Entropy and Multifractality in Relativistic Ion-Ion Collisions

Entropy production in multiparticle systems is investigated by analysing the experimental data on ion-ion collision at AGS and SPS energies and comparing the findings with those reported earlier for hadron-hadron, hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions. It is observed that the entropy produced in limited and full phase space, when normalised to maximum rapidity exhibits a kind of scaling which is nicely supported by Monte Carlo model \hij. Using the R\'{e}nyi's order-q information entropy, multifractal characteristics of particle production are examined in terms of Generalized dimensions, D$_{q}$. Nearly the same values of multifractal specific heat, $c$ observed in hadronic and ion-ion collisions over a wide range of incident energies suggest that the quantity $c$ may be used as a universal characteristic of multiparticle production in hadron-hadron, hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

Event-by-Event Fluctuations Clusterization and Entropy Production in AA Collisions at AGS and SPS Energies

Event-by-event (ebe) fluctuations in mean pseudorapidity values of relativistic charged particles in full phase space is studied by analysing experimental data on $^{16}O-AgBr$ collisions at 14.5A, 60A, and 200A GeV/c and $^{32}S-AgBr$ collisions at 200A GeV/c. The findings are compared with the prediction of A Multi-Phase Transport(\amm) model and those obtained from the analysis of correlation free Monte-Carlo events. Fluctuations in mean pseudorapidity distributions are noticed to be in excess to that expected from the statistically independent particle emission. The observed dependence of the fluctuation strength measure parameter,$\phi$ on the beam energy and number of participating target nucleons indicate that nucleus-nucleus collisions can not be treated as simple superposition of multiple nucleon-nucleon interactions. Presence of clusters or jet-like phenomena in multihadron final states are searched for on ebe basis by using the concept of Jaynes Shannon entropy. The findings indicate the presence of cluster like objects in the experimental data with their size and frequency increasing with increasing beam energy. These observations, in turn suggest that the clustering or jet-like algorithm adopted in the present study may be used as a tool for triggering different classes of events.Comment: International Journal of Modern Physics E, to be published(accepted

Forward-Backward Multiplicity Correlations in Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

Forward-backward multiplicitycorrelations are investigated by analyzing the experimental data on 6O-AgBr collisions at 14.5A, 60A and 200A GeV/c and the findings are compared with the predictions of Monte Carlo model, hIJING. the findings indicate that the observed correlations are mainly of short-range in nature which arise due to the decay of clusters and (or) resonances produced in the central rapidity region. the result reveal that the range of F-B correlations extend to rather longer range with increasing beam energy which might be due to overall multiplicity fluctuations arising because of nuclear geometry. however, there is no evidence for the presence of long-range correlations even at the highest beam energy considered

A Review of Problems and Challenges of Library Professionals in Developing Countries including Pakistan

