The COVID‐19 (Coronavirus) pandemic: reflections on the roles of librarians and information professionals

This Regular Feature explores the role of health science librarians in the coronavirus pandemic. COVID‐19 has spread rapidly all over the world. All major cities around the globe are in lockdown. In Pakistan, the first case was diagnosed on 26 February 2020, and currently, there are more than 2039 diagnosed cases and 26 deaths as on 31 March 2020. Across the country, there are further 12 000 suspected cases. This will undoubtedly increase if precautionary measures are not taken. Pakistani universities, colleges and schools were in lockdown. The role of university librarians in this emergency included raising awareness through public health education, providing support to medical staff, researchers and providing ongoing traditional services to regular library patrons in Pakistan. The Regular Feature also provides links to useful resources. JM.     

Doing the ‘work of hearing’: girls’ voices in transnational educational development campaigns

There is an increasing focus in transnational campaigns for girls’ education and empowerment on highlighting the voices of girls from the global south. These moves are made in response to feminist critiques of said campaigns for not attending to the diverse, multiple and complex lived experiences of girls. This article engages in theorising these present encounters and suggests alternate methodologies for engaging with girls. It argues that eliciting/granting voice to marginalised groups (such as girls from the global south, in this case) involves doing the ‘work of hearing’; devoid of this, the voices become a mere add-on. Focusing on an engagement with girls in Pakistan, the author theorises that the practice of hearing entails attending to the seepages and excesses of girls’ voices – or, that which exceeds dominant codes – that point to the multiplicity of their investments, commitments and visions of good life; being open to new terms of development that are identified by the participants themselves, terms that may not align with prevalent ‘best practices’; and being cognisant of the weight that Eurocentric knowledges carry, which often makes the work of hearing indigenous knowledges difficult.     

Madrasas and Pakistan's education agenda: Western media misrepresentation and policy recommendations

Evidence suggests that there is a link between certain madrasas in Pakistan and militant Islamic fundamentalism. However, this link has been inflated by Western media in an attempt to indict madrasas as the genesis of violent Islamic radicalism. The following study draws upon recent research and overlooked historical narratives, demonstrating that Western media often presents enrollment figures based on guesswork, misinterprets the curricula, ignores the history, and oversimplifies the political realities dictating madrasa education. Madrasa regulation on the part of Pakistan's Ministry of Education is necessary. Equally important, nevertheless, is redirecting Western media attention to promoting overall reforms of Pakistan's system of education.     

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of certain <Emphasis Type="Italic">Morus</Emphasis> species

In the present work, the fruits of four Morus species, namely Morus alba (white mulberry), Morus nigra (black mulberry), Morus laevigata (large white fruit), and Morus laevigata (large black fruit), were analyzed for proximate composition, essential minerals, and antioxidant potentials. For this purpose, the ripe fruits were collected from the northern regions of Pakistan. The major nutritional components (moisture, ash, lipids, proteins, fibres, carbohydrates, and total sugar) were found to be in the suitable range along with good computed energy. Total dry weight, pH, and titratable acidity (percent citric acid) were (17.60±1.94)–(21.97±2.34) mg/100 g, (3.20±0.07)–(4.78±0.15), and (0.84±0.40)%–(2.00±0.08)%, respectively. Low riboflavin (vitamin B₂) and niacin (vitamin B₃) contents were recorded in all the fruits, while ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was in the range from (15.20±1.25) to (17.03±1.71) mg/100 g fresh weight (FW). The mulberry fruits were rich with regard to the total phenol and alkaloid contents, having values of (880±7.20)–(1650±12.25) mg/100 g FW and (390±3.22)–(660±5.25) mg/100 g FW, respectively. Sufficient quantities of essential macro-(K, Ca, Mg, and Na) and micro-(Fe, Zn, and Ni) elements were found in all the fruits. K was the predominant element with concentration ranging from (1270±9.36) to (1731±11.50) mg/100 g, while Ca, Na, and Mg contents were (440±3.21)–(576±7.37), (260±3.86)–(280±3.50), and (240±3.51)–(360±4.20) mg/100 g, respectivly. The decreasing order of micro-minerals was Fe>Zn>Ni. The radical scavenging activity of methanolic extract of fruits was concentration-dependent and showed a correlation with total phenolic constituents of the respective fruits. Based on the results obtained, mulberry fruits were found to serve as a potential source of food diet and natural antioxidants.     

论艾德礼政府实施印巴分治政策

人们普遍认为,印巴分治是艾德礼政府实行英帝国传统的“分而治之”政策的结果,实际上,艾德礼政府推出蒙巴顿方案并非其主观意愿,艾德礼政府的主要成员一直主张维持印度的统一,并为之尽了自己最大的努力,因为分治既不符合工党传统的对印政策主张,也不符合英国的长远利益。实行印巴分治实为印度当时的局势所迫。     

What do they want? Millennials and role of libraries in Pakistan

The present study is aimed at determining the future role of libraries in Pakistan as perceived by the Millennials (people born during the 1980's and late 1990's) considering the current ongoing digital development. The quantitative research design, based on survey has been used for the study. The population consisted of students from large and medium sized general universities of Lahore, Pakistan. Stratified purposive sampling technique was carried out to select the pool of the subjects e. A self-constructed and validated instrument was used to collect data. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS (16.0). The results revealed that Millennials want future libraries to allow easy access to a wide range of reading material in both print and digital form. They want to be able to round the clock access to electronic and print resources.     

1962年中印边界冲突前后的美巴关系

本文认为随着美国南亚政策的调整,1962年中印边界冲突前,美巴的盟友关系出现了潜在的裂缝。中印边界冲突发生后,美国在未同巴基斯坦磋商的情况下向印度提供军事援助,导致美巴关系出现危机。冲突停止后,美巴关系继续恶化,在1965年印巴战争爆发后降到了历史的最低点。本文也认为美巴关系发生剧变有其非常复杂的原因。     

Educate to hate: the use of education in the creation of antagonistic national identities in India and Pakistan

In states that are diverse, issues of national identity formation and who belongs and how they belong can, and often do, change over time. This article analyses how education was used as a tool to artificially create antagonistic national identities based on religious and ethnic definitions of who was Indian or Pakistani. It focuses in particular on how in India the BJP led government (1998–2004) and in Pakistan the government under General Zia‐ul‐Haq (1977–1988) rewrote the curricula and changed textbook content in order to create the ‘other’ in order to suit their ideology and the politics of the day. Drawing on the original textbooks, extensive fieldwork interviews in both countries and a study of recent literature the paper argues that fundamentalization in general and the fundamentalization of textbooks in particular are state controlled mechanisms through which to control society. They can also have serious international consequences, as two antagonistic national identities oppose each other's definition of history and self.     

Raising teachers’ voices: an in-depth qualitative inquiry into teachers’ working conditions and professional development needs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,a province of Pakistan

This study documented in detail teachers’ voices about their working conditions, professional development needs and opportunities to cater to these needs. The study reported in this paper was conducted as part of a large-scale study that used mixed methods to assess teachers’ professional development needs. The qualitative data reported in this paper were collected using focus group discussion with teachers (N = 481), classroom observation (N = 66), post-observation interviews with teachers (N = 24) and analysis of qualitative responses from survey questionnaires (N = 200). By bringing together a collection of teachers’ voices, the findings of the study illuminate a hope for positive change in teaching and learning in public schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, provided that teachers are genuinely considered as part of the solution and are facilitated with necessary physical and structural resources and psychological incentives. The education system needs to create conditions in schools that support teachers’ work and their continued professional growth.