An Analysis of the Darkest Part of the Forest by Holy Black in Light of Wendy B. Faris’ Model of Narrative Techniques in Magical Realism

This research study focuses on the analysis of the narrative techniques of the text The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holy Black, an American novelist, in light of Wendy. B. Faris’ theory of narrative techniques in magical realism proposed in Ordinary Enchantment: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative (2004) that serves as theoretical framework. In this context, the present research is a post-modernist analysis of the text since magical realism is mode of writing under Post Modernism. The study negotiates that text appears as a magical realist text because it shows several instances, settings, plot and characters which present it more than a fantasy. The plot revolves around the horned boy, a faerie prince, faeries, their encounter with human beings, magic, spell, and pastoral settings. The analysis of juxtaposition of realistic elements with fantasy or unrealistic happenings is the focus of this research. Wendy B. Faris has proposed five primary elements as the narrative building blocks of the binary opposition between realism and fantasy: the irreducible element, unsettling doubts, the phenomenal world, merging realms and, the distortion of time, space and identity. The researchers’ aim is to investigate whether Faris’ five elements may be successfully applied to the text under analysis. The findings of this research study amplify that this text is a post-modernist piece of writing and it truly exhibits the amalgamation of fantasy and real word occurrences. By discerning narrative elements in the text through discussion and textual references, the researchers have negotiated how these narrative elements served as building blocks of magical realism in the selected text. This research is qualitative and descriptive and adds to the body of Fantasy, American and Post-Modernist literature

Need of Emerging Software Technologies among Physiotherapists during COVID 19 Pandemic in Punjab

The current study was an observational cross sectional survey conducted on 52 physical therapists of Punjab. Sampling technique used was probability purposive sampling. This study included both genders having experience of more than five years in either academics or clinical physical therapy. The novice practitioners are excluded. This study is conducted on the physical therapists of both private and government hospitals and institutes of Punjab. A self-structured Questionnaire was administered online and through email. Overall, 63% physical therapists were strongly needed the android apps for updated knowledge for clinical practice,55% therapists were strongly needed apps for the clinical training, clinical practice purpose and differential diagnoses, 59% therapist were needed android apps for pre and post-surgical management,57% physical therapists were needed android apps for patient home plan managemen

Anti-inflammatory effects of topical lactobacillus acidophilus and antibiotic in wound repair on the basis of microscopic parameters: a comparative study in rats

Background: Wound treatment still a task for medical professionals, according to the time advancement. We need to elaborate further new interventions to cope up this common factor of community. The objective of the study was to assess the anti-inflammatory topical role of Lactobacillus acidophilus with antibiotic in wound repair of rats based on of microscopic parameters. This comparative study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy Al-Tibri Medical Collage and Hospital Isra University Karachi Campus from December 2018 to April 2019.Methods: Total 18 male of wistar rats were randomly selected for this study. The study comprised of three topical groups Control, Antibiotic and Lactobacillus acidophilus groups respectively.Results: The samples were taken from the wound site for the preparation of microscopic slides, to count the numbers of neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages for the evaluation of anti-inflammatory process in both groups on day 3 and 7. Data obtained were analyzed by SPSS version 20 by applying One Way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey’s test.Conclusions: The results were shown potent anti-inflammatory effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus group in comparison with other conventional therapy. The study concludes that the topical application of Lactobacillus acidophilus had remarkable anti-inflammatory effects in wound management

Neovascularization: topical effects of streptococcus thermophilus and low level laser therapy in treatment of diabetic wound in rats

