Purpose of this research was to explore the aspects of HRD beyond education and training, and to explore the role of labor unions in HRD by looking at the improvement in productivity and harmony at work place due to them. For this purpose, survey questionnaires on five point Likert scale ranging from very unsatisfied to very satisfied were designed and pre-tested. The study was carried out by taking a sample of 10 unionized organizations. In these organizations, 525 unionized workers, 90 temporary non-unionized workers and employers were interviewed to collect information on role of labor unions in securing benefits for workers and motivating them for higher productivity and peace at work place. Performance of unions was estimated in two aspects. One aspect was their success in securing benefits for workers and other was in protecting the interest of employers. The success of unions’ in exerting efforts for securing benefits for workers was measured by satisfaction of workers which was dependent on15 variables i.e. wage rise, fringe benefits, job security, time decrease, health facilities, children education, over time payment, working conditions, leaves increase, post retirement benefits, recreation facilities, training opportunities, decrease of wage differences, informing workers about their rights and workers’ education. The success of unions’ in exerting efforts for protecting employers’ interest was measured by satisfaction of employers which was dependent on two variables i.e. productivity increase and work place harmony. The results of the study show that unions proved successful in securing benefits for workers and protecting the interest of employers though performance of unions needs to be improved by exerting more efforts.
The topic, "Eloquence of the Discourse in the Narrative of Ibrāhīm” is selected to meet the desire to examine the Quranic eloquence of the selected discourse. The Quranic narrative is selected for the present study for its significant position in the Quranic text. Most of its artistic elements are based on the Quranic rhetorical inimitability. In Sūrah Shua‘rā’, there are the famous dialogues of Ibrāhīm with the polytheists. He invites his nation to abandon the worship of different gods and pay their adoration to the One and the Only God: the Sustainer of the worlds. Then, comes his invocation (Du‘ā) for himself, his nation and for the Prophet Muḥammad (S. A. W). Also, this article discusses the condition of the polytheists and their dispute with their leaders in the hell, those leaders, who diverted them from the right path. The article discusses the narrative, and studies the Quranic eloquence of the discourse in the story of Ibrāhīm. It shows how the Qur’ān deals with the said story from Rhetoric, syntactic and morphological point of view.
My study seeks to explore the potential of action songs for learning new vocabulary in a foreign/second language i.e. English. As part of this exploration, the study looks into multimodal pedagogies for meaning making in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Since Pakistan's National Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (2007) offers the integration of action songs as part of its curricular learning outcomes, it surfaces as a problem where the policy suggests something different from the current practice. It is observed that action songs are included in the school curriculum only as a co-curricular or fun activity and the learning potential that these songs carry is remotely acknowledged in the mainstream teaching learning practice. To discover the language learning potential of action songs, the study gets situated in a private school in Karachi. Semi-structured interviews from two teachers; video recording of sessions where teachers and students engage in action songs in two kindergarten classrooms and collaborative plan will be used as data collection tools. The collaborative plan consists of 4 steps: first is analysis of current practice, then plan, act and observation of action poems, next is plan, act and observation of alternate modes and the last step is a guided plan by the teacher. This study will enable participating teachers to reflect on their practices and to enhance their teaching within the context of English as a second/foreign language class. The findings of the study are presented in two phases. The first part dealt with the themes that emerged from the pre- collaborative interview those are teachers' understanding about vocabulary, pedagogies teachers use to teach language and the use of modes. The other part focused on the themes that emerged from post collaborative interview that covers action for meaning making, flash cards used to teach vocabulary and songs help to teach other subject matter.