Impact of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on Professional Development and Educational Needs of Library Professionals in the Universities of Kerala

The shift from print to digital information has a high impact on all components of the academic library system in India especially the users, services and the staff. Though information is considered as an important resource, the use of ICT tools to collect and disseminate information has been in a slow pace in majority of the University libraries This may be due to various factors like insufficient funds, inadequate staff trained in handling computers and software packages, administrative concerns etc. In Kerala, automation has been initiated in almost all University libraries using library automation software and is under different stages of completion. There are not much studies conducted about the effects of information communication technologies on the professional activities of library professionals in the universities in Kerala. It is important to evaluate whether progress in ICT has had any impact on the library profession in these highest educational institutions. The aim of the study is to assess whether the developments in information communication technologies have any influence on the library professionals’ professional development, and the need for further education and training in the profession and evaluate their skills in handling developments in ICT. The total population of the study is 252 including the permanently employed professional library staff in central libraries and departmental libraries in the main campuses of the universities under study. This is almost a census study of the defined population of users. The questionnaire method was adopted for collection of data for this study, supplemented by interviews of Librarians to gather additional information. Library Professionals have a positive approach towards ICT applications and services in Libraries, but majority do not have the opportunities to develop their skills and competencies in their work environment. To develop competitive personnel in a technologically advanced world, high priority must be given to develop competence in ICT applications, library management and soft skills in library professionals, by the University administrators and Library associations. Library science schools and teaching departments across the country have to take significant steps to revise library science curriculum, and incorporate significant changes to achieve the demands and challenges of library science profession.

Career Advancement of MBAs: A study on the effect of personal, professional,organisational and environmental variables

School of Management Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Professional Services: Civil Liability for Deficiency

This study deals the professional Services civil Liability for deficiency with special reference to medical professionals.the study deals with the characteristics of profession,basis of liability , historical evolution of legal controls on professional services, liability of doctors for negligence under tort law. Expectations to liability for medical negligence are critically evaluated. consent of medical treatment etc are studied

Professional Services

This is a study on “Professional Services: Civil Liability for Deficiency”. This study is made with special reference to medical profession. The importance of qualitative professional services does not require any emphasis. It is a matter of great concern for the people as they are consumers.This study is divided into 12 chapters. The introductory chapter deals with characteristics of profession, basis of professional liability and international efforts to check abuse of position by professional men. Consumers as laymen can not perceive the intricacies of professional services. As a result professional men could misuse their superior position to expose consumers to hardship through deficient services. This is obvious from the fact that deficiency in professional services has assumed a menacing proportion. It is indicative of failure of internal control through self-regulation to check the abuse of position by the professional men. The professional bodies entrusted with the task of enforcing disciplinary measures show a very callous and indifferent attitude towards the repressive conduct of their members. These bodies are more concerned to protect the interest of their members. They are not free from institutional bias. They have put the interest of consumers into oblivion. In effect remedies through professional bodies has become a myth. All these factors make the external control of professional services mandatory to protect the consumers from the clutches of unscrupulous professional men, who abuse their superior position. The professional men who abuse their position are exposed to liability. Their liability arises under contract, tort and statutory law. The present study substantially concentrates on professional liability of medical men. The obvious reason is that of all professional services medical services are the frequently availed services by the consumers. Medical negligence cases account for bulk of the professional negligence cases. ln India also large number of cases are coming before consumer forae. The legal principles evolved in this sphere of professional service confers an insight into legal control of other professional services as well. The same principles are applied to other professions also, as by and large all the professions share common characteristics. Such principles are modified wherever necessary to make room for differential aspects of particular profession

Value orientation of professional students in kerala

The present study is on value orientation of professional students•and as such the theoretical value is inherent and implied. Variation on this value is likely to be limited among the subjects. The relevance of the present study is with particular reference, to management as a profession. In organisational settings motivation plays an important role. According to McClelland's theory of needs, achievement, power, and affiliation are the three important needs that help in understanding motivation. Achieve~ent need may be defined as the drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, and to strive to succeed. Some people have a compelling drive to succeed. They have a desire to do something better or more efficiently than it has been done before. McClelland found that high achievers differentiate themselves from others by their desire to do things . better. Considering this fact, 'achievement' is included as one of the values for the study