Introduction “A librarian is a person who looks after the storage and retrieval of information. In a workplace, the librarian is usually a professional who is trained and educated to deal with information in a wide variety of formats and settings” (WordiQ, 2010). Librarian helps users to navigate into the voyage of internet and evaluate information efficiently. Librarian offers a helping hand for users to find out the required piece of information and to use it for personal and professional purposes (BLS, 2011). Due to the advent of Internet, World Wide Web and proliferation of online catalogue, the role of librarian has been changed. Now he is more efficient and has new roles as intermediary, facilitator, end-user trainer/educator, web organizer & designer, researcher, interface designer, knowledge manager/professional and sifter of information resources (Rao & Babu, 2001). Librarian should be knowledgeable in a variety of information sources and follow the new trends and advancements in computers, media and publishing (Careeroverview, 2011). Research Objectives 1. To review the problems faced by librarians in new digital era. 2. To identify the major challenges for librarians to work smoothly in cyber environment. 3. To furnish recommendations to overcome the problems and to tackle the challenges. Methodology The study is based on comprehensive review of related literature & informal semi-structured interviews which were conducted by the second author during some international conferences, with library professionals & scholars from developing countries i.e., Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Malaysia, Nepal, and Pakistan with the purpose to explore their perceptions, opinions and observation regarding the problems & challenges confronted by the librarians due to changing information landscape. Available material on the Internet was also explored. Studies Conducted to Investigate the Problems/Challenges Confronted by Librarians in Developing Countries in Changing Information Landscape New tools of information technology have absolutely changed the role & responsibilities of librarians. A number of studies have been conducted to explore the problems faced by librarians. Given section reviews the studies conducted at International level in general and particularly in developing countries to investigate the problems confronted by the librarians. Ademodi & Adepoju (2009) investigated the computer skill among librarians in academic libraries on Ondo and Ekiti State in Nigeria. It was found the shortage of computers and computer skills among professionals. The study recommended that more attention and funds should be provided for training and procurement of ICT infrastructure in Nigerian University libraries. For computerization purpose, library administration should solicit funds and assistant from foreign agencies and foundations who are interested for the cause. Adomi & Anie (2006) in their research on computer literacy skills of professionals in Nigerarian University libraries concluded that most of the professionals do not posses high level of computer skill and their use of computer and technology is still maturing. They recommended that library management and leaders should organize and offer in-house computer training programmes for librarians and enough computers should be provided in this regard. Trushina (2004) discussed the issues related to the internet as well as the correlation of professional codes and their implementation in library practice. He stated that libraries depend on ethical principles more than any other institution because library services are essentially human-oriented. He stressed that librarians must follow the intellectual freedom principle and they have a moral responsibility to the patrons. Hashim & Mokhtar (n.d) studied the trends and issues in preparing new era librarians and information professionals. They reported that the following trends are essential for new era librarians’ i. e. a vision towards information and knowledge rich society, globalization of information, integrated and widespread ICT applications, growth of electronic/internet resources, role of digital/electronic/virtual library, access role replace custodial role, strategic alliances, partnership and collaborations, librarians need new management knowledge and skills, specialized knowledge & skills in library and information management, trend to develop digital contents to facilitate access. It was concluded that new era librarian will become a guardian of digital information and digital librarians with newly acquired skills can play a meaningful and leading role in the networked information society of the millennium. Sreenivasulu (2000) studied the role of a digital librarian in the management of digital information systems. He stressed that the multimedia nature of the next generation of digital libraries requires the digital librarians (DL) to be essentially a type of specialist librarian who has to manage and organize the digital library, handle the specialized tasks of massive digitization, storage, access, digital knowledge mining, digital reference services, electronic information services, search co-ordination, and manage the archive and its access. He should be well-versed in markup languages, cataloguing, metadata, multimedia indexing and database technology, user interface design, programming, and Web technology. Johnson (2007) viewed library and information science education in developing countries. He concluded that LIS programs in developing countries continue to suffer from lack of financial support by governments. Wallis (2005) found that information literacy is vital skill set for citizens of information societies. They suggested that the librarian must support learning at all levels. They are needed to pass skill set of technological and media literacies to citizens at all levels of society for economic, social and personal empowerment. Rahman, Khatun & Islam (2008) reviewed the library education in Bangladesh. The study found that majority of institutions in Bangladesh do not have well-equipped computer labs or sufficient numbers of