Impact of Internet Blockade Post Abrogation of Article 370 of Indian Constitution on Doctoral Students Pursuing Research in Kashmir

This paper aims to gauge the impact of internet blockade on the research students pursuing research in Kashmir post abrogation of article 370 of Indian constitution that granted political autonomy to erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir. In order to collect the data survey method was employed. A close-ended questionnaire was distributed among the select group. The data for the study was gathered from these questionnaires as per the objectives was analysed and interpreted to reach logical conclusions. The study revealed that the majority (76.92%) of researchers are of the view that the internet is a backbone for education and research. In the absence of the internet facility, the majority of research students (74.04%) were not able to pursue their research, while the research work of 61.54% was extremely hampered by 76-100%. It was also observed that the majority of researchers (78.85%) failed to complete their research in a set timeline, thereby hampering their academic growth. Majority of the research students (77.88%) failed to access the internet in e-kiosks setup by the administration due to the huge rush outside these centres while 42.31% migrated to mainland India avail internet facility. The study also explored the information seeking pattern of respondents before the internet blockade and it was observed that the majority of scholars (80.77%) consulted both print and online sources of information before the blockade. The researchers also claimed that resources of the library are not current and comprehensive. The study can be a good starting point for the researchers to understand how people cope with limited information sources, in the absence of the internet. It will also be beneficial for the information scientists in making plans and strategies for tackling such e-crises in the future. The study does not claim to be the final word in this matter as respondents were limited to only one university though university under study is the oldest and major source of imparting higher education in Kashmir valley

Global Visibility and Web Impact of Leading Universities of SAARC Nations

In the present time, the World Wide Web (WWW) is one of the main platforms for every forum who wants to be recognized on in the ‘factual world’. At the academic level, universities have to play significant part for communicating scientific and cultural achievements. Publication by scholars of the institutions on the internet I snot only a tool for scholarly communication but it is also a way to reach larger audiences and thus represents the performance of the institutions globally. Thus, there have been numerous endeavours to develop the web indicators that can eventually lead to build a university’s rankings (Aguillo, Ortega & Fernandez, 2008). In this milieu, the Web Ranking of Universities originally aims at promoting Web publications. The Webometrics ranking is not only centralized towards scholarly output but also in other indicators which may reflect better global quality of scholars and presence of research institutions worldwide. The present study made an attempt to explore the top universities of SAARC nations in order to find out their performance, web-presence and impact. It has been observed from the study that Indian universities are performing better than other SAARC nation universities in terms of average world rank, continental rank, impact rank and openness rank while as Pakistan outpace in terms of average presence rank. This indicates that Indian universities have better scholarly output though Pakistan universities are more visible on the WWW

International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC): Exploring the Diversity and Strength of Participating Library Consortia

In this era of Cyberage, the information needs of the users have grown so enormously that no individual library can fulfill their information needs on its own. This has urged the need for cooperation between libraries and information centers for sharing of available resources and information through networking. Thus consortia are considered as a vital move towards library cooperation. A library consortium combines the purchasing power of its members and reduces the repetitive, laborious process of acquiring resources from each member. In a short span of time, numerous consortia have been formed all over the globe. As more and more consortia have been developed, communication among the various consortia has become critical. Thus, a consortium of consortia has been formed in the USA, known as the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) (Huarng & yu , 2011). The paper explores the consortia of different countries participating in ICOLC. Various features (viz., number of consortia, types and number of libraries participating, legal status and services provided) of participating consortia are keenly studied to have the in-depth study. It is observed that about 55 countries are participating in ICOLC and US is the major contributor (48.53%) as per the number of consortia. All types of libraries viz, academic, public, school and special are taking part in the consortia. These consortia vary in their legal status few are national while some are run by non-profit organizations while few others are administered by co-operative bodies

Global Visibility and Web Impact of Leading Universities of SAARC Nations

In the present time, the World Wide Web (WWW) is one of the main platforms for every forum who wants to be recognized on in the ‘factual world’. At the academic level, universities have to play significant part for communicating scientific and cultural achievements. Publication by scholars of the institutions on the internet I snot only a tool for scholarly communication but it is also a way to reach larger audiences and thus represents the performance of the institutions globally. Thus, there have been numerous endeavours to develop the web indicators that can eventually lead to build a university’s rankings (Aguillo, Ortega & Fernandez, 2008). In this milieu, the Web Ranking of Universities originally aims at promoting Web publications. The Webometrics ranking is not only centralized towards scholarly output but also in other indicators which may reflect better global quality of scholars and presence of research institutions worldwide. The present study made an attempt to explore the top universities of SAARC nations in order to find out their performance, web-presence and impact. It has been observed from the study that Indian universities are performing better than other SAARC nation universities in terms of average world rank, continental rank, impact rank and openness rank while as Pakistan outpace in terms of average presence rank. This indicates that Indian universities have better scholarly output though Pakistan universities are more visible on the WWW

Roman Jurkowski. Sukcesy i porażki. Ziemiaństwo polskie Ziem Zabranych w wyborach do Dumy Państwowej i Rady Państwa 1906-1913

The review discusses the book “Sukcesy i porazki. Ziemianstwopolskie Ziem Zabranych w wyborach do Dumy Państwowej i Rady Panstwa 1906−1913” [Successes and Failures: Polish Landowners from the Nine Western Provinces in the Elections to the Russian State Duma and State Council in the Years 1906–1913] by Roman Jurkowski. The object of the reviewed book is the participation of Polish landowners in the elections to the Russian State Duma and the State Council. The author describes the procedure of the elections to these quasi-democratic institutions in great detail and its change as well as the rules of the run-up to the elections; Polish political groups, their agendas and activity during the elections, cooperation and confrontation of this ethnic-social group with other ethnic groups. When discussing the process of the elections in Vilnius and Kaunas guberniyas, Jurkowski pays considerable attention to the Lithuanian-Polish relations. A rather critical author’s attitude towards his analysed social-ethnic group should be noted. Jurkowski points out that landowners cared about their estate interests which hindered the understanding of the interests of other ethnic groups and that they lacked a deeper reflection of political processes taking place in the Russian Empire, etc. Although this monograph does not present any cardinally new generalisations or unexpected conclusions, it will be very important to everybody who investigates the political processes of the beginning of the 20th c. in the ethnic lands of Lithuanians, Belarusians and Ukrainians