PROMOTING LOCAL ISSUES BASED TEACHING AND RESEARCH IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD – A CASE STUDY OF A LARGE PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN PAKISTAN

In 2015 a small study was conducted at one of the largest private universities in Pakistan. It confirmed earlier observations about the disconnect between foreign curriculum being taught in the Masters and Bachelors programs at the university and the issues facing employers in the country. A specific research exercise was then planned to interview 50 faculty members and understand the causes behind reliance on foreign books, the minimal use of local case studies as well as examples and lack of on-going exposure of the faculty to the hiring organizations in Pakistan. The study yielded interesting causes behind the disconnect including the mass commercialization of education, the need for globalizing content, easier access to foreign over local content, overloading courses on faculty, faults in matching teachers and courses due to large-scale intake of students, poor human resource management, performance appraisal and remuneration policies as well as the inattentive attitude of the university towards research and the professional development of faculty members. The impact of this disconnect on the learning experiences and achievements of students is discussed and recommendations are provided for developing systematic and strategic professional development programs for promoting local issues based teaching and research while maintaining a globalized outlook

PROMOTING LOCAL ISSUES BASED TEACHING AND RESEARCH IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD – A CASE STUDY OF A LARGE PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN PAKISTAN

In 2015 a small study was conducted at one of the largest private universities in Pakistan. It confirmed earlier observations about the disconnect between foreign curriculum being taught in the Masters and Bachelors programs at the university and the issues facing employers in the country. A specific research exercise was then planned to interview 50 faculty members and understand the causes behind reliance on foreign books, the minimal use of local case studies as well as examples and lack of on-going exposure of the faculty to the hiring organizations in Pakistan. The study yielded interesting causes behind the disconnect including the mass commercialization of education, the need for globalizing content, easier access to foreign over local content, overloading courses on faculty, faults in matching teachers and courses due to large-scale intake of students, poor human resource management, performance appraisal and remuneration policies as well as the inattentive attitude of the university towards research and the professional development of faculty members. The impact of this disconnect on the learning experiences and achievements of students is discussed and recommendations are provided for developing systematic and strategic professional development programs for promoting local issues based teaching and research while maintaining a globalized outlook

The Mediatization of Politics in Pakistan: A Structural Analysis

Last two decades of twentieth century saw a development in media due to growing influence of privately-owned television channels. This TV era was so influential that society and politics in Western democracies became dependent on the media and its logic. This process was theorized as mediatization of politics and/or society. Though initially a western phenomenon, soon it started to diffuse in the developing world. Using mediatization as a key concept, this article presents a theoretical framework to analyze the media development in Pakistan. The unprecedented influence media exerted in political discourse of recent years reveals that Pakistani politics is going to be mediatized. As majority of studies on Pakistani media are of descriptive nature and only narrate the history of Pakistani media, this study tries to establish a structural framework in which media, its development, and transformation from an observer to an active player in political stage can be studied further

Nanoscale characterization of InSb/InAs novel functional semiconductor nanostructures for LEDs / Caracterización a nanoescala de nanoestructuras funcionales novedosas de InSb/InAs para LEDs

