Understanding Gendered Perspective to Corruption: Evidence from Pakistan

This study focuses on the debate that whether women are as corrupt as men, or their propensity to corruption is less than their male counterparts on account of their soft gender? It also encompasses the dynamics of networking, with particular emphasis on sifarish (use of influence for undue benefits)  and networking in gender perspective. Are women less corrupt than men? Do the sifarish and networking have gender biasness, how women become part of these networks and what role they play therein? These are the questions addressed in this study. An interpretive approach of qualitative research has been adopted keeping in view the subjective nature of networking and corruption. Semi-structured interviews from seventeen General / Senior Managers of public sector organizations were conducted to get their input on the research questions, middle management of public sector has been selected with a view that they have immediate exposure to corruption occurrences in the society. In addition to it, in depth review of the relevant available literature has been made. It has been concluded that apparent image of women being less susceptible to corruption is not related with their sex or gender, rather it is due to their less exposure to business and economic world which, even as of today, is dominated by men This study will add to the literature on role of gender in corruption, sifarish, networking and favoritism in the Pakistani context. This will also help management practitioners in working out their strategies in defining the role of women in the anti-corruption campaigns in business and political sectors. This study has acquired feedback from the middle management employees belonging to public sector organizations as they are directly related with formation and implementation of policies, which is also a sampling limitation. Future research should be carried out on diverse samples covering private organizations and non-professional people

Mediating effect of ethical climate between organizational virtuousness and job satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between organizational virtuousness and job satisfaction with a mediating role of ethical climate. The study follows an explanatory research design. We hypothesized that increase in the perceived virtuousness in the presence of an improved ethical climate will lead to a greater job satisfaction. This hypothesized relationship is tested using data from 271 faculty members working with four universities in Pakistan. To collect the data, a questionnaire was developed using recognized scales. The internal consistency of the scale is checked through Cronbach's alpha. The data analysis was done using Pearson correlation coefficients and mediation analysis. Mediation analysis is done by applying PROCESS (Hayes, 2012). The results show that ethical climate partially mediates the effect of organizational virtuousness on job satisfaction. This paper advances suggestions to the upper management in the education sector that how organizational virtuousness and ethical climate can increase the job satisfaction among academicians. When the employees experience compassion, love and forgiveness, they may have a stronger tendency to own the organization and the satisfaction with their jobs increases. The findings of this study have practical as well as policy implications. In addition, the empirical evidence provided in this study may open the future avenues of research in this domain. This paper has two major contributions. First, it introduces ethical climate as the mediator between organizational virtuousness on job satisfaction. Secondly, it provides a robust empirical analysis by using a relatively more sophisticated macro called PROCESS by Hayes (2012)

Relational Practice in Multilingual Peer Discourse: Talk as a Marker of Gender Identity

This paper examines relational practice in multilingual peer discourse to inspect the distinct identity patterns of the male and the female participants involved in gender dynamics. There is  a growing impetus of discourse studies as an emerging area of sociolinguistic and ethno methodological research. In this paper, talk as a marker of gender identity is explored in the light of the theoretical framework suggested by Holmes (2006) who studies the different relational strategies of male and female interlocutors in workplace environment. In the current study, conversations of six male and female postgraduate students of English language at Sargodha University, Pakistan are recorded and transcribed to see how the participants create team as a relational practice using gender specific norms via talk. The study has found that the males create team through humor in discourse while females tilt towards small talk and frequent verbal gestures of approval. Moreover, masculinities and femininities of the peers are manifested in their style and function of the conversations. The study is significant because it is going to lay a foundation for the study and exploration of gender integrated conversations in multilingual context in Pakistani English and other varieties spoken in casual talk in Pakistan

Exploring the Construal of Cultural Hybridity in the Maps for Lost Lovers: A Discourse Stylistics Study

