014436   Jeevan V K J (NO, Deputy Librarian, Indira Gandhi National Open Univ, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068, Email: vkjj@rediffmail.com) : Quality improvement and quantity enhancement of Indian LIS journals. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(3), 217-26.

Journals are the main vehicles for disseminating research publications and one can gauge the standard of research in the country through its publications. India has a growing population of researchers and academics who want to publish and search for easy outlets guaranteeing quick publication. Indian journals as a whole and LIS journals in particular fail miserably when it comes to maintaining quality. There should be a first received first reviewed and first published policy to be adopted by Indian LIS journals. Indian journal editors need to be more communicative with authors and they should adopt the best practices followed by the international journal editors. Indian LIS researchers have few journals and conference proceedings to publish their papers on the one hand and there is a need to publish more papers for professional progress. This has become important especially in the aftermath of the Academic Performance Indicators (APIs) introduced by the UGC after the VI Central Pay Revision where 55% of API scores can be claimed through publications. Through consortia based access, LIS researchers are exposed to what is being studied in the advanced countries. Thus more number of papers by LIS researchers from India are appearing in international journals. There are also many papers getting wasted in conference proceedings and festschrift volumes and editor interest driven book chapters. Such publications never have a wider reach and suffer from poor bibliographic control. Authors and researchers need to conserve their research output by opting for its wider dissemination and better visibility by opting to publish in quality journals and they can strengthen Indian journals only by publishing their best papers in these journals.

6 tables, 15 ref

014435   Jayasundara C (NO, Fiji National Univ, P.O. Box 7222, Nasinu, Fiji, Email: ul@fnu.ac.fj) : Drivers of customer satisfaction in libraries: a case study of the FNU libraries. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2013, 60(4), 304-13.

Although the provision of facilities and staffing at Fiji National University (FNU) Libraries appear to be adequate, there seems to be less emphasis on quality service delivery in the customers' eyes. This study therefore aimed to establish service quality determinants, which may have good relationship with customer satisfaction in FNU libraries. Invention of quality determinants were derived upon a comprehensive methodology consisting of three methods. First, 68 determinants were generated through the existing literature, and then these determinants were reviewed by focus groups and 39 determinants were identified as applicable determinants in FNU libraries. In addition to that 7 determinants were found by focus group discussions which are very specific to the FNU and which cannot be found from the prevailing literature. The focus groups were used as the key method for selecting the appropriate determinants. Finally, the content and face validity of these determinants were evaluated by a panel of experts to identify the most appropriate determinants and produced 37 determinants in the FNU library system. This study provides a useful device as a reference tool for library professionals and policy makers to gauge the levels of overall user satisfaction and setting up a quality assurance scheme in Fijian university libraries.

5 tables, 36 ref

014434   Hossain M J;Islam M A;Saadi M S (Information Science and Library Management Dep, Dhaka Univ, Bangladesh, Email: jaberhdu@gmail.com) : Evaluating users' experience of service performance using SERVPERF scale: a case study of some private university libraries in Bangladesh. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2013, 60(4), 249-59.

Central purpose of this paper is to explore and evaluate users' experience of service performance of four private university libraries in Bangladesh. For primary data collection, the study used a 26-item instrument based on five dimensional modified version of SERVQUAL scale. Respondents indicated their degree of opinions on a 7-point Likert-type scale in the three column format. SERVPERF scale (perceptions scores) was applied to explore the service performance. To evaluate existing service performance, the study develops a Service Performance Matrix (SPM) using SERVPERF scale. Result shows that services of IUB library at a large scale (twenty items) and EWU library at a limited scale (three items) are perceived with better performance. The other service items of these university libraries are seeking immediate improvement, which is equally implied for the whole service items of NSU and BRACU libraries. The SPM method used in this study may acts as a more comprehensive performance assessment tool for the librarians to determine the level of service performance, and to maintain the order of improvement priorities for the service items.

2 illus, 8 tables, 35 ref

014433   Ho Y S (NO, Trend Research Centre, Asia Univ, Taichung 41354, Taiwan, Email: ysho@asia.edu.tw) : Bibliometric analysis of highly cited articles in materials science. Curr Sci 2014, 107(9), 1565-72.

