Violent Extremism and the Politics of Education in Pakistan

Pakistan is depicted as a victim as well as a sponsor of terrorism. The reason behind this characterisation is that Pakistan, since its inception in 1947, has experienced multifaceted violence, ranging from ethnic insurgencies to sectarian violence. At the same time, it has been blamed for fomenting violence in its neighbours. On the one hand, there have been anti-terrorism laws in place since the late 1990s; on the other, there is an Islamised public sphere that provides fecund soil for violent extremists to thrive. The questions to be addressed here are: What kinds of anti-terrorism laws exist in Pakistan and how effective are they against terrorism? What is the role of the state-managed curriculum in providing a conducive environment for the growth of violent extremism? This research appeals to the “garrison state” theory, which explains how “the specialists on violence” control every aspect of the state, complemented by the concept of “fragmented hegemony,” which explains how the seemingly corrupt multiple sites of power help the state maintain its hegemony over society.

Strategi STAI As-Sunnah Tanjung Morawa dalam Menangkal Radikalisme

Islam is a religion that commands its adherents to always do good, not to damage or even kill other people, but slanted news about Islam is always decorated by irresponsible people; they say Islam is a religion of terrorism and a religion full of violence. Referring to this, the researcher will thoroughly explore the STAI As-Sunnah strategy in countering radicalism, as well as formulate the supporting and inhibiting factors of the strategy. This research is a field research with a descriptive qualitative method carried out at STAI As-Sunnah, the source of data researchers absorb from the head of STAI As-Sunnah, assistant chairman 1 in the field of education, assistant chairman 3 in the field of student affairs, as well as the sections they supervise and the institutions that in collaboration with STAI As-Sunnah. Data collection methods used by researchers are observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis and processing was carried out in three steps, namely data reduction, data presentation and data verification. The results of this research explain that the strategies adopted by STAI As-Sunnah are academic and non-academic strategies. The supporting factors for the strategy are: the vision and mission of STAI As-Sunnah, a conducive environment for STAI As-Sunnah, the appointment of lecturers and students and the boarding school system; As for the barrier factors, namely: communication and print media, living environment, family life and school of origin of students.

Widowhood and associated risks in under-resourced communities: A Social Work Perspective

The perpetual growth in the population of widows globally signals the need for systematic research and interrogation of the phenomenon of widowhood. Under-resourced communities have been side-lined from imperative investigations and systematic documentation to inform practice. This article discusses the risks associated with widowhood in under-resourced communities of Binga District in Zimbabwe. Following a qualitative research approach and a phenomenological research design, purposive sampling was employed to engage ten widows in one-on-one in-depth interviews. Data were analysed thematically and backed up by existing literature to provide thick descriptions. The findings of the study indicated that widows were exposed to an arsenal of health, psychological, social and economic risks. Many of the risks associated with widowhood are exacerbated by lack of supportive environments and provision of conducive environment to trigger proper adaptation mechanism especially among the young widows in under-resourced communities. The conclusions reached were that widowhood risk factors continue to increase among widows in under-resourced communities impacting negatively on optimal living and adaptation with the widows’ circumstances.

MEMBANGUN KELOMPOK SADAR WISATA DALAM PENGEMBANGAN POTENSI DESA SEBAGAI DESA WISATA DI DESA CEPAKA KECAMATAN KEDIRI KABUPATEN TABANAN

Cepaka Village is one of the villages located in the Kediri sub-district, Tabanan Regency. The area has a wide expanse of rice fields and people who are still full of agriculture. The dominant community working in the agricultural and tourism sectors is a village that has the potential to be developed into a tourist village supported by the creative economy. In Community Service Activities in Cepaka Village, Kediri, Tabanan The targets to be achieved are the formation of a Tourism Awareness group as a driver and manager of a tourist village by the local community; Village potentials that have uniqueness and beauty and community creativity can be prepared and packaged as tourist attractions in the development of tourist villages in Cepaka village; The creation of village environmental conditions according to the requirements of a tourist village, namely Sapta Pesona (safe, clean, orderly, beautiful, cool, friendly, and memorable). The method of implementing the PKM program, namely conducting socialization, debriefing and assistance to the Cepaka village community who have awareness of tourism activities. The results achieved in the PKM program are guiding in designing a proposal for the formation of a Tourism Awareness Group submitted by the community with an introduction from the Prebekel to be submitted to the Tabanan Regency Tourism Office. The proposal section consists of the background of developing a tourist village, the potentials to be developed as a tourist village, Vision, Mission and objectives of developing the village as a tourist village. The community is aware of its role and responsibility as a good host for guests or tourists who visit to create a conducive environment and atmosphere as stated in the slogan Sapta Pesona..

Financial Analysis of the Private Organic Farm: Sanga Agro Farm

The study was regulated to find out the financial profitability of private organic farm of Sanga, Kavre. The study is based on both primary and secondary sources of data. The collected data using interview were analyzed by presenting them on table and interpreted through Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) in 10 percent discount rate. For this, all figures were converted into Net Present Value (NPV) of Nepalese rupees. The findings of the study showed that the BCR was greater than one such as 1.47 ratios (BCR>1). The BCR value showed that the farm has contributed to increase more profit of owner by selling their farm’s products. The project of organic items: beans and garden cress was able to produce fresh items, provide space for employment. These organic products supported human health, soil health, and maintained conducive environment.

