Author: admin
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What is Meant by Rigor of PhD Research
The rigor with which your hypothesis are tested and the methodology that is pursued differentiates a PhD from an MS/MPhil [1]. A PhD is held to higher standards of meticulousness and scholarship which becomes evident from the rigor of the analysis of conditions, constraints, variables that influence the experiment, and may have an impact observations,…
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Is Justice Munir’s Doctrine of Necessity Dead or Alive?
Is Doctrine of Necessity dead and buried as proclaimed by Supreme Court in its decision of March 2012? Wherein it stated that “deciding cases on the basis of likely consequences will mean reverting to the malignant ‘doctrine of necessity’ that has been buried by the people with their valiant struggle” [1]. Or, is doctrine of…
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Last Emperor of China and Mughal Empire of India
I always recommend people to see “Last Emperor” movie about Pu Yi, who was the last emperor of China. His rule was only in name and restricted to only the Imperial Palace (Forbidden City). The movie won nine Academy Awards including that for best picture and best director in 1987. It depicts how Britishers manipulated…
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Why I am a Faculty Member
Why I am a faculty member: (1) Meeting a student who graduated a long time ago and who comes over and tries to make me recall him and his batch. Then reminds me of one of my lesson that he remembers to this day and that has changed his life. This is the great fulfilling…
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Narratives Designed to Dishonor Popular Choice and Support Neo-Colonialism
[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions] There are several narratives that have been fed to the masses to serve the interests of neocolonialism in developing countries. Neocolonialism enables the super-powers to maintain their hegemony on developing countries during the post-colonial world through…
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Recollection of an Unforgettable Recitation of Majaz’s Nazr-e-Aligarh
Today on Facebook I saw a video of some old students of Aligarh University reciting the official anthem in New York with a great deal of energy and lilt. This brought a recollection of a day in 1990s when I was dusting the bookshelf of my father Syed Ahsan Hyder and picked “Aahang”, a collection of…
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How to Create Love for Poetry: A Tribute to Sir Ghalib Raza of ICB
Over the last 25 years as I desperately try to connect my students with the joy of reading and poetry, at universities and at schools , I realize the worth of what Sir Ghalib Raza was achieving in my school days. He was making us “feel” the poetry, not “understand” it. Poetry is meant for “feeling”…
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Why Dictator Generals are Weaker than Civilians Rulers in Withstanding External Pressure
[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions] There is a widespread “myth” that what Pakistan needs is a “strong leader” (a savior on horseback) who will come and conquer all our issues and problems in no time. There is a mythical belief that…
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Doctrine of Necessity from CJ Munir to Judge Khosa: Role of Judiciary in the Service of Neocolonialism
We need to compare the Doctrine of Necessity version 2.0 of SC Justice Khosa (2017) which states “To do a great right, do a little wrong” with the Doctrine of Necessity version 1.0 of SC CJ Munir (1954) which states “Necessity makes lawful that which is unlawful”. As per SC decision of March 2012 “deciding…
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Myth: Government Universities Cost Less than Private Universities
This post explores the myth that Public Universities Cost Lower than Private Universities. I think the average cost per student per year of a public university is much more than that of a private university. Given below is a preliminary analysis. A more detailed analysis is required. 2005-2006 Analysis of Public sector universities indicates that:…
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How Readers are Created. Ecosystem that Produces Readers
How can we create readers and an ecosystem where readers can thrive. How do we make reading a contagious disease when our educational institutions from schools to universities have become mass producers of functional illiterates [1]. Universities complain that they are getting intake that has studied English for 12 years but have no reading comprehension and…
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How Literature Review of a PhD Dissertation Presents the State of the Art: Synthesis vs Listing
Quality of literature review is what majorly differentiates a PhD Thesis from an MS Thesis. The qualitative difference is in the digestion and synthesis of the existing work into a framework on which your research contribution and sequence can stand. This synthesis of existing work in the topic area should itself be worthy of a…
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How Schools Teach Students to Hate Reading: Mass Creation of Non-Readers
Schools are producing graduates who know how to read but are not readers. They have become non-readers (functional illiterates) because the schools have taught them to hate reading! Functional Illiteracy Schools typically use a curriculum and methodology that consists of senseless and meaningless worksheets and exercises which the students are forced to do repeatedly, continuously…
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How to become a Life-Long Learner: Mission of Developing Life-Long Learners
This is the first orientation of new students of IoBM over the last 23 years, where our founder president, Mr Shahjehan Karim is not present. He left us for the hereafter last month. Inna lillahe wa inna ilaihi rajioon. He worked tirelessly all his life to make a world a better place. This institution of…
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What is a Problem Statement and its role in MS-PhD Research
I am coming across research proposals and dissertations where there is a section heading called “Problem Statement” under which you find several paragraphs containing everything except the “Problem Statement”! The problem statement seems to be embedded somewhere in these several paragraphs but never crisply, precisely stated in a single sentence. Statement is ONE sentence. The…
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What is a Thesis Statement and its Role in PhD-MS Research