The aim of the present study is to identify and analyse the characteristics of the highly cited articles in materials science, including eight Web of Science categories: multidisciplinary materials science, coatings and films materials science, biomaterials materials science, ceramics materials science, composites materials science, paper and wood materials science, characterization and testing materials science, and textiles materials science within the publication year from 1900 to 2011 based on Science Citation Index-Expanded. Articles that have been cited at least 100 times since publication to 2011 were assessed regarding their distribution in indexed journals. The citation lives of the highly cited articles depending on citations in the publication year, recent years and years after publication were applied for the impact of articles. A new indicator, the Y-index, was applied to assess publication quantity and the characteristics of contribution to articles. Results showed that 14,044 highly cited articles were published between 1900 and 2010. Among them, 70% were published in 1990s and 2000s, and 48% originated from the US. Langmuir and Journal of the Electrochemical Society hosted the highly cited articles. Most top cited articles in the publication year would not be top cited in recent years. F-index results showed that Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA had high articles publication potential as well as published the most first author and corresponding author articles. Geim and Novoselov who are the 2010 Nobel laureates, published the most potential article in materials science. F-index showed that Inoue and Xia had the highest publication performance but different publication characteristics.

5 illus, 3 tables, 55 ref

014432   Garg K C;Bebi (NO, CSIR National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies, Dr. K S Krishnan Marg, New Delhi-110 012, Email: gargkc022@gmail.com) : A citation study of Annals of Library and Information studies (ALIS) and DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technology (DJLIT). Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(3), 212-16.

The study presents an analysis of the number of articles published in Annals of Library and Information Studies (ALIS) and DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technology (DJLIT) during 2010-2013 and the citations obtained by these articles during 2010-2014 (April) using Google. The study develops immediacy index and impact factor of the two journals, besides, identifying the highly cited authors/papers. Findings reveal that DJLIT published more papers than ALIS and also received more citations. However, citation per paper for both the journals is almost equal. DJLIT have a better immediacy index than ALIS. Impact factor of both the journals was less than one in 2012; however, it increased in 2013 and was more than one in 2013.

6 tables, 5 ref

014431   Egunjobi A F;Salisu T M;Ogunkeye O (NO, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria, Email: megunjobi@yahoo.com) : Academic profile and career choice of fresh undergraduates of library and information science in a Nigerian university of education. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2013, 60(4), 296-303.

Choice of a career is very essential in learner's academic endeavour. This study investigated the academic profile and career choice of fresh undergraduates of LIS (Library and Information Science) in a Nigerian University of Education. The study sought to find out the academic profile and the preferred course chosen by the undergraduates, as well as the perception of the undergraduates about LIS. A total of 120 newly admitted undergraduates in the Department of LIS, Tai Solarin University of Education, (TASUED) Nigeria were purposively chosen. Data was gathered using an instrument tagged Perception of New Entrants about LIS/Profession (PERNELIS). All questionnaires administered were returned and found useful for the study. The entry academic profile indicated that 113(94.3%) and 109(93.4%) of the undergraduates had at least a credit or more in the mandatory subjects i.e., English and mathematics. Also, the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) score revealed that most of the undergraduates had above 200 i.e. 88(72.5%) over a total score of 400 while the Post-UTME results indicated that majority or 70(58.3%) of the undergraduates had between 13-25 on an overall scale of 100. Furthermore, the study found out that undergraduates were influenced to study LIS based on their interest (55.0%) hence 40(33.3%) and 55(45.8%) undergraduates choose the course LIS as their first and second choices respectively. The study therefore recommends sustained and continuous awareness about LIS in order to ascertain that LIS schools are not dumping ground for low intelligent quotient (IQ) undergraduates.

5 tables, 17 ref

014430   Dutta B;Sen B K (Library & Information Science Dep, Vidyasagar Univ, Midnapore 721 102, Email: bidyarthi.bhaswati@gmail.com) : One hundred years of Indian LIS periodicals. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(3), 167-92.

This paper briefly traces the hundred years journey of Indian LIS periodicals. In all, 186 periodicals have been found to be published since 1912, of which 63 periodicals have ceased publication and the remaining 123 are continuing. The oldest periodical entitled Library Miscellany was started in the year 1912 from Baroda and ceased after eight years, in 1920. Another periodical entitled Granthalaya Sarvaswamu that started in 1915 from Vijayawada is still continuing. It is a bilingual periodical and publishes articles both in English and Telugu. This periodical may be reckoned as the oldest Indian LIS periodical today. A few of the periodicals are indexed in well known indexing, abstracting and bibliographic databases. It is observed that most journals were from Delhi followed by West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Nearly eighty percent periodicals are in English, while 17% are multilingual (English with one or more regional languages). The leading regional language is Bengali followed by Marathi and Hindi. It is found that 78% periodicals appear in printed form, 10% in online electronic form and 12% publications appear in both printed and electronic form. Also, 93% periodicals are found as closed access publication, while only 7% are open access. Among Indian LIS periodicals, 35% are (quarterly) and 31% (bi-annual). The proportion of monthly and annual periodicals is 9% each. Mushrooming of open access LIS periodicals has been observed since 2010. In the hundred-year period, the highest number of periodicals (35) was started in the year 2011.

