Contents and Interactivity of Academic Library Portals in India

The main aim of this study was to analyze the contents and interactivity of academic library portals in India. The study was confined to a hundred selected academic library websites. A checklist along with a data sheet was used as the tool for data collection and Microsoft Excel was used as the tool for data analysis. The analysis revealed that the websites have an almost identical pattern of contents and interactivity. The majority of the websites used interactive applications. Facebook is the most preferred application followed by Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The websites preferred the extreme top right corner of their homepages to provide links to the applications and web objects. This study is useful for developing design standards for library websites and portals

Productivity of the coral reef alga Halimeda gracilis Harv. ex. J.Ag. Minicoy island, Lakshadweep

The present investigation deals with the morphology and productivity of Halimeda gracilis from 3 locations of Minicoy Island. The estimated percentage cover of H. Gracilis were 32.6% on the reef, 10.9% on the shore reef and 17.3% on the seagrass beds. Halimeda in scagrass beds had the highest biomass of 1339.2 g/m2 followed by the shore reef with 1256.0 g/m2 and the lowest biomass at the reef (420.8 g/m2). The length of Halimeda gracilis varied between 4.5 cm at the reef and 8.5 cm in scagrass beds but the weight showed only slight variation. Length weight reintionship of Halimeda gracilis indicated least variable morphology at reef and lagoon. Plants collected from seagrass beds in the lagoon showed highest productivity of 0.64 g C/m2 / day while the lowest production of 0.08 gC/m2/day was recorded from the shore reef. Environmental parameters such as temperature salinity dissolved oxygen and nutrients were monitored at the three stations

Distribution and abundance of seaweeds on a coral reef at Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep

Macroalgal distribution and abundance in different regions of a coral reef was studied for a period of one year in 1998 at Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep. The biomass distribution of algac on the seaward side of the reef varied from 620.2 g wet wt/m2 in September to a maximum of 2800.6 g wet wt/m2 in August. Reef flat had a minimum in July (251 g wet wt/m2) and a maximum in December (2074.9 g wet wt/m2). Significant seasonal differences were noticed in the three regions with maximum biomass during monsoon on the seaward side and in the postmonsoon at reef flat and lagoon side of the reef. Laurencia ceylanica ornate (32.0%) were major algae of he reef flat and lagoon side of the reef. Minor algae observed on the reef were Gelidiella acerasa. Bocrgesenia forbesil, Sargassum duplicatum and Cladophoropsis zollingeri. Hydrographical parameters such as water temperature, salinity, nutrients, rainfall and hours of exposure of algac were monitored

Domestic waste and its impact on production of Caulerpa racemosa (Forssk.) Weber v. Bosse at Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep

The present study deals with the impact of domestic waste on Caulerpa recemosa collected from a densely populated village of Minicoy Island. Length of erect foliar portion of C. racemosa collected from the polluted site was only 2.15 cm while at control site it was 6.16 cm. Similarly weight of the plant was also low (0.26 g) when compared to unpolluted site (0.95 g). Length – weight relationship indicated wider variability in the size of the plant at polluted site with lower values. Net primary production values showed 7.2 fold more production at control site than that of polluted site. Environmental parameters such as temperature, salinity, turbidity and nutrients were monitored

Attitude towards Information Technology and Digital Divide: A Study among Students in Universities in Kerala, India

The main aim of this research is to evaluate the attitude of university students\u27 towards Information Technology (IT) and to identify whether their attitude plays any significant role in contributing digital divide among them. The study used quantitative research design and administered a pre-validated questionnaire to a sample of 644 postgraduate students selected with stratified random sampling. This study reports that about one third of the students fall under the high level attitude towards IT, while just above two thirds of them came under the medium level attitude. A significant gender divide persisted in the case of attitude towards IT among the students. Discipline-wise analysis reveals that the students from Social Science had more favourable attitude towards IT compared to those from Science and Humanities disciplines. The attitude towards IT plays a significant role in establishing the digital divide among the students evidenced by significant direct correlations with access to IT, digital competency and the frequency of use of the Internet

Students’ Attitude towards Digital Reading: A Study in Universities in Kerala, India

This study aims to understand the attitude of students towards digital reading. Survey method was used to conduct the study among the postgraduate students of the universities in Kerala state of India. Stratified random sampling method was used to select a representative sample of 588 students from the teaching departments of the universities. Results reveal that majority of the students have an average level of attitude towards digital reading and the male students have more positive attitudes towards digital reading than the female students. Further the results reveal that there is no significant discipline and university wise difference in the attitude of the students towards digital reading. Findings suggest that educators can tailor lessons and assignments to maintain positive attitude among the students towards digital reading

Use of ICT based resources and services in special libraries in Kerala

23-31Presents results of an investigation to study the contemporary use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based resources and services in special libraries in Kerala. The study was performed via a questionnaire survey of the library users and confined only to special libraries with ICT based resources and services. The study also investigated further areas, including library professionals’ help in the use of ICT based resources and services; any change in speed in academic/research work by using ICT; users’ satisfaction with the application of ICT; reasons for their dissatisfaction; users’ suggestions for training; and their opinion about the user education on ICT. The data collected were analysed and inferences made based on standard statistical methods. The results of the study revealed that the ICT based resource used by the largest percentage of users was the e-mail. The next most widely used resource was WWW, which was being used by nearly 60 per cent of the library users. A good number of the users were not satisfied with the application of ICT in their libraries and indicated ‘inadequate ICT infrastructure’ as their reason for dissatisfaction. Users proposed a variety of measures of formal orientation and training in ICT based resources and services to become more effective users

Information and communication technology infrastructure in special libraries in Kerala

31-42Information and Communication Technology (lCT) infrastructure is an important resource of a modem library or information centre. ICT is the electronic means of capturing, processing, storing and communicating information. It encompasses an array of hardware, software, services and networks that enable access to digital information. This study investigates the current state-of-the-art information and communication technology infrastructure and the extent of use of electronic information resources in special libraries in Kerala. The following methods were used to collect data for the investigation: (a) questionnaire surveys of Iibrarians, (b) semi-structured interviews with librarians and (c) observational visits in the libraries. All the special libraries of Kerala that were using information and communication technologies were selected for the study. The data collected were analysed and inferences made based on standard statistical methods. The investigation provides useful information about the current state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure and use of electronic information resources in special libraries in Kerala. Though the special libraries in Kerala have hardware, software and communication facilities to some extent, ICT based resources and services are not reaching the users to the expected extent. This has severely affected the provision of ICT based resources and services. The findings of this study would assist special libraries in India to develop strategies and policies that could make better use of ICT based resources and services

Web 2.0 applications in online newspapers: A content analysis

Checklist and data sheet were used to collect data on web 2.0 applications used in one hundred top-ranked online English language newspapers. Analysis shows that blogs, RSS and social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter) are the most prevalent Web 2.0 applications in the newspapers. Upper right side of the homepages of the newspapers is the most preferred location of the Web 2.0 applications