PJE

Historical, Philosophical and Ethical Roots of Artificial Intelligence

Dilek Şenocak, Serpil Kocdar, Aras Bozkurt — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) generally refers to the science of creating machines that carry out tasks inspired by human intelligence, such as speech-image recognition, learning, analyzing, decision making, problem solving, and planning. It has a profound impact on how we evaluate the world, technology, morality, and ethics and how we perceive a human being including its psychology, physiology, and behaviors. Hence, AI is an interdisciplinary field that requires the expertise of various fields such as neuroscientists, computer scientists, philosophers, jurists and so forth. In this sense, instead of delving into deep technical explanations and terms, in this paper we aimed to take a glance at how AI has been defined and how it has evolved from Greek myths into a cutting-edge technology that affects various aspects of our lives, from healthcare to education or manufacturing to transportation. We also discussed how AI interacts with philosophy by providing examples and counter examples to some theories or arguments focusing on the question of whether AI systems are capable of truly human-like intelligence or even surpassing human intelligence. In the last part of the article, we emphasized the critical importance of identifying potential ethical concerns posed by AI implementations and the reasons why they should be taken cautiously into account.

Analyzing Alignment of Grade-V Islamic Studies Textbook Published by the Punjab Curriculum & Textbook Board (PCTB) with the Objectives of Single National Curriculum (SNC)

Muhammad Asdaq Hanif, Afshan Naseem, Rizwan Akram Rana — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study was conducted to assess if the Islamic Studies textbook of grade V published by the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, Lahore was aligned with the objectives of teaching Islamic Studies as outlined in the Single National Curriculum (SNC). The qualitative study was conducted by considering the objectives of teaching Islamic studies as outlined in SNC and whether the Islamic Studies textbook of grade V published by Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, Lahore succeeds in achieving those objectives. The analysis was done by using two instruments after the literature review. The first instrument is called the Curriculum-Textbook (CT) alignment checklist and considersthe contents of the Islamic Studies
textbook published by the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, Lahore book on four basic parameters. The second instrument is called the Curriculum-Textbook Alignment Rubric (C-T Alignment Rubric) which considered the contents of a Grade V Islamic Studies textbook published by Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, Lahore on a wide range of parameters. The results of the study revealed that the Islamic Studies textbook of grade V was generally aligned with the objectives of teaching Islamic Studies as outlined
in the SNC. However, the textbook did not adequately address one of the core objectives of the SNC: to promote social inclusiveness and religious harmony. It is recommended that future editions of the
textbook should incorporate these fundamental objectives of SNC to create an inclusive and tolerant society which was one of the primary objectives of the Single National Curriculum (SNC).

Development and Validation of Pandemic Stressor Scale for Students

Waqar Ali, Rubina Hanif, Ayesha Saeed Butt — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The current study aims to develop and validate the Pandemic Stressor Scale through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and the factors explored is confirmed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). EFA sample comprised of university students (n = 300) in which male (n = 195) and female (n = 105) age ranged 18 to 28 years (M= 21.84 and SD =1. 88). A factor loading of.30 was established as the standard for choosing an item for the scale. Direct oblimin rotation method was used, as a result EFA presented four meaningful factors for Pandemic Stressor scale and factors named as Online learning stressor (9 items), Goal Achievement Hassles (8 items), Academic Hassles (10 items), and Mental Health Issues (12 items). For CFA total sample of university students (n = 300), male sample (n =108) and female sample (n =192) age ranged 18 to 26 years (M=21 and SD =1.54) were taken and confirmed the factors structure of Student Stressor Scale. Alpha reliability for the Pandemic Stressor Scale was calculated, it was .92. Overall Pandemic Stressor Scale for Students emerges as reliable and valid measure to assess the Student Stressor during the pandemic in
Pakistani culture.

Effect Of Defense Mechanisms and Coping Strategies on Psychological Wellbeing Among University Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Naeem Aslam , Sumaira , A. Ahmed, Maryam — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

COVID-19 is one of the stressful and anxiety-producing events of the 20th century. Defense mechanisms and mechanisms are psychological processes that guard the individual against anxiety. This research aims to see university students' coping and defense mechanisms during the outbreak of COVID-19. Moreover, it aimed to see the effect of defense mechanisms and coping strategies on psychological well-being among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 300 students was taken from different universities in Pakistan. This was a cross-sectional study. Results showed that coping strategies like self-distraction,
active coping, emotional support, venting, positive reframing, and religious coping were positively associated with psychological well- being while, substance use coping, behavior disengagement, self- blame coping, and venting were negatively associated with psychological wellbeing. to psychological well-being. The comparison of gender differences in defense mechanisms showed that males scored high on humor,

Teacher Education and Sustainable Change: where lies the problem?

Shahid Siddiqui — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Education is considered a powerful means of change, emancipation, and development at individual and societal levels. In Pakistan, however, it falls short of achieving these objectives despite a large number of education policies and curriculum documents since 1947 (Siddiqui, 2021). One important factor which has been downplayed in this process is the central role of teachers in the execution of any given curriculum in the classrooms. A major source of empowering teachers is teacher education. There is a growing literature on change at societal level through education in general and teacher education in particular. A change which is short lived is easy to acquire, less difficult to demonstrate but has little to contribute to sustainable development. On the other hand, long lasting change is more challenging to bring about, harder to demonstrate in short time, but is crucial for sustainable teacher development. In teacher education programmes in Pakistan a short term, visible, measurable change may be achieved but the impact of this change seldom travels to or/and stays at school. Consequently, the professional development of teachers cannot be sustained due to lack of reconceptualization of educational reforms, deficient re-entry preparation on teacher education programme, insufficient support from colleagues, want of cooperation from head teachers, dearth of follow up programmes to track the performance of teachers, and lack of follow-on programmes to update the professional (both content & pedagogical knowledge) of the trainees. This paper focuses on sustainable development from the perspective of teacher education and suggests a mechanism to sustain the educational change initiated by a teacher education programme.