Exploration of ICT Applications in Public Sector University Libraries of Interior Sindh

Public sector university libraries in interior Sindh are embracing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for their technical and routine work. This study explored the current status of ICTs infrastructure, its application in different areas of library activities, library automation, digitization, and web-based services by employing the concurrent mixed methods approach. The quantitative (QUAN) data were collected from 141 central and seminar libraries of public sector universities in interior Sindh accredited by Pakistan's Higher Education Commission (HEC) using an adopted survey questionnaire. While, an in-depth interview of the heads of purposively selected 14 universities' central libraries were conducted for qualitative (QUAL) data. The findings revealed that the majority of libraries in interior Sindh were lacking in sufficient hardware and other ICT equipment; that most of the libraries didn’t have library automation and digital libraries’ softwares with no library website and access of HEC digital library resources. Based on the finding and the qualitative data from the respondents, it was suggested that different professional development training programs and workshops on library automation and digitization should arrange for the university library professionals in Interior Sindh arrange This study provides insightful findings for the policy makers to improve the current alarming status of the university libraries of Interior Sindh

ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION OF BUSINESS STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN: MOTIVATIONS AND OBSTACLES

The aim of this study is to examine the entrepreneurial intention of Pakistani business students and the influence of motivators and obstacles of it. Total 637 final year graduates and post graduates business student of Hyderabad and Jamshoro districts participated in the survey. The data was accumulated through self-administrated questionnaires. To measure the reliability, Cronbach’s alpha and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality were employed. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, varimax orthogonal rotation method were used to analyze the data. The result showed low degree of entrepreneurial intention amongst business students in Pakistan. They prefer jobs as compare to establish their own business in near future but at the same time they have good intention to start their own business someday. Furthermore, the key motivators recognized by this study are autonomy and employment, whereas capital and risk are significant obstacles. Â

ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION OF BUSINESS STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN: MOTIVATIONS AND OBSTACLES

The aim of this study is to examine the entrepreneurial intention of Pakistani business students and the influence of motivators and obstacles of it. Total 637 final year graduates and post graduates business student of Hyderabad and Jamshoro districts participated in the survey. The data was accumulated through self-administrated questionnaires. To measure the reliability, Cronbach’s alpha and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality were employed. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, varimax orthogonal rotation method were used to analyze the data. The result showed low degree of entrepreneurial intention amongst business students in Pakistan. They prefer jobs as compare to establish their own business in near future but at the same time they have good intention to start their own business someday. Furthermore, the key motivators recognized by this study are autonomy and employment, whereas capital and risk are significant obstacles. 

Effect of different artificial diets on biological parameters of female Chrysoperla carnea under laboratory conditions

Chrysoperla carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) is considered as a cosmopolitan polyphagous generalist predator. Chrysoperla carnea can be used in biological control programs. The biological parameters of Chrysoperla carnea were studied to check the effect different diets under laboratory conditions. The results indicate that preoviposition, oviposition and post oviposition periods were 8.2±1.25, 30.6±1.72 and 9.4±1.02 days, respectively. The highest mortalities were occurred reared at Water+ Sugar+ Yeast+ Evion diets while no mortality was observed at H2O + Sugar +Yeast + Honey.  The female longevity was 51.2 ± 2.18 days. The fecundity of female was 301.31 eggs per female with 10.36 eggs per day per single female on artificial diet, H2O + Sugar +Yeast + Honey. The study revealed that H2O + Sugar +Yeast + Honey was showed highest survival and fecundity while Water+ Sugar+ Yeast+ Evion least one

Personal Information Sharing Behavior of University Students via Online Social Networks

Background – With privacy concerns growing on a daily basis, it is important to understand how university students guard their personally identifiable information. Despite the students\u27 perceived readiness and several studies on the topic, it is not fully understood what personally identifiable information university students are sharing via Online Social Networks (OSNs). Purpose – Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the personal information sharing behavior of university students through online social networks. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative approach was used and a survey questionnaire was solicited to collect the data from 250 out of 712 master’s students of faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Equal sized stratified simple random sampling technique was used to select the required sample size. Findings – The findings revealed that most of the university students shared their personal information like first name, last name, and the college they attended on OSNs. They rarely updated their profiles and labeled the uploaded photos/ videos with their own names. They mostly used their cell phones to use OSNs and female were conscious to disclose their personal information on OSNs as compared to male students. Originality/value – This study would help the policy makers to establish or develop different types of information security laws to protect the information of individuals on social networking sites. It would also help the students to keep their personal information secret while using Web 2.0 technologies

Information literacy skills of faculty members: A study of the University of Lahore, Pakistan