Background: Diabetic wound is a major socioeconomic debilitating problem in this society. Various treatment options are available but still it requires better treatment option. In diabetes mellitus the oxygenation to the tissues is reduced. In this study effects of low level laser therapy were compared with topical application of Streptococcus thermophilus on diabetic wounds that induces formation of new blood vessel and free radical scavenging system, a comparative study to get better treatment option for diabetic wounds.Methods: 18 male rats were selected and divided randomly into three groups. Diabetes was induced in all the rats by using the Alloxan monohydrate at a dose of 120mg/kg of the body weight. Group A was treated with normal saline, group B was treated with low level laser therapy and group C was treated with Streptococcus thermophilus topically. Skin tissues were collected on day three and seven, slides were prepared for microscopic examination to observe the new blood vessels formation.Results: Mean number of new blood vessel formation was observed in group B compared with group A and C. Significant vasculogenesis was seen in group B when treated with Low level laser therapy.Conclusions: In the group of low level laser therapy new blood vessel formation was seen with better wound healing. It means LLLT provides better oxygenation to the tissues by generation of new blood vessels compared with Streptococcus thermophilus and normal saline

Disguised Identities as Mask for Negation of Patriarchal Norms in Nadia Hashimi’s the Pearl that Broke its Shell

The present research study focuses upon the discussion of the disguised identities of Afghani women in the text The Pearl that Broke its Shell by an Afghan American writer Nadia Hashimi. The Afghani women adopt the disguised identities to survive in male dominated societies and the research strives to answer the reasons behind this adopted strategy. Judith Butler views have been taken as a theoretical framework to strengthen the research argument, who negotiate that in modern times there seems to be no fixed gender. The text elaborates the Afghan tradition of Bacha posh negating feminine gender and tells that how women break their shells, and boundaries to survive in male dominated Afghanistan. The research answers the primal point that how this practice and the struggle of Afghani women pose the question mark on the Afghan patriarchy and it enhances the determination and self-will of feminine gender. Besides, the research is qualitative in nature

Structuralistic Analysis of the Poem “The Stone Chat” by Taufeeq Rafat in perspective of Binary Opposition

The aim of this research study is to apply Structuralism (a Linguistic movement related to scientific study of words as signs) as a theoretical framework on the poem “The Stone Chat” by Taufiq Rafat, a prominent Pakistani poet. The study focuses on, presenting Structuralistic analysis (relation between sign and signifier) of the selected text, as proposed by the Swiss Structuralist, De Saussure. Besides, this paper particularly is a textual analysis of a Pakistani piece of poetry by application of linguistic concept of binary opposites (paired opposite) as proposed by a Linguist Levi-Strauss (a linguist) in his book Structuralist Anthropology, (1950). The searching of text for binary oppositions is the targeted endeavor of this study with the focus to analyze how far they are skillfully and contextually positioned in this poem. Hence, the researchers intend to focus on the antithetical forces and binary ideas present in the text. The close textual analysis of the poem is aimed at in this context, since The Stone Chat has antithetical ideas in abundance. Furthermore, the proposed study underhand, focuses upon bringing to foreground the syntagmatic relation (concept of chain) between signifiers as they are employed in linguistic framework or pattern of this poem. Besides, to the fact how text (signifiers) acts and reacts (contradicts) to its linguistic framework, this paper aims to analyze the variations in tone, attitude and thinking perspectives of speaker in the poem. Furthermore, the close textual analysis, descriptive and interpretive methods as research techniques have been utilized in this study. This research study is likely to contribute to fields of Linguistics, Literary theory and Pakistani literature as a distinct genre. 

Impact of Personal Digital Devices Usage on Academic Performance of University Students in Pakistan

This study aims to determine the impact of using personal digital devices (PDDs) on university students’ academic performance. A survey-based questionnaire was developed and used to collect data from 240 Masters students of final semester (16-years of education) enrolled in the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore selected by proportional stratified sampling technique. The study concluded that the smart phones, mobile phones, laptops were frequently used PDDs by the students for the academic purposes. Students used PDDs for using social networks like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc. in order to stay in touch with their classmates regarding their academic needs. It was found that using PDDs helped them improve their English language skills and PDDs also helped in their learning process hence improving their classroom performance. However, the use of PDDs also would divert students’ attention in classroom. The use of PDDs facilitated students in their academic achievements and class room performance by improving the writing skills, their CGPAs/ Grades, and clearing their concepts. It would help the university management play an important role in encouraging their students to use their PDDs positively so they could improve their academic performance and learning

