UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB
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China’s Malacca Dilemma: Power Politics in Indian Ocean
Get PDFWith the opening of doors for the world, China has shivered the world state actors and also those that are inactive prior to China‟s open door policy. China‟s initiated reforms have adverse effects on the relations with neighboring states and other regional states. China‟s reliance over energy resources has put China under security threat of Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs). For thispurpose, China introduced geopolitical strategy String of Pearls Strategy. This paper is based on descriptive analysis to analyze true intensions of China behind String of Pearls Strategy. Which highlights China‟s intensions is not to establish military ground but purely mercantile and not to threaten India. China‟s economic growth is highly dependent upon oil shipments and energy transit routes. Malacca dilemma is referred to String of Pearls Strategy to secure important choke points of Indian Ocean and to make diplomatic relations with the key countries of Indian Ocean littoral states that are Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. In future, there are assumptions about Sino-Indian alliance formation if China becomes successful to implement String of Pearls Strategy. Power struggle between India and China will be continue in future in which US will bea key factor to maintain her status-quo
European Union as a New Actor in Central Asia: Its Interests and Challenges
No full textIn the global politics, Central Asia with its five stans namely, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan playing a vital and acontributing role with other states for a multiple purposes. European Unionbeing the huge and vast union presenting its contribution and part as a newactor in the great game of Central Asia in order to achieve its goals andobjectives for the purpose of fulfilling its national interest. The main aim ofwriting this article that specifies on the part of European Union (EU) as anentrance, arch or as a portal in Central Asian region, also focused on theEuropean Union interests in this landlocked region. Both Central Asia andEuropean Union shared a heightened and widen mutual interest in political aswell as in economic relations. European Union is having cooperative andcollaborative relations with all the five states of the region. European Unioncan also be labeled as the United States of Europe mainly concerned, havinga keen interest and keeping an eye on Inner Asia for having control of the oiland gas reserves which the region is rich and wealthy especially due to thereason for throwing out the Russia’s interest for this region. Apart from this, forthe development of industries, machinery, vehicles, energy pipelines EUmaking efforts to develop good relations with all the five republics of thisregion. Thus in the contemporary 21st century, other than the USA,European Union is thoroughly and wholly re-appraise and re-examined itsstrategy for the bilateral relations, for the democratization, for the betterrelations with the civil societies within Central Asia. Some of the challengesregarding EU in this land also highlighted. Efforts by the EU in capturing theresources and definitely for the successful outcomes to achieve its main goalare and would be in process in dealing with this large and expand territory socalled Heartland of Central Asia
Marginalized Voters and Supporters: Biradari System, Caste Hierarchy and Rights to Political Participation in Rural Punjab
No full textIn rural Punjab, biradari system and caste hierarchy are the decisive factorsthat determine individuals’ rights to political participation. This study examinesthe political marginalization of members of service-providing caste groupsresiding in villages due to their subordinate position in caste hierarchy.Primary data was collected by interviewing the members of service-providingand landowning caste groups during Local Bodies’ Election, 2015 and GeneralElection, 2013. The study found that the inferior caste status of serviceproviders restricts their rights to political participation including rights to vote,contest election, participate in election campaign, and opportunities to acquireleadership roles. Consequently, they are excluded from the system of politicalpatronage that connects villagers with politicians through their biradarirepresentatives. This system of patronage serves the interests of villagers byproviding them access to state institutions, especially police and courts,welfare funds and job opportunities. It is found that with decline in castesystem, members of service-providing caste groups have started to exercisetheir rights to vote in elections
Searching Peace or Deepening Instability in Afghanistan: An Assessment of the US-Taliban Peace Talks
Get PDFFormer US president Richard Nixon had very aptly remarked that one cannot seek peace with the enemy at any cost who is out to seek victory at any cost. Making peace is the acme of skill and the job of the true statesman. The US was not willing to make a negotiated peace settlement with the Taliban nor were the Taliban ready to come the negotiating table with the US-installed Kabul government in the first few years following the fall of the Taliban regime. Peace talks between the US and the Taliban thus took a long way and both sides who wanted to twist each other’s arms. Sanity, however, prevailed and the peace parleys started afresh. The regional powers also welcomed the peace and it is hoped that peace would lead to the amelioration of the hapless Afghans on one hand the arrival of stability in the region on the other. But the US unilateraldecision to cancel the peace deal at the nick of time took the world in surprise and brought forth the harsh realities of realpolitik. However, peace process was again resumed and signaled the message that the US is determined to leave Afghanistan. The question here is not of the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan but the way the US is withdrawing from the country and the situation that would follow in the post US withdrawal environment. The element of precipitousness on the part of the US is mind boggling and this issue has been highlighted in this paper. The US decision to withdraw from a highly volatile zone of war inconclusively may deepen instability in the region that may foil all the efforts of searching peace instead. This has happened in Afghanistan time andagain in the past as well and the same may be repeated once again. If that happened, it will lead to strengthening the belief that we learn from history that we do not learn from history. This hypothesis has been dilated upon in this paper