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming increasingly popular day-by-day for lighting applications as they require low maintenance and low fabrication costs, and have long lifetime and low energy consumption. As a result, extensive research and funding have been dedicated in the last years in order to obtain superior LED fabrication techniques and designs which may maximize their optical performances. III-V epitaxial quantum dots (QDs) have been considered to design the active layers of these LEDs as these QDs offer the highest level of optoelectronic efficiency. Among various III-V epitaxial QDs, InSb/InAs QDs emit light at the mid-infrared (MIR) range (3-5 µm) through the tuning of Sb composition and as a result, these QDs can be used to detect various hazardous gases with MIR signatures, among other applications. In this framework, the objective of the present Thesis is to explore the applicability of the migration enhanced epitaxy (MEE) growth technique to fabricate these InSb/InAs QDs, as an alternative to the conventional Stranski-Krastranov (SK) QDs, in order to configure optimum design parameters for highly efficient gas and bio-sensing LEDs at MIR range. The optoelectronic properties of the MEE grown InSb/InAs QDs highly depend on corresponding Sb distribution. Because of this, atomic column resolved high angle annular dark field (HAADF) – scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) characterization technique has been considered, where Sb compositions are realized through HAADF-STEM atomic column intensities. In order to interpret the Sb composition through HAADF-STEM intensities, the quantitative HAADF (qHAADF) method can be used that quantifies Sb induced intensity through the intensity ratio of a Sb-containing region to a Sb-absent region. However, this tool requires both regions to be present in the same micrograph. As a result, the application of this tool becomes limited if InSb/InAs QDs exist in a complex heterostructure where locating a reference area is complicated. Consequently, a modified version of the qHAADF tool has been developed in this Thesis that allows locating the reference region from a second micrograph and hence, the aforementioned limitation could be overcome. The specimen thickness variation between these two areas imposes complications in the Sb compositional analysis by the either qHAADF tool. Therefore, a corresponding thickness variation compensation process has also been discussed in this Thesis to assure atomic column resolved precise Sb compositional analysis. The MEE grown InSb/InAs QDs associated to sub-monolayer (SML) insertion of InSb may offer increased maximum gain and a larger modulation bandwidth (BW) than its conventional SK counterpart as these QDs are surrounded by a thin/no wetting layer (WL) underneath. However, it has been demonstrated through this PhD Thesis that a high growth temperature facilitates a high Sb segregation into the InAs capping layer. As a result, continuous InSbAs WL form with nm thickness encapsulating a few random InSbAs agglomerates, realized through the corresponding HAADF-STEM and 002 dark field (DF) conventional TEM (CTEM) analyses. The corresponding high Sb segregation seems to induce relatively low average Sb composition in the InSbAs agglomerates. Typically, Sb segregation from InSb/InAs heterostructures is reduced by decreasing the corresponding growth temperature. However, this PhD Thesis illustrates that Sb segregation can also be reduced from the MEE grown InSb/InAs heterostructures by reducing only InAs cap growth temperature. This results in an increase in Sb composition in the InSbAs agglomerates observed through both HAADF-STEM and 002 DF CTEM analyses. As a result, the random InSbAs agglomerates become bigger or more continuous within the InSbAs WLs. This InAs cap temperature associated compositional variation in Sb composition allows tuning the InSb emission wavelength in the MIR range, realized through the corresponding photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra

the input-output and computable general equilibrium modelling for environmental and energy issues

