Nafiz Zaman Shuva

Faculty members’ perceptions and use of open access journals Bangladesh perspective

Open access is a humanitarian movement to ensure equal access to knowledge for each and every member of our society. It aims to reduce the access and knowledge divide and allow researchers from around the world to contribute to enriching human knowledge. Using online surveys, this study attempts to understand Bangladeshi faculty members’ awareness, perceptions, and use of open access journals. It also explores the motivational factors that influence the faculty members to choose open access journals for publication. The study briefly discusses some issues of predatory open access journals in the context of the open access movement. Finally, the paper suggests that libraries work as centres for open access publications and help faculty members and researchers choose the right journals for their research.

Integrating ICT into University Curriculum: A Proposal for the Faculty of Arts, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Purpose: The core purpose of the article is to describe the ways to integrate ICT into the departmental curriculum of Faculty of Arts, University of Dhaka as well as to identify the problems that hinder the integration process. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews the literature related to ICT integration into the academic curriculum, benefits of ICT integration and its related aspect. A survey was conducted by the researcher to find out the existing status of ICT integration in the curriculum of departments of the Faculty of Arts, University of Dhaka. Findings: It is found that most of the departments of the Faculty of Arts do not have ICT related courses in their syllabus. It is also found that most of the departments lack ICT related infrastructural facilities as well as there is no ICT equipment in the class room. This paper demonstrates the ways to integrate ICT into the curriculum of Faculty of Arts, University of Dhaka, which could also be taken to integrate ICT into the curriculum of other faculties. It presents a sample ICT curriculum for university students. Finally recommendation is made to integrate ICT into the academic curriculum of the universities in Bangladesh.

Are university libraries in Bangladesh ready to be digital

Purpose – The core purpose of the study is to find the existing status of digital libraries (DLs) in university libraries of Bangladesh and to see whether university libraries of Bangladesh are ready to convert their traditional libraries into digital ones. Other purposes include: to explore the status of adoption of subscription-based e-resources among the university libraries in Bangladesh; to assess the level of information and communications technology skills of library and information science (LIS) professionals working in the university libraries; and to illustrate the government initiatives on digitization/DL development. Design/methodology/approach – The current study used the mixed methods, i.e. qualitative and quantitative. A questionnaire was prepared to assess the existing status of DL systems in university libraries of Bangladesh and to meet other purposes of the study. The population of the study included the heads of the public and private university librarians in Bangladesh. Several phone ...

The Information Practices of the Fishermen in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

Abstract Utilizing de Certeau’s concepts of “tactics” and “strategies,” and Chatman’s “information poverty,” this study examines the information practices of the fishermen in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Using faceto- face surveys, this study gathers data from 102 fishermen in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. The findings of the study reveal that the majority of fishermen (“fisher folks”) studied regularly need information on weather, fish buying and selling prices, daily consumable products, entertainment, and religion. Fisher folks in this study heavily rely on their informal information networks (e.g., family and friends) to meet their diverse information needs. The study also reports various information challenges faced by the participants. It is evident in this study that fisher folks, due to unwelcoming information environment of strategic institutions (e.g., various government agencies), tactically avoid services and information provided by them. A call for radical change in “information service culture” (i.e., offering information to only educated, the dominant group of the society) has been emphasized by the author of the paper. The study also highlights the importance of offering appropriate, need-based, welcoming information services to rural communities by various government information agencies including public libraries. It is expected that this study will help researchers design studies aimed at exploring the “tactical information practices” of various unprivileged groups such as victims of domestic violence, ready-made garments worker, sex workers, etc., who have diverse socioeconomic and political backgrounds.