UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB
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A state-of-the-art review on Fabrication and Characterization of Biopolymer-based Hydrogels
No full textHydrogels, three-dimensional networks gifted with capability of retaining large amounts of water despite of sustaining structural integrity, have arisen as versatile ingredients with applications in biomedicine, agriculture, and environmental science. This study relies on the fabrication and comprehensive characterization of hydrogels based on biopolymers, particularly aiming to explore their potential in various fields. The synthesis of hydrogels includes blending of biopolymers, like naturally occurring and manmade polymers, proteins, polysaccharides, or their derivatives, with crosslinking agents to form hydrogel matrices. These matrices advise a biocompatible and environmentally friendly substitute to synthesized hydrogels. The fabrication of biopolymers is initiated after systematic investigation of different preparatory parameters like biopolymer type, concentration, and crosslinking density. A multidimensional analysis of newly prepared hydrogels was carried by swelling studies, FTIR, SEM, GC, HPLC, NMR, DSC, AFM TGA and MS. Swelling studies exhibit equilibrium water absorption and reactivity of hydrogels to external stimuli, like pH and temperature variations. Mechanical tests elucidate viscoelastic features of the hydrogels, including compressive and tensile strength, revealing their potential for load-bearing applications. In addition, the microstructure of the hydrogels is investigated using methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which sheds insight on their porosity, pore size distribution, and surface shape. Cell viability and proliferation studies used in biocompatibility testing show that hydrogels are fit for biomedical uses. Drug release experiments suggest that these hydrogels have the potential to be used as drug delivery vehicles with customizable release kinetics
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING AND ENSURING THE TRUSTWORTHINESS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Get PDFThe trustworthiness of qualitative data has been debatable, yet it has strong support from its supporters. However, the importance and worth of qualitative data cannot be undermined. This paper presents a critical review of the trustworthiness of the qualitative data. The degree of trustworthiness of qualitative research can be measured by ensuring the credibility, transferability, dependability, and conformability of research design, process, and action. The guarantee of trustworthiness in qualitative research is more complex than in quantitative research due to its subjective nature. Many researchers and experts denied the generalizability of qualitative research. However, few researchers, like Guba (1985), developed a widely accepted model and strategies to ensure the trustworthiness and generalizability of qualitative research. Credibility is like internal validity in quantitative analysis and provides the actual data about the phenomenon. Transferability shows the degree of application of the research finding in other exact natures of context, people, groups, and settings. If the findings of one study are replicated in a similar population, condition, or context, then the findings are dependable. Neutrality is the degree of fairness of results consisting of purity of initial responses and bias-free. Key Words: Credibility; Dependable; Neutrality; Transferability; Trustworthiness; Guba Modelhttps://doi.org/10.56249/ijbr.03.01.44 
US-India Strategic Bargaining and Power Balancing in South Asia
No full textThe relationship between United States and India has transformed fromestrangement to wider engagement since 2004. With the convergence ofinterests and shared values both the US and India came close towards eachother and evolved strategic partnership through civil nuclear cooperation. Thispaper analyze the cost and benefit of strategic partnership with India for US,the impact of India’s emergence as regional power on South Asian balance ofpower and its impact on Pak-US relationship. It also focuses on securitystructure of the region and challenges for the US to maintain strategicpartnership with two rival states (India and Pakistan). The paper also givessome recommendations for balancing power in the region in order to ensuredurable peace not only between India and Pakistan but also in south Asia
Ethnic Polarization in Punjab and the Role of AKali Dal
No full textPluralism is one of the most essential features of the present day societies.India is a classic example of a plural society with multi layered ethnic identitieslike language, religion, caste, tribe, etc. that cut across each other. Thepolarization of communities based on these identities is a continuous processin India. It is against this background that the present paper attempt to analysethe phases in which polarization process had taken place and is being takingplace within the Sikh community in Punjab and the role of the Akali Dal instimulating and supporting such process. The polarization process in Punjabwhich started in the pre independence period between Hindus, Muslim andSikhs continued even in the post independence era between Hindus andSikhs which resulted in the creation of the state of Punjab. However suchpolarization did not benefit the Akali Dal, a regional party in Punjab, as it failedto achieve electoral majority in Punjab single handedly, nor did it bring to aclosure to the further process of ethnic polarization in Punjab. As a matter offact a new form of polarization started within the Sikh community on the basisof caste where the dalits raise their voice of dissent and opposition against theJat Sikhs