4 illus, 15 tables, 13 ref

014429   Daudu H M;Mohammed Z (NO, Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello Univ Zaria, Nigeria, Email: hmdaudu@yahoo.com) : Information dissemination, access and utilization for socio-economic empowerment of rural people in northern states of Nigeria. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2013, 60(4), 235-41.

Rural people in northern states of Nigeria are those whose main occupation is subsistence farming. They exhibit a relatively higher rate of poverty than their counterparts in the urban areas. Therefore, they need information that can empower them to fight poverty and other social vices. The objective of the study was to identify the types of information required, channels available and used to disseminate information to the rural people. Two research questions were raised and answered, and one null hypothesis was formulated and tested using chi-square. Descriptive research method was used and questionnaire was the instrument used to gather data. The study revealed that the information required by rural people in northern states of Nigeria was information on agriculture, bank loans, poverty alleviation programmes and any other information that can raise their socio-economic status. It further revealed that the channels available and used for the dissemination of the information were not adequate. It was suggested among other things, community information centres (CICs) for rural people be established and that state public libraries should use the CICs to disseminate information through the Local Government Information Units.

2 tables, 13 ref

014428   Dash J N;Parida B (NO, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Sainik school, Bhubaneswar-751 005, Email: jndash@gmail.com) : Diffusion of medical journals analysed through citations. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2013, 60(4), 242-8.

Impact Factor (IF) is a popular bibliometircs and scientometrics tool for assessing the performance of scholarly journals. But there are many national journals from developing and under developing countries which are not indexed by SCI and are without IF. National journals play a vital role for a country. It is suggested that the performance of a journal cannot be measured by a single indicator. Diffusion of information is a basic notion of publications and citations. So diffusion study has been used to measure the influence of a journal. In this study two Indian non-SCI medical journals, viz., Indian Journal of Cancer and Journal of Communicable Diseases were selected for diffusion measure. New JDF and equivalent IF is calculated using citations data. Data is collected from Elsevier's SCOPUS database for the period of 2001-2010. It is found that there is improvement in Diffusion factors for both journals, but there is significant rise for Indian Journal of Cancer. As Journal of Communicable Disease is cited by more number of countries than Indian Journal of Cancer, so the former is more international in nature. Generally they have published papers mostly from India, but number of foreign authored papers has been increased in IJC. Open access of IJC may be one of the factors for better performance.

2 illus, 7 tables, 16 ref

014427   Bhat M H;Shafi S M (NO, Islamia College of Science & Commerce, Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir, Email: mhanief30@yahoo.co.in) : Taxonomies in knowledge organisation - need, description and benefits. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(2), 102-11.

This paper is an expression about historical background, current trends and applications of taxonomies. It is based on the published literature discussing various aspects of taxonomies. The survey is based on free text search for the terms: Taxonomy, Knowledge organisation, Knowledge organisation systems, and Knowledge organisation tools in various online databases (Emerald, Taylor & Francis, Wilson web, Science Direct, Wiley online), and Google. Besides online databases some articles were identified from conventional journals and books. A number of periodicals across disciplines cover the subject. After analysis the relevant articles coinciding with the scope of the paper are presented under three categories: need, description, and benefits. The review reveals that the use of taxonomies is being highly advocated by the scholars for the efficient knowledge organization and retrieval of information in the digital environment due to the expeditious and compounded growth of information on the web and the failure of search engines to retrieve the relevant information. The ability of the taxonomies to retrieve the digital information with high precision and recall is unanimously accepted and established beyond doubt. It is also revealed that taxonomies are being implemented in various organizations/web portals across the globe.

124 ref

014426   Bhardwaj R K;Shri Ram (NO, St Stephen's College, New Delhi, Email: raajchd@gmail.com) : Mapping of Indian research output on osteoporosis. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2013, 60(4), 276-83.

This study focuses on the Indian research output in osteoporosis, one of the leading causes of fractures and disability in the aged. The data for this study was obtained from Scopus database for the period 1973-2012. The study revealed that USA is the most productive country on osteoporosis research with a global share of 27.21% publications. Indian researchers have contributed 921(1.02%) papers in osteoporosis research. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehli is most productive institution in India on osteoporosis research. It has contributed 8.40% of the total research output and India's highest research collaboration has been with United States (6.08%) during the period of study. Osteoporosis International (21 papers; IF-4.58) is the most productive journal publishing Indian osteoporosis research and N. Chattopadhyay (25 papers, 12.12%, h-index 12) from Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow is the most productive author in osteoporosis research.

2 illus, 6 tables, 22 ref

014425   Bhardwaj R K;Madhusudhan M (NO, St. Stephen's College, Delhi-110 007, Email: raajchd@gmail.com) : Open access legal information sources and their use by students of national law university. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2013, 60(4), 314-19.