DYNAMICS OF MANAGEMENT IN MULTICULTURAL PROJECT TEAMS
Get PDFWith the emergence of globalization, the business models have been completely transformed. A growing number of businesses are operating globally giving rise to diverse multicultural teams. Nevertheless, cultural differences have undermined the efficiency and decision-making of the international project teams as there is more cultural diversity in the teams than ever before. Hence, it has become imperative for the organizations to take cultural diversity into consideration. Prominent cultural studies postulate that having diverse teams in the organizations can have both challenges and opportunities, yet it lacks emphasis of cultural understanding in project management. Moreover, digitization of business operations have moved organizations towards more specialized roles instead of traditional roles. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of team dynamics, their cultural backgrounds, values, and beliefs. It also emphasizes project team development to adopt increased empathetic attitude and emotional intelligence. The research has employed qualitative data retrieved from questionnaires and interviews. A project group development model is proposed aimed at avoiding conflicts arising due to lack of cultural understanding .The findings show that multicultural project groups will experience conflicts caused by cultural differences. Therefore, cultural understanding is vital for group members before they start working together as a group. In addition, cultural training, effective communication, teambuilding exercises and well-defined project goals are important determinants in avoiding team conflicts. Furthermore, project management methodologies should also address cultural aspects of project groups in addition to technical details as present studies lack any cultural advice.Keywords: Cross-Cultural Management; Teambuilding; Project Management; Conflicts; Multicultural Teamhttps://doi.org/10.56249/ijbr.03.01.4
Reimagining ELT in Pakistan: A Critical Analysis of Integrating Culturally Responsive Teaching in Undergraduate Curriculum Reform
Get PDFThe focus of this article is the curriculum design and content development of a national-level undergraduate education reform project in Pakistan that incorporates culturally responsive teaching (CRT) into English language teaching (ELT). This comprehensive reform project aims to revamp all discipline curricula, including sciences, social sciences, and language teaching. In a collaboration between the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and the Regional English Language Office of the US Embassy, the ELT part of the project involves the development of three course books and a teacher manual, as well as the training of 25 Pakistani master trainers in a US university to assist in teacher preparation for the implementation of the new curriculum. The project aims to transform ELT education in the country from a delivery-based approach to autonomous project-based learning that integrates the multilingual competencies and cultural resources of undergraduate students. The article critically analyzes examples of activities from the second course, "Cross-cultural Communication and Translation," which includes multilingual advertisements, translation, multilingual project description, and the use of local folklore from students' communities to raise their awareness of their linguistic and cultural assets. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the current analysis for similar contexts where a culturally-responsive approach to foreign/second language teaching is required.  
Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions about Parents’ Involvement in Teaching Learning Process
Get PDFThe objective of the study was to explore primary school teachers’ (PSTs) perceptions regarding the importance, degree and limitations of parents’ involvement. A sample of 400 PSTs was drawn from two tehsils of district Kasur through convenience sampling. A questionnaire was developed on five point Likert scale which was validated from four experts and piloted on 25 primary school teachers. The reliability of the instrument was 0.87. The response rate was 75%. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. The results showed that all PSTs were agreed upon the importance of parents’ involvement in teaching learning process. They often involve parents to play their role in school council. However, the parents are least invited in sports events. Male and female respondents were significantly different in their views regarding importance and limitation of parents’ involvement. There was no significant difference in their perceptions related to degree of parents’ involvement and limitations in parents’ involvement on the basis of tehsil and qualification. The study recommended that school must create more opportunities for parents’ involvement. The government must conduct seminars to highlight the role of parents’ involvement in schools. 
