DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM IN RURAL AREAS: A NECESSARY STRATEGY FOR COVID-19 SITUATION

Like other countries around the world, distance education approach has been exceptionally beneficial for the continuation of teaching learning activities in Bangladesh during the covid-19 pandemic situation. Teacher training is a very crucial and integrated part of teaching learning activities as it helps to enhance the quality of teaching. Despite the continuation of teaching learning through online and distance education approach, the teacher training was not happening on a regular basis during this pandemic period. Therefore, this study is an attempt to explain the necessity of distance education for the persistence of teachers training program during and after the covid-19 pandemic situation in order to maintain a continuity in the professional development especially for teachers in the rural areas in Bangladesh. This study was conducted by following the concurrent mixed method research design. Data were collected with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and interview schedule from the secondary school teachers from rural areas, trainers and experts in distance education and teacher training program. The results of this study indicated that distance education can play a significant alternative role in arranging teacher training program for teacher across the country during this covid-19 crisis moment. Moreover, the participants also agreed that the continuation of distance education approach should be paralleled with the conventional approach for teacher training program in the post covid-19 period as it brings more flexibility, accessibility, inclusiveness and responsiveness. However, the study also revealed few challenges which can impair the arrangement of distance education in teacher training programs. Article visualizations

EXPLORING THE REASONS OF ACADEMIC PROBATION AMONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN BANGLADESH

A significant number of private university students are placed on academic probation, especially in their first year and many of them hardly succeed in their future academic careers. Students on academic probation are more probable to face numerous academic difficulties, are unfortunately more likely to drop out of the university. Therefore, it is imperative to identify the students who end up on academic probation and the reasons of academic probation. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the reasons of academic probation among the students at a private university in Bangladesh. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed to categorize different reasons of academic probation like various academic concerns, personal concerns, study practices, preferences in learning techniques and learning materials etc. In the study, responses from a total number of 344 probation students from different semesters were collected. The results of this study revealed poor study habits and lack of seriousness in studies; weak writing and presentation skills; difficulty in understanding the English language; previous weak academic background; difficulty with test/ exam taking; wrong course or study subject selection; poor interaction with teachers; unfamiliar with grading system; irregular in class attendance and lack of academic goal setting; health problems; family problem; residential issues, too much involvement with unimportant and unnecessary activities, lack of self-motivation are the identified accusable reasons by the probation students. The findings may help the university authority to design and administer the required academic and non-academic support programs for the probation students to retain the number of dropout students.  Article visualizations

Relationship between Corporate Disclosure Score and Different Corporate Determinants: Evidence from Conventional Banks in Bangladesh

The main goal of this study is to evaluate the relationship between corporate disclosure scores and their different determinants. To achieve this aim, secondary data have been employed and collected from the five years annual reports of the ten sample banks. To reveal consolidated disclosure scores, this study used an unweighted disclosure checklist. It has been found that the mean value of the tight disclosure score of the sample bank_9 is 76.45 percent which is higher, and the lowest mean value of the consolidated disclosure score is 71.24 percent, which is visible in the case of sample bank_8. Furthermore, there is no significant variation in tight disclosure scores among the sample banks over the study period. This study has considered the various corporate determinants and employed the ANOVA test and multiple regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between the different corporate determinants and corporate disclosure scores. The results of the ANOVA test illustrated that there is significant variation in other determinants of corporate disclosure among the sample banks. The findings of multiple regression analysis indicate that the R square value is 0.717, which confirms that the dependent variable, like the level of corporate disclosure, is explained by 71.70% of the independent variables, such as total assets, total revenues, number of branches, number of employees, meal members, female members, independent directors, audit committee members, capital adequacy ratio, debt equity ratio, loan deposits ratio and debt assets ratio. The results of the model summary report that the significance level of the overall model is lower than 5%, which means that the entire independent variables have significantly influenced the corporate disclosure score

Social Business Potentialities in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Approach