Peshawar School Massacre, Pakistan: A Qualitative Account of Citizens’ Perceptions
No full textOn 16th December 2014, Army Public School and College (APSAC), Warsak road, Peshawar, located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, was attacked by more than six militants dressed as Pakistan Army Soldiers which resulted in killing of 149 people, mostly innocent children. After this attack, Government with the collaboration of Military took immediate steps for the eradication of terrorists from Pakistan and announced National Action Plan (NAP). Based on Master’s Fieldwork in Rawalpindi city, this study explores peoples’ reasoning to why such an attack took place? The paper further investigates whether the citizens of Rawalpindi are satisfied with the counter-terrorism steps taken immediately after the Peshawar incident. The locale of the study was Rawalpindi’s Union Council number 30. This qualitative study used purposive sampling techniques to draw a heterogeneous sample of 31 participants in order to conduct In-depth interviews
Augmenting the Conflict in Swat: Loopholes in Legal Governance
No full textA quick, efficient, and cost-effective provision of justice is considered to be the integral part of good governance. Absence of such an efficient judicial mechanism lead to conflicts which is more significant in conflict societies and tribal structures. For ordinary man in dis-equilibrium societies, lack of good governance means rampant corruption, police brutality, dearth of education and health infrastructure, high costly and less accessed justice, criminalized politicsand absence of social justice. The absence of justice and security constitutes a good reason for adoption of alternatives to the current legal and judicial governance structures. Structured violence against the state in lineage societies is a good manifestation of this perspective. The Swat conflict presents a complex picture where loopholes in legal governance structure contributed to the augmentation of the conflict. Costly and delayed justice system made groundfor opting the presented alternative swift decision making system by the Taliban. Empirical data suggests that average instituted cases in Malakand’s seven districts was almost half of the cases instituted in the whole province. This shows that communities here are comparatively more litigant. To address the cases district courts are understaffed and lack case management and delay reduction techniques. The average disposal of cases was less than the other districts in the province. Per court disposal is comparatively high, however, average court pendency is higher and average number of judges was lower comparatively. Such delayed, inefficient and costly judicial governance produced catalytic effect on the conflict. This study is aimed at examining how the gaps in the justice sector of governance led to augmenting the violence against the state and what sort of intervention at government level is needed to strengthen rule of law in the Swat valle
Syria: History, The Civil War and Peace Prospects
No full textWhen the ‘Arab Spring’ reached Syria, its Pharaoh, Bashar al-Assad, was in no mood to give up easily. The brutal repression of peaceful anti-government protests pushed the country towards a civil war. The Syrian government, the opposition rebels, foreign powers and Islamic militants are all the architects of the Syrian quagmire. The war has led to catastrophic consequences. Hundreds of thousands of people have been massacred with ancient towns and modern cities being turned into rubble. The war has brought devastation to Syria. Firstly, there has been a huge loss in terms of human deaths and damages to property. The war has created a huge refugee crisis. Millions of Syrians have been uprooted from their homes due to the war. The Syrian Crisis has given us a few lessons. The first of such lessons is that dictators and oppressors cannot rule easily. They will face resistance and opposition until the spirit of freedom is alive in human beings. We also learned that the lust for power can lead mankind to commit brutalities of the worst kind. It was also observed that nation-states view international politics through the lens of ‘self-interest’ and have lost sight of a peaceful vision for the world
Indo –US Strategic Partnership and Its Fall Outs on Pakistan