Assessment of Health Literacy of Adolescents with Hearing Impairment
Get PDFCommunication and language barriers isolate hearing impaired individuals by depriving them of the opportunities of getting knowledge through different forms of health-related messages and healthcare communication. This put them at higher risk of getting affected by different diseases due to inadequate health literacy (HL). The objective of the study was to assess the existing level of health literacy of adolescent age hearing impaired individuals, along-with to identify the major deficit areas of health literacy. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Nutbeam’s model of health literacy, which divides the HL into three major domains, (i) functional, (ii) interactive, and (iii) critical. It was a cross sectional study, in which data were collected from 299 hearing impaired students (both male and female) studying at Intermediate classes of five public colleges of special education. An adapted instrument of health literacy was used for the data collection purpose, adapted from HELMA (health literacy measure for adolescents). Moreover, to address the unique needs of hearing impaired individuals many statements were included in the instrument through an extensive review of related literature. The final instrument was bilingual (English and Urdu) and named as Health Literacy Assessment Tool for Hearing Impaired (HLAT-HI). The instrument contained major three sections having sub-sections as per the levels of health literacy. Data was collected by face to face component and through correspondence. During data collection, necessary guidelines were provided to respondents in written form and sign language. The results of the study highlighted the major deficit areas of health literacy of hearing impaired students. Their health literacy has been identified as low including major deficit areas of reading, writing, knowledge, understanding, communication, management, and decision making skills. To promote their health literacy it is recommended to use school based health literacy intervention. Moreover, community based health literacy programs for out of school hearing impaired individuals can also be started, to empower them with the latest health related knowlege and skills. It is also recommended to provide training to teachers of special needs children along-with the healthcare professionals.  
The Perceptions of University Teachers About Commonly Used Teaching Practices and Effective Methods
Get PDFTeaching is an art of transferring knowledge, information and skills from one person to another. It is mandatory for teachers to use variety of instructional strategies to meet the needs of students and high-quality Education. However, most of the institutes in Pakistan use a limited range of methods for instructions. There is an urgent need to evaluate the current practices of Instruction adopted by most of the teachers in general institutes. The core purpose of this study was to scrutinize the perception of university teachers concerning the usage and effectiveness of teaching practices in terms of particular strategies, methods and casual activities. A case study methodology was adopted to attain the objectives of the study. Hence, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan was carefully chosen as a case. Approximately, 619 teachers were teaching at Bahauddin Zakariya University and selected as population. The researcher combined eight of the faculties and divided into four sections. Total 45 departments were nominated using Simple random sampling. Furthermore, 395 teachers were chosen through lottery method of simple random sampling. Data was collected through Questionnaire and the questionnaire reliability was also computed through Cronbach's Alpha Model (e.g.,0.96). The value explicitly indicated the scale’s consistency and reliability. Data was composed in tables to be analyzed, comparisons were made and interpreted according to the to the study objectives. For the interpretation of Questionnaire data descriptive statistics i.e., Mean and SD were applied, and thematic analysis was used for open-ended research question responses. According to the study findings, lecture method, project method, demonstration method, problem-solving method, discussion, brainstorming and quiz were described as occasionally used teaching practices at universities. While other selected methods/strategies/activities were rarely used. Likewise, the final conclusion of the research also specified teachers’ opinion regarding the selected teaching practices (methods/strategies/activities) that they were effective mainly due to their own observations at university. The study also recommended that teaching practices must be evaluated occasionally for the improvement of teachers’ teaching practices, which is vital for quality education and teaching-learning process.  
Teachers and Teacher Educator’s Role in Developing Civic Sense and Ethics among Youth
Get PDFTeachers have a bewildering role for their students, who act as the torch bearers in inculcating civic sense and ethics among the general masses. This act merges into behavior modification alongside the transmission of knowledge, cultural orientation, attitude development, and acquisition of societal values and beliefs possessed by the generations. Teacher behaviors go by the curricular transition and transmission as society desires. The threads of education in civil society are interwoven into the arenas of learning and life. To excavate the intent of civic sense and the varied dimensions of the topic researchers embarked upon the qualitative methodology. The primary sources relied upon were the curricula, the secondary sources to be exploited were books, articles in journals, standards for teacher educators, manuals, government notifications, reports, and internet sources. Focus group interviews were conducted to find the realities on the ground. Those invited to be the members of the focus group were 5 retired educators possessing an experience of 40 years or more as teachers’ educators. The results revealed shortcomings in addressing issues related to content and context. These shortcomings have led to a deficiency in involving civil society, maintaining democratic school administration, employing effective delivery methods, handling external pressures, promoting weak democracy, addressing financial challenges, and fostering the presence of exemplary teachers. The focus group had exposure to rights, obligations, responsibilities, democracy, and freedom with the representation of both genders traced through a snowball strategy