Author: admin
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Growing up with Mohammad Ali’s Legend
This is 1971 and I am in class IV in Islamabad. I find myself in the midst of young people animatedly discussing the impending fight of the century in a charged environment. We in Pakistan are excited about a Cassius Clay who converted to Islam and became Mohammad Ali but was stripped of his Heavy…
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Conclusion vs Assumption in Research Writing- Flipping the Thread of Argument in your PhD Thesis
Conclusion vs Assumption in Research Writing- Flipping the Thread of Argument in your PhD Thesis Research especially PhD research is often not a predictable process. Starting with some assumptions we start moving in a particular direction, however, the direction may change a number of times during our journey. Initially, we may have started in a…
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Discerning the Forest from the Trees – The Insights from my PhD Supervisor JC Browne
In the acknowledgement section of my PhD dissertation in 1994, I wrote: I appreciate the support and help of my advisor, Dr. James. C. Browne. His vision and ability to abstract away the details has taught me how to discern the forest from the trees. Working with him, I learned the full import of what…
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Names vs Intent and Contents of Programs and Courses: Experiential Learning Case Study
There is an interesting academic issue related to the name of a course and its relationship with the intent and contents of the course. Over the last 20 years in academic management of curricula at several universities involving design of degree programs from bachelors to PhD level and introducing scores of new courses and monitoring…
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What Students Expect from their Teachers: Roles and Responsibilities of Teachers
Core of the following talk was presented at 3rd Conference of Deans and Directors of Business Schools organized by NBEAC at PC Lahore, Feb17-18, 2016. The talk was presented during the session Roles and Responsibilities of Business Schools’ Teachers: Perspectives of Students. This talk is based on my experiences of managing the expectations of students…
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What is the Difference between MS/MPhil Research and PhD Research
What is the Difference between MS/MPhil Research and PhD Research An MPhil/MS research differs qualitatively in two aspects with a PhD Research: (i) Quality of literature survey, and (ii) rigor of research methodology [1]. 1. Digestion and Synthesis of Related Research or Literature Survey. PhD literature survey requires a synthesis of the related literature in…
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Depressive Moods and Psychology of a PhD Student: What Causes Depression and leads to dropouts or even suicides
The mood and psychology of thesis research students directly corresponds to their progress status. If you are making continuous progress you would be positive, if you are not making progress or are missing the advising sessions then you would be pessimistic. Your pessimism and your disappointment and disillusionment will continue to increase with the time…
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Am I ready for MPhil/PhD Research: Self Checklist
Am I Ready to Embark on my Thesis/Dissertation Research? Self-Checklist. This checklist will help evaluate your status of preparation for embarking on your thesis research. If you have not carefully gone through this list, be prepared for depression and discouragement during your research: I know the difference between a thesis and a project. A project…
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Change Management in Academics: Change Agents and Credit Hours
Over the last twenty years, I have been involved in various change management efforts involving faculty members. Change management is hard and difficult in any organization; bigger the organization, more complex the change, and greater the challenge. Each organization has its own culture which makes change management distinctively challenging. In universities, it becomes especially challenging…
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How to Select an MPhil/PhD Research Topic
To appreciate the following you must have read my post “What does it Mean to be a PhD: Myths of specialization and departmental scope of expertise“. How to Select the Area of My Research? Don’t spend too much time mulling over which area of research to concentrate on. If you feel that you have entered…
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Why PhD?
