Researching Sindhi and Urdu students’ reading habits and reading performance in a Pakistani university context

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis study aimed to investigate the relationship between reading habits (in English, in L1 and overall) and English reading performance among Sindhi and Urdu students at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan, and also to explore the factors that might have influenced these aspects. The main motivation for the selection of this study was the participants’ poor English reading proficiency. An explanatory sequential mixed methods research design was adopted, which allowed collecting and analysing quantitative data first to gain a general understanding of the phenomenon followed by an in-depth qualitative interview with a smaller sample to further explore and explain the phenomena in question. After a pilot study, firstly the quantitative study was conducted with 220 students from Sindhi speaking (n=133) and Urdu speaking (n=87) groups using a reading habits questionnaire and an English reading test. The data was analysed in detail. Following analysis, six students, three from each Sindhi and Urdu group were selected for in-depth interviews and the data was analysed using Thematic Analysis. Finally, both quantitative and qualitative findings were synthesised to reach the outcome of the study. The findings of this study suggested that there was a lack of leisure reading habit among the participants other than textbook reading, and their reading frequency of academic articles was relatively low (Sindhi and Urdu as one group). The participants showed similar reading habits in English and in L1 and there were no significant differences between Sindhi and Urdu students’ reading habits in English, in L1 and overall. However, Urdu students scored significantly (p=.000) higher than Sindhi students on English reading performance. There was very little, if any, correlation between reading habits (in English, in L1 and overall) and English reading performance of all students (as one group) and between Sindhi and Urdu students respectively. However, this study strongly suggested that home background, educational background, English language learning environment in the past, and socio-cultural background greatly influence reading habits and English reading performance of Sindhi and Urdu students in the Pakistani university context. Additionally, this study suggested that Urdu students come from backgrounds that are more supportive of reading, which may be a probable cause of their English reading performance being higher than Sindhi students in this study

CDA as an Approach to Analyze Language Ideologies in Supervisory Meetings

This qualitative case study research set out to look at the concepts of hegemony and power in supervisory meetings centered on the idea of linguistic ideologies. Two BS (English) study supervisees and their supervisors were chosen for the study as two case studies their supervisory meetings were recorded and later transcribed for analysis purpose. The study adopted Halliday’s Systematic Functional Linguistics (SFL) for data collection and Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) analytical methodology for the empirical investigation of the concepts of power as well as hegemony in supervision procedures (1989; 2003). The study's findings show how language contributed to the development of power relationships among the study's participants. In research supervisory meetings, language was a significant issue along with educational experience and knowledge that contributed to the development of unequal power relations among the participants. In terms of methodology and supervisory style, case B was slightly different from case A, due to its flexibility. This study suggests a fair and democratic style of supervision that can be beneficial and flexible for participants involved in research supervision regardless of their educational background. Keywords: Critical discourse analysis (CDA), SFL, Power, Research supervision, Hegemony, Language ideologies. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-33-13 Publication date: November 30th 202

The Relationship Between Financial Numeracy, Religiosity And Financial Decision Among Islamic Banking Customers In Pakistan

The concept of financial numeracy has been defined in literature as the combination of financial capacity and financial knowledge. Islamic banking is growing rapidly in the world as it is Riba-free and is the alternate of Riba-based conventional banking system. 96 percent population is Muslim in Pakistan, majority of them did not join conventional banking system due to Riba (Interest). Due to this reason, they could not take their right financial decision to avail any financial product of conventional or Islamic bank. 5 Islamic and 17 conventional banks are offering Islamic banking products and services in Pakistan since 2002, the customers are still unaware about the practicality of these products and services. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to identify and analyze the level of financial capacity, level of financial knowledge and level of religiosity among customers of Islamic banks in Pakistan for joining Islamic banking industry. Further, the impact of financial numeracy and religiosity on financial decision by Islamic banking customers is also analyzed. 500 respondents were selected from Islamic banks in major cities of Pakistan including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad to give their answers of a questionnaire. The responses were analyzed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS)

