An Agglomeration Benefits of Oil and Gas Firms: An Exploratory Study Through Industrial Cluster

The research investigates the agglomeration pattern of seven national, international oil and gas extraction and production companies through an exploration of oil and gas cluster components and subcomponents. For this exploratory study, data is collected through primary sources via in-depth interviews from managers of national and international oil and gas MNCs working in Sindh, Pakistan and through secondary sources of business reports. The content analysis is adopted to analyze the data. Results of this study reveal that there is strong existence of exploration and production companies which results in agglomeration, however, other components of oil and gas cluster like refineries, marketing companies, supporting institutes, media and government poorly exist in Sindh province of Pakistan. Findings also highlight that the Sindh as a resource-rich region is still underdeveloped due to poor management of resources or because of the absence of ideal oil and gas cluster components and coordination among them in the region.

Exploring Experiences of Key Stakeholders of the New Bed Hons Elementary Programme in a Public Sector University and a Government Elementary College of Education in Karachi, Pakistan

This study explored the key stakeholders' experiences of the BEd (Hons) elementary programme in two teacher education institutions (TEIs)-a teacher education department at a public sector university and a government elementary college of education, in Karachi, Pakistan. Within qualitative research tradition, phenomenological design was employed to explore key stakeholders' perceptions and experiences about selected aspects (i.e. curriculum, teaching, assessment and practicum). Twenty-two participants including two heads of departments, four teacher educators, four cooperating teachers, four graduate students and eight graduating students, were selected purposefully, thereby, ensuring maximum variation sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. The findings revealed that the programme is appreciated mainly in relation to its new features (e.g. revised curriculum and practicum). Factors pertaining to stakeholders' involvement and programmatic changes facilitated programme delivery. Whereas, factors in relation to resources, conduction of practicum, teachers' capacity, alignment of the programme with the overall education system, coordination among the related stakeholders, specialisation courses, background of the prospective teachers, and accountability, hindered stakeholders' efforts towards programme delivery. However, initiatives at personal, group and TEIs levels (e.g. utilizing personal resources and revising practicum), were reported to be taken to overcome the challenges. The study also found that the stakeholders at the university are more privileged in that they enjoy more autonomy in decision-making with regards to programme delivery as compared to their college counterparts, which makes the university more enabling for the programme as compared to the college. Overall, stakeholders see less hope and opportunities than fears and uncertainties, pertaining to the future of the BEd (Hons) programme. The findings of the study suggest that the programme could be delivered more effectively if the required material resources were provided to the TEIs, capacity building of the teacher educators and the cooperating teachers were ensured and coordination and alignment were ensured amongst various stakeholders at the level of policies and practices. Moreover, the regulatory bodies (e.g. The National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (NACTE)) have to play an active role to constantly review and monitor the programme for ensuring its relevance and effectiveness. For future studies, it is suggested that a country wide analysis of the current scenario of teacher education and TEIs be carried out for improving the missing links in the system.