This article identifies various open access resources that are popular among legal community in India. The findings of the study reveal that majority of respondents are aware of open access resources. The main purpose of using these resources are for case law searching. Majority of the respondents have stated that legal information available in open access resources are not organized properly and was a hindrance in usage.

2 illus, 1 table, 18 ref

014424   Bang A (NO, Alternative Agriculture Resource Centre, Chetana-Vikas, Wardha-442 001, Email: alokbang@gmail.com ) : Are we foregoing quality in favour of quantity?. Curr Sci 2014, 107(7), 1101-2.

Increasing importance placed on quantity of publications and its adherence to career rewards is changing the way science is done where quality has taken a backseat. While quantity with quality is welcome, current practices are promoting the former at the cost of the latter. This piece comments on misplaced importance given to quantity, resulting into lack of scientific creativity and advancement, as well as increased scope for scientific malpractices. The article ends with a note to correct the situation.

10 ref

014423   Bajwa S J S (NO, , Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Dep, House No. 27-A, Ratan Nagar, Punjab, Email: sukhminder_bajwa2001@yahoo.com) : Amalgamation of management information system into anaesthesiology practice: a boon for the modern anaesthesiologists. Indian J Anaesth 2014, 58(2), 121-6.

Over the years, traditional anaesthesia record keeping system has been the backbone of anaesthesiology ever since its introduction in the 1890s by Dr. Harvey Cushing and Dr. Ernest A. Codman. Besides providing the important information regarding patients' vital physiologic parameters, paper records had been a reliable source for various clinical research activities. The introduction of electronic monitoring gadgets and electronic record keeping systems has revolutionised the anaesthesiology practice to a large extent. Recently, the introduction of anaesthesia information management system (AIMS), which incorporates all the features of monitoring gadgets, such as electronic storage of large accurate data, quality assurance in anaesthesia, enhancing patient safety, ensuring legal protection, improved billing services and effecting an organisational change, is almost a revolution in modern-day anaesthesiology practice. The clinical research activities that are responsible for taking anaesthesiology discipline to higher peaks have also been boosted by the amalgamation of AIMS, enabling multicenter studies and sharing of clinical data. Barring few concerns in its installation, cost factors and functional aspects, the future of AIMS seems to be bright and will definitely prove to be a boon for modern-day anaesthesiology practice.

4 illus, 2 tables, 23 ref

014422   Ashok Kumar;Bansal A;Kanungo P D (NO, Scientist G and Associate Director, Defence Scientific Information &, Metcalfe House, Delhi-110 054, Email: ashokkumar@desidoc.drdo.in) : Unfolding the 33 years saga of DESIDOC journal of Library and Information Technology. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(3), 203-11.

The article gives an historical account of the DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technology. It highlights that from a humble beginning as a newsletter, it has gone on to become one of India's leading journal in the field of library and information science.

1 illus, 1 table, 8 ref

014421   Alam N;Bhattacharya P K (Knowledge Management Div, WDL, LIC, The Energy and Resourcee Institute, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003, Email: nihal.alam@teri.res.in) : Genesis of world digital libraries: an international journal. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(3), 235-9.

During the International Conferences on Digital Libraries, several experts felt the need for a primary research journal in the field of digital libraries which will not only cover the knowledge network of global digital library experts, but also project Indian research on digital libraries, technologies and case studies. Thus, the journal World Digital Libraries (WDL) started in 2008. This paper describes the genesis of the WDL, coverage in terms of themes, contribution of authors, subscription and future projections of WDL.

4 illus, 2 tables,

014420   Abalaka B F;Yahaya D;Okikiri M N (NO, Kogi State Univ, P M B 1008, Anyigba, Kogi State, Nigeria, Email: abalakabessy@gmail.com) : Acquisition and preservation of Newspapers and magazines in Dr. Aliyu Obaje library, Kogi State University Anyigba. J hum Ecol 2015, 45(3), 251-5.

This paper discuses the acquisition and preservation of Newspapers and Magazines in Dr. Aliyu Obaje Library, Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria. The study outlines and analyses the process for Newspapers and Magazines acquisition and preservation. The main objective of the study is to ascertain and address the challenges affecting acquisition and preservation of Newspapers and Magazine in the Library under study. It looks at the importance of these items, procedure for purchasing them and arranging them. The methodology adopted is observation and content analysis using secondary sources of data like journals, papers, unpublished thesis etc. Conclusion was made and recommendation proffered including a review of Newspapers/Magazines acquisition policy in the Library under study. Binding of Newspapers/Magazines and microfilming same is being advocated.

14 ref

013412   Uddin A;Singh V K (Computer Science, South Asian University, Akbar Bhawan, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110 021evivekks12@gmail.com) : Measuring research output and collaboration in South Asian countries. Curr Sci 2014, 107(1), 31-8.

