Bridging the Technical Issues for Successful Research: Role of Librarians in Bangladesh

Very simply, research is the systematic investigation to explore new knowledge for scientific achievement. Research comprises creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications” (OECD, 2015). Research carried out by scientists and researchers has made an enormous impact on the world over the centuries specially for developing countries like Bangladesh. Research can make a significant contribution to the growth and development of any nation. Research and the library are closely interconnected with one another. Libraries especially academic and special libraries responsible for research support that is treated as central pillar in their mission. A “researcher life cycle” approach was applied to identify researcher information needs. Librarians continue to play a central role in conducting successful research and are expanding beyond their traditional duties for delivering high quality information services to engage themselves more as educators, technological guides, and communicators. Librarians should pace more and more into a leadership role develop major initiatives and conduct training to increase research reproducibility. The present paper focuses on the basic technical issues of efficient research skills and highlights the librarians’ competencies for research support of Bangladesh for guiding researchers for conducting successful research and ensuring a better work environment to do research. This paper mainly explores the proper referencing and citations, submission of manuscript in impact journals, find out predatory journals and selection for publishing articles in open access journals. This study also highlights the use and impact of various online databases such as Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus in order to explore citation status, h index and research performance of an individual author, country and institution. The study also investigates the role of the library in addressing present and future challenges to bridge technical issues of conducting research in Bangladesh. An attempt has been made to identify the major problems for submission manuscripts in high impact journals and to indicate some possible solutions for developing research information management systems, and efforts to improve training and support for researchers to enhance the research productivity of researchers in Bangladesh. Finally, the study illustrates a real picture of scientific outputs of renowned organizations in Bangladesh using Scopus database

Classroom management: knowing students' interest to involve them

This internship report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in English, 2011Cataloged from PDF version of Internship report.Includes bibliographical references (page 20 - 22).Md. Shafiur RahmanB.A. in Englis

Profitability Analysis of Poultry Farming in Bangladesh: A Case Study on Trishal Upazilla in Mymensingh District

This study aimed to determine the cost, return, and profitability of broiler production in some selected areas of Trishal Upazilla in Mymensing district, Bangladesh. It was mainly based on primary data which were collected through well structured questionnaire from the respondents of poultry production during the month of October, 2014. Selected samples consisted of 80 poultry farm owners selected by using purposive sampling technique. In the selected area maximum people are related with agriculture. The findings revealed that poultry production was a profitable enterprise. The people of this area said that, poultry farming and vegetables cultivation are profitable farm activity in a short run. This study also identified some problems in the production of poultry in the study area. Finally, based on the findings of the study, some recommendations were made for the development of poultry production in Bangladesh. Keywords: Poultry farming, Production, Cost, Return, Profitability

An Analysis of the Production Function of Ready-Made Garments Industry in Bangladesh: A Case of Tex-Town Group Limited

More than 78% of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry. The ready-made garments (RMG) sector has a greater potential than any other sector in terms of employment and foreign exchange earnings to reduce poverty and make a contribution to the national economy. In this paper, we attempt an econometric estimation of Cobb-Douglas production function in Bangladesh’s ready-made garments industry and also test the hypothesis that ready-made garments industry is expected to reap better economies of scale in a competitive environment. We try to resolve some econometric issues such as heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation and multicollinearity  in the production function estimates by adopting different solutions and adjustment procedures with a view to obtain reliable parameter estimates. . This study has been used the annually time series data about ready-made garments production, labour wages, and capital of Tex-Town Group Limited from 2002-2013. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method is used to estimate the model. The results show that there is a positive relationship between labour wages, capital and ready-made garments production in Bangladesh. The value of R2 is 0.687. This indicates that about 68.7% of the total variation in the ready-made garments production is explained by the labour wages and capital in Bangladesh. The results are statistically significant at 5% level of significance. This study suggests that increase in labour employment and capital to increase the production of ready-made garments in Bangladesh. Keywords: Ready-made Garments Industry; Production Function; Wage, Capital.

Determinants of Exchange Rate in Bangladesh: A Case Study

The study has been conducted to analyze the determinants of exchange rates in Bangladesh economy for the period of 1990 to 2011 using simple single equation linear regression model (SELRM). Inflation rate, GDP growth rate, interest rate and current account balance is used as explanatory variable. These are the most important determinants of exchange rate, which have major impact on exchange rate. Our conclusion includes that inflation rate, GDP growth rate, interest rate and current account balance has positive impact on exchange rate and the major role played by GDP. Key Words: Exchange rate, Inflation rate, GDP growth rate, Interest rate, Current account balance

Determinants of Unemployment in Bangladesh: A Case Study

A very important issue that plays a crucial role in development of the economies is the underutilization of its human capital i.e. unemployment. This paper investigates macroeconomic determinants of unemployment rate in Bangladesh economy for the period of 2000-2011 using Simple Single Equation Linear Regression Model (SELRM). The variables selected for the study are Unemployment rate, GDP growth rate, Exchange rate and Inflation rate (CPI based). The results of regression analysis showed significant impact of all the variables. Our main finding includes that Inflation rate stimulate unemployment positively and GDP growth rate and Exchange rate has negative impact on unemployment. Keywords: Unemployment rate, GDP growth rate, Exchange rate, Inflation rate

