Students’ Perception about MPhil Leading to PhD Program in Library and Information Science: A Case Study

This paper reports findings of three focus group interviews conducted to obtain students’ perception about MPhil (Master of Philosophy) leading to PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) program in Library and Information Science (LIS) at the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. The results represent four open-ended questions of discussion that comprise, (a) students’ opinion about the admission policy and procedure of this program, (b) students’ reflection on program of the study, (c) students’ view on the coursework curriculum and its relation with writing a research dissertation, and (d) students’ opinion about the availability of required facilities. The key findings reveal that this academic program is a great opportunity for the LIS professionals. Being in initial stage, it has certain skill related challenges ahead. Hence, preparing LIS students for the future leadership roles does involve teaching them technology skills, practical research skills, communication skills, and management and leadership skills. Further, the availability of required facilities needs improvement

Organizing for servitization:examining front- and back-end design

Purpose: Research suggests that to structure for servitization, organizations should separate their front- and back-end units by reference to high versus low contact activities. However, these prescriptions are overly simplistic and largely based on anecdotal evidence that fails to account for context. This research addresses the need to explore the design decisions taken by organizations in support of servitization. Design/methodology/approach: A large-scale exploratory case study was conducted, consisting of embedded cases in three divisions of a UK-based, global manufacturing firm. Findings: Each division provided different combinations of offerings (i.e. product-, use- and result-oriented). The findings suggest that front-end / back-end configurations differ according to the offering and can exist concurrently within the same organization, challenging the assumption that different configurations within an organization are not possible. The findings show that underlying contextual factors, such as the complexity and temporality of the offering, as well as the power of the customer, have implications for the structuring of servitizing organizations. Research limitations: This is a context-specific, qualitative case study conducted within a large original equipment manufacturer, yet the findings are analytically generalized. Originality/value: In identifying the relevance of different design decisions in terms of customer contact, decoupling of activities and grouping of employees, the findings challenge the extant view that organizations simply split activities between the front- and back-end functions. The research identifies an additional design configuration - Integrated Project Teams – involving a dominant customer dictating organizational interfaces. This research exposes the need for further investigation into how to organize for servitization in project based contexts

RISK OR SENTIMENT: VALUE AND SIZE PREMIUM UNDER TERRORISM

This study aims to identify the effect of terrorism on size andvalue premium using value weighted monthly returns for non-financialfirms from January 2001 to December 2010. In addition to independentsize and BE/ME (book equity to market equity) sorted portfolios, twodimensional portfolio formation methodology of Dimson, Nagel, andQuigley is used. The results reveal that market, size, value premiumand terrorism have a significant positive impact on stock returns. Thestudy further suggests that value and size premiums are dependent onthe psychological impact created by terrorist attack. Findings suggestthat the return on small stocks is higher than the returns on largestocks and the size premium occurs mainly during the months of higherterrorism activities. In contrast, value premium is more profoundduring the months of low (high) terrorist activities for portfolios sortedon one (two) dimension. This indicates that both size and BE/MEpremiums are affected by investor sentimen

Sensor based corrosion condition monitoring of coating substrate system informed by fracture mechanics, electrochemistry and heat transfer concepts

This research investigates delamination and blistering as coating failure mechanisms due to corrosive diffusing species, residual and thermal stresses. Several mathematical models to include environmental variables as temperature, humidity ratio and atmospheric constituents have been developed and reported. During this study various coating failures have been analysed through a combination of electrochemistry, fracture mechanics and heat transfer concepts. This approach enabled the development of comprehensive mathematical models for the prediction and prognoses of coating failures applied to high value assets. The formation of blister and its propagation due to diffusion of corrosive species was investigated. Fracture mechanics concepts were utilised to study the initiation and propagation of a circular blister as an interfacial crack under the coupling affects of compressive and diffusion induced stresses along with heat transfer due to pressure gradient at the interface of coating substrate system. The direction of blister propagation was defined through a mathematical model with blister radius r and radial angle θ as initial defining parameters. Experimental work was conducted to assess the influence of varying temperatures, humidity ratios and environmental pollutants as SO2 and salt particles to investigate corrosion failures. Live condition monitoring techniques were developed to assess corrosion rate with respect to large vehicles operation frequencies to study the effects of changing environments. Three years of real time data consisted of 150K data points was acquired for investigating corrosion failures with or without coatings. Both experimental and simulation data was compared to predictive and prognostics models. There is excellent agreement between experimental and simulation results to be applied for live corrosion condition monitoring of large high value assets. A sensor based corrosion condition monitoring methodology, informed by experimental and simulation results has been developed and is presented