Social business is a process that bridges an important gap between business and benevolence. The present paper highlights the information collected through a survey of 30 potential social businessmen who are involved in different types of business activities of fifteen villages of Cox’sbazar district selected on the basis of purposive sampling. The present study focuses socio-economic characteristics of sample businessmen in study areas. The survey data reveal that the potentiality of social business development in the study areas of sample respondent is of very high degree. Further, the study pin-points a number of challenges such as lack of social and business skills of social businessmen, risks of social business management, inadequate of social data, problems in learning and adopting, lack of designing successful social business model and marketing programs of social business in study areas. The paper concludes with a number of strategies viz. promote events/marketing campaign, social business training program, village based social business, building institutions, support services and the likes in order to promote social business in Bangladesh in general and in study areas in particular. Keywords: social business, social problems, exploration of business

Influence of various composted organic amendments and their rates of application on Nitrogen mineralization and soil productivity using Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa. L. var. Chinensis) as an indicator crop

There is a diversity of locally available nitrogen (N)-rich organic materials in Samoa. However, none of them was evaluated for their N supplying capacity after composting in Samoan Inceptisols for vegetable cultivation. Thus, N-releasing capacity of five composted organic amendments (OAs) namely macuna, gliricidia, erythrina, lawn grass and giant taro, and their two application rates (10 and 20 t ha−1) were assessed through a laboratory incubation and a crop response study using Chinese cabbage as a test crop. Among the OAs, composted mucuna was characterized by a higher total N (2.91%), organic C (63.6%) and NO3−N content (341 mg N kg−1). A significant difference in N mineralization was observed among the OAs as well as application rates. The highest N mineralization was recorded in composted mucuna followed by gliricidia, erythrina, lawn grass, and giant taro. A crop response study also showed a similar trend. Mucuna treatment had the highest biomass yield and N uptake followed by gliricidia, erythrina, lawn grass, and giant taro. Leguminous composted OAs @ 20 t ha−1 performed substantially better in all the plant growth and yield parameters, and N uptake compared to 10 t ha−1 that was not the case for non-leguminous OAs. Thus, non-leguminous OAs should be applied at 10 t ha−1. All the composted leguminous OAs showed promising results while mucuna was the best in both the application rates. Therefore, mucuna can be promoted to supply N for crop cultivation in Samoa, other Pacific Islands and tropical countries where N fertilizer is costly and not easily available

Leaf area estimation by linear regression modles for pigenonpea (Cajanus Cajan (L.) Millsp.)

Leaflet length (L) and breadth (B), fresh (LFwt) and dry weights (LDwt) of leaves of 50 samples (500 leaves, 10 in each sample) were used in the prediction model to estimate the leaf area (LA) in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan cajan (L.) Millsp.). Two of the fifteen linear regression models, appeared more suitable for ease of measurement. These were LA = -17.784 + 6.823 L (Model-1) and LA = 0.5855 + 67.583 LFwt (Model-10). These regression models showed linear relationship when actual leaf area was plotted against predicted one in another 30 leaf samples (300 leaves, 10 in each sample). Moreover, models’ selection indices had high predictive ability represented by high R2 value with minimum error (low means square error and smaller percentage deviation). The selected models appeared unsophisticated but accurate, easy and rapid which can be used for estimation of leaf area of pigeonpea (Morphotype ‘Bogra’)

Integrated nitrogen management in increasing yield and economic profitability of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica L.)

The experiment was conducted at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University during the period of November 2014 to April 2015 with a view to assess the combined effect of inorganic and organic sources of nitrogen on yield of broccoli and to develop a combined dose under integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) for broccoli production. Four levels of Nitrogen (N) as 140, 160 and 180 kg N ha-1 as urea super granules (USG) and 180 kg N ha-1 as prilled urea (PU) as well as three different organic nitrogen sources (IPNS based) were considered to comprise 24 treatments combinations. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. USG along with organic manures showed better yield performance regarding yield attributes and yield compared to PU. The highest head yield (14.7 t ha-1) was found in USG-N160 kg/ha+ Oil Cake (OC)2t/ha followed by USG-N180kg/ha+ OC2t/ha (14.5 t ha-1). The maximum lateral head yield (6.612 t ha-1), marginal rate of return (132), and benefit cost ratio (4.00) were recorded in USG-N160kg/ha+ Poultry manure (PM)3t/ha. The treatment PU-N180+PM3 also showed better performance regarding yield (13.7 t ha-1), harvest index (27.1%) and benefit cost ratio (BCR) (3.84). Therefore, USG @160 kg N ha-1 + 3 t ha-1 poultry manure as adjusted N126P22K62S14Zn2B1Mo0.8 kg/ ha+3 t/ha PM or PU @180 kg N/ ha + 3 t/ ha poultry manure as adjusted N146P22K62S14Zn2B1Mo0.8 ha+3 t/ ha PM can be recommended for broccoli production in Grey Terrace Soil

