Skill Formation Strategies for Sustaining 'The Drive to Maturity' in Pakistan.

This paper outlines some problems in the articulation of a national skill formation strategy seeking to sustain ‘the drive to maturity’ of the Pakistan economy. We examine the thought of two economists—Adam Smith and Amartya Sen—to identify market-, society-, and state-related skills that they theorise as necessary for sustaining an economy’s ‘drive to maturity’. We then briefly outline Michel Foucault’s social theory to contextualise these skill formation paradigms within the institutional structure characteristic of mature capitalism. We argue that integration within global capitalist order leaves little room for the articulation of such a skill formation national strategy. Pakistan is therefore likely to share the fate of the majority of the under-developed countries which are experiencing de-skilling and detechonolgising

Skill Formation Strategies for Sustaining ‘The Drive to Maturity’ in Pakistan

Skill formation is a multi-faceted process. Skills are necessarily (by definition) instrumental—i.e. means for the achievement of a metaphysically defined objective. In Modernity,1 this metaphysical presupposed ‘rational’ purpose of existence (both individual and societal) is freedom [Kant (2001)]. In the history of Modernity, the primary source of the growth of freedom has been capital accumulation.2 A nation committed to Modernity (‘Enlightened Moderation’) is necessarily committed to articulating a skill formation strategy which can transform ‘human being’ into ‘human capital’. This transformation requires three distinct types of skills: individual, communitarian and political. This is because capitalism is not just a ‘lifeworld’ in the Habermasian sense but a system [Foucault (1976)]. Capitalist individuality requires a prioritisation of the preference for preference itself (‘choice’) over all preferences. This is necessary for the internalisation of capitalist norms (the commitment to profit/utility maximisation and competition to achieve this end). Capitalist individuality must also posses the skills which allow it to rationally identify and pursue its interest in the market and in the firm. It must also have the selfdiscipline to function as a diligent and co-operative participant in the capitalist work process

Governing the Labour Market: The Impossibility of Corporatist Reforms

This paper argues that a return to corporatist governance structures is impossible in Pakistan. Section 1 outlines neo-classical labour market regulation rationalities presented by Hayek, Wieser, and Sen. Section 2 compares and contrasts Fordist and Post-Fordist modes of labour market regulation. And Section 3 seeks to establish the impossibility of institutionalising corporatist governance structures in the labour markets of Pakistan. Neo-classical theory sees relations between labour and the representatives of capital (‘managers’) as relations created spontaneously by individuals in the pursuit of their rational self-interest. The capitalist individual, be he labourer or manager, defines ‘maximisation of utility’ as his ‘rational self interest’, and order within the labour market requires a reconciliation of individual (the labourer’s) and aggregate (the manager’s) utility maximisation (with aggregate utility maximisation being represented by shareholders value). Labour market order is thus impeded if

Survey, isolation and characterisation of Bipolaris sorokiniana (Shoem.) causing spot blotch disease in wheat under the climatic conditions of the Indo–Gangetic plains of India

Wheat spot blotch has emerged as a disease of significant concern in recent years. The pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana can infect stems, leaves, roots and seeds, increasing its impact. The pathogen is particularly prevalent in the wheat growing zone of West Bengal, which provides congenial conditions for the growth and development of the pathogen. However, its knowledge under West Bengal conditions is inadequate. To address this issue, isolates of Bipolaris sorokiniana were collected from different locations in West Bengal. The pathogenic species were identified via comprehensive morphological studies supplemented with internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-rDNA sequence analysis and pathogenicity. The disease severity of the twelve isolates collected varied among the surveyed locations, ranging from 44.03% to 81.48 %. The greatest radial growth was observed in BSC11 (50.07 mm), whereas the lowest growth was recorded in BSC9 (6.47 mm) at 96 h after inoculation. Molecular studies confirmed that the isolates were Bipolaris sorokiniana. In pathogenicity assays, BSC11 presented the highest area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) (380.05) and percent disease index (PDI) among the isolates at 20 dai (38.33 %). The correlation matrix revealed that disease severity was positively correlated with the number of spores (r2 = 0.70), growth rate of mycelia (r2 = 0.77), and lesion size (r2 = 0.74), whereas the length of the spores, incubation period, and latent period were negatively and significantly correlated with disease severity. Establishing the aggressiveness of a pathogen is pivotal in studying host‒ interactions. Our study established BSC11 as a highly virulent pathogen isolate that can be used further for comprehensive analysis of wheat‒Bipolaris sorokiniana interactions

Comparative analysis of nutrient composition and antioxidant activity in three dragon fruit cultivars

