Faculty in the Applied and Pure Sciences May Have Limited Experience with E-books

A Review of: Bierman, J., Ortega, L., & Rupp-Serrano, K. (2010). E-book usage in pure and applied sciences. Science & technology libraries, 29(1-2), 69-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/01942620903579393 Abstract Objective – To determine the usage of and attitudes toward e-books among faculty in the applied and pure sciences. Design – Online survey and in-person interviews. Setting – A large public university in the United States. Subjects – 11 faculty members. Methods – Participants completed an 11-item survey covering demographic data and questions about electronic book experience and preferences. This was followed up by an in-person interview with the researchers. The interviews were structured into three sections: opening questions about e-book usage, an interactive demonstration and discussion of two preselected e-books, and final follow-up questions. Interviews followed a general script of prepared questions, but also encouraged open discussion and dialogue. Main Results – Most participants in the study reported limited experience with e-books and only 3 of the 11 participants reported using library-purchased e-books in their research and instruction. Participants noted ease of access and searchability as key advantages of e-books. Concerns included the belief that reading and learning is more difficult on a desktop computer, as well as concerns about the stability and reliability of e-book access. Participants also felt negatively about the necessity to create a new login profile and password to access e-books. The study found no difference in the way faculty in pure and applied sciences approached e-books. Conclusion – The authors determine that e-books will likely become more commonly used in academia. Users want e-books that are easy to use and customizable. In addition, the authors conclude that librarians need to understand their patrons’ needs as e-book users and proactively promote and market their e-book collections.

Comparative Study of Valency-Based Topological Indices for Tetrahedral Sheets of Clay Minerals

: Intercapillary research in mathematics and other pure sciences areas has always helped humanity quantify natural phenomena. This article also contributes to which valency-based topological indices are implemented on tetrahedral sheets of clay minerals. These indices have been used for a long time and are considered the most powerful tools to quantify chemical graphs. The atoms in the chemical compound and the bonds between the atoms are depicted as the graph’s vertices and edges, respectively. The valency (or degree) of a vertex in a graph is the number of edges incident to that vertex. In this article, various degree-based indices and their modifications are determined to check each types’ significance.

Implementation of General Education Subject (MPU) in Malaysia: an overview

Human development encompasses a complete process of forming a knowledgeable, moral, skilled, competitive, and resilient human workforce. Human development has become the main focus and agenda of the country’s leadership to be realized primarily through the education system undergone by citizens’ children. In this regard, the Ministry of Education Malaysia has reviewed the curriculum for Compulsory Subjects (MPW) in all Higher Education Institutions in the country. Thus, the General Education Subject (MPU) has been introduced based on the branch of philosophy of knowledge, which involves humanities, pure sciences, and social sciences. However, with many students in a single lecture, the MPU course has its constraints. Some students consider this course as a subject that can be studied on their own. As a result, it is impossible to realizing future proof graduates. Therefore, this article aims to explain the current situation of implementing MPU courses in Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia. The paper is based on findings by reviewing a thorough literature review on the General Education Subject (MPU) courses. This research has applied the document analysis method by analyzing related documents for MPU courses. The data obtained are thematically analyzed via ATLAS.ti 8 software. The research finding has discovered four themes of the General Education Subject (MPU) implementation in Malaysia: its implementation, relevancy, impact, and teaching approach. Finally, the literature conclusion could be used as an initial guide for Higher Education Institutions to improve MPU courses’ implementation in producing future-proof graduates.

Global trends in the reproduction of human capital in the tertiary education system

This article assesses global trends in higher education. Two tasks are central to this effort:1) research into higher as performing the macro-function of producing human capital;2) a comparison of the organization and financing of higher education in different countries.Our hypothesis is as follows. Along with the influence of the mental development of the population and the level of productive forces, we believe that the main difference in the effectiveness of higher education systems is a consequence of the regulatory influences of governments.Study of the contradictions accumulated in the course of continuous reform allows us to propose measures to improve systemic interaction. The article compares the organization of higher education in the USA, Great Britain, Japan, and Russia at various stages, from admission to universities, to employment of graduates, and the corresponding organization and funding of the educational process. Research results are these. Comparing the indicators of applicant selection suggests replacing the Unified State Exam in Russia with an indicator of the weighted average score of electronic diaries. The study of the learning process showed a tendency to replace pure sciences in curricula with applied sciences. Variants of increasing the share of education in pure sciences are proposed to extend the life of basic competencies of graduates in conditions of local backwardness and uncertainty in the development of regional labor markets. For organization and financing of higher education, the analysis suggests an incompatibility between the Bologna system as introduced in Russia, and the preserved course system of education, with its fixed structure of curricula and expulsion for academic failure.The article shows ways to eliminate this incompatibility, such as the transition to a subjectstatus system of education and re-teaching in the subject. This will eliminate the current situation of fining universities for each expelled student. Conclusions are provided about the need for an integrated approach to subsequent transformations based on the study of global trends in the development of higher education and the preservation of the advantages of the development of Russian higher education.

The Science of Politics: Relevance to African Social Systems

ABSTRACT The paper examines the debate on science of politics and its relevance to African social formations. The scientific approach as applied in the natural science experiments is not replicable in the study of social phenomena. Scientific study of social phenomenon is limited and not generalizable like the pure sciences such as mathematics or engineering. This work examines the theoretical debate around the possibility or otherwise of a universally valid social science, the tyranny of Western social sciences and African social reality, and the imperative of developing independent African scholarship responsive to local social realities. Historical and explorative qualitative research design is used. Findings show statistical approach and comparative methods have made significant contribution to the scientific study of social reality. Nevertheless, the nature of what is studied is rooted in cultural peculiarities, and cannot be universal. Western social science theories are Eurocentric and teleological. African scholarship needs socially relevant theories for advancing precepts, theories with cultural imprint relevant to local social realities.

Critical Water Geographies: From Histories to Affect

Water resource geography has undergone a considerable transformation since its original moorings in engineering and the pure sciences. As this Special Issue demonstrates, many intellectual and practical gains are being made through a politicized practice of water scholarship. This work by geographers integrates a critical social scientific perspective on agency, power relations, method and most importantly the affective/emotional aspects of water with profound familiarity and expertise across sub-disciplines and regions. Here, the ‘critical’ aspects of water resource geography imply anti-positivist epistemologies pressed into the service of contributing to social justice and liberation from water-related political and material struggles. The five papers making up this Special Issue address these substantive and theoretical concerns across South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and North America.