Authors:Arjun Kharel, Amrita Gurung Pages: 7 - 36 Abstract: While existing studies point to a high degree of physical and sexual violence 1against women in Nepal, there is a lack of studies assessing the extent of violence among women who participate in foreign labor migration. This paper tries to fill this research gap by assessing the prevalence of spousal violence against women in overseas employment by using survey and interview data from a non-probability sample of 138 returnee women migrant workers (WMWs). The data used in this paper was collected in Dhading and Rupandehi districts in 2017 by a team of researchers, including the authors of this paper, for a comprehensive study on gender-based violence against WMWs. The study found the rate of lifetime physical violence among WMWs ten percent higher than the national average of 22 percent (MOHP 2012). This rate was highest among Dalit women and women above 35. The physical and sexual violence rates were lowest among women with secondary education or above. Similarly, the rates of physical and sexual violence were lowest among the WMWs whose husbands had secondary or higher levels of education, and the rates were highest among the WMWs whose husbands did not have a formal education. The study found only a weak relationship between women’s participation in labor migration and violence from their husbands and family members. For many WMWs, the violence prevailed in the pre-migration and post-return phases, and some women had participated in labor migration due to the violence in the family itself. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45891 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Devi Ram Acharya Pages: 37 - 55 Abstract: Student assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning process of the formal education system. It is collecting, evaluating, analyzing, and documenting students' progress using various assessment devices, tools, and strategies. Various assessment practices in higher education, such as oral test, paper-pencil test, practical test, project work, group work, and other non-testing devices, but paper-pencil test seems to be the most commonly used tools in Nepali higher education. Most of Nepal's universities do not seem to have adopted assessment tools other than the traditional paper-pencil test. So, the assessment in higher education has now become an issue of discussion and debate. This paper attempts to analyze student assessment practices and their problems in higher education in Nepal. For this purpose, data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected from the media's teachers' opinions, cases, and issues coverage. Secondary data were collected from the reviews of both archive and digital documents. The major findings of this paper indicate that there are so many problems in the assessment system. As a result of the inappropriate assessment system, higher education quality has been deteriorating day by day compared to developed countries. It is mainly due to lack of accountability (examiner, examinee, and exam authority), time allocation, lack of digital technology to assess student progress, lack of item analysis, and lack of the alternative use of the paper-pencil test. The present assessment system is not liable for ensuring the quality of higher education. This paper explores some issues related to assessment practice which could be the starting point for the assessment reform. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45898 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Hem Raj Kafle Pages: 56 - 72 Abstract: Newspapers’ editorializing exigencies as a mere publication of spot news would not be enough. Editorials clarify, explain, interpret, or integrate the news based on events, incidents, situations, or trends. Events of and during political movements are the main subjects of newspaper editorials. Editorial coverage of everyday exigencies builds up and helps represent narratives of various actors directly or indirectly involved in the events. In the public texts in Nepal, including newspapers, ‘Nepali people’ feature as principal actors and participants in socio-political transformations. Through Fantasy Theme Analysis of editorials on political subjects, this article explores how The Kathmandu Post and The Himalayan Times covered ‘Nepali people’ as the participants, actors, and agents of political transformation during the people’s movement in 2005-2006. The article inductively concludes that with a principal rhetorical vision for establishing peace and republic, ‘Nepali people’ performed the agency of transformation in the country. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45920 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Jūlija Surikova, Sati Siroda, Bharat Bhattarai Pages: 73 - 103 Abstract: Digital automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have transformed over decades as more organizations communicate with audiences utilizing multimedia platforms globally. With digitalization, brand voice has become necessary in brand communication with users, and conversational AI interprets inputs. The aim is to explore how AI has evolved brand voice in multimedia and its interdependencies. Qualitative research design is applied based on content analysis of various multimedia applications. Initially, the role of AI in the evolution of brand voice, AI in multimedia, and the role of brand voice in multimedia were reviewed, highlighting the research gap. By drawing implications from shared study areas, the interdependence of these three notions was determined. This paper finds that AI plays a crucial role in evolving, developing, predicting, and analyzing brand voice in multimedia, resulting in the current life cycle of the brand voice. The interdependence diagram and brand voice life cycle reveal that AI defines brand voice's effectiveness and helps evolve it by offering suggestions. AI-powered engines are crucial to the success of multimedia platforms, and thus the paper introduces AI-powered two-way integration architecture. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45901 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Lok Nath Dulal Pages: 104 - 126 Abstract: Heritage refers to those commodities which can be observed in their tangible and intangible forms. It is said that heritage is a raw material that authenticates and fabricates the past and the present for touristic consumption. It is a socially constructed and negotiated concept which evolves through time and across space. Mainly, heritages are classified into two categories: local and world heritage. Nepal is enriched in its different types of heritages. They are found in different parts of the country. Among them, the Ilam district is an important tourism destination of Nepal, located in Mechi Zone, Province no 1. It possesses archaeological, historical, cultural, religious, natural, and agricultural importance within its small territories. It has been safeguarding plenty of natural and cultural heritages from the beginning until this 21 st century. However, the proper study regarding exploring and analyzing its natural tourism products is still seemed behind, which is considered a considerable research gap in academia. Realizing strong need for a study, this article entitled " Role of Natural heritage for the promotion of tourism in Ilam” has been prepared for fulfilling two specific objectives such as to explore the important natural tourism heritages of the Ilam district and to examine the role of natural heritage for the promotion of tourism in the site. It has been prepared by using questionnaires as a tools and field survey method. It is based on a descriptive research design. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45907 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Niran Khanal Pages: 127 - 143 Abstract: This paper focuses on the ideologies in the Native American context as represented in Louise Erdrich’s The Round House. In this paper, I intend to examine the connection between the change in the belief system and its effects on the socio-cultural practices of indigenous communities. I argue that behind the ethical crisis and change in indigenous ideologies, these elements play the keyholes: the imposition of foreign values in the interest of colonial authority, intercultural interactions, and the rise of individualism due to the loss of indigenous cultural memory. One of the key elements that keep the indigenous ideologies alive is folklore. Traditionally, the indigenous folklores work as effective means to circulate the ideologies that shape the lifestyle of the Native American people. However, due to the external influences, the story listening culture has declined, and its impact surfaces as ecological crisis and changes in their way of living. The consequences of the ethical crisis manifest in the key principles that guide the tribal lifestyle. For instance, ecological sustainability, collective responsibility, and social welfare influence the shifting belief system that promotes individualism, materialistic gain, and competitiveness. Similarly, colonial intervention promotes capitalism by exploiting natural resources and adopting other unethical means. To testify to my assumption, the ethical degeneration in the Native American society as the effect of the loss of indigenous ideological impact, I have examined The Round House and the folklores narrated within it. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45921 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Padma P. Khatiwada , Keshav Basyal Pages: 144 - 172 Abstract: The annual reports of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) point out that complaints related to the education sector for financial misuses occupy the largest share consistently in the past few years. Nepal's labor migration has a colonial connection, although the country never experienced its direct invasion. Due to the historical legacy of the British India Company as Lahure culture, India became the primary destination for Nepali unemployed youth. The decision of the youths to go abroad as labor was a strategy to escape from the potential threat, livelihood options, and get new country experience which ultimately became the major source to bring back remittance. Though low-skilled, foreign labor migration has been the major phenomenon for the country, which is now fully dependent on the remittance economy and counts for over one-fourth of the total national income. The phenomenon of female migration is not still through a formal channel to major destination countries. Due to it, there is a greater room to choose illegal migration channels, and thus the scope of female migration is becoming more vulnerable. Nepal has undertaken several policy measures to overcome these anomalies. Although the implementation aspect is fragile to meet the ground reality, and from the notion of strategic intervention, it is necessary to revisit the policy measures to make foreign labor migration safe, secure, and informed choice based. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45922 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Purna Bahadur Kadel Pages: 173 - 189 Abstract: This study attempts to identify pre-service teachers' perceptions on the impact of language learning strategies to achieve their academic performances and to findout the importance of language learning strategies to be self-regulated learners. This is a narrative inquiry research design in which an in-depth interview was used as a tool to collect data. Six pre-service teachers who have been studying in Master of Education English fourth semester were selected using a purposive, non-random sampling procedure. The findings of this study show that language learning strategies help second language learners be self-regulated learners; they help them learn quickly, fast, and effectively and help them encounter complicated tasks. Furthermore, language learning strategies help them to develop their self-assessment skills and enhance cooperation and collaborative learning. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45923 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Rabindra Shiwakoti Pages: 190 - 207 Abstract: This study critically analyzed Nepal's policy implementation challenges of special/inclusive education. Using qualitative data collected through document analysis, interviews, and focus group discussions, this study is based on the premises of qualitative research design under the interpretative paradigm followed by critical interpretive design to analyze and interpret the field data. For this, 15 (fifteen) policy experts from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, Department of Education, university professors, and 11 (eleven) head teachers from 6 (six) special and 5 (five) integrated schools, and special education council members and members of disabled related organizations were purposively selected as the informants. Furthermore, inadequate human resources, lack of necessary budgetary provision, and low level of awareness are the major challenges of special education in Nepal. There is a lack of a separate special education policy in the foundation period, and the responsibility and authority of relevant stakeholders are not explicitly stated. At the practice level, the researcher found a gap in the inductive action plans for implementation across the central, provincial, and local levels of government of Nepal. It was also found that there was no coordination among the Ministry of Education and other line ministries for the implementation of existing policy and provisions. This study implies that coherent policy-making is required through consultation with the relevant stakeholders from the central, provincial, and local levels so that there is a minimum gap in power-sharing among agencies at different levels of governance. Such attempts will ease the implementation of macro policies into the micro contexts. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45924 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
Authors:Shak Bahadur Budhathoki Pages: 208 - 229 Abstract: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) annual report points out that complaints related to the education sector for financial misuses occupy the largest share consistently in the past few years. In this context, the paper aims to draw on types and patterns of educational corruption in Nepal in the context of education decentralization since 2000. Further, it interprets how it takes place and its associated factors. Undertaking the qualitative content analysis of annual reports of CIAA and Office of the Auditor General (OAG) of Nepal between 2010 and 2015, this article portrays financial irregularities taking place consistently under construction work, teacher salary, and student-related grants - showing or allocating more funds, releasing additional teacher salary and inflating student numbers. The existing literature on education decentralization and corruption entails various factors for financial mismanagement - lack of local capacity, elite capture of public funds, etc. Using education decentralization as a theoretical lens (Mc Ginn & Welsh, 1999), this paper argues that poor monitoring and lack of policy implementation are major factors for the misuse of education finance in Nepal, coupled with complex procedural aspects of the public fund flow system. Thus, an adequate support system, especially during the early phase, can facilitate the decentralization of education and combat corruption. PubDate: 2022-06-27 DOI: 10.3126/mef.v12i01.45938 Issue No:Vol. 12, No. 01 (2022)
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