Purpose – The objective of this study is to gauge the level of information literacy skills of faculty members of the University of Lahore. Design/methodology/approach – To collect required data from population, survey method was used. The participants consisted of the faculty members currently working in the University of Lahore, which reflected the conditions and environment of all campuses of the University of Lahore. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the sample from population of 650 faculty members of the university. The sample size consisted of 84 faculty members in randomly selection. A questionnaire was formulated and personally managed. Therefore collected data were evaluated. Findings – It was found that a majority of faculty members be deficient in searching catalog and its use, choice of information sources, selection of relevant sources and formulation of search strategies. Likewise, many faculty members did not successful users of the university libraries. Originality/value – An extensive search of available literature has shown that such type of study has never been done in the faculty members of the University of Lahore. This study will definitely help to organize different information literacy programs in the university to promote and to develop the information literacy skills among faculty and to improve the teaching quality

Impact of Knowledge Sharing on Job Satisfaction of University Librarians in Pakistan

The objectives of this study were twofold. First, it investigated the impact of knowledge sharing (KS) on job satisfaction (JS), second, this study examined the role of demographic variables (gender, age, designation, qualification, and experience) between KS-JS relationship. A cross-sectional survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 274 currently working university librarians in Higher Education Commission (HEC) recognized universities of Pakistan. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 by applying relevant descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of this study observed a positive association between KS and JS, where KS significantly impacted JS of university librarians. Further, there was no significant findings indicating that the above mentioning demographic variables moderated the relationship between KS and JS except gender. However, conditional or marginal moderation role were observed between KS and JS relationship in presence of these demographic variables (age, designation, qualification, and experience). This study would help institutional management understand librarians\u27 behavior towards their KS so that a collaborative sharing and cohesive learning environment could be established at micro and macro level for high JS. It will provide a pragmatic insight to librarians and universities in order to achieve overall organizational objectives by connecting KS and JS considering demographic factors

Knowledge Sharing Channels used by Medical Students in Pakistan

Purpose: This study aimed at exploring the preferred and effective communication channels used by medical students, and the reasons for choosing these for knowledge sharing (KS). Method: A survey questionnaire was used to collect the data from voluntarily participated 194 undergraduate medical students selected by proportional stratified simple random sampling technique from the University College of Medicine of The University of Lahore. A total of 149 (77%) questionnaires were returned. Findings: Some major findings showed that the medical students mostly preferred and considered face-to-face and SMS (Short Messaging Services) effective communication channels for KS. They used these channels due to their convenience and accessibility. Female students preferred face-to-face and telephonic conversation an effective communication media for KS as compared to male students. Originality / Value: There was a lack of studies focusing on the communication channels used by medical students for KS. It was important to explore various communication channels used by medical students as they were likely to join the workforce after their graduation. The findings will support students to achieve better performance by knowing the importance and value of channel richness to improve learning in their learning environment

Effect of Knowledge Sharing on Nurse’s Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Effect of Innovation Behavior

Knowledge sharing (KS) plays a vital role in increasing the innovation behavior (IB) of employees which ultimately causes their job satisfaction (JS). The extant literature indicated a lack of studies that determined the effect of KS at work place on JS where the mediating role of IB was also analyzed. As, no study was conducted before on this topic considering professional nurses as a unit of analysis, therefore, this study extends the scant literature by examining the effect of KS on nurses’ JS with the mediating effect of IB. The data were collected from 208 currently working professional nurses at public and private sector hospitals of Pakistan using a quantitative survey questionnaire. Equal sized convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample from intended population. Simple linear and hierarchical regression was applied to test the research hypotheses. The findings revealed that KS and IB had positive significant effect on nurses’ JS. Further, IB fully mediated between the relationship of KS and JS. This study provides empirical evidence for positive effect of KS on nurses’ IB which significantly related to their JS. The findings suggest that health care organizations should consider the importance of KS to enhance innovation capabilities of their employees so that they could be satisfied with their job, and provide quality care to the patients

Information Literacy Skills of Management Sciences’ Students

The objective of this study was to determine the information literacy (IL) skills of Management Sciences students. A questionnaire was adopted to collect data from 254 currently enrolled graduate and undergraduate students of two universities, one public sector and one private sector, situated in Lahore, Pakistan. An equal-sized stratified random sampling technique through random numbers was used for this purpose. The results showed that the majority of the students used the university library infrequently to locate their requisite information. Most of the students required a moderate level of information and preferred to get this information in an online format. The opinion of most of the students showed that they were proficient in using internet services (e.g. Google, Yahoo etc.) and different websites to identify their required information. The findings revealed that most of the students were unanimous in their skills to precisely recognize and describe the information they required. This study highlights the importance of IL skills, in order that students can become lifelong learners in retrieving, using, organizing, and presenting their information. The findings of this study would provide some insightful guidelines to university management, policy makers, and those concerned to augment and increase the IL training sessions and programs in Pakistan at the university level. These findings could be implemented on other universities with the same teaching and learning system, strategies, and circumstances.</p