Why energetic youth should pursue PhD? I think PhD is necessary for our youth, especially those who (1) have the opportunity and (2) have the academic background, for several reasons: I think it is ingratitude (na-shukri) of our youth who have the intellect and the opportunity to go for a PhD but do not. It is na-shukri…
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Harmful Effects of Comparing Siblings and Children
Biggest torture (zulm) on a child that can be done by a parent is “comparing the child with a sibling or some other child”. For example here is the complaint of a mother of two children: “Comparison starts as early as one month; He was active, but this child is so weak… He walked so…
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4 Attributes of Marital Relationships that can Build or Destroy
By Arif Masoud [A renowned architect, motivator, and a greatly admired faculty member of CIIT, Islamabad. His love in creating beautiful designs from deep appreciation of nature is visible from the architecture of Islamabad Monument at Shakarparian.] …. Four attributes of a “Marital relationship” (among others) which either build or destroy it: … 1) Ego…
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Are Generals Qualified to Make Long Term Strategy: Costs of Strategic Failures of Military Dictators
Is it possible for Generals to do long term strategic planning? What is meant by the famous quote “War is much too serious a matter to be left to the military men (or generals)”. This quote is by Clemenceau who was a French statesman who served twice as the Prime Minister of France and was the statesman who led…
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How Education System is Promoting Non-Readers and “Functional Illiteracy”: Top Ten Reasons
Our educational system is producing graduates who can read but are not readers, who can write but are not writers i.e. functional illiterates [1]. They do not read fiction, have often never read books except those that they were forced to read for their exams, but which mostly they cunningly avoided by cramming the notes, and…
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How Mina Stampede Happened and How to Avoid it: Hajjis Traffic Management System:
During my hajj of 1996, we were in a segment of road in approximately the same area where Mina 2015 stampede occurred. We experienced how a stampede-like situation begins to build as hajjis begin thronging towards jumaraat. I can still feel the tension developing in the air, the silence of lull before the storm, the panic on the faces of the…
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Managing English Teaching Outcomes in Universities: An Experiential Learning Case Study of ESL/EFL
My recollections as Vice President and Dean about ensuring the learning outcomes of English courses at PAF KIET from 2002-2012. Around ten to twelve years ago in our academic discussions with the President of the institute where I was working at that time, we would often worry about raising the English skills of our students.…
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Anti-National Language Policy leads to Rule by Rich and Corrupt Elites
One of the major reasons that has led to the continuous deterioration of economy and culture in Pakistan can be attributed to the anti-national language policies by the status-quo troika. This status-quo troika consisted of rich ruling elites in the bureaucracy that quickly joined hand with the establishment and the landed aristocracy during the rule…
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6 Trends that will Determine your Career Success in the 21st Century
There are six major trends that are going to determine the careers of graduates in the 21st century: Shortening of the life cycle of organizations and businesses. From life-long full-time employment to short term, contractual, project-based engagements From teaching to learning From knowledge acquisition to enterprising creativity and innovation From management to leadership. From managed…
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Who Fails when a Student Fails
Should not this be true also for schools? Are we willing to take responsibility of the failure of our students? We conveniently try to shift the blame to the student, or to his genetic intelligence, or to his learning disability, or to his psychological deficiency, or to his parents, or to his family, or to his…
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Progress vs Pollution and Development vs Destruction of Nature? Costs of Progress and Development
Is progress same as pollution? Is destruction of nature same as “development”? I believe progress means progress of humanity and progress in our quality of life as a whole. If progress means pollution of pristine waters of lakes, aquifers, streams, rivers and oceans with industrial waste, chemicals, insecticides, refuse, plastics, and other garbage that renders…
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Nine (9) Dimensions of Ethical Leadership
[1] There are three competencies of a leader which are necessary to inspire the followers on the path towards the destination. These competencies serve as a beacon of hope and encouragement for the followers to overcome the hardships likely to be encountered on the way. These are (i) the loftiness of vision (nigah-buland), (ii) heart-touching…
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Mismatch of Curriculum with Realities at Stanford, MIT and other Ivory Towers
From ivory towers to realities By Dr Asad Zaman Published: June 28, 2015 Curriculum Mismatch with Real Life As MIT freshmen are wont to do, we were up way past midnight discussing big absorbing questions like the meaning of life. We realised that none of us had a clue and decided to ask our professors. A natural candidate…
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From Disposable Cups to Throwaway Relationships: Costs of Disposable Culture
Transforming a Disposable Culture By Dr. Irfan Hyder Disposable Relationships The emerging lifestyle of today requires that we restrict ourselves to a small cocoon. We are sold that we should gain expertise in only one particular subject. Our occupations are specialised, limiting our view to a narrowly focused area, and our daily chores revolve around…
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Rememberance of My Father and Loved Ones: Every day is Father’s Day and Mother’s Day
Our love for the father gives us support for every day of our lives for a long time even after they have gone for years. Matriculation of my father Ahsan Hyder: From L-R: Sitting: Syed Ikram Hyder(great-grandfather), Syed Ab Ghani Hyder (grandfather) Standing: Sultan Hyder (Rummi)-Rasheed Hyder- Ahsan Hyder-Zaheer Hyder-Jarrar Hyder Prof Dr Zaeem Jaffery…
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Time Management of Social/Marriage Events in Karachi: A Case Study of How to Create Social and Youth Impact
It was first week of May of 2014 and representatives of Youth Impact came to see me at CBM. I was impressed to meet the team. They talked about the impact that they wanted to create on the youth and through them. They told me about their experiential learning program in which they take the…