My supervisor JC Browne at the University of Texas at Austin during 1990-1993 made me write the problem statement and the thesis statement for every research paper that I would read for my literature survey. Since early 2000s, when I started supervising my research students, I have also found the “Thesis Statement” extremely useful in…
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How to Read a Research Paper and Extract Problem Statement and Thesis Statement
Based on my experience of research supervision since 2002, I can safely say that if you do not know how to read a technical research paper and from it identify the problem statement and thesis statement and write them in a convincing readable manner then it would be difficult for you to complete your MS/PhD…
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How to Develop Personal Brands from Your Leadership Identity
Developing personal leadership brands is a lifelong quest for self-discovery, self-realization and self-actualization. It starts from your personal discovery of what is leadership and from there carving out your leadership identity which is about your “value proposition”: The value that you are going to add to your work, to your relationships and to your life.…
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What Legal Questions Perry Mason would have raised in SC Panama Case Disqualification of PM
Why read literature and history? It had been a great surprise for me that the lawyers representing the PM have failed to raise forcefully some basic and fundamental questions about due process of law and constitutional rights in the recent SC disqualification of the PM in the Panama Case Judgement. Interestingly, if they had read…
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SC Judgement as Project Assignment for Finance Accounting Students: SC Disqualifies PM on not Declaring Uncollected Receivables as Income
Finance, Accounting and Taxation Teachers: SC Judgement invoking uncollected receivables can be a very interesting project assignment for accounting, taxation, finance and business students. This assignment will bring alive accounting and finance to the students and would tell them the difference between personal and corporate accounting, tax laws, income and receivables and uncollected receivables. This…
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Can Corruption be Eliminated by Hanging a few Thousands through Panama Case like Judgements
[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions] It is worrying to see the sentiments of educated people and the functional illiterates (those who know how to read but are not readers) on the social media clamoring for the head of the PM and…
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Why People Hate Poetry? Because Schools have Taught them to Hate Poetry!
Why people hate poetry? Because schools did not teach them “to love poetry” but they actually taught them “to hate poets and their poetry”. If you want students “to hate poetry” ask them to (1) write explanations (tashreeh) of poems, and (2) memorize life history and style (tarz-e-kalam) of poets, (3) associate grades with their…
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Shahjehan S Karim – Visionary Social and Ethical Leadership
Founder President of IoBM, Mr Shahjehan S Karim left this world for the hereafter today. Inna lillah e wa inna ilaihi rajioon. Several thoughts came rushing to my mind about this great man and his achievements that have been an inspiration to me and to countless others. [July 16, 2017] Each day as I walk…
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Essential Law for Masses: Perry Mason and my Learning
Would there be court room drama in upcoming SC JIT trial of Nawaz Sharif? Would there be arguments, counter arguments, counsels for the defendants and the prosecution? Would there be dissection of the evidence using the fine lens of law and constitution? Are there any Perry Mason (Erle Stanley Gardner’s lawyer) enthusiasts of the fiction…
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Why no PM of Pakistan has ever completed his/her tenure?
[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions] All elected PM’s in Pakistan starting from Liaquat Ali Khan were never allowed by establishment to rule during their tenure. Whereas there were three military dictators who comfortably ruled for around decades, not a single PM…
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Ulema Decree (Fatwa) against Suicide Bombings, Targeted Killings and Terrorism
There is a need to propagate the clear position of Islam that suicide is haram, murdering is among the gravest sin, and even taking the lives of foreign guests is haram [1,2,3,4]. Extremist positions of takfeeris and kharjis have always been condemned by the mainstream ulemas since the early days as far back as following…
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Ethical Standards of 1940s. Due Diligence for writing Recommendation Letters: A Deputy Commissioner’s refusal in 1943
I came across this 1943 letter from a Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Kumaon Division which shows the high ethical standards of that time. The DC refuses the request from a friend to provide recommendation for his son on the grounds that the DC has never met his son and does not know the son personally…
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Role of Sharifuddin Pirzada in Promulgating Martial Laws for Every Dictator of Pakistan
Sharifuddin Pirzada is responsible for assisting the violation of constitution and abuse of law by military dictators through the design of legal machinations and tools to subdue the judiciary and replace it with compliant judges. He supervised the drafting of the “mairay humwatano….” speeches for the coup plotters and dictators from Gen Ayub Khan, to…
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Fool Rejoicing in Someone Else’s Marriage/Fight: Parai ki LaRai/Shadi mai Abdulla Deewana
This post details how Pakistan had been entangled in someone else’s war in anticipation of some crumbs falling to Pakistan as a largess in US Wars. In all these cases the results have been disastrous for Pakistan. This post is motivated by Pakistan’s another venture to join the new US’ Middle East War that portends…
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Why Dictatorships are Weaker in Accountability than Constitutional Governments
At What Cost? Costs of perceived strictness of military dictatorships vs the reality of constitutional governments in Pakistan. The comparison in this post indicates that the perception of better accountability in clean dictatorship is not valid because in the long term the constitutional governments of corrupt politicians deliver a far better accountability than the dictatorships which…