Dragon fruit has significant economic value in many countries due to has excellent nutritional content, health advantages, and adaptability to different climates, making it an important crop in the global fruit industry. This study aimed to gather comprehensive nutritional data on three dragon fruit cultivars by analysing the levels of micronutrients, fibre, carbohydrates, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals in their pulps. Uniform dragon fruit samples underwent thorough analysis for proximate composition, mineral content, pigments, antioxidants, and vitamin C, with statistical methods used to assess significant differences among the parameters studied. The proximate composition analysis revealed significant differences among the three dragon fruit cultivars. Among the proximate components, protein (0.40 ± 0.02 g/100 g), moisture (91.33 ± 0.88%), crude fibre (0.32 ± 0.07 g/100 g), and ash (1.27 ± 0.09 g/100 g) were more abundant in Hylocereus costaricensis than in Hylocereus undatus and Hylocereus megalanthus. On the other hand, Hylocereus undatus had higher carbohydrate (17.02 ± 0.63 g/100 g) and energy (69.74 ± 2.44 kcal/100 g) contents. K (7.23 ± 0.35 mg/100 g), Ca (1.61 ± 0.13 mg/100 g), Fe (1.84 ± 0.05 mg/100 g), and Zn (0.37 ± 0.034 mg/100 g) are highly abundant in H. costaricensis. Additionally, Hylocereus costaricensis had the highest anthocyanin content (120.15 ± 3.29 mg/g FW) and total carotenoid content (72.51 ± 1.62 mg/g FW), along with the highest vitamin C content (8.92 ± 0.13 mg/g FW) and total soluble phenolic content (572.48 ± 20.77 mg/100 g). Its remarkable antioxidant activity was further highlighted by the lowest SC50 value (13.50 ± 0.4 mg/mL) for its DPPH radical scavenging capacity. The total soluble sugar content was highest in Hylocereus megalanthus (8.72 ± 0.30 g/100 g FW). Hierarchical clustering analysis revealed distinct trait and genotype associations; among the studied cultivars, Hylocereus costaricensis demonstrated superior performance across multiple traits. Correlation analysis indicated significant positive correlations among several traits, while principal component analysis highlighted the contribution of each trait to overall variance, with PC1 explaining 73.95% of the total variance. This study highlights the nutritional variations among dragon fruit cultivars, with Hylocereus costaricensis showing superior performance, guiding dietary planning and functional food development

Morphological and yield trait-based evaluation and selection of chili (Capsicum annuum L.) genotypes suitable for both summer and winter seasons

MORPHOLOGICAL AND YIELD TRAIT-BASED EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF CHILI (CAPSICUM ANNUUM L.) GENOTYPES SUITABLE FOR BOTH SUMMER AND WINTER SEASONS Open agriculture (Rights reserved) (-) Morphological and yield trait-based evaluation and selection of chili (Capsicum annuum L.) genotypes suitable for both summer and winter seasons / Ratna, Mahmuda (CC BY) (-

Morphological and yield trait-based evaluation and selection of chili (Capsicum annuum L.) genotypes suitable for both summer and winter seasons

Chili (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most important vegetable cum spice crops grown throughout the world. Evaluation of genotypes based on morphological and yield contributing traits provides the opportunity to assess variability and select superior genotypes. The present investigation was carried out from April 2018 to November 2018 in the summer season and from December 2018 to June 2019 in the winter season in a net house and field, respectively, in the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh. A set of 30 qualitative and 13 quantitative characteristics developed by Biodiversity International were recorded to evaluate the genotypes for morphological and yield-contributing traits. The estimated Shannon–Weaver diversity for qualitative traits ranged from 0 to 1.334, where the maximum diversity was recorded for fruit color at an intermediate stage, stem color after transplanting, fruit surface, stigma position, calyx margin shape, and fruit set, while the minimum diversity (H′ = 0) was observed for the traits corolla shape and anthocyanin spots, indicating no diversity of these traits. Thirteen quantitative traits were also analyzed for the selection of the genotypes with the greatest yield. The quantitative traits also exhibited a wide range of variability according to descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Moreover, the present study revealed a high heritability for almost all of the quantitative traits, which was confirmed by the values of genotypic coefficient of variation, phenotypic coefficient of variation, h 2 b, and GA for both the summer and winter seasons. This suggests that these traits are predominantly governed by additive genes, making them highly amenable to effective selection. The heatmap analysis based on the morphological quantitative traits revealed five clusters for both the summer and winter seasons for the studied chili genotypes, four distinct clusters in the summer season, and three distinct clusters in the winter season for the parameters studied. Using the multi-trait genotype–ideotype distance index based on multiple trait information, the genotypes R-06, R-07, C0525-2, BARI (Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute) Morich-2, Tengakhali, and Rcy 002 were selected as promising for both the summer and winter seasons. Hence, they are recommended for commercial cultivation or use as parent materials in future breeding for the development of new cultivars adaptable to climate change