computers for students. A sufficient number of classification and cataloguing tools (DDC, LC, Sears list of subject headings for practical were not present. Many institutions either have no library or inadequate collection of textbooks. Professional’s status was also found very low, low pay scale and limited opportunities for promotion. In Sri Lanka, Wijayaratne (n.d) probed the challenges encountered by the librarians of developing world in providing library services to support open and distance learning. It was concluded that the attitude of the government towards libraries in Sri Lanka has been changed during the last few years and the government has made several approaches to develop the libraries particularly University libraries. Government also identified the capacity of distance education to accommodate the huge number of A/L completers who cannot gain admission to learn. It was found very important for the OUSL to boost the process of achieving its development goals to upgrade the quality and maintain the standards of distance education in Sri Lanka. In Nepal, Siwakoti (2008) found that there was no government agency to control, monitor and evaluate the school libraries activities. There was lack of awareness programs, budgetary constraints, inadequate space, inadequate library materials, lack of trained and skilled manpower and lack of appropriate government policy and lack of information literacy. In Malaysia Lee, Brown, Mekis & Singh (2003) investigated that there was lack of full-time teacher librarians and selected teachers are asked to take charge of the school resource center as one of their administrative duties. There was no uniform current syllabus for the training of teacher librarians. The biggest problem which was found is that in Malaysian teacher librarians are facing professional isolation. In Iran Gavgani, Shokraneh & Shiramin (2011) concluded that librarians do not have traditional skills and sufficient background knowledge to meet the changing needs of their customers. They need to be empowered by new skills and information before going to empower their patrons. So there must not be a gap between librarian’s professional/technological knowledge and their societies informational need that to be answered by librarians. Need for changing the syllabus of medical library and information science education in Iran was also felt. In India Jestin & Parameswari (2002) explored the challenges for library professionals in the new millennium. It found that library professionals in India were subjected to various challenges. The introduction of computers and new technology was a challenge to all librarians. It was conclude that librarians should be ready to participate in the process of generating and distributing information and knowledge for quality of life and education for all. Librarians must unite to withstand the revolutions that will occur in the information and communication fields. Similarly, Dasgupta (2009) searched out that in India there is non-existent of norms and standards for the education of librarians. Problems for Indian librarians discovered in his study were emergence of new LIS schools, insufficient faculty strength, lack of accreditation bodies, lack of proper library facilities, inadequate physical facilities, little attention for selection criteria, and lack of apprenticeship programs. Study suggested that the Government of India should play a leading role in promoting LIS education in India, by creating more job opportunities for LIS professionals and removing disparity in pay scales among LIS professionals. Ali & Bakshi (n.d) explored that LIS profession is facing many challenges such as lack of finance, inadequate infrastructure, lack of knowledge and training, lack of high quality teaching staff, lack of permanent faculty for distant programs, lack of admission policy and evaluation, absence of accreditation body and supporting policy at national level, lack of global perspective and lack of library visits. It was suggested that admission test should be conducted before admission in LIS and practical hours should be increased. Attendance should be made compulsory and syllabus should be up-dated. Availability of high caliber staff should be ensured. Mobile based learning programmes should be adopted for distance learning. For the purpose of imparting practical training, there should be complete infrastructure. It was concluded that to support learning and teaching ICT should be used because e-learning would be the future of education. Like other developing countries, studies conducted in Pakistan do not show the healthy picture of LIS profession. In Pakistan, even all libraries are not fully automated. Internet service for users is being provided in University libraries but in public and college libraries the provision of Internet service is not encouraging. Haider (2003) found that the present library scenario in Pakistan is not so impressive and is suffering from inadequate funds and lack of bibliographic resources in the country. It was suggested that in order to meet new challenges, library schools are needed to improve the quality of their teaching staff and revise the curricula as well. The amount of research by library professionals into their own discipline is simply inadequate. Mohammad Asghar (1992) listed some main problems as the lack of opportunities for proper training, appropriate guidance, availability and access to information sources, financial assistance and sponsorship, encouragement, publication or dissemination of research findings, and personal interest and initiative. As Khalid, Hafiz (1997) states, the library staff is an area of weakness in Pakistan; there are several causes of this problem in Pakistan such as the faulty system of selection, lack of training, poor librarian’s status, etc. It was pointed out by Ministry of Education in National Education Policy, 1998; p.113 that: College libraries, which are the largest group of libraries in the country, have also been facing the problem of poor services, outdated collection of reading materials, financial constraints and inadequate professional staff