Information Literacy Skills of Management Sciences’ Students

The objective of this study was to determine the information literacy (IL) skills of Management Sciences students. A questionnaire was adopted to collect data from 254 currently enrolled graduate and undergraduate students of two universities, one public sector and one private sector, situated in Lahore, Pakistan. An equal-sized stratified random sampling technique through random numbers was used for this purpose. The results showed that the majority of the students used the university library infrequently to locate their requisite information. Most of the students required a moderate level of information and preferred to get this information in an online format. The opinion of most of the students showed that they were proficient in using internet services (e.g. Google, Yahoo etc.) and different websites to identify their required information. The findings revealed that most of the students were unanimous in their skills to precisely recognize and describe the information they required. This study highlights the importance of IL skills, in order that students can become lifelong learners in retrieving, using, organizing, and presenting their information. The findings of this study would provide some insightful guidelines to university management, policy makers, and those concerned to augment and increase the IL training sessions and programs in Pakistan at the university level. These findings could be implemented on other universities with the same teaching and learning system, strategies, and circumstances

An Analysis of the Darkest Part of the Forest by Holy Black in Light of Wendy B. Faris’ Model of Narrative Techniques in Magical Realism

This research study focuses on the analysis of the narrative techniques of the text The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holy Black, an American novelist, in light of Wendy. B. Faris’ theory of narrative techniques in magical realism proposed in Ordinary Enchantment: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative (2004) that serves as theoretical framework. In this context, the present research is a post-modernist analysis of the text since magical realism is mode of writing under Post Modernism. The study negotiates that text appears as a magical realist text because it shows several instances, settings, plot and characters which present it more than a fantasy. The plot revolves around the horned boy, a faerie prince, faeries, their encounter with human beings, magic, spell, and pastoral settings. The analysis of juxtaposition of realistic elements with fantasy or unrealistic happenings is the focus of this research. Wendy B. Faris has proposed five primary elements as the narrative building blocks of the binary opposition between realism and fantasy: the irreducible element, unsettling doubts, the phenomenal world, merging realms and, the distortion of time, space and identity. The researchers’ aim is to investigate whether Faris’ five elements may be successfully applied to the text under analysis. The findings of this research study amplify that this text is a post-modernist piece of writing and it truly exhibits the amalgamation of fantasy and real word occurrences. By discerning narrative elements in the text through discussion and textual references, the researchers have negotiated how these narrative elements served as building blocks of magical realism in the selected text. This research is qualitative and descriptive and adds to the body of Fantasy, American and Post-Modernist literature

A Novel Bio-Inspired Hybrid Algorithm (NBIHA) for Efficient Resource Management in Fog Computing

Fog computing has emerged as a revolutionary paradigm to serve massive data in the Internet of Things (IoT) environment. It is a derivative of cloud computing that provides cloud-like services at the edge of the network. Subsequently, it resolves the significant issue of higher delay faced in cloud-IoT paradigm. According to the literature, the inefficient scheduling of users tasks in fog computing may result in higher delays in comparison to cloud computing. Hence, the real benefits of fog computing can only be obtained by applying effective job scheduling strategies. In fact, task scheduling is an NP-hard problem that cannot be solved by any specific algorithm to reach an ideal solution. Hence, it requires the optimal and efficient techniques to cater to the issues of latency, response time and efficient resource utilization of the available fog resources at the edge of the network. Given this, we proposed a novel bioinspired hybrid algorithm (NBIHA) which is a hybrid of modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) and modified cat swarm optimization (MCSO). In the proposed scheme, MPSO is used to schedule the tasks among fog devices and the hybrid of MPSO and MCSO is used to manage resources at the fog device level. In the proposed approach, the resources are assigned and managed on the basis of the demand of incoming requests. The main objective of the proposed work is to reduce the average response time and to optimize resource utilization by efficiently scheduling the tasks and managing available fog resources. The simulations are carried out using iFogSim. The evaluation results show that the proposed approach (NBIHA) shows promising results in terms of energy consumption, execution time and average response time in comparison to the state-of-the-art scheduling techniques