Efficient, one-pot synthesis of 14-aryl-14Hdibenzo[a, j]xanthenes in aqueous medium catalyzed by bis-piperidinium compounds

A novel procedure for the synthesis of 14-aryl-14Hdibenzo[a,j]xanthenes through one-pot condensation of b-naphthol with aryl halides in aqueous media catalyzed by bis-piperidinium compounds is described. The method resulted in good to excellent yields in short reaction times

Structural Monitoring System for proactive detection of corrosion and coating failure

The performance and availability of high priority structures can be greatly affected by corrosion damage. The application of protective coatings, frequent inspections and scheduled based maintenance activities result in huge direct and indirect financial loss to organisations. The expeditious detection of coating failure and corrosion damage can result in precise and cost-effective condition-based maintenance. Coating failure and corrosion phenomena are driven by complex multi-disciplinary parameters according to extensive research findings in the literature. State-of-the-art prognostic models proposed in recent years incorporate complex multi-disciplinary parameters, therefore a real-time prognostic monitoring system must acquire these complex parameters to allow accurate prediction. The work reported here covers the development of a real-time monitoring system using micro-sensors and includes the validation of the system through accelerated corrosion and coating failure testing. The system contains a remote terminal unit that includes a linear polarisation method for corrosion detection under the coating and a micro-strain gauge method for monitoring stress behaviour over the coating. The software at base station includes a graphical user interface and database to store parameters for further processing and failure prediction. The real-time monitoring system can be applied to remote, stationary and mobile assets to monitor the mechanical and chemical changes within coating-substrate systems

Recent advances in the synthesis of triazole derivatives

Triazole ring system has attracted a continuously growing interest of synthetic organic chemists and those dealing with the medicinal compounds due to its versatile potential to interact with biological systems. The triazole compounds possess a wide range of biological activities and are especially focused for antifungal behavior. In thisreview article, we have summarized the recent developmentsin the synthetic methodologies of this ring system. The main focus was on the methodologies which deal with the facile and convenient synthesis

Efficacy/ Validity of Neck Dissection and Radiotherapy for Cervical Nodal Disease - Clinicopathological Analysis

Objective: To analyze treated head and neck malignancies with reference to frequency of cervical metastases and frequency of nodal recurrence following neck dissection and/ or radiotherapy for cervical metastases.Patients and Methods: This observational prospective study was conducted at ENT Department, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad over a period of 16 months. Study population was comprised of 15 cases of either gender and any age, with treated head and neck primary who developed metastatic neck disease and were included through non-probability sampling technique. Patients with primary site recurrence or distant metastases were excluded from the study. They were treated with neck dissection, radiotherapy or both for neck disease and followed up for a 1 year. Clinical data including age, gender, site and histopathology of treated primary tumor, nodal involvement both clinical and histopathological, treatment and post treatment result were recorded. Data was collected, tabulated and analyzed using Microsoft excel worksheet.Results: Out of total 15 cases, 17% patients were with N1 disease, 33% patients with N2a disease, and 50% were with N2b disease. Total 3 (20%) patients received radiotherapy (2 being unfit for surgery and 1 due to refused consent) and 12 (80%) patients underwent surgery. Out of these 12, 3 underwent RND, 7 MRND and 2 SND. Total 20% (3) developed recurrence.Conclusion: Combination of RND or MRND and radiotherapy is highly effective in controlling neck disease in controlled primary tumors