An Empirical Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Choice of Mode for Transportation in Higher Education Institution using Analytic Hierarchy Process Model

A sustainable atmosphere is crucial in developing a conducive environment for excellent education. Mode of transport to be utilized for travelling within the campus vicinity is becoming a critical element to support the conducive environment. Majority of current research have evaluated mode of transport in other areas but very limited studies have been made within the higher education institutions context. Hence, the aim of this study is to evaluate the factors that influences the choice for transportation modes in University campus. The six criteria’s that are considered in this study are distance, cost, travel time, accessibility, reliability and safety. An empirical method is used to evaluate the student’s perception towards the different mode of transport available in the University. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is adopted in determining the relative weights and priorities of the criteria. The model is based on 150 students in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Kampar campus) where questionnaires are used to perceive their opinion towards their choice of modes of transportation. The result will provide an important insight for the planner in making decision where AHP method can be used as an applicable tool in accessing and evaluating the choice of mode and ultimately assist the University to become more sustainable.

Islamic Values in Muslim Housing Griya Sakinah Residence and Influence on the Behaviour of Its Residents

The development of housing that carries Islamic values has grown rapidly in the last 10 years in line with the increasing economic potential and awareness of Muslims to get a conducive environment for families, making developers build housing with Islamic concepts. This study aims to determine Islamic values that are embodied in the area, housing units and determine their influence on the behavior of its inhabitants. The research method used is descriptive analytical, namely revealing facts on objects in the present time. The results showed that the Griya Sakinah Muslim housing applied Islamic values to the area, facilities and housing units, namely the Hablumminallah in the form of a mosque which functions as a worship space and socialization space for residents of housing and local residents. The value of Hablumminannas is manifested in the construction of public facilities in the area and Hablumminalalamien is manifested in the construction of gardens in housing and the form of residential units with tropical architectural concepts in accordance with the local climate and environment. What has not been noticed is the value of death reminders in the form of tombs for residential residents. The new thing found in this study is the role of mosques to overcome social segregation in housing areas with cluster concept and further research needed about hijab in Islamic settlement.

Teachers’ Perception of Their Work Environment: Evidence from the Primary and Secondary Schools of Bangladesh

The work environment includes conducive aspects such as (1) organizational encouragement, (2) supervisory encouragement, and (3) workgroup support, as well as toxic conditions like (4) teaching impediments and (5) workload pressure; the objective of the research is which of the factors and what are the elements of those factors teachers perceive as constituting the conducive and toxic environment. The research also outlines the effects of years of experience and the level of teaching on the specified factors. The study used a quantitative-based cross-sectional survey to analyze teachers’ perceptions of their work environment. A questionnaire comprised some background information, and 34 close-ended questions were used to elicit the responses. About 368 (230 males and 138 females) teachers participated in the survey. Structural equation models were constructed, where the five mentioned factors were part of two second-order formative constructs. Independent sample t-test was estimated to outline gender-wise and teaching level-wise (primary and secondary) variation, whereas Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to check whether the experience was correlated with any of the perceived factors of the work environment. It is found that workgroup encouragement, particularly having good relations with the principal, is the most important factor in the conducive environment of the school. The physical facilities were the least, whereas promoting positive behavior by avoiding conflict and ensuring fairness was the most important aspect of organizational encouragement. Teaching impediments were mostly shaped by how often teachers require dealing with disruptive and violent pupils. Teachers perceived too many after-school meetings, unreasonable deadlines, and office staffs’ inspections enhance their workload pressure. The more a teacher became experienced, the more he or she positively perceived the conducive environment of the school. The findings can serve as a guide for educational policymakers and school administrators to identify which factors in the school environment need urgent attention and modification.

Factors Influencing the Quality of Academic Performance in Higher and Middle Secondary Schools of Trashi Yangtse Dzongkhag

The purpose of this article includes is to identify the factors that will determine the quality of academic performance of students and to assess teachers’ perceptions on factors that influence the quality of academic performance. In light of the deteriorating education quality and poor academic performance in high schools, it became important more than ever before to study the factors influencing the performance. The research focused mainly on educational article, thus, it was convenient to adopt descriptive research and follow the mixed method as a research design. The quantitative data was collected from 100 school teachers through e-mail and four principals for in-depth study. The interviews were recorded using the mobile device and then transcribed to analyze and develop themes. The research found that there is insufficient resources in school that has deteriorated the quality of academic performance, lack of professional development training. It was also evident that school culture contributes to improve the quality of academic performance. Therefore, the study recommends the concerned agencies need to allocate enough resources, improve social ambience, conduct frequent in-service workshops for the teachers and as well act as change agent for further improvement of conducive environment in all the levels of schools across the country.

A Reflection on the Digitization of Classical Rhetoric for Pedagogical Uses

In today's world, the traditional means of the dissemination of knowledge have become replaced by advanced digital platforms. This, alongside the context of the global pandemic that has propelled the usage of technological tools in the classroom, has created a conducive environment for innovative pedagogy. In this paper, a case for the digitization of classical rhetorical texts for pedagogical purposes is presented. To do this, principles of digital rhetoric are brought up followed by various examples of how the digital has been embraced (in the context of the wider principles of digital rhetoric) already in the pedagogical sphere. Finally, a potential proposal for an extension of the present work was put forward. Digitization and technology widely are the norms of our day and age. In viewing these elements from a pedagogical perspective, what can be seen is that there is an enormous opportunity not only in teaching the students that will walk through our doors but in preserving the rhetorical tradition that intrigues and fascinates the larger community of scholarship.