Effectiveness of scapular mobilization to reduce shoulder pain among the patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Background: Patients with Spinal Cord Injury often experience debilitating shoulder pain. This study investigates the effectiveness of scapular mobilization as a potential intervention to alleviate this pain and enhance the quality of life for these individuals.Objectives: The objectives were to identify the effectiveness of scapular mobilization in reducing shoulder pain among patients with spinal cord injury. Methodology:Pretest and posttest designs were used to conduct this study. 16 participants were selected according to inclusion criteria. The 'VAS' and 'Goniometer' were used to assess the shoulder pain and joint range of motion (ROM). Analysis was done through SPSS v22. To analyze the pre-post test data, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. Result: Among 16 participants, the mean age was 27.69 with a standard deviation of ±11.5, median 27, mode 18, maximum age 52, minimum age 13. Male participants were predominantly higher than female participants. Out of the 16 participants, 93.8% (n=15) were male, and 6.3% (n=1) were female. Among them, 50% (n=8) of the participants were caused to fall from a height, 37% (n=6) were caused by a road traffic accident, and 12.5% (n=2) were caused by heavy objects falling on them. The most significant neurological level was T12, with a percentage of 31.3%, while 25% were at L1, and 12.4% were at T7 and T11, respectively. The right-sided shoulder joint was affected in 43.75% of cases, the left-sided in 31.25%, and 25% were affected on both sides. In the statistical analysis, there was a significant improvement in shoulder pain reduction, shoulder flexion, and extension.Conclusion:Overall, this dissertation showed that scapular mobilization was more dominant than only conventional physiotherapy in reducing shoulder pain and improving shoulder movement

Biodiversity assemblages and conservation necessities of ecologically sensitive natural wetlands of north-eastern Bangladesh

135-148North-Eastern region of Bangladesh is very promising for freshwater capture fisheries, nevertheless, comprehensive assessment on faunal composition and diversity assemblages of natural wetlands are scant.This study identifies the occurrence, different biodiversity indices and composition of fish with various gear types by means of qualitative and quantitative approaches in Tanguarhaor and Dekarhaor. A total of 75 fish species were identified, of which 53 % were Cypriniformes, followed by Siluriformes (15 %), Perciformes (14 %), Channiformes (7 %) and Clupeiformes (4 %). Among the identified taxa 42 species were not threatened, 12 vulnerable, 11 endangered and 8 critically endangered. The values of diversity indices explicitly Shannon-Weiner (H'), Pielou evenness (J'), Margalef richness (d) and Simpson dominance (c) indices indicated that Tanguarhaorwasmore diversified and evenly distributed than Dekharhaor. For effective management of the haorscomprehensive stock assessment, establishment of fish sanctuaries, and combination of input and output control is suggested

Drought and salinity affect leaf and root anatomical structures in three maize genotypes

Salt and drought stresses are being quite similar considered as two major constraints in maize production. To explore the anatomical bases of resistance to salt and drought stresses, 14 days old seedlings of three maize hybrid genotypes were subjected to salt (100 mM NaCl) and drought stress (equiosmotic PEG-6000) under hydroponic conditions. The experiment was laid out following a completely randomized design having four replicates. Root protoxylem and metaxylem thickness and root diameter were found to be unaffected in both of the drought resistant genotypes in response to salt and drought stresses whereas root protoxylem thickness increased (33.8 and 112.8% by salt and drought stress, respectively) in sensitive genotype (BARI hybrid maize-7). Bundle sheath thickness was found to increase in response to stresses (58.4 and 59.3% by salt and drought stress, respectively) in BARI hybrid maize-12. BARI hybrid maize-12 showed unaffected response in leaf epidermal thickness, phloem area, xylem area and total leaf thickness under both salt and drought stresse