This article presents a scientometric analysis of academic research output, growth trend, citation & impact, and research collaboration levels in the South Asian region. The analysis is done on several important parameters such as total research production, global share and rank, subject categories, citation impact, in and out-region citation patterns, and inter-country collaborations. The economic indicators relating to higher education and research for the countries in the region are correlated with the analytical results. It also analyses the research growth and maturity levels for the region. In summary, it tries to map the academic research status in the South Asian region, including details about the countries in the region.

7 illus, 5 tables, 12 ref

013411   Ramasesha S (Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560 012, Email: ramasesh@sscu.iisc.ernet.in) : Combating plagiarism in scientific research. Curr Sci 2014, 107(1), 11.

013410   Patra J;Kantariya K (Collaborative Adaption Research Initiative in Africa and Asia(CARIAA),, , 150 Kent Street, Ottawa, Email: jyotirajpatra@gmail.com) : Science-policy interface for disaster risk management in India: toward an enabling environment. Curr Sci 2014, 107(1), 39-45.

Two thousand and thirteen Uttarakhand floods highlighted the enormous challenges faced by disaster risk management organizations and actors who had to deal with it on a real-time basis. Unusual and extreme rain-falls accompanied by a series of cloudbursts triggered the flooding. In recent times there has been a significant increase in the quantum of scientific research on such weather-and climate-related extremes in some of the most vulnerable regions in India. Although the role of science and research has been adequately recognized and included in India's national development policies and programmes, including the Disaster Management Policy(2009), integration of this accumulating scientific and research evidence into disaster management policies, planning, and practices in the country has been limited. Uttarakhand floods were followed by Cyclone Phailin (2013), and the untimely hailstorms in central India (March 2014). The resulting challenges for the country and its policy makers are complex and gigantic. It is under these emerging circumstances of complexities that the urgency for proactive and effective science-policy interface is discussed. Building on the existing institutional and policy opportunities in India, an enabling environment to facilitate such science-policy interface for disaster risk management is suggested. Authors discuss collaboration, co-production, coherence, and continuity as some of the organizing principles of this enabling environment.

32 ref

013409   Patil S B (NO, Smt Mathubai Garware Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Near S.T. Stand, Sangli-416 416, Email: librarian_smgkanya@rediffmail.com) : Why and how to integrate information literacy curriculum in higher education. Curr Sci 2014, 107(1), 11.

1 ref

013408   Garg K C;Kumar S (NO, CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, Dr K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi-110 012, Email: gargkc022@gmail.com) : Uncitedness of Indian scientific output. Curr Sci 2014, 107(6), 965-70.

An analysis of 35,640 papers published by Indian scientists as journal articles and reviews in journals indexed by Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) in 2008 revealed that 6231 (17.5%) papers remained uncited during 2008-2013. Most of the uncited papers were published by State Agricultural Universities and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The highest proportion of uncited papers was in the discipline of agricultural sciences followed by multidisciplinary and mathematical sciences. These uncited papers appeared in journals published from India, Singapore, Romania and Japan with low impact factor (IF). Lowest number of uncited papers was published by the Department of Biotechnology. It was also found that a small fraction of papers published in journals with IF more than 5 also remained uncited.

5 tables, 15 ref

012458   Yamalik N (Periodontology Dep, Faculty of Dentistry, Hacettepe Univ, Sihhiye 06100, Ankara, Turkey, Email: nyamalik@gmail.com) : Patient safety and quality assurance and improvement. Indian J dent Res 2014, 25(2), 139-41.

7 ref

012457   Saxena L P (Computer Science Dep, Mumbai Univ, Vidyanagari, Santacruz (E), Mumbai-400 098, Email: lasaxmail@aol.com ) : Effective binarization method for readability improvement of stain affected (degraded) palm leaf and other types of manuscripts. Curr Sci 2014, 107(3), 489-96.

A stain is any colour change perceived as lying within the manuscript fibres. Eliminating stains is considered as more significant, since it leads to improved manuscript image quality and hence improved readability. The communication describes an improved binariza-tion method for removing stains from severely degraded manuscript images where the text is unclear. The method is tested on manuscript images on different media having different scripts: palm leaf (Grantha), rock (Brahmi), and paper (Modi, Newari, Persian and Roman), and Document Image Binarization Contest datasets. In this work, we obtained 66.27%, 92.15%, 97.90%, 56.23%, 78.62% and 98.91% readability for rock, palm leaf and paper manuscripts respectively.

10 ref

012456   Karpagam R (NO, Univ Library, Anna Univ, Chennai-600 025, Email: karpagam.au@gmail.com) : Global research output of nanobiotechnology research: a scientometrics study. Curr Sci 2014, 106(11), 1490-9.

