Exploring Students’ Satisfaction with ICT Facilities at LIS Schools in the Punjab, Pakistan

This study aimed to explore library and information science (LIS) students’ satisfaction with information and communication technology (ICT) facilities at LIS schools in the Punjab, Pakistan. It also identifies the factors that motivated the students to use ICT and the benefits that they gained from the ICT. The study employed the quantitative research method to address the research questions. The quantitative data were collected from students of LIS schools in public sector universities in the Punjab, Pakistan. The findings suggest that although the students were required to use the ICT equipment to learn ICT skills as part of the LIS curriculum, most of the students used ICT tools at academic libraries and homes. The students were of the view that the use of ICT helped them develop ICT competencies. The majority of the students did not give opinions about their satisfaction with various ICT components at the schools. The outcomes of the study will help the LIS schools to upgrade and enhance their ICT facilities in order to enable students to develop ICT skills effectively and meet the job market needs in the current digital era

Digital reference services in university libraries of Pakistan

The development of information and communication technologies, and wide spread of the Internet and its associated technologies have brought about tremendous changes in the reference department of academic libraries, and in the attitudes and expectations of both information professionals and users. Many academic libraries across the globe have embraced Web technologies to fulfil users reference needs in a digital environment. This study aimed to investigate and analyse digital reference services (DRS) in university libraries in Pakistan. It focused on the nature and level of DRS, technologies used for the provision of the service, usage, staffing, marketing, funding, ICT infrastructure available for the service, and looked at the issues faced by academic libraries in implementing and managing the service. A mixed methods research approach combining both quantitative and qualitative methods was employed to achieve the aim and objectives of the study. The quantitative data for the study were collected through an online survey. A total of eighty five university libraries (both in public and private sectors) from all the four provinces, the federal capital and Azad Jammu & Kashmir participated in the survey. The quantitative data were supplemented by the qualitative data which were gathered through semi-structured interviews with the heads of fifteen leading university libraries. Findings suggest that DRS is at an early development stage in university libraries in Pakistan, with a small number of libraries offering the service. Most of the academic libraries which have implemented this cutting-edge service, are large libraries equipped with good human and technological resources. The libraries have mostly developed asynchronous digital reference systems by employing e-mail and web forms. The usage of the service is lower than that of in-person reference in academic libraries due to factors, such as libraries failure to effectively market the service, lack of ICT skills among users, lack of ICT facilities available for users. It was found that the libraries lack skilled and competent LIS professionals to staff the service. Factors contributing to the scarcity of skilled human resources in academic libraries include the lack of in-house training for DRS, shortage of continuing professional development courses in the country, and deficiencies in LIS curricula offered by the country s library schools. A number of issues which affect the implementation and management of DRS in academic libraries have been identified. They include: scarcity of competent human resources; access to appropriate digital resources; unavailability of suitable software for DRS; financial constraints; lack of ICT facilities; absence of a digital reference policy; lack of ICT application; paucity of resources; electricity supply; inadequate physical facilities; lack of local research and literature on DRS

Exploring End-Users’ Digital Literacy Skills in the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan

This study aimed to explore end-users’ digital literacy skills in the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The study employed the quantitative research method to address the research questions. The quantitative data were collected from research students (M.Phil. and PhD) studying at different departments in the university through the questionnaire. The findings of the study suggest that the respondents had a high level of knowledge and skills to use the Internet, MS Word and computers. The participants were not aware of most of electronic resources. They possessed a low level of skills to retrieve digital information, produce and create digital contents, and evaluate digital information. The findings of the study will help university authorities, academic departments and the university library to take necessary measures to develop and improve students’ digital literacy skills, so that they can use digital resources effectively and undertake their research and study efficiently

Assessing Users’ Satisfaction with Electronic Resources in University Libraries in Punjab, Pakistan

The purpose of the study was to assess users’ satisfaction with electronic resources available in university libraries in Punjab, Pakistan. The study adopted the quantitative research method to achieve its objectives. The quantitative data were collected through the questionnaire from library users in eight public universities by employing the convenience sampling technique. The findings of the study reveal that the libraries lacked adequate electronic resources. The respondents were satisfied only with the internet resources. They did not seem satisfied with the rest of the resources as they did not give their opinions about them. The findings of the study will be helpful for the library administration and university authorities to take necessary measures to develop library electronic collections keeping in view users’ requirements and expectations in order to meet their information needs in an effective manner