Professional Associations and Academic Librarianship in Kerala

The library professional in an academic institution has to anticipate the changing expectations of the users, and be flexible in adopting new skills and levels of awareness. Technology has drastically changed the way librarians define themselves and the way they think about their profession and the institutions they serve. In addition to the technical and professional skills, commitment to user centred services and skills for effective oral and written communication; they must have other skills, including business and management, teaching, leadership, etc. Eventually, library and information professionals in academic libraries need to update their knowledge and skills in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as they play the role of key success factor in enabling the library to perform its role as an information support system for the society.

Professional Skills and Competencies for Academic Librarian in an Electronic Environment

Development of new technologies in the field of library and information science especially in academic libraries has resulted in the need for library staff to be flexible in adopting new skills and levels of awareness. In addition to core technology skills, importance is to be given to other skills in communication, management, etc. This paper attempts to describe in brief the competencies and skills required for an academic library professional in the digital era .

Professional Development of Academic Library Professionals in Kerala

The paper aims to bring out the problems and prospects of the professional development opportunities of academic library professionals in the Universities in Kerala. The study is a part of research undertaken to survey the professional development activities and educational needs of library professionals in the major Universities of Kerala because of the developments in Information communication technology. The study recommends methods for improving the knowledge/skills of library professionals. The aim of the study is to evaluate the professional development activities of Library professionals and their attitude towards continuing education programmes. In order to achieve the objectives of the study a survey was conducted with the help of structured questionnaires distributed to 203 library professionals in seven major universities in Kerala, (South India) of which 185 questionnaires were returned. Results of the analysis show that majority of the professionals have pursued higher degrees in library science or IT allied courses after entering the profession, and that they have a positive attitude towards participation in training programmes and workshops. The results show that developments in ICT have a positive influence on majority of library professionals‘ attitude towards continuing education programmes.

Does interpersonal behavior of psychotherapy trainees differ in private and professional relationships?

• Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of trainees’ interpersonal behavior on work involvement (WI) and compared their social behavior within professional and private relationships as well as between different psychotherapeutic orientations. • Methods: The interpersonal scales of the Intrex short-form questionnaire and the Work Involvement Scale (WIS) were used to evaluate two samples of German psychotherapy trainees in psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, and cognitive behavioral therapy training. Trainees from Sample 1 (N = 184) were asked to describe their interpersonal behavior in relation to their patients when filling out the Intrex, whereas trainees from Sample 2 (N = 135) were asked to describe the private relationship with a significant other. • Results: Interpersonal affiliation in professional relationships significantly predicted the level of healing involvement, while stress involvement was predicted by interpersonal affiliation and interdependence in trainees’ relationships with their patients. Social behavior within professional relationships provided higher correlations with WI than private interpersonal behavior. Significant differences were found between private and professional relation settings in trainees’ interpersonal behavior with higher levels of affiliation and interdependence with significant others. Differences between therapeutic orientation and social behavior could only be found when comparing trainees’ level of interdependence with the particular relationship setting. • Conclusion: Trainees’ interpersonal level of affiliation in professional relationships is a predictor for a successful psychotherapeutic development. Vice versa, controlling behavior in professional settings can be understood as a risk factor against psychotherapeutic growth. Both results strengthen an evidence-based approach for competence development during psychotherapy training.

L'Orientació professional

L'autor fa un repàs a la història de l'orientació professional al llarg del segle XX i analitza les diverses causes econòmiques polítiques i socials

Professionals: L'experiència d'un titulat que desenvolupa la seva activitat professional dissenyant circuits electrònics

Seguint amb l’objectiu que titulats a l’Escola Politècnica Superior expliquin detalls de la seva inserció laboral i del seu perfil professional, en aquest segon número de la revista entrevistem el Sr. Albert Pijuan Vila. En aquest cas no es tracta d’un titulat recent, ja que l’Albert va finalitzar els estudis l’any 1988. Recordem que, si bé al 1988 ja disposàvem de d’actual edifici P-I de l’EPS, l’escola encara estava vinculada a la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. El principal interès que ens ha mogut a entrevistar l’Albert ha estat el fet de poder presentar les característiques d’un tipus de lloc de treball que pot ser adient per a alguns dels titulats actuals de l’EPS, especialment d’Enginyeria Tècnica Industrial, especialitat Electrònica Industrial i Enginyeria Tècnica en Informàtica de Sistemes. L’entrevista també vol explorar quins són els tipus de coneixements i les competències que haurien d’adquirir els estudiants per adequar-se millor a aquest tipus de sortida professional