Effective scientometric analysis based on SCOPUS database was conducted to evaluate nano-biotechnology research from a different perspective for the period 2003-2012. Nanobiotechnology has been intensively investigated by bibliometric methods due to its technological importance and expected impacts on economic activity. The present study analyses nanobiotechnology research output during 2003-2012 on different parameters, including the growth, global publications share and citation impact, share of international collaborative papers and contributions of major collaborative partner countries. A total of 114,684 papers were published during 10 years, which received 2,503,795 citations with an average of 21.83 citations per paper. It has been observed that during 2003-2012, USA held the first position by number of publications (34,736), h-index (349), g-index (541), hg-index (434.52) and p-index (326.47). Developing countries such as India, China, South Korea and Canada showed increasing trends in their publications and their activity index also showed increasing trends. Top 10 institutions contributed 7.16% share of total publications. Masssachusetts Institute of Technology, USA received the highest h-index (120) among the top 10 institutions. Biomaterials (1631) was the top journal of publication output; Nano Letters had the highest impact with an average citation per paper (73.86) and American Chemical Society received the highest h-index (158) among the top 10 journals.

9 tables, 49 ref

012455   Jeremic V;Jovanovic Milenkovic M (NO, Belgrade Univ, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Jove Ilica 154, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia, Email: marinaj@fon.bg.ac.rs) : Evaluation of Asian university rankings: position and perspective of leading Indian higher education institutions. Curr Sci 2014, 106(12), 1647-53.

Although the subject of ranking higher education institutions is frequently elaborated in many research papers, consensus about a leading ranking methodology has not been reached yet. Consequently, different methodologies are based on rather conflicting indicators and therefore often provide highly diverse rankings of the world's best universities. For instance, SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) methodology is exclusively based on indicators of scientific output, while Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE) and Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QS) take into account the teaching dimension of the university performance to a large degree. To explore the impact of different methodologies further, we first obtained data on Asian best-ranked universities according to SIR, THE and QS methodologies. The aim of this article is to explore possibilities to enhance ranking methodologies using I-distance method. The result was manifold: first, by employing our I-distance approach we were able to point out potential weaknesses of subjectively chosen weighting factors of THE and QS ranking methodologies. Secondly, we were able to provide detailed information on how each QS and THE indicator contributes to the final rank and emphasize the crucial indicators in the process of ranking. Thirdly, SIR does not provide the total score and its appropriate rank; and using our approach not only did we provide the total score but also determined the relative significance of each compounding SIR indicator. One of the contributions lies in the use of the I-distance method, which can easily integrate variables with different measurement units into one composite indicator. Moreover, our approach could be a foundation for impartial framework of universities' assessment, independent of subjectively formed weighting factors. Finally, a special overview of university performances of leading Indian universities is provided.

5 tables, 34 ref

012454   Hasan S A;Luthra R (NO, Human Resource Development, Group Council of Scientific and Industrial, Pusa, New Delhi-110 012, Email: luthra57@rediffmail.com) : Comparative performance of India with other BRICS countries in publishing science and engineering research papers. Curr Sci 2014, 106(12), 1654-7.

BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) together accounted for about 17.3% of total research papers in science and engineering published in 2011 compared to 7.6% in 1995, whereas their contribution to total doctorates produced in science and engineering in 2010 was 31.2% of the world total. India held second position in 1995 amongst BRICS countries and was behind Russia, whereas in 2011, China not only replaced Russia but also attained second position in publishing science and engineering research papers in the world, next only to USA.

4 tables

012453   Gunasekaran S;Arunachalam S (NO, Knowledge Resource Centre, CSIR Centre Electrochemical Research Instit, Karaikudi-623 302, Email: guna197@gmail.com) : The impact factors of open access and subscription journals across fields. Curr Sci 2014, 107(3), 380-8.

Authors have compared the 2-year and 5-year impact factors (IFs), normalized impact factors (NIFs) and rank normalized impact factors (RNIFs) of open access (OA) and subscription journals across the 22 major fields delineated in Essential Science Indicators. Journal Citation Reports (JCR) 2012 has assigned 2-year IF to 1,073 OA and 7,290 subscription journals and 5-year IF to 811 OA and 6,705 subscription journals. Overall 12.8% of journals listed in JCR are OA, but a higher percentage of journals are OA in 9 fields, including multidisciplinary (31%), agriculture (19.1%) and microbiology (19.1). Overall 2-year IF is higher than 5-year IF in about 31.5% journals in both OA and subscription journals. But among physics journals, two-thirds of OA journals and 58% of subscription journals have a higher 2-year IF. For multidisciplinary journals the mean RNIF is higher for OA journals than subscription journals. Higher proportion of subscription journals had mean RNIF above 0.5: 361 of 1,073 OA journals (33.6%) and 3,857 of 7,280 subscription journals (52.9%) had a 2-year mean RNIF above 0.5 and 277 of 811 OA journals (34.2%) and 3,453 of 6705 (51.5%) subscription journals had a 5-year mean RINF above 0.5. Moving to OA has proven to be advantageous to developing country journals; it has helped a large number of Latin American and many Indian journals improve their IF.