Adoption and Usage of Web-based Library Resources and Services: an Investigation of icddr,b Library in Bangladesh

Purpose – The core purpose of this study is to explore the web-based library services available in icddr,b Library. In addition, this research aims to investigate the adoption and utilisation of subscribed, registered and open access e-resources by the scientists and researchers at icddr,b Library. The existing facilities that influenced smooth usage of web-based information services of icddr,b library have been assessed. The study involved scientists and researchers of icddr,b. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a mixed-method research design using case study approach. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. An online survey was conducted in June 2017 to ascertain the present status of web-based library facilities and services of icddr,b library. The online survey questionnaire link was distributed through “Google Forms” directed to the most potential researchers (557) of icddr,b. Findings – The findings revealed that participants were moderately aware of the library subscribed and registered e-resources. The study also explored key challenges hindering effective usage of the databases in the library. It discovered that lack of awareness of the databases, low speed internet connectivity, inadequate online databases and lack of skills in searching the databases. Suggestions were also made on the way forward in combating these challenges. The study also indicated that e-resources are very useful to researchers, PubMed and Hinari are the most used databases. Furthermore, it was strongly recommended that the library should market and explore more online resources to attract more users and to do more effective research at icddr,b. Study Limitations: The present study is confined to the current status and trend of using e-resources used by the researchers of icddr,b. The study highlights on the types of web-based resources and services available in icddr,b Library and a small number of samples (213) are covered in this study. Practical implications: Many years later, the icddr,b library will receive a greater impact than present in terms of facilities and services. Other libraries in Bangladesh will also be motivated to develop Intranet site and provide library services through Intranet in respective organization. Ultimately, new system of libraries will be developed and users will be benefited using this new system. Social implications: Library community and others society of Bangladesh will be benefited in reading and using this article. Originality/value – Many papers have been written on electronic resources, but this study specifically focused on subscribed, open access and registered online resources, and it is the first time that an investigation has been made on the use of electronic resources by library users in icddr,b library. The results of the study could be useful for icddr,b Library and other medical libraries in Bangladesh in ensuring that there is a high use of web-based library facilities and services. So that other libraries in Bangladesh will be inspired and encouraged to introduce digital tool facilities and services in libraries of Bangladesh

Digital Paradigm in Medical Libraries of Bangladesh with Special Reference to icddr,b Library: Key Observations and Future Directions

Medical libraries are facing new challenges and opportunities due to dynamic changes in the digital era for offering excellent services to health scientists and professionals. The usage of information and communication technology (ICT) has become increasingly important in various fields, including the healthcare industry. Medical libraries, in particular, have also witnessed a significant transformation in terms of their functions and services due to the adoption of the digital revolution. This article aims to investigate the usage of ICT in the selected medical libraries in Bangladesh, with a special reference to the icddr,b Library. In this connection, a comparative study is made based on six major medical libraries of Bangladesh. These libraries are compared in terms of ICT use for providing library services through library websites. Collected data are analyzed in quantitative as well as qualitative methods to explore better results. Results are shown in the form of tables and figures. This paper gives a snapshot of ICT use in medical libraries of Bangladesh

An Econometric Analysis of the Balance of Payments of Bangladesh

Balance of payment plays the most important role in a country’s economy. As a developing country our performances are not satisfactory. The objective of this analysis is to develop some idea about the balance of payments of Bangladesh. Trade liberalization could lead to faster import growth than export growth and hence the supply side benefits may be offset by the unsustainable balance of payment position. This study uses 36 year observation of GDP, import, export and exchange rate of Bangladesh to estimate their effect on trade balance. Our conclusion is that Bangladesh should relax restrictions on imports more slowly than barriers to exports. Keywords: Trade balance, Export, Import, Terms of trade, GDP, Exchange rates

An efficient hybrid system for anomaly detection in social networks

Anomaly detection has been an essential and dynamic research area in the data mining. A wide range of applications including different social medias have adopted different state-of-the-art methods to identify anomaly for ensuring user’s security and privacy. The social network refers to a forum used by different groups of people to express their thoughts, communicate with each other, and share the content needed. This social networks also facilitate abnormal activities, spread fake news, rumours, misinformation, unsolicited messages, and propaganda post malicious links. Therefore, detection of abnormalities is one of the important data analysis activities for the identification of normal or abnormal users on the social networks. In this paper, we have developed a hybrid anomaly detection method named DT-SVMNB that cascades several machine learning algorithms including decision tree (C5.0), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Naïve Bayesian classifier (NBC) for classifying normal and abnormal users in social networks. We have extracted a list of unique features derived from users’ profile and contents. Using two kinds of dataset with the selected features, the proposed machine learning model called DT-SVMNB is trained. Our model classifies users as depressed one or suicidal one in the social network. We have conducted an experiment of our model using synthetic and real datasets from social network. The performance analysis demonstrates around 98% accuracy which proves the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed system. © 2021, The Author(s)