Managing conflict by school leadership : A case study of a school from Gilgit-Biltistan

Managing conflict at school has been an age-old challenge for educators. Conflicts are a natural part of life and therefore a natural part of school life. Learning to deal constructively with conflict is a life-skill need for educational leaders. This paper reports a case study of a private English medium school of Gilgit-Baltistan about exploration of the conflict management which advocates two approaches to manage conflicts at school level i.e. to follow strict rules and regulations and penalizing on violation and secondly, empowering the stakeholders to resolve their own problems by their-selves.These approaches have proved that competence in conflict resolution skills can also lead to the increased social and academic achievements in the short run and a more harmonious world in the long run

Implementing short-rate models with jumps at deterministic times

Macroeconomic announcements have a direct impact on short-term interest rates during a financial year. However, this is not directly reflected in the continuous-time interest rate models. In this paper, we work with short-rate models which include the possibility of jumps at deterministic times. An application of the finite-difference method enables the pricing of bonds and bond options in these short-rate models with different types of jump distributions. A closed-form solution for bond prices, when the jumps are normally distributed, is available in the literature, but not for other jump distributions. The Monte Carlo method is used to compare the finite-difference calculations for these cases. An illustration of varying important model parameters is provided in which we observe that an increase in option prices could result from an increase in the jump variances and/or volatility parameters

What works in education in Pakistan, and why? The case of PDCN’s whole school improvement program in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan

This inquiry is part of a country-wide study conducted to explore What Works in Education in Pakistan, and Why? The Whole School Improvement Programme (WSIP) of Aga Khan University-Professional Development Center, North (AKU-PDCN) offered in Gilgit-Baltistan is one of the seven cases chosen based on its best practices in teacher professional development and school improvement in the mountainous and rural Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. Three schools representing the public, private and AKESP systems were selected for this study. The findings emanating from the three cases have been structured and discussed under the themes of „Teachers Professional Development,‟ „School-Community Relations,‟ „Monitoring and Evaluation,‟ and „Gender.‟ The cross-case analysis, however, reflects three overarching themes of „Role of Leadership in School Improvement,‟ „Role of Continuing Professional Development of Teachers,‟ and Community Participation.‟ There is tangible evidence to support the claim that WSIP is an effective and viable model of school improvement in the context of Gilgit-Baltistan, and elsewhere

The Effects of Socioeconomic and Built-Environment Factors on Overweight and Obesity Prevalence in Champaign County

This study looks at the effects of socioeconomic and built-environment factors on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Champaign County and what mitigation strategies can be used.Ope