Re-engineering and Re-defining University Libraries in the context of modern Information and Communication Technologies: a study with special reference to the University Libraries in Kerala

Information and communication technologies are the tools that underpin the emerging “Knowledge Society”. Exchange of information or knowledge between people and through networks of people has always taken place. But the ICT has radically changed the magnitude of this exchange, and thus factors such as timeliness of information and information dissemination patterns have become more important than ever.Since information and knowledge are so vital for the all round human development, libraries and institutions that manage these resources are indeed invaluable. So, the Library and Information Centres have a key role in the acquisition, processing, preservation and dissemination of information and knowledge. ln the modern context, library is providing service based on different types of documents such as manuscripts, printed, digital, etc. At the same time, acquisition, access, process, service etc. of these resources have become complicated now than ever before. The lCT made instrumental to extend libraries beyond the physical walls of a building and providing assistance in navigating and analyzing tremendous amounts of knowledge with a variety of digital tools. Thus, modern libraries are increasingly being re-defined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources.The research was conducted in the university libraries in Kerala State, India. lt was identified that even though the information resources are flooding world over and several technologies have emerged to manage the situation for providing effective services to its clientele, most of the university libraries in Kerala were unable to exploit these technologies at maximum level. Though the libraries have automated many of their functions, wide gap prevails between the possible services and provided services. There are many good examples world over in the application of lCTs in libraries for the maximization of services and many such libraries have adopted the principles of reengineering and re-defining as a management strategy. Hence this study was targeted to look into how effectively adopted the modern lCTs in our libraries for maximizing the efficiency of operations and services and whether the principles of re-engineering and- redefining can be applied towards this.Data‘ was collected from library users, viz; student as well as faculty users; library ,professionals and university librarians, using structured questionnaires. This has been .supplemented by-observation of working of the libraries, discussions and interviews with the different types of users and staff, review of literature, etc. Personal observation of the organization set up, management practices, functions, facilities, resources, utilization of information resources and facilities by the users, etc. of the university libraries in Kerala have been made. Statistical techniques like percentage, mean, weighted mean, standard deviation, correlation, trend analysis, etc. have been used to analyse data.All the libraries could exploit only a very few possibilities of modern lCTs and hence they could not achieve effective Universal Bibliographic Control and desired efficiency and effectiveness in services. Because of this, the users as well as professionals are dissatisfied. Functional effectiveness in acquisition, access and process of information resources in various formats, development and maintenance of OPAC and WebOPAC, digital document delivery to remote users, Web based clearing of library counter services and resources, development of full-text databases, digital libraries and institutional repositories, consortia based operations for e-journals and databases, user education and information literacy, professional development with stress on lCTs, network administration and website maintenance, marketing of information, etc. are major areas need special attention to improve the situation. Finance, knowledge level on ICTs among library staff, professional dynamism and leadership, vision and support of the administrators and policy makers, prevailing educational set up and social environment in the state, etc. are some of the major hurdles in reaping the maximum possibilities of lCTs by the university libraries in Kerala. The principles of Business Process Re-engineering are found suitable to effectively apply to re-structure and redefine the operations and service system of the libraries. Most of the conventional departments or divisions prevailing in the university libraries were functioning as watertight compartments and their existing management system was more rigid to adopt the principles of change management. Hence, a thorough re-structuring of the divisions was indicated. Consortia based activities and pooling and sharing of information resources was advocated to meet the varied needs of the users in the main campuses and off campuses of the universities, affiliated colleges and remote stations. A uniform staff policy similar to that prevailing in CSIR, DRDO, ISRO, etc. has been proposed by the study not only in the university libraries in kerala but for the entire country.Restructuring of Lis education,integrated and Planned development of school,college,research and public library systems,etc.were also justified for reaping maximum benefits of the modern ICTs.

Modelling metal cutting using modern ductile fracture mechanics: Quantitative explanations for some longstanding problems

The assumption that negligible work is involved in the formation of new surfaces in the machining of ductile metals, is re-examined in the light of both current Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations of cutting and modern ductile fracture mechanics. The work associated with separation criteria in FEM models is shown to be in the kJ/m2 range rather than the few J/m2 of the surface energy (surface tension) employed by Shaw in his pioneering study of 1954 following which consideration of surface work has been omitted from analyses of metal cutting. The much greater values of surface specific work are not surprising in terms of ductile fracture mechanics where kJ/m2 values of fracture toughness are typical of the ductile metals involved in machining studies. This paper shows that when even the simple Ernst–Merchant analysis is generalised to include significant surface work, many of the experimental observations for which traditional ‘plasticity and friction only’ analyses seem to have no quantitative explanation, are now given meaning. In particular, the primary shear plane angle φ becomes material-dependent. The experimental increase of φ up to a saturated level, as the uncut chip thickness is increased, is predicted. The positive intercepts found in plots of cutting force vs. depth of cut, and in plots of force resolved along the primary shear plane vs. area of shear plane, are shown to be measures of the specific surface work. It is demonstrated that neglect of these intercepts in cutting analyses is the reason why anomalously high values of shear yield stress are derived at those very small uncut chip thicknesses at which the so-called size effect becomes evident. The material toughness/strength ratio, combined with the depth of cut to form a non-dimensional parameter, is shown to control ductile cutting mechanics. The toughness/strength ratio of a given material will change with rate, temperature, and thermomechanical treatment and the influence of such changes, together with changes in depth of cut, on the character of machining is discussed. Strength or hardness alone is insufficient to describe machining. The failure of the Ernst–Merchant theory seems less to do with problems of uniqueness and the validity of minimum work, and more to do with the problem not being properly posed. The new analysis compares favourably and consistently with the wide body of experimental results available in the literature. Why considerable progress in the understanding of metal cutting has been achieved without reference to significant surface work is also discussed.

