Review of Applied Management and Social Sciences (RAMSS) (E-Journal)
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Hybrid’s Hunt for Home: A Postcolonial Study of Bapsi Sidhwa’s Fiction
Get PDFThe present study aims at exploring the elements of hybridity and assimilation in the fictional expedition of Bapsi Sidhwa. The work in question adheres to the theoretical construct of Postcolonial theory by utilizing Bhabha’s concept of Hybridity which suggests that the colonizers and the colonized, through their interaction, mutually construct their subjectivities and this interaction destabilizes the hierarchy of superior and inferior cultures. The research is primarily qualitative in nature and the selected texts namely, An American Brat (1993) and The Crow Eaters (1980) are subjected to close reading for explicating the instances where the characters’ social practices and personal experiences display hybrid cultural forms, patterns and parameters. The novels actually depict a clash and an unbalanced conflict between different cultures. Though the characters yearn for saving their own cultures yet at the same time they are forced to sacrifice their traditions. . The current research shines light on the implications of multiculturalism and highlights an increasing interaction between different nations. The study contends that identity is a process, constantly being redesigned and refashioned. In the light of the findings, it can be concluded that identity is fluid, never complete, always in process owing to transnational and transcultural flows in the globalized world of today. The current study can be helpful in understanding the dynamics of identity and the challenges to the cultural purity in the world of diaspora
Judicial Activism and Its Implications for Good Governance: A Case for Judicial Reforms in Pakistan
Get PDFJudicial activism plays an important role in shaping various countries' political contexts with different political systems and regime types. Academic literature and debates are divided among various groups in favour and against judicial activism. This work reviews range of available data to probe case of judicial activism in Pakistan from 2005 to 2013. Judicial activism in Pakistan seemed to be short-lived and selective in nature. The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) exercised activism without limits in cases against representative parliamentarians who were already constrained in many matters by other unconstitutional powers. No doubt, it reviewed various malpractices of the executive in the domain of public policy and governance, which enhanced its legitimacy and popularity. A vibrant media further contributed to the Court's popularity. But the transgression of institutional boundaries by the apex court for 'pious' objectives failed to introduce judicial reforms and eradication of corruption in the lower judiciary. Selectivity in the SCP activism was visible in its limitation to implement some of its verdicts against ex-military officers. This paper discusses these contradictions within the activism by the higher judiciary in Pakistan, and suggests various recommendations in the latter part of the paper
Relational Practice in Multilingual Peer Discourse: Talk as a Marker of Gender Identity
Get PDFThis paper examines relational practice in multilingual peer discourse to inspect the distinct identity patterns of the male and the female participants involved in gender dynamics. There is a growing impetus of discourse studies as an emerging area of sociolinguistic and ethno methodological research. In this paper, talk as a marker of gender identity is explored in the light of the theoretical framework suggested by Holmes (2006) who studies the different relational strategies of male and female interlocutors in workplace environment. In the current study, conversations of six male and female postgraduate students of English language at Sargodha University, Pakistan are recorded and transcribed to see how the participants create team as a relational practice using gender specific norms via talk. The study has found that the males create team through humor in discourse while females tilt towards small talk and frequent verbal gestures of approval. Moreover, masculinities and femininities of the peers are manifested in their style and function of the conversations. The study is significant because it is going to lay a foundation for the study and exploration of gender integrated conversations in multilingual context in Pakistani English and other varieties spoken in casual talk in Pakistan
Demonizing Africa: A Bend in the River and Naipaul’s Comprador Intellectuality
Get PDFThis paper establishes V.S. Naipaul’s position as a comprador intellectual for his essentialist representation of Africa in A Bend in the River. The position (of comprador intellectual) has been ascribed by Hamid Dabashi to the array of highly feted non-Western writers who justify the Western orientalist (mis)appropriation of the East. The unrelenting orientalist bashing of the imperialized world (Africa in this case) legitimizes the civilizational responsibility of the West to mend the situation of the supposedly inferior Africans. The violent colonial intervention to provide order and stability to the place shows Naipaul’s orientalist world view regarding the colonized Africans. The alleged, all-pervading darkness of Africans can thus be illuminated by the White colonizer’s masterful exercise of power. Naipaul, as an author, functions as a comprador intellectual who appears serving the colonial commercial interest. The West needs to destroy all the cultures that may be potential sites of resistance, so, Naipaul offers a systematic denigration of African culture to sabotage the potential culture of resistance. The narrative of African demonization justifies the colonial machinery and its exercise of violence against the natives. The paper, therefore, calls into question Naipaul’s role as a cultural intermediary, since his 'point of enunciation' (a concept given by Stuart Hall) seems to be resting on an overtly colonial trajectory of the West
Relationship between Transformational Leadership Dimensions and Employee Engagement: A Mediating Mechanism of Emotional Intelligence
