Al-Zahra College for Women

This chapter examines the intersection between secular Human Resource Management (HRM) legal frameworks and Biblical principles. While legal systems, like India's four Labour Codes, establish a necessary institutional “floor” for safety and wages, they often suffer from a “compliance gap” where profit precedes personhood. Through a review of 23 articles, the research reveals that whereas secular HRM is transactional, a Biblical approach is covenantal, rooted in the concept of Imago Dei, which recognizes inherent dignity beyond economic value. The study highlights a synchronization between global standards, such as ILO conventions, and scriptural tenets, framing fair compensation as a modern codification of Biblical stewardship. Ultimately, while the law prevents exploitation, Biblical principles provide the relational depth necessary for excellence. By shifting from compliance to sacred vocation, leaders can bridge the gap between “corner-cutting” and a flourishing culture.

The study presents an analysis of the relationship between education and marketization that is constructed through admission brochures advertised by the leading universities of Lahore. A total of 29 Admission brochures from five leading Lahore universities (LUMS, FAST, FCCU, UMT, and UCP) advertised in 2024 were selected purposively as data for qualitative analysis. By applying the multimodal analysis of Kress & van Leeuwen (2006), the study delves into the multimodal strategies used by these institutions to attract students in an increasingly competitive educational landscape and for the success of higher education. The results indicate that by using language and semiotic means as a tool, universities market themselves as brands and target students as consumers to influence their choice of selection. FC and UMT reflected a career-oriented approach being inclusive of female students, while LUMS, FCCU, and FAST reflected attracting clients for radiant ambiance through visual elements, color typography and pictorial representation of satisfied and successful university’s alumni together with linguistic choices. The strategic utilization of linguistic and visual features significantly contributes to the broader discussion of neoliberalism, educational branding, and use of multimodal resources, conforming to market-oriented practices. Additionally, the research offers policymakers and university administrators’ valuable insights into traversing complexities of today's higher education marketing transitioning towards a business model.

Globalization has increased the importance of cultural interaction in international relations. Countries around the world place a high value on the ease of culture as a new and independent form of diplomacy in international relations. In their bilaterla relationship, the Philippines and China are very active in developing cultural diplomacy to increase mutual understanding, collaboration, and friendship, as well as resolving disputes and conflicts of interest peacefully through political and diplomatic agreements. This article delves deeply into the outcomes of the two nation’s relationship in terms of cultural diplomacy, making recommendations for further collaboration.

Effective communication skills are essential for clinical practice; medical students' attitudes toward physician-patient communication are a real concern among the medical community. The present study aims to investigate the positive and negative attitudes of RUDN University medical students toward learning communication skills and to compare our findings with those from other countries. We adopted the Communication Skills Attitudes Scale (CSAS) as the primary research instrument due to its widespread use, validity, and reliability. First- and second-year medical students (n = 300) completed an online 26-item questionnaire, and all responses were analyzed using SPSS v. 20. Our study findings demonstrate that medical students consider learning communication skills essential for their professional clinical practices and for fostering a healthy environment between doctors and patients. We found that students had significantly more positive attitudes towards learning communication skills. Furthermore, statistically significant differences were found between the positive attitude scale and the negative attitude scale between male and female students. Overall, the findings of principal component analysis suggest the differences in eight components out of twenty-six items in many aspects from those of earlier research studies. The study concludes that attitudes towards communication skills are very important in guiding the communication skills of medical students and help them more broadly in learning communication skills.

This study investigates the impact of collaborative writing (CW) on the academic writing development of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in a higher education institution in Oman. Drawing on Sociocultural Theory (SCT) and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), the study examines how dialogic interaction in CW tasks promotes scaffolding, cognitive engagement, and linguistic development. A quasi-experimental design was employed with two groups of Level 2 undergraduates: a control group engaged in individual writing tasks and an experimental group that completed structured CW activities. Quantitative data from pre- and post-tests were triangulated with qualitative insights from student reflections and classroom observations. Findings demonstrate that students in the CW group achieved greater improvement in idea organization, grammatical accuracy, and lexical range compared to their peers in the control group. Moreover, participants reported enhanced motivation, learner autonomy, and a stronger perception of writing as a socially mediated activity. These results carry important pedagogical and policy implications. In Oman, they align with national priorities articulated in Vision 2040, which emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and collective research through initiatives such as BLOCK Funding. The study provides evidence to support the integration of CW into writing pedagogy, showing that it not only strengthens linguistic competence but also cultivates collaborative skills essential for academic and professional contexts. At a broader regional level, where Arab learners share collective cultural orientations and writing remains a persistent challenge, the findings highlight the need for further evidence-based research to inform culturally responsive curriculum design and instructional practice.