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.

Developing a Theoretical Framework for a Study on the Impact of Advertising Credibility of Consumer Healthcare Products

The tough competition in the global and national markets and new trends in consumerism resulted in an increase in the volume of advertisements. Sometimes advertisers are successful in achieving their intended objectives with a particular advertisement and sometimes they are not .These factors contributed a lot towards the decision making problems of advertising agencies with regard to the selection of appropriate advertising strategies and tactics. The tough competition and large volume of advertising make the consumers confused and this even created doubts in the minds of consumers about the genuineness and reliability of manufacturers and products. These factors caused a query regarding the active role of credibility element in advertising. The proposed study examines the effects of advertising credibility in consumer health care non durable product advertising on communication effect, purchase behavior and ad skepticism. This paper examines the need for the study of advertising credibility and reviews the advertising- consumer behaviour- credibility – healthcare theories which form a basis for the study. It identifies the different components and dimensions of advertising credibility and the importance of communication effect, purchase behavior and ad skepticism. It also studies the relevance of credibility in the consumer healthcare products advertising and suggests a Theoretical Framework for the proposed study

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.

Workforce Issues in the Greater Boston Health Care Industry: Implications for Work and Family

Interviews with more than 40 leaders in the Boston area health care industry have identified a range of broadly-felt critical problems. This document synthesizes these problems and places them in the context of work and family issues implicit in the organization of health care workplaces. It concludes with questions about possible ways to address such issues. The defining circumstance for the health care industry nationally as well as regionally at present is an extraordinary reorganization, not yet fully negotiated, in the provision and financing of health care. Hoped-for controls on increased costs of medical care – specifically the widespread replacement of indemnity insurance by market-based managed care and business models of operation--have fallen far short of their promise. Pressures to limit expenditures have produced dispiriting conditions for the entire healthcare workforce, from technicians and aides to nurses and physicians. Under such strains, relations between managers and workers providing care are uneasy, ranging from determined efforts to maintain respectful cooperation to adversarial negotiation. Taken together, the interviews identify five key issues affecting a broad cross-section of occupational groups, albeit in different ways: Staffing shortages of various kinds throughout the health care workforce create problems for managers and workers and also for the quality of patient care. Long work hours and inflexible schedules place pressure on virtually every part of the healthcare workforce, including physicians. Degraded and unsupportive working conditions, often the result of workplace "deskilling" and "speed up," undercut previous modes of clinical practice. Lack of opportunities for training and advancement exacerbate workforce problems in an industry where occupational categories and terms of work are in a constant state of flux. Professional and employee voices are insufficiently heard in conditions of rapid institutional reorganization and consolidation. Interviewees describe multiple impacts of these issues--on the operation of health care workplaces, on the well being of the health care workforce, and on the quality of patient care. Also apparent in the interviews, but not clearly named and defined, is the impact of these issues on the ability of workers to attend well to the needs of their families--and the reciprocal impact of workers' family tensions on workplace performance. In other words, the same things that affect patient care also affect families, and vice versa. Some workers describe feeling both guilty about raising their own family issues when their patients' needs are at stake, and resentful about the exploitation of these feelings by administrators making workplace policy. The different institutions making up the health care system have responded to their most pressing issues with a variety of specific stratagems but few that address the complexities connecting relations between work and family. The MIT Workplace Center proposes a collaborative exploration of next steps to probe these complications and to identify possible locations within the health care system for workplace experimentation with outcomes benefiting all parties.

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