1 illus, 5 tables, 35 ref

012452   Ghosh D;Parida P;Ghosh D (Physiology Dep, Calcutta Univ, Kolkata-700 073, Email: ghoshdebosree@gmail.com) : Research publication and India. Curr Sci 2014, 107(3), 349.

^ssc7 ref

012451   Gangan Prathap (NO, CSIR National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram-695 019, Email: gp@niist.res.in) : Performance of research intensive higher educational institutions in India. Curr Sci 2014, 107(3), 389-96.

The institutions belonging to the higher education sector taken together are the biggest contributor to India's academic research output. In this article we use the datasets from the 2013 release of SCImago Institutions Rankings World Reports to evaluate the longitudinal performance of the quality and quantity of research output of select institutions belonging to this sector for the period 2003-2011. All institutions in this elite category have a reasonable to high growth rate in output. However, from the quality angle, we see that the high performers which are mainly the institutions of national importance are now at a relatively low growth level. We also identify a few institutions which are showing promisingly high rates of improvement in quality of research.

5 illus, 6 tables, 4 ref

012450   Gagan Prathap (NO, CSIR National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram-695 019, Email: gp@niist.res.in) : Leading Indian Higher education institutions and the Leiden 2014 and SIR 2013 rankings. Curr Sci 2014, 106(11), 1467-8.

012449   Chaudhari V V;Dandekar R;Mahajan A M;Prakash N (Oral Pathology and Microbiology Dep, MGV'S KBH Dental College and Hospital, Nasik, Maharashtra, Email: vishakha2085@yahoo.co.in) : Sediment cytology in diagnostic evaluation of oral neoplasms. Indian J dent Res 2014, 25(2), 147-9.

Aim is to evaluate the role of sediment cytology of biopsy specimen fixatives in early diagnosis of oral neoplasms. Cytological smears were prepared by centrifuging the fixatives in which the biopsy specimens were received. The smears were analyzed and the cytological results were compared with histological diagnosis. Of 20 lesions studied by sediment cytology, 8 were labeled as benign, 9 as malignant and 3 cases as inconclusive. Final histopathological diagnosis labeled 12 lesions as malignant and 8 lesions as benign. Comparing the cytological diagnosis with histological sections, 17 out of 20 cases were concordant. The overall diagnostic accuracy of 85% was achieved. Biopsy sediment cytology is a good complimentary method to histopathology in the study of oral biopsy material.

4 illus, 7 ref

012448   Balaji S M (NO, Balaji Dental and Craniofacial Hospital, Teynampet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Email: smbalaji@gmail.com) : Research, publication and reward mechanism. Indian J dent Res 2014, 25(2), 142.

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011420   Ali-Farsi S M;Rahbi H A M A;Chitme H R (NO, Oman Medical College, Premedical and Pharmacy Campus Bousher, Azaiba, Muscat, P.O.Box: 620, Postal code: 130, Sultanate of Oman, Email: hrchitme@gmail.com) : Information resources avaiable at community pharmacies in Oman. Int J pharm Sci Res 2014, 5(6), 2320-29.

Aim of this study was to identify information resources of medicine used by the community pharmacists in various parts of Oman to update the knowledge and provide updated and effective information to the patient and other medical professionals. Other objectives of this study were to know the most common primary, secondary, tertiary, web based and other information resources used by the community pharmacists. Total of 71 community pharmacies in different parts of Oman were contacted personally. Pharmacists at the sample community pharmacies completed a self-administered questionnaire that consisted of six sections. First section presented demography of population for the study. Second section elicited type of sources of information the community pharmacists commonly refer. Third section elicited type of books available in community pharmacies. Fourth section was to know access to online databases. Fifth section was to know availability of scientific journals at community pharmacies. Last and the sixth section were to know whether they refer any websites as sources of information if any. All pharmacies had at least one reference but most were books. The Oman National Formulary (ONF) and British National Formulary (BNF) were the most commonly found (n=56, 79%). The first, second and third most commonly referred secondary sources of information by the community pharmacists includes medline, micromedex and Pharm-line respectively. 10% of community pharmacists had internet access and 13% of pharmacists getting drug information from journals. There is a need to improve quality of information accessed and provided to patients and prescribers by referring appropriate information resources to minimize adverse consequences of medication therapies and also to improve the role that pharmacists can play in the health system in Oman.

