standardized criteria each, with eighteen indicators transformed into queries by applying MCDA’s Simple Multi Attribute Rating (SMART) technique for scoring to quantify the feedback of 304 respondents through a ratio scale having nominal qualifiable classes. The analysis has offered insight into the ways the stakeholders are perpetrating pollution and how their respective actions are important in the abatement of marine pollution. One-tailed Pearson Correlation analysis reveals insignificant relationship between the variables, indicating that the level of understanding of the stakeholders has not developed opinions to an extent that would enable an appropriate behavioral approach toward the abatement of the pollution. It suggests inducing awareness, mobilization, and reforms to encourage collective action by all actors.