1 Nexus di produzione di petrolio e sostenibilit\ue0 ambientale per l'economia cinese: approccio basato su moltiplicatori macro basati su IO L'economia cinese \ue8 l'economia mondiale in pi\uf9 rapida crescita con un tasso di crescita medio di circa il 10% all'anno fino al 2015. A causa dell'eccellente tasso di crescita economica, la Cina ha iniziato l'importazione di petrolio greggio nel 1993 per soddisfare il requisito dell'economia. A met\ue0 2013, i giacimenti petroliferi domestici della Cina hanno danneggiato negativamente a causa delle inondazioni e di conseguenza le importazioni di petrolio della Cina sono aumentate drasticamente e la Cina \ue8 diventata il pi\uf9 grande importatore di petrolio superando gli Stati Uniti. Il presente studio contribuisce alla letteratura nel raggiungimento dell'obiettivo analizzando l'impatto dell'attuale shock petrolifero sui diversi settori industriali della Cina. L'analisi empirica verr\ue0 effettuata utilizzando l'approccio multisettoriale Macro Multiplier sull'ultima tabella input-output disponibile costruita per l'anno 2014, successivamente pubblicato nel 2016 da WIOD. Gli economisti mainstream hanno criticato la raccomandazione sulla politica ambientale per la riduzione delle emissioni di CO2, che si basa sul principio del trade-off tra la riduzione delle emissioni di CO2 e la riduzione della produzione per i diversi settori dell'economia. Lo studio attuale identifica la struttura conveniente per la Cina per affrontare la limitazione e raccomanda una delle politiche appropriate per ottenere entrambi gli obiettivi contemporaneamente. JEL Classification: O13, P28, P48, Q43 Key Words: Oil Prices; China; Input-Output; Macro Multiplier Analysis \u2003 2 Struttura conveniente per i settori petrolifero e del gas per l'economia russa: approccio moltiplicatore per macro basato su SAM L'economia della Russia dipende in modo significativo dai prodotti legati all'energia come petrolio e gas. La quota di esportazione di petrolio e gas nell'economia russa \ue8 di circa il 58%. Oggigiorno, i paesi produttori di petrolio stanno affrontando il problema del mantenimento della bilancia dei pagamenti perch\ue9 il basso prezzo del petrolio \ue8 influenzato negativamente dai loro proventi da esportazione. Il deficit fiscale nell'economia russa \ue8 stato aumentato in modo significativo, il confronto dei primi nove mesi del 2016 e del 2015 mostra i dati rispettivamente del 2,6% e dell'1,1%. Nel complesso, l'economia russa si \ue8 contratta del 3,4% a causa della caduta dei prezzi del petrolio. L'obiettivo del presente studio \ue8 identificare la struttura conveniente dell'economia per analizzare il trade-off tra il settore petrolifero e quello del gas con la politica ambientale. Il significativo dello studio ha utilizzato l'approccio moltiplicatore Macro basato su SAM per l'anno 2015 per raggiungere gli obiettivi richiesti. L'analisi empirica si basa sull'approccio Macro moltiplicatore proposto da Ciaschini e Socci (2007a & b). L'approccio MM basato su SAM consiste nel trovare l'insieme appropriato di profili di policy "endogeni". Inoltre, l'approccio MM \ue8 quello di collegare tra loro le diverse interazioni economiche con variabili macroeconomiche, che sono anche attive o non attive (Ciaschini et al., 2010). JEL Classification: O13, P28, P48, Q43 Key Words: Oil, Gas, Russia, Social Accounting Matrix, Macro Multiplier Analysis \u2003 3 Valutazione degli shock dei prezzi petroliferi e delle risposte di politica monetaria nell'economia russa: un'analisi di equilibrio generale computabile finanziaria L'economia della Russia dipende in modo significativo dai settori legati all'energia come petrolio e gas. La quota totale delle esportazioni di petrolio e gas nell'economia russa \ue8 di circa il 58%. Inoltre, il 70% del PIL russo e il 50% delle entrate federali dipendono dalle esportazioni di prodotti energetici. Oggigiorno, i paesi produttori di petrolio stanno affrontando il problema del mantenimento della bilancia dei pagamenti perch\ue9 i loro proventi delle esportazioni sono influenzati dal basso prezzo del petrolio. In effetti, il deficit fiscale della Russia \ue8 aumentato in modo significativo, se confrontato i primi nove mesi del 2016 con il 2015. Nel complesso, il PIL russo ha subito un calo del 3,4% a causa della caduta dei prezzi del petrolio. L'obiettivo principale del presente studio \ue8 quello di esplorare il contributo delle industrie legate all'energia (petrolio e gas) rispetto alle industrie non energetiche sulla generazione di reddito dell'economia russa e di quantificare ulteriormente i proventi delle esportazioni, con l'obiettivo di fornire energia solida raccomandazioni politiche per la Russia. Il secondo obiettivo di studio \ue8 di accedere agli shock dei prezzi petroliferi e alle risposte di politica monetaria per l'economia russa. A tal fine, lo studio attuale costruir\ue0 la Financial Accounting Matrix (FSAM) per la Russia per il 2015, che manca ancora negli studi esistenti. L'FSAM rappresenta l'integrazione tra il lato reale e quello finanziario dell'economia e descrive l'interazione tra produzione, generazione di reddito, distribuzione e uso, accumulazione di capitale e conti finanziari. Pi\uf9 specificamente, l'FSAM per la Russia fornisce una disaggregazione di 59 settori, derivati dalle tabelle delle risorse e degli impieghi e dai conti nazionali dei servizi federali statali della Federazione russa (ROSSTAT). Lo scopo principale della costruzione del FSAM russo \ue8 sviluppare il modello di Equilibrio Computabile Generale (CGE) per valutare gli shock dei prezzi petroliferi e la politica monetaria e per verificare l'impatto diretto e indiretto delle politiche orientate alle industrie legate al petrolio e al gas. Keywords: Russia; Social Accounting Matrix; Computable General Equilibrium; Oil JEL classification: C68, E16, O13, P28, P48, Q4