This study undertakes an analysis of hybrid discourse with the help of discourse stylistics, an approach to the study of literary texts which combines findings from the fields of discourse analysis, conversation analysis and pragmatics. The analysis aims at highlighting how the cultural hybridity which exists in characters is manifested by the linguistic organization of the exchange as interactive process. The study based on cultural hybridity in hybrid discourse shows that the characters ignore their respective position while interaction because both children and parents treat each other as equal sometimes by scorning, criticizing, satirizing, questioning and sometimes by manipulation to foreground their hybrid culture

Exploring the Portrayal of Female Voice in ‘Heer Ranjha’: A Gender-Based Study

The present study aims at explicating the theme of love in the folk tale Heer Ranjha through the discourse stylistics perspective. To do this, Fairclough (2015) model is employed with a focus on lexical choices. The metaphors used in the dialogues portraying the theme of love have been carefully selected, and further the linguistic pattern employed has been significantly discussed to highlight the embedded theme of love as a dominant human emotion in folk tales. The study also aims at providing a richer, more complex and enlightened canvas of feminist theory highlighting the role of women and power relations between the two sexes. The data comprises on twenty passages from the translation of ‘Heer Ranjha’ by Usborne (1973) where the translator claims to have translated the epilogue at full length while the rest of the poem has been condensed without omitting anything significantly important to the theme. The study throws light on the language of the folk tale, which reflects socio-cultural features such as the patriarchic family structure of the time through the language choices. The flute, a bamboo musical instrument, is a metaphor of love in a dream-like romantic sound. Finally, this paper helps to develop a better understanding of folktales in a particular socio-cultural background

I am what I am: Exploring the identity construal in Pakistani School EFL Textbooks

This paper aims at exploring how identity is construed in children’s literature and how the powerful legitimize to identify the textbook consumers by exercising their influence. Drawing on Systemic-functional Linguistics (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2014), particularly Genre theory (Martin and Rose, 2008), it examines how English language textbooks used in Pakistan are written to construe, a project, and normalize a particular sociocultural identity. The sociocultural positioning being projected through the textbooks can be norm-conforming, contesting or can suggest otherwise. The majority of the students in Pakistan are mandated to learn state governed textbooks which serve them build up a sociopolitical identity. Therefore, underlying semiotic modalities realizing a perspective are pertinent to be explored in order to unfold discursive strategies for constructing identity. It is widely acknowledged that any educational curriculum is the most effective tool to construct and circulate a reality. Therefore, challenging any literacy pedagogy embedding particular outcomes can help transforming educational practices across the school curriculum (Martin and Rose, 2012). The data comprises Punjab English textbooks for the government schools. The findings suggest that the intriguing intricacies of textbook discourses can be successfully examined through analyzing linguistic patterns and that the textbooks construe sociocultural identity. The findings also provide insightful implications for discourse analysis based on SFL by contributing explorations of identity

Optimizing ChatGPT as a Writing Aid for EFL Learners: Balancing Assistance and Skill Development in Writing Proficiency

This study explores the strategic incorporation of advanced language generation models, like ChatGPT, in the context of EFL education to enhance writing proficiency. The research delves into the intricate relationship between the use of ChatGPT as a writing aid and the development of autonomous writing skills in EFL learners. The primary aim is to optimize ChatGPT's utilization, finding a delicate balance between leveraging its support for improving grammar, vocabulary, and composition, while also promoting learners' self-sufficiency in crafting logically structured and coherent written discourse. By conducting a thorough analysis of various pedagogical approaches, this research seeks to offer practical insights to educators regarding effective strategies for incorporating ChatGPT to improve the writing abilities of EFL learners, thus enriching the broader landscape of language education. The empirical findings of this study are intended to inform the pedagogical community and advance discussions on the effective assimilation of AI-powered writing aids in language education paradigms, ultimately guiding their optimal use in instructional settings

Disease Spectrum and Outcome of Patients in PICU of Federal Govt. Polyclinic Hospital (FGPC) Islamabad

