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The purpose of this paper is to explore the critical interrelationships between poverty, culture and knowledge-based community development.

The traditional approaches to the management of poverty such as infrastructure, literacy and economic aid have failed to deliver and ameliorate the lot of common people. The current paper engages in critical constructivist discourse on poverty as unfolding in the era of knowledge economy and seeks to propose a community focussed knowledge-based development model of human economic and social uplift. This model has three dimensions: community knowledge focus, interactions of local, regional and global knowledge shaping and influencing poverty management and finally collective responsibility (collective commitment) of groups to rid them of poverty trap.

First, this paper looks at the social interconnections of poverty, culture and knowledge-based development in a critical discourse context. Second, it discusses the alternative worldviews of economic development. Third, it questions current epistemological and sociological assumptions of development paradigm.

The paper looks at the issues of poverty, culture and economic development from a critical pluralistic epistemological standpoint. It also questions some of the prescriptive methods of development by poverty experts. It also proposes to effectively explore and integrate different cognitive styles in development discourse and their usefulness and relevance to global development discourse.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive analysis of socio‐demographic bases of gender gap in Pakistan.

The paper analyzes various aspects of gender gap (gender inequalities) in Pakistan. The analysis is based on the secondary data drawn from reports published by several governmental, international development agencies, and local non‐governmental organizations. The analysis is descriptive in nature and interprets certain social and demographic data to ascertain the states of affairs about the prevailing social conditions relating to gender inequalities in Pakistan. Besides review of literature, the paper focuses on sectoral discussion of gender gap in population, health, education, political, and economic empowerment. In light of the secondary data analysis, suggestions to improve the current gender inequalities and possible recommendations to improve the current gender inequalities in Pakistan are also given.

The paper demonstrates that there are significant socio‐demographic and cultural factors, due to which gender gap persists in Pakistani society.

The current analysis is based on secondary and published data and, therefore lacks empirical reliability. However, published quantitative data reveal certain social characteristics of gender gap.

The paper provides a descriptive cultural analysis of gender inequalities.

This paper aims to reconstruct the metaphor of classroom learning in plural cultural context. It underscores the essential complexity of the human learning and argues for multiple pedagogical practices as a tool for instructional engagement.

Technological innovations have given new meanings and interpretations to the social vocabulary of learning across the world. These innovations have created cultural contexts in which metaphor of classroom learning needs to be revisited and reassessed. It discusses the concept of classroom learning in a humanistic cultural context and explores a methodological framework for multiple pedagogic practices a tool for learning engagement based on critique of divergent themes in pedagogical literature.

It is argued that classroom learning is a complex microcosm of human bodies, minds and cultures, necessitating major adaptations, both from teachers and learners. It is a continuous engagement, borne out of mutual willingness of teachers and learners to become indivisible part of whole living experience of learning. Classroom as a metaphor of learning would continue to inspire the serious learners, have responded to technological innovations, currently experienced by the human societies across the world, and has gone on to become a “cyber-classroom” in the era of globalization.

The paper highlights underlying cultural complexities of human learning and hence underscores the need for a revised and pluralistic curriculum for the global management education and those who are engaged in it.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of “knowledge democracy,” deploying a pluralistic, and cross disciplinary and humanistic critique.

This is a culturally pluralistic and humanistic interpretation of globally emergent form of learning pedagogy, particularly manifested in e‐learning.

This paper explores the concept of knowledge democracy in the context of knowledge and information revolution. It has been argued that knowledge democratization implies freedom and equality to access information and knowledge across cultures and societies, particularly in the context of globalization. It is asserted that a democratization of the notion of knowledge would cause a paradigm shift; the way instruction and education are socially structured in different social systems. The knowledge society provides a new spirit of global sharing of values, acceptance of others and learning to live with divergent worldviews. It is contended that e‐learning in particular sets a new global social opportunity to transcend regional, racial and national prejudices.

The paper underscores the significance of pluralistic and humanistic perspective on knowledge and e‐learning.

This study seeks to explore the existential meaningfulness of HR managers' work. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of four existential attributes that are death, responsibility, alienation and meaningfulness, on the work of HR managers. The study also asserts that the work of HR managers has an existential dimension to it. It also argues that HR managers have human qualities. They react to human predicament and need emotional identification with their work and organization.

The study is based on the responses of HR managers developed on the basis of an interview guide specifically designed for this purpose. The data have been collected through extensive and in-depth field interactions with HR managers working in diverse organizations. The research approach taken here is to focus on the discrete moments of role performance of HR managers that represent microcosms of the larger complexity. Those moments are windows into the multiplicity of factors that are constantly relevant to person-role dynamics. Focusing on specific moments of work role performance of HR managers is like using the zoom lens of a camera: a distant stationary image is brought close and revealed as a series of innumerable leaps of engagement and falls of disengagement.

The study brings out the emotional and human dilemmas of HR managers working in public and private sector organizations. While discussing and linking Kahn's model with Sartrean thoughts can provide unique perspective within the strategic human resource management especially in Pakistani organizations which was missing not only in Kahn's model but also in management literature.

The study makes a fresh inquiry into the nature of HRM and the existential realities experienced by the HR managers at work place. The study is unique because of its extensive field interactions based on a well-designed interview guide hitherto unapplied in the organization studies.