Digital Divide and Caste in Rural Pakistan

This study examined how caste influences adoption of information and communication technologies. It entailed a survey of 2750 farmers, who were interviewed in person, in rural Punjab (Pakistan), and two different methods for data analysis—data mining and indices-based statistical analysis. The analysis shows digital divides at the caste level. Furthermore, it shows that old and new technologies diffuse differently among castes.     

Cream skimming? Evaluating the access to Punjab’s public-private partnership programs in education

This paper seeks to evaluate the access to Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools by examining their geographic distribution and the factors that predict whether a child enrolls in a public, PPP, or private school in Punjab, Pakistan using multiple micro data sets. The analysis shows that PPP schools are located in districts where high shares of children are out-of-school, unlike public and private schools. The results indicate that while private school students are the most likely to belong to more affluent households and receive private tuition, there is no evidence that students enrolled in PPP schools come from more advantaged households than public school students. Girls are more likely to be enrolled in PPP schools than in public schools, while students enrolled in the New School Program seem to be the most disadvantaged amongst all PPP students.     

Contextualising Education in Pakistan,a White Paper: global/national articulations in education policy

This article contextualises Education in Pakistan, a White Paper (2007), an influential education policy paper in Pakistan. The focus is on the ways the White Paper constructs its own contexts as a complement to the policy solutions proffered. Here we recognise Seddon’s point about the discursive work of policy in constructing context. We focus on the way the White Paper constructs its political/ideological context and its global/national context. The White Paper works with the trope of a binary construction of Islam – fundamentalist or moderate – which rearticulates Orientalist Western constructions. The analysis of the construction of the global/national contexts demonstrates the framing of the policy by the Millennium Development Goals, and the Washington and post‐Washington consensus.     

Becoming a teacher: Transitions from training to the classroom in the NWFP,Pakistan

This paper addresses issues related to the effectiveness of teacher education in Pakistan in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), through a small scale collaborative research study in two state secondary schools, one girls’ and one boys’. The aim was to explore how newly qualified teachers manage their transition from student teachers to classroom teachers. In teasing out the relationship between teacher training experiences and classroom practice, we highlight the importance of greater consideration of the social and professional contexts of the school within training programmes as a means to make sustained improvements in the quality of classroom teaching and learning.     

Innovation and firm performance in developing countries: The case of Pakistani textile and apparel manufacturers

Using unique innovation survey data collected from a homogenous sample of firms in Pakistan, this paper presents an analysis of the firm level determinants of product innovation and its impact on firm performance. We employ a multi-stage structural model linking the decision of a firm to innovate, its innovation investment, product innovation, and firm performance using primary data from the textile and wearing apparel sector, which is the largest export sector of Pakistan. We find that product innovation leads to increased labor productivity as well as higher labor productivity growth. A 10 percent increase in innovative sales per worker is associated with a greater than 10 percent increase in labor productivity and labor productivity growth. On the determinants of innovation, we find that vertical knowledge flows from foreign clients and suppliers are important determinants of a firm's decision to innovate. Larger firms are more likely to engage in innovation, however, there is no significant evidence that they invest more in innovation. Exporting is positively associated with innovation performance and firms exporting to Europe and America are more likely to engage in innovation. There is mixed evidence on the impact of competition: foreign competition adversely affects a firm’s decision to innovate, whereas, local competition increases investment in innovation. Subsidies seem to have a crowding out effect since firms receiving national subsides invest less in innovation. Furthermore, firms that have higher investment in innovation, that are more productive, and that introduce organizational innovations have higher innovative sales per worker.     

略论1947—1948年杜鲁门政府的对巴政策

1947—1948年,杜鲁门政府对巴基斯坦态度冷淡。这一时期杜鲁门政府婉言拒绝了巴基斯坦的求援要求,试图奉行英联邦战略,依靠联合国解决印巴克什米尔争端,并对印巴两国实施了武器禁运。杜鲁门政府对巴基斯坦态度冷淡的原因有四:南亚在美国全球战略中处于次重要地位,不愿与英国引起争端,重视印度甚于巴基斯坦,另外,也与美国对巴基斯坦的初步认识有关。     

对巴基斯坦塔利班的解读

文章对巴基斯坦塔利班的起源、发展现状及其与其他极端组织的内外联系进行了梳理和解读。     

论印巴克什米尔争端的历史成因

印巴克什米尔争端可说是英国仓促撤离印度次大陆的一个悲剧性结果。印巴正式分立时,克什米尔邦的归属仍未确定,这就使得争端有了产生的可能。克什米尔王公宣布加入印度后,由于土邦归属原则的不明确性,加之印度在土邦归并问题上执行双重标准,巴基斯坦因而拒绝承认加入有效。从根本上说,导致克什米尔争端产生的原因是克什米尔在政治、安全方面对印巴两国的极端重要性,双方都不愿放弃,或说是不能失去。     

Educational mobility across generations of formally and informally employed: Evidence from Pakistan

Poverty persists across generations through the transmission of informal employment from one generation to the next. Education and earnings are considered important factors that transmit informal employment across generations. Considering education as one of the transmission mechanisms of sectoral employment and poverty, no studies have yet conducted any comparative analysis of educational persistence across generations of formally and informally employed parents. Therefore, the present study estimates the intergenerational persistence of education by considering the nature of parents’ employment through intergenerational elasticity and intergenerational correlation approaches of mobility measurement. Results show that intergenerational persistence is higher at the lower levels of education when the father is informally employed. On the contrary, when the father is formally employed, this persistence is higher at the higher levels of education. This result implies that labour market reforms are essential along with educational reforms to break this intergenerational persistence.     

Child abuse in Pakistan: A qualitative study of knowledge,attitudes and practice amongst health professionals

Child abuse is a global problem and pervades all cultures and socio-economic strata. The effects can be profound and life altering for victims. There is substantial literature from high income countries about signs of abuse, but a dearth of data from low and middle income countries like Pakistan. Healthcare professionals (HCP) are ideally placed to detect abuse, but, to inform interventions, an understanding of their experiences, training needs and cultural beliefs is needed. This study aimed to: (1) Explore the challenges that HCP face when managing cases of abuse; (2) Explore cultural beliefs and understand how these shape practice and (3) Identify training needs. A qualitative study using a phenomenological design was conducted. In-depth interviews were conducted with doctors, nurses and security staff in the emergency department of a large private hospital in Pakistan (n = 15). Interviews were undertaken in Urdu, translated into English and analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Multiple challenges were identified. The process of referral to legal services was poorly understood and further training and guidelines was suggested by participants. As the legal system in Pakistan does not allow HCP to keep potentially abused patients in their custody, they felt restricted in their ability to advocate and concerned about the safety of both the identified children and themselves. HCP have potential to detect abuse early; however, in Pakistan there are numerous challenges. HCP require support through training, as well as clear institutional frameworks and legal support to undertake this role.