Get PDFAfter cold war, the US arose as a super power in international order. The US however enjoyed cordial relationship with both Pakistan and India during Cold war era and post - Cold war era. However, as per the realist tradition, the US also kept its national interests ahead and thus has been utilizing Pakistan and India as per its strategic interests. The US role in the South Asian politics isa prominent and decisive while evaluating South Asia as a region. The conflictual relationship of India and Pakistan provides vacuum to triangular ties among the USA, India and Pakistan. Pakistan’s relationship with the United States entered into a new phase after war on terrorism, where Pakistan was declared as Non NATO ally of the United Sates against the war on terrorism. However, the American President George W. Bush’s visit to India in 2005-06 and signing of major agreements of strategic collaboration and nuclear cooperation, proved a shift in the USA - Pakistan relations. This research paper poses that one of the reasons of increasing Indo-USA strategic ties is due to historical cooperation between Pakistan and China. The United States changed its policy of isolationism and emerged as a major power. While enjoying the role of only superpower the US has cashed arch rivalry between both neighboring courtiers and lack of trust. Reflections of converging interests include: US-India Subsequent Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) initiative, signing of 123 Nuclear Agreement, missile defense, and ten-year “defense framework agreement” that calls for expanding bilateral security assistance. The incidents like Salala attack, Raymond Davis case and U.S led Osama Bin Laden killing operation within the jurisdiction of Pakistan also played in role in fallout between Pakistan and USA. Pakistan cannot afford to remain oblivious to these developments due to their security implications. A combination of pragmatic foreign policy backed with credible conventional and nuclear deterrence could serve desired national security interests. The study will be strictly confined to the South Asian region in order to ascertain the US-India strategic partnership in the context of conflictual relationship of India and Pakistan. To analyze and cover all the features of “Indo-US strategic Nexus” and its fall outs on Pakistan, quantitative and qualitative method will be used
Understanding Role of Security Dilemma in South Asia: Implications for Strategic Stability
Get PDFSecurity Dilemma is a phenomenon in International Relations most typically associated to Realist School of thought and particularly to Structural Realism. It is a concept that entails a predominant notion that states in global international structure rely on their own potentials and considering that realist international order is anarchic, there are often chances where relative gains of one state prejudice relative gains of another. Security Dilemma is a byproduct of actions and reactions of contending state actors built around their national security architecture. It can be understood to be a combination of strategic decision-making and fractures therein caused by reciprocating maneuvers by adversaries. Security dilemma in international relations has taken roots from the Cold War where bipolarity was seen as a potent equalizer through brinkmanship. Security dilemma in such Cold War context was built around Massive Retaliation Doctrines being too vulnerable to avert risk reduction and a total erosion of deterrence capability and credibility. Pakistan and India, have often relied on Cold War stratagem to achieve their strategic equilibrium which makes up a dominant portion of South Asia’s security dilemma. In this paper, we will examine the paradigms of Security Dilemma and prospective strategies to manage the spiral effect on strategic equilibrium in South Asia. This paper will also place focus on various instances where Security Dilemma remained operable and played a role in transformation of strategic dimensions between Pakistan and India. The aim of this research is to operationalize the necessity of security dilemma orientedreactionary responses in South Asia and the consequent effect on bilateralism between Pakistan and India. The paper will rely on constructivism and structural realist paradigms to understand state behavior from a communicative standpoint
Indian Fourth Generation Warfare and Pakistan’s Response
Get PDFWith the start of 21st century, warfare has changed fundamentally. In the Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW), military does not have the sole decisive utility, here war is waged with means other than military. In the fourth generation warfare, war is not amongst the people, it is a war of the people. The paper argues that due to divergent strategic interests, hegemonic tendencies, geopolitical competition and unresolved conflicts, India has adopted a sustained policy of violence to bring chaos in Pakistan. From Sundar Ji Doctrine of 1980s to current Modi-Doval Doctrine, India is pursuing a strategy of keeping Pakistan bleeding through thousand cuts. Indian effort to train, nurture and equip separatist and dissident elements in Pakistan is not a hidden secret after the Kalbushan Jadav testimony on media. This paper is an attempt to find the answer of the questionthat how India has waged a 4GW against Pakistan and how Pakistan has responded to it? For this enquiry, qualitative research methodology with more focus on document analysis based on secondary literature surveys has been employed. The theoretical framework of this study is based on the constructs of realism. This study concludes that Pakistan Armed Forces have been successfulto control the ravages of this warfare but the govt. needs to work on those vulnerable areas which could further be used by India to extend its interests in the country