Sociocultural Theory and its Role in the Development of Language Pedagogy

This paper reviews the literature on Vygotskian theory of Socio-cultural learning and constructivist approach to teaching and learning and attempts to relate the socio-cultural theory to constructivism. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the ways socio-cultural theory helps to develop language pedagogies. Critical analysis of the literature on the socio-cultural theory suggests that the theory has potential for forming new context-oriented language teaching-learning pedagogies which can help teachers in maximising the effectiveness of their teaching and their student’s learning. The review further suggests that the language pedagogies and activities developed from the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky may not only improve students’ language skills, but it also has potential to develop students’ cognition. Since theory promotes more and more communication of students with each other through scaffolding, that is, the Zone of Proximal development (ZPD) in Vygotsky’s language. Thus, the theory directly points towards the promotion of student-centred learning by establishing learner autonomy.Keywords: socio-cultural theory, language, constructivism, pedagogies, student

Sociocultural Theory and its Role in the Development of Language Pedagogy

This paper reviews the literature on Vygotskian theory of Socio-cultural learning and constructivist approach to teaching and learning and attempts to relate the socio-cultural theory to constructivism. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the ways socio-cultural theory helps to develop language pedagogies. Critical analysis of the literature on the socio-cultural theory suggests that the theory has potential for forming new context-oriented language teaching-learning pedagogies which can help teachers in maximising the effectiveness of their teaching and their student’s learning. The review further suggests that the language pedagogies and activities developed from the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky may not only improve students’ language skills, but it also has potential to develop students’ cognition. Since theory promotes more and more communication of students with each other through scaffolding, that is, the Zone of Proximal development (ZPD) in Vygotsky’s language. Thus, the theory directly points towards the promotion of student-centred learning by establishing learner autonomy. Keywords: socio-cultural theory, language, constructivism, pedagogies, student

Design and evaluation of dental pastes Containing anti-inflammatory drugs

Periodontitis is an oral disease associated with inflammation and pain with swollen and bleeding gums. In the present study, dental pastes containing NSAIDs, namely, diclofenac sodium and nimesulide (1 % w/w) were prepared to treat periodontitis. Dental pastes of diclofenac sodium and nimesulide (1 % w/w) were prepared with/without mucoadhesive hydrocolloid polymers such as sodium carboxy methyl cellulose (NaCMC), hydroxyl ethyl cellulose (HEC) and methyl cellulose (MC) by conventional trituration method. The pH, drug content, viscosity, tube spreadability and tube extrudability of these prepared dental pastes were measured. These dental pastes of diclofenac sodium and nimesulide (1 % w/w) were characterized by FTIR analyses for drug-excipient compatibility. The in vitro drug releases from these dental pastes in 6.4 pH phosphate buffer solution displayed sustained release over longer period and the drug release rate was found to be decreased when the concentration of mucoadhesive polymer was increased. These dental pastes displayed good adhesion to the oral mucosa revealing more retention time in mouth when tested for ex vivo mucoadhesion using bovine cheek pouch. The stability study results reveal that the DC3 and NC3 dental paste formulations were found stable enough over a longer period in different storage conditions. The present study revealed that the prepared mucoadhesive dental pastes of diclofenac sodium and nimesulide (1 % w/w) had good adhesion with the oral mucosa to maintain consistent release of drugs over prolonged time

Hepatitis C virus genotypes in Pakistan: a systemic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background and aim</p> <p>Phylogenetic analysis has led to the classification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) into 1-6 major genotypes. HCV genotypes have different biological properties, clinical outcome and response to antiviral treatment and provide important clues for studying the epidemiology, transmission and pathogenesis. This article deepens the current molecular information about the geographical distribution of HCV genotypes and subgenotypes in population of four provinces of Pakistan. 34 published papers (1996-2011) related to prevalence of HCV genotypes/serotypes and subgenotypes in Pakistan were searched.</p> <p>Result</p> <p>HCV genotype/s distribution from all 34 studies was observed in 28,400 HCV infected individuals in the following pattern: 1,999 (7.03%) cases of genotype 1; 1,085 (3.81%) cases of genotype 2; 22,429 (78.96%) cases of genotype 3; 453 (1.59%) cases of genotype 4; 29 (0.10%) cases of genotype 5; 37 (0.13%) cases of genotype 6; 1,429 (5.03%) cases of mixed genotypes, and 939 (3.30%) cases of untypeable genotypes. Overall, genotype 3a was the predominant genotype with a rate of 55.10%, followed by genotype 1a, 3b and mixed genotype with a rate of 10.25%, 8.20%, and 5.08%, respectively; and genotypes 4, 5 and 6 were rare. Genotype 3 occurred predominately in all the provinces of Pakistan. Second more frequently genotype was genotype 1 in Punjab province and untypeable genotypes in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.</p