Objective: To summarize the spectrum of disease and outcome in children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of FGPCH. Methodology: It is a retrospective descriptive study conducted at Pediatric ward and Intensive care unit of Pediatric department of Federal Govt. Polyclinic Hospital, Islamabad from June’2018 to June’2020. The outcome variables are classified as discharge from PICU, death, shift to the ward after stabilization, and referral to other hospitals due to the unavailability of further specialized services. Results: A total of 424 pediatric patients were included in this study. The overall mean age was 19.6±29.2 months and there were 239 (56.4%) males and 185 (43.6%) females. The most common diagnosis was pneumonia 37.3% (158/424), followed by sepsis and meningitis 14.6% each (62/424 each), and acute gastroenteritis 11.3% (48/424). There were 116 out of 424 (27.4%) who required ventilatory support in the PICU, while the remaining 308 (72.6%) did not require ventilatory support. In terms of outcomes, there were 106 (25.0%) pediatric patients who expired, 277 (65.3%) were shifted to the ward from PICU, 29 (6.8%) were discharged and 12 (2.8%) were referred to a specialized facility. The mean duration of stay was 3.1±2.7 days. Conclusion: The most susceptible age group was under five years with the highest mortality rate and the most common cause of death is pneumonia preceded by other infections which can be controlled with better preventive measures

Modeling and Analysis of 3 MW Solar Photovoltaic Plant Using PVSyst at Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Conventional means of electrical energy generation are costly, create environmental pollution, and demand a high level of maintenance and also going to end one day. This has made it crucial to exploit the untapped prospective of the environmentally friendly renewable energy resources. To address this problem, present research proposed an efficient, everlasting, and environment-friendly grid-connected PV system at The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan (latitude: 29° 22′ 34″ N, longitude: 71° 44′ 57 E). Bahawalpur is one of those sites where the potential of solar energy is immense. The global daily horizontal solar irradiance at the site is 1745.85 kWh/m2, having average solar irradiation of 5.9 kWh/m2 per day, and the ambient average temperature is about 25.7°C. In this research, the performance ratio and different power losses just like soiling, PV module losses, inverter, and losses due to temperature are taken into account and calculated by using PVSyst. The coal saving per day is 15369.3 kg which is equal to planting 147600 teak trees over a lifetime. The cost of the energy produced is 0.11 US $/kWh whereas in Pakistan the conventional energy tariff is 0.18$/kWh. From the simulation results, the value of PR comes out 83.8%, and the CUF value is 16% with a total energy generation of 4908 MWh/year. The performance analysis of this grid-connected system would help in the designing, analysis, operation, and maintenance of the new grid-connected systems for different locations

Effectiveness of Home-Based Administration of Ready to Use Therapeutic Formula (RUTF) in the Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)

Objective: To evaluate the growth of children with uncomplicated Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) treated with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Formula (RUTF) on an outpatient department basis. Methodology: This prospective observational study was conducted on 66 children at the Outpatient setting of the MCH Centre, Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan, from January 2023 to June 2023, after approval from the hospital’s ethical committee. Children aged 6-59 months suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) were selected for nutritional rehabilitation with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Formula (RUTF) after meeting the selection criteria defined by WHO. RUTF is a nutrient mixture formulated primarily for the therapy of severe acute malnutrition without complications. Results: The mean age of patients was 16.98±6.12 months. Out of 66 patients, 26 (39.3%) were male, and 40 (60.6%) were female. The mean weight before RUTF treatment was 6.53±1.21 kg, mean Height/Length was 71.65±7.01 cm, mean MUAC was 10.88±0.36 cm, mean BSR was 91.21±2.32 mg/dL, and mean weight after RUTF treatment was 9.17±1.53 kg. There was a significant difference in the weight of children after RUTF treatment (6.53±1.21 vs 9.17±1.53, p=0.0001) with no side effects. The weight increased after treatment with RUTF. Conclusion: According to WHO recommendations, we conclude that RUTF is helpful in enhancing weight gain in children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition under the age of five. RUT