Purpose The purpose of this paper is to look at the impact of two most commonly used heuristics, namely, representative bias and availability bias on investment decision making and to check that either locus of control interact with the said relations through theoretical proposal and then verification through empirical evidence. Design/methodology/approach The study is a quantitative research using a survey questionnaire for its data collection. Data are collected from 227 investors operating at Islamabad, Lahore, and Sargodha in Pakistan and analyzed using structural equation modeling while the interaction effect is analyzed through simple linear regression following the rules set by Baron and Kenny (1986). Findings The results reveal that both of the heuristics under study significantly cause investors to deviate from rational decision making while the locus of control have no significant moderating effect. Originality/value The proposed model provides insight on how the behavioral factors can lead investors to suboptimal decision making. This study is first of its kind to quantify the degree of irrationality caused by these factors. The findings of this study are practically useful for individual investors, investment managers, and also for policy makers.

This work investigates the relational behavior of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its effect on firms' financial distress (FD). The population of the study consists of all the non-financial firms presently listed in the equity market of Pakistan. The yearly data set of 213 non-financial companies is selected from 2005 to 2017 with total observations of 2769. The analysis of the study based on OLS regression, fixed effect, and random effect models. The study also uses the GMM technique to guard against potential problems of endogeneity and heteroskedasticity that arise from the use of panel data. Results indicate that higher investment in CSR leads to reduced/lower financial distress. It suggests that investment in CSR raises the reputation and creditworthiness of firms. Key findings are robust as confirmed by alternative proxies of financial distress. Overall findings advocate that CSR helps in reducing default risk or financial distress and creates a better corporate environment that ultimately improves organizations' economic outlook.

The present study has three main objectives. First, to investigate the effect of capital structure on firms' performance. The second is to investigate the effect of board member diversity on firms' performance. Third, given government interest in the thriving business sector, the study aims to access the impact of government support policies on the performance of firms, particularly in the construction and automobile sectors. For this, we selected 40 firms from these sectors from the period 2010 to 2021. The generalized method of movement (GMM) is used to test the relationships. The results of the present study show that capital structure has a significant and positive effect on firms' performance. The diversity of  board members, which is divided into two sub-categories i.e. demographic diversity and cognitive diversity has significant negative and positive effects on firms' performance. Lastly, there is a negative relationship between government support policies and firms’ performance. These findings provide unique insight to the government, policymakers, researchers, and managers in the context of Pakistan. The thriving business sector is key for the economic survival of a country and these finding can enable managers and policymakers to utilize capital structure and board composition for ensuring optimal performance and effective policy making.

Objective To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and behavior of medical students towards recommended vaccines. Method A cross sectional study was done, where 3000 students from medical colleges of Multan were included by convenience sampling. They filled a well-developed, pretested questionnaire through Google forms and the results were analyzed by the Google forms itself. Results Mostly (69%) think they have adequate knowledge related to vaccination and that vaccines are effective for prevention (93%) of diseases. Almost 82% were of the opinion that vaccines are safe. Mostly (83%) believe that benefits of vaccines are greater. Majority (86%) think the unvaccinated people are at risk. Only 25% said they trust the information regarding vaccines acquired from society. Most (91%) think that one should get vaccinated according to the recommended vaccination plan and even 86% said one should get vaccinated even if it is not free. Some (59%) said the route of administration matters. Majority (68%) think there should be an aggressive law enforcement action to get vaccinated. Almost all of them (93%) think that medical students should persuade others for vaccination and 83% of them agreed that they’d consider to take part in any campaign/ program for vaccination. Conclusion It has been found that medical students from all years have sufficient knowledge related to vaccination and show a positive attitude towards vaccination. Medical students can be used as a means for spreading awareness regarding infectious diseases and their prevention. We recommend medical institutes conduct workshops and introduce programs that can help to educate students on infectious diseases and vaccination.

Purpose of the study: The core objective of this study was to analyze the effect of dietary habits on the health status of college-going students. Methodology: Two districts of Punjab were selected randomly namely Faisalabad and Rahim Yar Khan. Two public sector colleges were selected purposively from each district i.e. one male and one female keeping in mind low strength and high strength were selected. The population of these colleges was 5372 while the sample size was 189. A well-structured questionnaire was developed on a google form. Collected data were processed through SPSS software for standard deviation, frequency, mean, and weighted score, and rank order. Main Findings: It was found that most of the respondents were female students and the majority of the student’s family monthly income was Rs. 10,000 – 20,000. The majority of the respondents were not suffering from any disease. The majority of respondents were those who have never eaten snacks in between their meals. Respondents who use to eat breakfast every day were ranked No. 1. Majority of the respondents were using full fat milk, soft drinks, and meat with visible fats. Most of the students were involved with healthy life habits i.e. doing physical activity, consuming fruits and greens. Application of the study: This study can also be used to determine the dietary habit impact on the health status of college-going students in other districts of Punjab. Novelty/ originality of the study: This study has provided an overview of different diseases affecting the health of college-going students. In the context of the current portfolio, the results of the current study will create awareness regarding healthy nutrition for improving the health status of the student.