Get PDFThe mystery of what leaders can and ought to do in order to spark the best performance from their people is age-old. Until recently, no quantitative research has demonstrated which precise leadership behaviors yield positive results. This study takes much of the mystery out of effective leadership. The objective of this paper is to determine the level of prevalence of transformational leadership dimensions in private banks within the boundaries of KPK, Pakistan, and to evaluate whether emotional intelligence mediates between transformational leadership dimensions and Employee Engagement. Kenny’s contemporary approach to mediation was used to test the mediating effect of emotional intelligence. Our results reflect that with the exception of Idealized Influence dimension of transformational leadership remaining three dimensions inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration prevails within banking sector. Similarly, there is no direct relationship between transformational leadership dimensions and employee engagement, rather, this relationship is best explained by incorporating emotional intelligence in the model
The Role of Institutional Quality in Trade-Growth Nexus: The Case of Emerging Economies
Get PDFThis study aims at investigating the relationship between trade openness and economic growth after incorporating the role of institutions. Generalized method of moments (GMM) system technique is applied by using data of 17 major emerging market economies (EMEs) for the period 1995-2018. The empirical evidence suggests that trade liberalization affects economic growth positively and significantly while institutions play a supportive role in this regard. The interaction terms are also generated to test the impact of the institutional environment on the trade-growth relationship. The empirical results are robust to various specifications, confirming the positive role of institutions in trade- growth nexus. The countries should develop a conducive institutional and political environment to ensure the beneficial growth effects of trade liberalization policy
Perspective of Learners’ in Open Distance Learning Mode: Problems and Prospectives
Get PDFIn recent times, ODL system is providing opportunities to more and more people to pursue higher education. The ODL system is now emerging as the imperative learning need because it bears the potential to supplement educational demands of the fast-changing technological era. ODL system is now rapidly spreading its framework into E-Learning. It became very crucial in the scenario when ODL is going to transform the educational scenario of this technological era to seriously review the perspectives of ODL from the end users. It is very important step to improve the quality of ODL system to dig out the learners’ perspectives. This paper reveals the problems faced by the learners’ of ODL and the possible solutions for their problems. The survey was conducted with the thematic questions of perspectives, problems and prospective to seek the qualitative data from the learners of ODL system. The prospective of these problems were analyzed accordingly. The participants were the students of ODL university including male and females. The results show that open distance learners have been facing many problems and these problems have the prospective. This study is significant in the way that it may provide the base line to improve the quality of rapid transformation of ODL system
Challenges Faced by Novice Research Students at Undergraduate Level: A Qualitative Study at Institute of Education and Research
Get PDFThis study was conducted to investigate the problems faced by Novice researchers at Institute of Education and Research, Punjab University Lahore. The study was Qualitative by nature. Seven B.Ed. Hons students were selected through purposive sampling as sample. For this purpose in-depth interview was used as instrument to collect data from the sample. Researcher herself conducted the interviews from Novice researchers. Data was collected, organized and analysed. Themes were generated from the data. Major findings of research were that novice researcher are lacking in expertise, confidence in conducting research, problems finding relevant literature and sample, analysing data and reporting properly
Examining Effectuation Theory: Lessons for Entrepreneurial Activity in Developing Countries
Get PDFBusiness development and utilization of indigenous resources is directly linked with the level of economic growth of any society. Globalization and innovation have made it challenging for developing countries to keep pace of business development to attain sustainable levels of economic growth. Developing counties are faced with the problems of non-conducive external business environment, complex business registration and taxation systems, scarcity of finance, technological support and logistics, and lack of managerial skills and financial advice. Enhancing entrepreneurial effectuation can enable the entrepreneurs of developing countries to successfully create such businesses that are not only efficient in resources utilization but also have a competitive outlook. Effectuation theory is best suited to the environment of developing countries as it enables the entrepreneurs to undertake affordable losses and in the face of uncertainty, create strategic partnerships and use the contingencies to their benefit. In order to achieve this end, the governments in developing countries can play a role of insurer and confidence booster for those entrepreneurs that can create value to the indigenous resources and create employment and competitiveness
I am what I am: Exploring the identity construal in Pakistani School EFL Textbooks
Get PDFThis paper aims at exploring how identity is construed in children’s literature and how the powerful legitimize to identify the textbook consumers by exercising their influence. Drawing on Systemic-functional Linguistics (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2014), particularly Genre theory (Martin and Rose, 2008), it examines how English language textbooks used in Pakistan are written to construe, a project, and normalize a particular sociocultural identity. The sociocultural positioning being projected through the textbooks can be norm-conforming, contesting or can suggest otherwise. The majority of the students in Pakistan are mandated to learn state governed textbooks which serve them build up a sociopolitical identity. Therefore, underlying semiotic modalities realizing a perspective are pertinent to be explored in order to unfold discursive strategies for constructing identity. It is widely acknowledged that any educational curriculum is the most effective tool to construct and circulate a reality. Therefore, challenging any literacy pedagogy embedding particular outcomes can help transforming educational practices across the school curriculum (Martin and Rose, 2012). The data comprises Punjab English textbooks for the government schools. The findings suggest that the intriguing intricacies of textbook discourses can be successfully examined through analyzing linguistic patterns and that the textbooks construe sociocultural identity. The findings also provide insightful implications for discourse analysis based on SFL by contributing explorations of identity