A comprehensive computational mutation structurefunction approach for determining potential drug target sites in poliovirus 2A protease

Purpose: To investigate a computational approach for analysing the structure-function relationship of poliovirus 2A protease using various bioinformatics tools. Methods: The three-dimensional structure of 2Apro was modelled and analyzed using the crystal structure of coxsakievirus B4 as a template to understand the function of this protein. Structural validation programs, VADAR and QMEAN, were used to verify the 2Apro model. Analysis of protein stability changes in poliovirus 2A protease-mutated sequences using various servers was also performed. Furthermore, mutation pattern, intrinsic disorder regions (IDRs), hydrophobic regions, drug binding sites (DBS) and subcellular localization were identified. Results: Hydrophobicity results confirmed the suitability and reliability of 2A protease as a potential drug target. Less IDRs were observed in the protein. Moreover, the results showed the presence of various important drug binding targets among conserved regions of the protease. The predicted drug binding sites indicate their suitability for the inhibition and development of anti-viral drugs against poliovirus 2A protease. Conclusion: The current study resulted in the detection of important ligand interactions with respect to the binding site of the targeted protein. Thus, these compounds may be potent drug candidates and their potency may be increased against poliovirus 2A protease with relatively simple structural changes. Keywords: 2A Protease, Computational analysis, Drug binding sites, Intrinsic disorder regions, Hydrophobicit

A Framework for Sexism Detection on Social Media via ByT5 and TabNet

Hateful and offensive content on social media platforms particularly content directed towards a specific gender is a great impediment towards equality, diversity and inclusion. Social media platforms are facing increasing pressure to work towards regulation of such content; and this has directed researchers in text mining to work towards hate speech identification algorithms. One such attempt is sexism detection for which mostly transformer-based text methods have been proposed. We propose a combination of byte-level model ByT5 with tabular modeling via TabNet that has at its core an ability to take into account platform and language aspects of the challenging task of sexism detection. Despite not performing well in the sexism detection task for IberLEF our approach shows promise for future research in the area

Recommendations to strengthen the role of lady health workers in the national program for family planning and primary health care in Pakistan: the health workers perspective

Background: This study was planned to assess the strengths and weakness of the National Program for Family Planning and Primary from the Lady Health Workers (LHIW) perspective. We conducted this study in order to develop recommendations for strengthening LHWs\u27 role in Primary Health Care (PHC) in Pakistan in consultation with the health workers.Methods: A qualitative study, based on key informant interviews, was carried out in Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 20 workers were interviewed. Analysis was carried out by grouping similar responses in a matrix and then analysis with reference to context.Results: Motivations for joining program included financial benefits, convenient timings and an opportunity to serve humanity. Training was deemed satisfactory but clinical training was resented because of doctors\u27 attitudes. Further training needs identified included basic information about common ailments, reproductive issues and basic clinical skills. Major strengths of the program mentioned included provision of services at grass root level, reinforcement of health messages and the community acceptability of workers. Weaknesses mentioned included the contractual nature of job, low salaries, irregularity of payment, no career development and poor logistical support.CONCLUSION: Giving LHWs permanent government employee status and a raise in salary may strengthen the workers functions. Eligible LHWs should be given incentives (skills, career development, financial). The community must be educated about assigned role and responsibilities of LHWs and patient referral system by the LHW needs to be strengthened. The valuable role of LHWs in PHC in Pakistan must be acknowledged and further improvements pursued

An Analysis of Library Professionals’ Communication Skills: Status and Effectiveness on Workplace Productivity

This study\u27s basic purpose was to examine the effects of library professionals\u27 communication skills on workplace productivity. The survey method was adopted and used a self-developed questionnaire as a data collection tool. The questionnaires were administered to LIS professionals were working in central libraries of universities and degree-awarding institutions in Punjab and Islamabad the capital of Pakistan. The response rate was 83%. To analyse data used SPSS and applied different descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings argued that librarians have a high level of communication skills and there is no significant difference in communication skills level concerning their demographic characteristics. The study dug out a significant relationship between the independent variable communication skills and the dependent variable work productivity. Communication skills help library professionals enhance their work performance, service provision, build healthy relationships with library patrons and colleagues, and help reference librarians meet users\u27 information needs. Results of this research work persuade library leaders, organisational management, decision makers, and professional development program organising agencies to put attentions on developing or honing the communication skills of employees