Online Information Searching Techniques: An Investigation from Library Science Professionals

The purpose of this study is to identify the effective information retrieval techniques used by the library and information science professionals/librarians to successfully retrieve the required information from various online information sources. This study also investigates the opinion of information professionals about various useful online information resources which are helpful during research work. It highlights various advanced searching techniques used for retrieving precise results from various online information sources i.e. search engines, databases, repositories, digital libraries, online journals, websites, etc. In this study, a quantitative research method has been used by adopting a survey research design. The population of the study was 370 information professionals working as a librarian in various public and private sector universities of Punjab. Data was successfully obtained from 278 respondents by using a questionnaire and analyzed through SPSS software. The respondents identified various sources of information that are useful to find scholarly information. These sources include e-journals, HEC databases, digital libraries, Google Scholar, digital archives, etc. They identified various useful techniques to effectively formulate a search query and apply advanced searching techniques to retrieve the desired information. This study is highly useful for libraries to increase online information resources which are useful for research students and faculty. The results of this research are also useful for early-career librarians, faculty members, and researchers to understand online search techniques and successfully retrieve the required information for research and educational tasks

MODELING AND FORECASTING OF BEEF, MUTTON, POULTRY MEAT AND TOTAL MEAT PRODUCTION OF PAKISTAN FOR YEAR 2020 BY USING TIME SERIES ARIMA MODELS

We use historical time-series data reported in data table to review trends in beef , mutton, poultry meat and total meat production. In this regard, first we use data from 1971-72 to 2007-08 to estimate a time trend for beef , mutton, poultry meat and total meat production. This time trend is estimated by employing an exponential function of the form Yf = cebt, where Yf is for meat production and t depicts the year. The estimated parameters are highly statistically significant, while the overall explanatory power of the model is very high since R2 = 0.99. These results indicate that annual growth rate of meat production from 1971-72 to 2007-08 is 5% over per annum. In 2020 the projected annual growth of total production of meat will be in Pakistan , China, India and Developed world is 1.6,2.9,2.8 and 0.7 per year respectively. Similarly the total productions of meat in Pakistan in 2020 are estimated to be 4.7 million metric tons. where in 2020, China, India and develop world will be 86, 8 and 121 respectively. In 2020the per capita production is forecasted to be 25.2 kg/annum in Pakistan, 60 kg in China, 6 kg in India and 87 kg in Developing World. If we look at the production of the Beef , mutton, Poultry and meat in Pakistan , the annual growth production rate of beef is 0.6%, mutton is high and poultry meat is 1.2% so the total meat is 0.7% . The total production through 1993 for Beef, Poultry and Meat had been 35,27 and 100 million metric tons respectively and will be increased till 2020. it will be 38 million metric ton for beef, 38 million metric ton for mutton, 36 for poultry and 121 for meat. The per capita production of beef, poultry meat and meat had been 26, 21and 78 kg/annum respectively in 1993 and expected to be 28 kg ,26 kg and 87 kg for beef , poultry and meat respectively till 2020

Management and Organization of Theses held in University Libraries: An Investigation from Information Professionals in Pakistan

This research aims to investigate the management and organization of theses collection held in university libraries of Punjab Province. It also examines the availability of theses in university libraries, procedures, and techniques applied to organize theses collection and provide access. The quantitative research method by using a questionnaire as a research tool has been applied to collect data from libraries. Results revealed that university libraries possess an adequate number of theses collection in hard and soft form. They are organizing a print collection of theses by using traditional methods. Users can use theses collection under the supervision of library staff and are not allowed to get a photocopy of required pages due to copyright issue. In most of the statements provided by the respondents from public and private sector university libraries, there was no significant difference in the opinion of respondents to organize and manage thesis collection in university libraries. The study recommended that university libraries should manage this important piece of collection by using digital repository development software in their libraries and ensure proper management of theses collection and its use by the research community around the globe. The study also recommended that e-theses should be submitted in the national repository so that no one can pirate this intellectual work and users may get the maximum benefit from this intellectual source of information

Effectiveness of Calcium Carbonate Whisker in Cementitious Composites

Cementitious composites are porous material having complex structure system consist of hydration products, un-hydrated cement particles and pore solutions of various scales. Calcium carbonate whisker is a new type of low cost micro-scale filler fiber gaining popularity in the field of construction materials. However, addition of whisker has effect on physical, mechanical and microstructural characteristics of cementitious composites. Also, the low production cost of whisker will make the use of micro fiber more extensive in large scale construction projects. In this study, the effect of calcium carbonate whisker on physical, mechanical and microstructural properties of cementitious composites with different fiber contents are investigated. The fluidity, drying shrinkage, pore structure, impact resistance, compressive, flexural and splitting-tensile strength of whisker-mortar are considered. The scanning electron microscopy analysis is also performed to examine the microstructural and toughening mechanism of whisker reinforced composites. It was concluded that the addition of calcium carbonate whisker up to 10 % improves the physical and mechanical properties of cementitious composites and is suggested to be the optimize content. The calcium carbonate whisker also resists the crack propagation at micro scale and showed the toughening mechanism with better interfacial properties between whisker and matrix