The Spectrum

Classical Foundation of Rhetorical Scholarship and its Contributions to Contemporary Rhetorics

Bal Krishna Sharma — 2023-05-16

Broadly, this article provides a three-fold synoptic sketch of rhetoric. A survey of the historical development of rhetoric that stretches as far back as the fifth century BC in Greece dominates the first part. The major issue, here, highlights the challenges and ambiguities that attend the attempt in defining the term rhetoric. Leading on from this historical survey, the second part casts light on how rhetorical practices advanced beyond the pale of Greek tradition. At the center of this part is a general description of the way rhetoric was practiced and applied in a diverse domain of academic disciplines. The last part focuses on the awareness that rhetoric should be reconstructed and theorized in a new light. Designed on qualitative methodology, especially as an attempt of library research, this paper draws on secondary sources. In addition to providing a general acquaintance, this article tries to carve out the changes that the scholarship of rhetoric has undergone, which might benefit the nascent researchers pursuing rhetorical scholarship in future.

Body Purity in Cultural Discourse: An Alternative to Woman's Liberation in Nabin Subba’s Numafung

Dipankar Senehang — 2023-05-16

The notion of purity of women in Nepali society is practiced as a discourse as qualitative measurement of their existence. However, the discourse in shaped and conditioned by various cultural mores and normativities. This discourse, neutralizing their status without comprehending their aspirations and grievances, subordinates women. In this light, this paper, deploying Foucauldian notion of discourse, Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of the female, analyzes concept of purity of body as depicted in Nabin Subba's movie, Numafung. Moreover, it argues that Numafung challenges the prevailing notion and presents an alternative depiction of a woman’s body from a cultural location, representing the aesthetic of the Limbu people. The protagonist of the movie, Numa, debunks the pervasive social structure, getting married three times in different forms. The movie presents a case that although the dominant group may disseminate discursive truths, minimal affirmation of subordinated groups keeps on jeopardizing the discourse through their cultural practices. Thus, analysis implies that cultural inclusion and the recognition of subordinated groups in the practice of societal values can be an alternative through which women’s liberation is possible.

Learning Accessibility during the COVID-19 Era: An Overview

Raj K. Baral — 2023-05-16

As face-to-face teaching-learning modality was not both feasible and adequate to continue the learning process during COVID-19, instructors resorted to flexible distant learning options. They used digital as well as print-based multimodal texts to ease teaching-learning activities and minimize learning loss during the period. The use of flexible modes of teaching like Universal Design (UD), multimodality, closed captioning on video programs, accessible assessment, and ways of using chat boxes for additional and meta-conversation helped address problems of dis/ability in both desperate and/or more normal times. This article reviews the attempts to ensure learning accessibility, and basically draws on secondary resources and data, to extract the relevant data and information to support its claim. The article concludes that, though it was a compulsion, as a lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors and learners learned ways to cope with challenging times in academia. Their knowledge on utilizing new tools and strategies helped minimize the gaps exacerbated by the pandemic in issues like equity, access, and engagement and will be a valuable lesson for any possible hard times in the future.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in Nepali Enterprises

Prem Prasad Silwal — 2023-05-16

The purpose of this study is to assess the scenario of Covid-19 outbreak in Nepali firms and suggest policy-related issues for the survival and growth of small medium enterprises in Nepal. To carry out this research, the firms were identified based on the list published by the business directory, and a total of 500 questionnaires were distributed to these businesses, 404 responses were received. Responses, analyzed under descriptive research design, show that the majority of the small medium enterprises are highly affected by the pandemic and they have faced several difficulties such as decrease in demand, loss of profit, financial problem, etc. The analysis also shows that the number of business activities have been limited, and small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, are at high risk. The paper recommends the government should announce a special plan for businesses in order for them to survive the pandemic and return to normalcy gradually. The evidence shows that in this difficult situation, a company's internal profits can be low and bankers may be reluctant to lend money. As such, the company should actively consider using cash from existing investors.

The Impact of Compensation towards Employees' Performance: Employees’ Motivation as the Mediating Role

Roshan Thapa — 2023-05-16

This research identifies the impact of compensation on employees' job performance. The study used a causal-comparative research design to explore the relationship between compensation and employee performance in commercial banks. The sample size was calculated using a formula that determined the appropriate sample size for the population of 385 employees. The survey questionnaire was administered to 192 employees out of 20 branches of 15 commercial banks, and respondents' demographic information was collected. The study found that both financial and non-financial compensation significantly affect employees' job performance. Additionally, employee motivation was found to have a mediating role between compensation and job performance. The findings of this research have implications for organizations to design compensation and benefits schemes that can help to increase employee motivation and job performance.

Relationship between Social Media and Investment Decisions in the Nepali Stock Market

Suresh Khadka — 2023-05-16

The growing pervasiveness and influence of social media in different spheres of life cannot be denied at all. In this light, this study aims to examine the relationship between different aspects of social media and investment decisions in the context of the Nepali stock market. The study sample included 384 retail investors, and the data was collected through structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and standard multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Although significantly positive relationships were found between all aspects of social media and investment decisions, content on social media has a stronger relationship with investment decisions relative to the online community behavior on social media and corporate image on social media. This is among the limited studies of its kind in the distinct socio-economic context of Nepal. Corporate managers may regularly update relevant information on their social media platforms for attracting potential investors and increase their firm value. Likewise, regulators may run investor education programs in order to protect investors, particularly immature retail investors, from the risk associated with potentially less reliable information on social media platforms. Future researchers may employ a mixed-method research design to uncover the comprehensive set of factors influencing investment decisions in the context of the Nepali stock market.