The Culture of Research and Learning

#127 by sadna on June 5, 2004 8:34pm PT

Thanks for posting that wonderful article. I think what she captured in her five months stay had escaped Pak scholars in the last thirty years.
I have much more specific information as to what happened during the zia regime and before, as I was not only a witness but an active opponent of the academic murders that were taking place in Pak at that time.
I hope to write about that someday. I feel that those years have put Pakistan seriously back almost fifty years. The problem is that things have not changed a whole lot and the lowering of intellectual standards continue.

Ijaz: An observation from personal experience...you can only introduce and promote your initiative or perspective. You cannot impose your way of seeing things on others. Way back when I was raising a generous amount for a student, I had to be focused and insensitive to the noise around me but learn to be sensitive to others` leanings. Lessons Learned: focus, belief in the gut feeling, having the end result right in front of you, keeping a decent distance from negative forces and chauvinists. Interestingly, the whole process started with just an innocent query. There was no research or analysis involved, mainly due to the deadline. Despite the bouncy journey, I was very content with the end result. It was way beyond my own expectations. The last lesson learned was being prepared to handle miracles :)

Ijaz: I wish you all the best in your initiative and I am positive that you will keep it up and running with your good spirit. Out of curiosity, why did it take you that long to post the details on this site ? If you could write a deewan on mountaineering and go backkkkk in time to highlight Patricia, why could not you put together a few paras highlighting the ``present`` and have Chowk publish it ? All the above should serve as food for thought only. Do you have a website for this initiative? If yes, could you post it here? You may very well have the information on this site somewhere in hiding and it may have escaped my attention. In that case, please disregard the healthy food for thought. Thanks.

[Though I have impressed my views at very high forums, at the end of the day one ends up like a teacher trying to educate people with pre concieved ideas and inflexible attitudes.Even the essentials of the political and organisational theories are not grasped. I agree that one ends up denying space to oneself.]

Just to clarify: I never mentioned ``denying space.`` I suspect that you misread my drift or probably I did not grab the context of your last phrase. If you are implying that it takes a lot of time and energy out of you then welcome to the real world. To do any job up to a certain level of satisfaction, you have to be prepared to immerse yourself in the said task. That`s a given! Having worked on several cute little, bird`s size, small, medium and grand initiatives in the past, I had to be generous with my ``time ane energies``. But at one stage in life, you do want to associate with only those whose actions, words, thoughts and initiaves add to your knowledge and well being. And, that`s where I was going with my shrewd, selfish and demanding motives :)

Zahraj,
Thanks a lot for your candid thoughts. Well there are always wages for going uphill. Regarding posting on Chowk, I dont think it would be of much utility. I did post a socio economic issue on unplugged, but it drew no positive response. Thats how it is.

Most of the chowkies are heavy on opinion and thats where it ends.
Good Summers
Cheerios
Ijaz

This may be of interest to those inclined towards research and education.

http://www.vttp.org/PDMain.aspx

VTTP National Policy Dialogue Series

on

Science, Technology & Research Policy, Basic/Primary & Higher Education Reform



The National Policy Dialogue Series is designed as an exercise in participative national policymaking and aimed at inviting societal participation in idea generation, dialogue, and implementation of bold, creative, and pragmatic solutions to Pakistan’s most contentious problems. The first step of this series of interlinked initiatives is a Policy Papers Contest —subsequent activities might include a media dialogue, a national conference of idea champions, and corporate sponsored implementation pilots. Seeking to create a national repository of creative policy proposals and ideas, 5-10 page essays/papers (concise, substantive, and specific) are sought from individuals belonging to the entire cross section of Pakistani society i.e. ALL PROFESSIONALS/STUDENTS dealing with the following suggested topics:

Higher Education Reform in Pakistan: What Went Wrong, How to Fix it?
Practical & Innovative Approaches to promoting a Performance Culture in Higher Education.
What should be the Science and Technology Policy Priorities/Actions for Pakistan?
What Topical Areas of Research, Science & Technology should Pakistan Stress Upon and why?
Practical & Creative ways of marketing Pakistan (the brand) and its Research/Technology abroad?
Practical Models for Delivering Universal Basic & Primary Education in Pakistan.
Practical & Innovative Approaches to Reforming Basic/Primary Education in Pakistan.

---

http://www.vttp.org/PDMain.aspx
for details

What beauty?

Sir: The much hyped and publicised Ms Universe contest, which was held in Puerto Rico last week, turned out to be a complete fiasco. Right from the beginning it lacked what it needed in order to be a classy show. The host left a lot to be desired. The judges also appeared to lack the expertise they needed for the occasion.

Above all the formatting of the show was pathetic. And to top it all, the crowned Miss Universe hardly deserved the title. It seems that the only consideration for judging the contents was the US-led war in Iraq and since Australia is a great supporter of the US, they were rewarded. Or perhaps what it really boiled down to was that the judges just didn’t know the meaning of ‘beauty’
DR SHAUKAT MAHMOOD
Lahore

And Reply:

Conspiracy theory and Ms Universe

Sir: This is with reference to Dr Shaukat Mahmood’s letter, “What beauty?” (Letters, Daily Times, June 7). While I understand the animosity that US policies elicit within Pakistan, I cannot fathom why Dr Mahmood blames the US government for rigging the Miss Universe contest just because the contestant Dr Mahmood was rooting for did not win.

Personally, I cannot imagine Rummy sitting in his Pentagon office coming up with strategies for rigging a beauty contest. I am sure the secretary of defense has more important issues on his mind. And for what it’s worth, I thought Miss Australia was quite good looking.
TAIMUR M KHAN
Philadelphia

#134 by Tmk on June 8, 2004 7:43am PT

That was hilarious- and the response was apt! Thanks!


P.S- I still fail to understand how many times these mullahs have to use the word `true` before every adjective in order to announce conspiracy behind every thing not pleasing to them!!!
Can they tell us who is a `true` idiot?