Knowledge Management practices: Teachers perception

In today’s world, Knowledge Management is considered as a key to organizational growth and competitiveness. This study aim was to investigate the perception of teachers about main factors affecting the teaching learning process in adopting and applying Knowledge Management. The main objectives of the study were (i) to explore the existing Knowledge Management Practices of teachers in International Islamic University Islamabad (ii) to find out the difficulties regarding knowledge management and (iii) to examine the factors affecting the application of Knowledge Management Practices in improving the performance of teachers. Qualitative method was used as mode of inquiry. Data was collected through an Interview guide. Concurrent exploratory design was used in the study while collecting and analyzing data. Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis and percentage

Peace Education Practices in Pre-Service Teacher Training Programs: and Analysis

This study was designed to investigate peace education in pre-service teacher training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The objectives of the present study to find out :( a) to examine prevailing practices of peace education in pre-service teacher training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. (b) To evaluate the views of teacher Educators regarding the need of peace education in pre-service teacher training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. (c) To suggest way of integrating peace education in pre-service teacher training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. Using Survey method the data were collected through questionnaire from 245 teachers using simple random technique. A questionnaire was developed to investigate the opinions of the participants of the study. The data was analyzed by using the mean score, frequency and percentage

Reclaiming the political : emancipation and critique in security studies

The critical security studies literature has been marked by a shared commitment towards the politicization of security – that is, the analysis of its assumptions, implications and the practices through which it is (re)produced. In recent years, however, politicization has been accompanied by a tendency to conceive security as connected with a logic of exclusion, totalization and even violence. This has resulted in an imbalanced politicization that weakens critique. Seeking to tackle this situation, the present article engages with contributions that have advanced emancipatory versions of security. Starting with, but going beyond, the so-called Aberystwyth School of security studies, the argument reconsiders the meaning of security as emancipation by making the case for a systematic engagement with the notions of reality and power. This revised version of security as emancipation strengthens critique by addressing political dimensions that have been underplayed in the critical security literature

Reconsidering the aid relationship: International relations and social development

Recent rhetoric surrounding the contemporary aid relationship between donors and African states is couched in terms of a high level consensus between western and African political leaderships, a central pillar of which is adherence to liberal principles of governance and economic management. The paper argues that an analysis of the nature of this consensus and its prospects requires that we need to understand it as (i) encompassing specifically international-geopolitical dimensions (including state interests, bargaining and power); and (ii) social-developmental purposes and content. The paper uses Rosenberg's considerations on 'international sociology' and uneven and combined development to provide a framework for analysing the aid relationship. In doing this, the paper speaks to two related theoretical issues: conceptualisations of the relationship between the 'social developmental' and the 'geopolitical/international' within International Relations (IR); and the contemporary relevance or otherwise of the discipline of IR to analyses of Africa's place in the international system

ASEAN's unchanged melody? The theory and practice of 'non-interference' in Southeast Asia

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published as Jones, Lee. (2010). ASEAN's unchanged melody? The theory and practice of 'non-interference' in Southeast Asia. Pacific Review 23:4, 479-502 as published in PACIFIC REVIEW 2010 © Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09512748.2010.49599

The Persistency of the India-Pakistan Conflict: Chances and Obstacles of the Bilateral Composite Dialogue

This article investigates the underlying causes for the persistency of the India–Pakistan conflict and, on this basis, the chances and obstacles of the bilateral composite dialogue initiated in 2004. In particular, it wants to provide a theoretically grounded account of the factors that facilitated and constrained the bilateral composite dialogue process. Drawing on the regional security complex theory, this article examines the rivalry between the two South Asian nuclear powers on four levels of analysis: the domestic, the regional, the interregional and the global level. The analysis shows that there have been some substantial changes on all four levels in the recent decade or so and that these changes have provided more beneficial conditions for a peace process. These changes include, inter alia, India’s new regional policy, the consequences of the 9/11 terrorist attacks for the region and India’s growing power capacities. However, major obstacles to the India–Pakistan dialogue and a permanent conflict resolution continue to persist: the dominant role of the military in Pakistan, conflicting national identities and the still partially contested nature of statehood in India and Pakistan, which is in the case of Pakistan linked to the growing power of Islamic fundamentalists

Analysis of the Ribonuclease a superfamily of antimicrobial peptides in patients undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis

Infectious peritonitis is a common complication in patients undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD), limiting the duration of PD as a modality for renal replacement therapy and increasing patient morbidity and mortality. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) serve critical roles in mucosal defense, but their expression and activity during peritonitis are poorly understood. We hypothesized that AMPs belonging to the Ribonuclease (RNase) A Superfamily are present in peritoneal fluid and increase during peritonitis in patients undergoing chronic PD. In the absence of peritonitis, we detected RNase 3, RNase 6, and RNase 7 in cell-free supernatants and viable cells obtained from peritoneal fluid of chronic PD patients. The cellular sources of these RNases were eosinophils (RNase 3), macrophages (RNase 6), and mesothelial cells (RNase 7). During peritonitis, RNase 3 increased 55-fold and RNase 7 levels increased 3-fold on average, whereas RNase 6 levels were unchanged. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves for RNase 3 and RNase 7 were 0.99 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.96–1.0) and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.64–0.93), respectively, indicating their potential as biomarkers of peritonitis. Discrete omental reservoirs of these RNases were evident in patients with end stage kidney disease prior to PD initiation, and omental RNase 3 reactive cells increased in patients undergoing PD with a history of peritonitis. We propose that constitutive and inducible pools of antimicrobial RNases form a network to shield the peritoneal cavity from microbial invasion in patients undergoing chronic PD

It’s not the size, it’s the relationship: from ‘small states’ to asymmetry

Debate about the definition of “small state” has produced more fragmentation than consensus, even as the literature has demonstrated its subjects’ roles in joining international organizations propagating norms, executing creative diplomacy, influencing allies, avoiding and joining conflicts, and building peace. However, work on small states has struggled to identify commonalities in these states’ international relations, to cumulate knowledge, or to impact broader IR theory. This paper advocates a changed conceptual and definitional framework. Analysis of “small states” should pivot to examine the dynamics of the asymmetrical relationships in which these states are engaged. Instead of seeking an overall metric for size as the relevant variable—falling victim in a different way Dahl’s “lump-of-power fallacy,” we can recognize the multifaceted, variegated nature of power, whether in war or peacetime