Art i part :la figura del/la professional de l'educació social en processos de desenvolupament cultural comunitari

Anàlisi de la figura de l'educador/a social en processos de desenvolupament comunitari a partir d'experiències diverses a Catalunya

El profesorado de Educación Física como agente en la coeducación : actitudes y buenas prácticas para la construcción de género en la escuela.

Reconocer las actitudes del profesorado en Andalucía ante el proceso School Doing Gender (SDG). Explorar las actitudes del profesorado de Educación Física hacia la construcción de una cultura de género en la escuela. Comparar las puntuaciones obtenidas por el profesorado de Educación Física y el profesorado en general. Examinar Buenas Prácticas Coeducativas dentro del área de Educación Física. Se desarrolla con profesorado en activo y en formación universitaria de la Comunidad de Madrid y de Andalucía, sigue una metodología de investigación evaluativa, se caracteriza por una combinación de metodologías cuantitativa y cualitativa. Respecto a la metodología cuantitativa, se emplea técnicas de encuesta instrumentalizadas para la contrastación de las hipótesis comparativas y objetivos. La metodología cualitativa utiliza un enfoque metodológico cualitativo, interpretativo, crítico aplicando para ello un estudio de casos, la muestra participante corresponde a 1610 profesores y profesoras, de los cuales el 43,7 por ciento son hombres y el 56,3 por ciento son mujeres. El profesorado seleccionado imparte docencia en el 14,4 por ciento de los casos en Infantil en el 41,7 por ciento en Primaria, en el 33,7 de los casos en Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) y el 10,2 por ciento en Bachillerato. En cuanto al tipo de centro, el 18,3 por ciento del profesorado proviene de centros concertados y el 81,7 de centros públicos. Para la realización del estudio se utilizan diferentes recursos. Por un lado, una escala válida y fiable para la medición de las actitudes del profesorado. Por otro lado un recurso, de carácter informático para la selección y análisis estadísticos de datos. Finalmente cuenta con recursos económicos del proyecto de excelencia de la Junta de Andalucía, TEONXXI. Para la recogida de datos de la Comunidad de Madrid se realiza una estancia de investigación del profesor-autor en el Departamento de Expresión Musical y Corporal de dicha Universidad. Se ha establecido cuatro grandes líneas de conclusiones : con respecto al profesorado general, con respecto al profesorado de Educación Física, en relación a la comparativa entre ambos grupos de docentes, y finalmente sobre las buenas prácticas coeducativas en Educación Física. Con respecto al profesorado general se demuestra que el profesorado de Educación Física que participa, de una u otra, manera en actividades de coeducación, muestra actitudes más coeducativas que el profesorado que no lo hace, suele participar libremente en estas actividades el profesorado más inclinado actitudinalmente a favor de la perspectiva de genero. El profesorado de Educación Física alcanza puntuaciones que lo posicionan como un profesorado adaptativo, mientras que el profesorado general muestra una actitud coeducativa. Se confirma que existen Buenas Prácticas Coeducativas en el área de Educación Física, a pesar de que no siempre cumplen todos los criterios teóricamente establecidos para considerarlas 'Buenas Prácticas', obtienen unos beneficios positivos para la construcción de una cultura igualitaria en la escuela. Por un lado da visibilidad a las desigualdades y discriminaciones que se producen en la escuela y en el deporte; por otro lado, son actuaciones que, de una manera u otra, envuelven a toda la comunidad educativa; por último, las propuestas son inclusivas y se dirigen tanto a las mujeres como a los hombres, buscando construir nuevos modelos de feminidad y masculinidad compatibles con el marco de igualdad y acción social comentado y libre de violencia que la teoría de género propugna.