'Thou glorious kingdome, thou chiefe of empires': Persia in seventeenth-century travel literature

Bringing together a range of little-considered materials, this article assesses the portrayal of Persia in seventeenth-century travel literature and drama. In particular it argues that such texts use their awareness of Islamic sectarian division to portray Persia as a good potential trading partner in preference to the Ottoman Empire. A close reading of John Day, William Rowley and George Wilkins’ The Travailes of the Three English Brothers (1607) demonstrates how the play develops a fantasy model of how relations between Persia and England might function. The potential unity between England and Persia, imagined in terms of both religion and trade, demonstrates how Persia figured as a model ‘other England’ in early modern literature.

‘Rapt up with joy’: children’s emotional responses to death in early modern England

The chapter is an investigation of the child’s emotional response to death in early modern England. While much valuable scholarship has been produced on parents’ responses to the deaths of children, the reactions of the young themselves have rarely been explored. Drawing on a range of printed and archival sources, I argue that children expressed diverse and conflicting emotions, from fear and anxiety, to excitement and ecstasy. By exploring the emotional experiences of Protestants, the chapter contributes to the bourgeoning literature on emotion and religion, and contests earlier depictions of reformed Protestantism as an inherently intellectual, rather than an affective, faith. This study also suggests that we revise the way we classify the emotions, resisting the intuitive urge to categorise them as ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. The fear of hell, for example, though profoundly unpleasant, was regarded as a rational, commendable response, which demonstrated the work of the Holy Spirit in the soul, and was a prerequisite for the attainment of a joyful assurance of heaven. An underlying question is to what extent children’s responses to death differed from those of adults. I propose that although their reactions were broadly similar, the precise preoccupations of dying children were different. Through highlighting these distinctive features, we can come to a closer idea of what it was like to be a child in the early modern period.

Prevalence and predictors of ventricular remodeling after anterior myocardial infarction in the era of modern medical therapy

Background: The consequences of aggressive therapy following a myocardial infarction (MI) on ventricular remodeling are not well established. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and predictors of left ventricular remodeling in the era of modern medical therapy.Material/Methods: Clinical characteristics and echocardiographic data were analyzed in 66 consecutive patients with anterior infarction at admission and at 6-month follow-up. Ventricular remodeling was defined as an increase of 10% in ventricular end-systolic or end-diastolic diameter.Results: In our study, 58% of patients presented with ventricular remodeling. Patients with remodeling possessed higher total plasma creatine kinase (CPK), MB-fraction (CPK-MB), heart rate, heart failure, shortness of breath, and reperfusion therapy than patients without remodeling. In contrast, patients with remodeling had a smaller ejection fraction, E-Wave deceleration time (EDT), and early (E' Wave) and late (A' Wave) diastolic mitral annulus velocity (average of septal and lateral walls), but a higher E/E' than patients without remodeling. Patients with remodeling used more diuretics, digoxin, oral anticoagulants and aldosterone antagonists than patients without remodeling. In the multivariate analyses, only E' Wave was an independent predictor of ventricular remodeling. Each 1 unit increase in the E' Wave was associated with a 59% increased odds of ventricular remodeling.Conclusions: In patients with anterior MI, despite contemporary treatment, ventricular remodeling is still a common event. In addition, diastolic function can have an important role as a predictor of remodeling in this scenario.

TIME-COURSE DIFFUSION of HYDROGEN PEROXIDE USING MODERN TECHNOLOGIES

The concern with the hydrogen penetration towards the pulp can be observed on the literature by the great number of papers published on this topic; Those measurements often uses chemical agents to quantify the concentration of the bleaching agent that cross the enamel and dentin. The objective of this work was the quantification of oxygen free radicals by fluorescence that are located in the interface between enamel and dentin. It was used to accomplish our objectives a Ruthenium probe (FOXY R - Ocean Optics(R)) a 405nm LED, a bovine tooth and a portable diagnostic system (Science and support LAB - LAT - IFSC/USP). The fluorescence of the probe is suppressed in presence of oxygen free radicals in function of time. The obtained results clearly shows that the hydrogen peroxide when not catalyzed should be kept in contact with the tooth for longer periods of time.