Virtual University of Pakistan

This research paper proposes the effect of collaborative projects on acquisition of critical thinking skills by architecture students in the form of a quantitative, cause and effect research design. Against this background, collaborative learning has been strongly encouraged in the face of the growing interest in problem-solving, creativity, and reflective thinking in architectural education. Nonetheless, there is not much empirical data on its effectiveness in terms of its measurement in architecture programs. A pre-test/ post-test control group study was conducted to fill this gap to access 120 undergraduate architecture students in three South Asian universities. Experimental group engaged in team-based design projects which were organized and the control group had projects of the same nature but were done individually. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal was used to evaluate the abilities of critical thinking at the beginning and the end of the semester. Findings revealed that students who participated in team learning were much improved in terms of their critical thinking scores than those who learned on their own (p < 0.01). The results indicate that collaborative project-based learning is not just effective in improving design competence, but also in the development of very crucial cognitive skills that are important in future architectural practice. The research indicates the importance of the introduction of collaborative pedagogies in the architectural school curricula and offers evidence-supported suggestions to curriculum developers, educators, and academic policy makers.

Air pollution in South Asia and China reached critical levels during 2000–2023, with annual PM2.5 averaging 58.21 μg/m3, far above the 10 μg/m3 safety guideline. Peaks rose to 135.60 μg/m3, while the lowest levels stood at 12.50 μg/m3. Agriculture contributed most, with ammonia emissions averaging 456.30 kt and reaching as high as 5,812 kt. Transport demand was intense, averaging 785.45 thousand barrels per day and peaking above 8,500. Industry added steady pressure, averaging 27.18% of GDP and reaching 46.20% in some nations. Urbanization averaged 38.75% but at times exceeded 65%, with mixed effects. Renewable energy provided consistent relief, averaging 36.52% of supply and cutting PM2.5 by up to –0.72. Econometric results confirmed that agriculture, transport, and industry increased pollution, while renewables reduced it. Threshold analysis showed that risks doubled when income exceeded USD 9,000, but renewable benefits also became stronger. Long-run tests confirmed convergence, with error correction near –0.47. Policy analysis of 158 documents revealed strong negative sentiment toward burning (–0.87), urban sprawl (–0.91), and industry gaps (–0.85), while renewables (+0.82) and community adaptation (+0.65) received strong support. The evidence highlights farming and transport as the most critical threats and renewable adoption as the strongest solution for clean air and sustainable growth.

The present study aimed to examine the relationships among social media addiction, psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress), and marital satisfaction among married individuals, with a particular focus on the predictive role of social media addiction in influencing psychological distress and marital satisfaction. This research was important given the rising global prevalence of social media use and its emerging association with mental health issues and relationship challenges. Informed by prior literature, which highlighted links between excessive social media use and both psychological and interpersonal difficulties, the study employed a quantitative correlational design. A convenience sample of 300 married individuals aged 20 to 60 years (M = 21.61, SD = 3.10) was surveyed using validated tools: the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), and the Couple Satisfaction Index (CSI-32). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and regression analyses. Results revealed that social media addiction was significantly and positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Regression analysis showed that social media addiction significantly predicted all three components of psychological distress. The study contributes to understanding how digital behaviors affect emotional and relational well-being. Limitations included the use of self-report measures, convenience sampling, and a cross-sectional design. Future research should adopt longitudinal approaches to explore causal pathways and examine potential interventions.

Background: Emotion regulation is a core transdiagnostic construct implicated in a wide range of psychological disorders and adaptive outcomes. Over the past decade, numerous self-report instruments assessing emotion regulation have been translated, validated, and applied across clinical and non-clinical populations worldwide. However, the psychometric robustness and cross-cultural equivalence of these measures have not been comprehensively synthesized. Objective: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties, cross-cultural validations, and analytical use of emotion regulation scales in peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2025. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, systematic searches were conducted across PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Eligible studies reported psychometric evaluation of emotion regulation self-report instruments in clinical or non-clinical samples. Data were extracted on reliability, validity, factor structure, measurement invariance, language adaptations, population characteristics, and the functional role of emotion regulation measures (predictor, outcome, mediator, moderator). Results: Forty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. The most frequently validated instruments were the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), and the Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ERSQ). On the whole, total-scale scores were found to be internally consistent and construct valid across populations and languages. The use of deficit-based measures was gaining support on the basis of factorial evidence of bifactor or hierarchical measures, whereas strategy-based measures retained theorized multidimensional designs. The general finding of both cross-cultural studies was the support of configural and metric invariance, but scalar invariance was inconsistently established. Most frequently used predictors and mediators were emotion regulation measures, though few studies measured sensitivity to change due to interventions. Conclusions: Emotion regulation self-report measures have a largely high psychometric strength as well as wide cross-cultural applicability. However, inconsistency in subscale scores and the scarcity of support for scalar invariance underscore the importance of assuming they should only be interpreted carefully and refined further as methods. This review will offer evidence-based recommendations of the measures that can be used in emotion regulation in both clinical and social science studies.