Journal of Development and Social Sciences

Cyber Warfare and Digital Competition between US and Russia: A Comparative Analysis Cyber Policies and Strategies

Hafsa Javed, Ayesha Javed, Bisma Seerat — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0500

The objective of this Study is to relatively examine the cyber warfare strategies and virtual competition policies of the United States and Russia. It aims to focus on comparative analysis of cyber policies and strategic intentions shaping their cyber techniques.Cyber warfare has emerged as a vital domain of present day international security and power opposition. Both America and Russia view cyberspace as a strategic area for influence, deterrence, and war without conventional conflict. Their cyber strategy is vital to assess worldwide digital security dynamics and geopolitical balance.This study adopts a qualitative comparative analysis primarily based on secondary Sources, such as policy documentsUS, legit reviews, and scholarly literature.The findings reveal that the USA emphasizes protecting resilience and international norms, even as Russia makes a speciality of offensive cyber skills and data struggle. Both countries actively combine cyber equipment into their broader country wide protection strategies.The study recommends strengthening worldwide cyber norms, enhancing cooperation on cyber security, and selling self belief building measures to reduce escalation dangers.

Encountering Reverse Culture Shock: A Study on Returnee Faculty Members in Universities of Balochistan, Pakistan

Shakeela Kakar, Muhammad Ali, Noreena Kakar — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0500

The study explores the challenges that returnees face at universities in reverse culture shock, role of supervisors’ support and the over all impact on job satisfaction and turnover intentions of the returning faculty members. Returnee-faculty of universities tend to leave their institutions and intend to find a better job after completing their foreign degree. This creates problems for universities in Pakistan regarding retaining employees after completion of their degrees abroad. This quantitative research is based on survey data, collected from 160 respondents. Snowball sampling technique was used to collect the data and was analyzed using PLS-SEM technique. Results indicated that the reverse culture shock faced by the returnee-faculty of universities of Baluchistan has a negative impact on job satisfaction and a positive impact on their turnover intentions. However, perceived managerial support does not impact the relationship between reverse culture shock-job satisfaction and reverse culture shock-turnover intention relationships. The findings suggest that the repatriation process of faculty returning after completing degrees from other counties should be made more compatible with the professional and intellectual needs of these faculty members, so that the employee turnover rate in Universities in Pakistan could be reduced.

Irrational Thinking and Social Anxiety Inadults: The Mediating Role of Self Esteem

Tayyba Aslam, Samreen Afzal, Dr. Muhammad Luqman Khan — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0500

This study aimed to examine irrational thinking as a belief-level cognitive vulnerability underlying social anxiety in adults, with specific focus on social-evaluative fear. Social anxiety is characterized by fear of negative evaluation and avoidance of social situations, and while cognitive theories emphasize maladaptive appraisals, belief-based vulnerabilities remain underexplored. Using a quantitative cross-sectional correlational design, data were collected from 300 university students aged 20–39 years at the University of Technology. Participants completed standardized self-report measures assessing irrational thinking and social anxiety. Pearson correlation and regression analyses were conducted to examine associations and predictive relationships. Results indicated a significant positive relationship between irrational thinking and social anxiety, with irrational beliefs significantly predicting social anxiety symptoms. Rigid, absolutistic, and catastrophic belief patterns were particularly influential. These findings support belief-based cognitive models and suggest that interventions should target irrational thinking to prevent and reduce social anxiety

Pakistan’s Balancing Strategy between the United States and China: An Analysis

Atiqa Iqbal, Anum Saleem, Dr. Ammara Tariq Cheema — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0500

This study examines Pakistan’s balancing strategy between the United States and China regarding the growing great-power competition and the changing multipolar world order. Using realist and hedging approaches, the article examines the way in which Pakistan aims at maintaining strategic independence and gaining both economic and security interests. This study adopts a qualitative approach primarily based on secondary data, including official policy documents, academic literature, policy reports, and governmental reports. The findings reveal that Pakistan follows an issue-based and pragmatic strategy that is characterized by an intense economic involvement with China, especially the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, as well as selective diplomatic and security collaboration with the United States. Although such a strategy has short-term strategic and economic advantages, it also creates problems regarding economic reliance, foreign pressure, and policy consistency. The study provides theoretical and policy-related findings on middle-power balancing behavior.