28 ref

010386   Charan J (Pharmacology Dep, GMERS Medical College, Dharpur-Patan, Email: dr.jaykaran78@gmail.com) : Impact factor: is this a true measure of quality. Int J med Sci pub Hlth 2014, 3(3), 246-7.

3 ref

009377   Singh S (NO, , C-23, Swastik Towers, Lanka, Varanasi-221 005, Email: sanjaye2@gmail.com) : Toward more meaningful evaluation of contributions and journals across different specialties: introducing specialty impact factor. Indian J Derm Vener Lepr 2013, 79(6), 737-8.

1 table, 5 ref

009376   Shanta A;Pradhan A S;Sharma S D (NO, , C3-1-2, Millennium Towers, Sector-9, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai-400 705, Email: shanta.appukuttan@gmail.com) : Impact factor of a scientific journal: is it a measure of quality of research?. J med Phys 2013, 38(4), 155-7.

1 table, 6 ref

009375   Shahabuddin S M (NO, National AIDS Research Institute, Pune-411 026, Email: sm.shahab@gmail.com) : Mapping neuroscience research in India - a bibliometric approach. Curr Sci 2013, 104(12), 1619-26.

Neuroscience research in India has been mapped for the years 1992-2005 using Neuroscience Cita-tion Index (NSCI) and PubMed. A total of 18,138 papers, with 1.31 times citations, have been published in 1975 journals from 47 different countries. Fourteen out of the top 18 productive journals are from India; of which only 6 have Impact Factor 2009 (IF-2009). Interestingly, only 4 out of the 25 highly cited journals are Indian. And 322 papers have appeared in 28 Letters and Communication journals. The dataset has been found to be a perfect fit for the Bradford law of scattering -both verbal and graphical formulations of the law. About 20% of the papers are published in journals which are having no IF, and 61% papers in journals having IF <60> 3. However, only 128 papers are published in journals having IF > 10, out of which 15 papers have not been cited at all. Papers have authors from 1401 Indian institutions; but only 9.2% institutions contribute 80.1% papers. Also, papers are authored by 1 to 27 authors; multi-author papers are better cited. Collaborations have been studied for papers indexed in NSCI only and not PubMed. Indian authors have international collaborations in only 12% papers indexed in NSCI with authors from 75 different countries -predominantly G7 nations and the internationalization index is 16.14. More than 70% papers have not been cited at all and those published in 1998 have been better cited. Papers drew maximum citations 4-5 years after publication. Papers having international collaborations are cited more often.

1 illus, 4 tables, 17 ref

009374   Raju N V (NO, Government First Grade College, Periyapatna, Mysore-571 107, Email: vasanthrz@gmail.com) : How does UGC identify predatory journals?. Curr Sci 2013, 104(11), 1461-2.

1 ref

009373   Murugesan T (Centre for Nanoscience and Technology, Anna Univ, Chennai-600 025, Email: murugesanthanga@gmail.com ) : Current science: open access journal and institutional members. Curr Sci 2013, 104(11), 1466-7.

1 table

009372   Li J (Information Resource Management Dep, Zhejiang Univ, Hangzhou 310027, China, Email: li-jiang@zju.edu.cn) : Uncited SSCI publications in China. Curr Sci 2013, 104(11), 1462-3.

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009371   Kozak M;Hartley J (Quantitative Method in Economics Dep, Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow Univ, Sucharskiego 2, 35-225 Rzeszow, Poland, Email: nyggus@gmail.com) : How important are the 'correspondence' papers published in current science?. Curr Sci 2013, 104(11), 1484-6.

1 table, 13 ref

009370   Chaudhuri S (Botany Dep, Kalyani Univ, Kalyani) : Status of mycology : teaching and research in India. J mycopathol Res 2013, 51(2), 207-12.

3 tables, 10 ref

008357   Wijetunge P;Manatunge K (University of Peradeniya, , Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, Email: librarian@pdn.ac.lk) : Empowering 8 in practice: information literacy programme for law undergraduates revisited. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(1), 24-32.

Purpose of this paper is to review an information literacy programme offered for undergraduates in a Faculty of Law in Sri Lanka. Constructive Alignment Theory of Biggs (2002) and the Empowering 8^{r Information Literacy Model were used to design the programme. Effectiveness of the programme was measured by comparing the pre and post test marks of the students, and the feedback of the students and staff. It was determined that by following the programme, the students received declarative knowledge on a variety of tools and techniques required to become successful in an academic environment. Library and faculty members gained fust hand insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the information usage of the students and understanding the reasons for the weaknesses so that they could address the issues appropriately. It also determined that, several critical success factors, other than an appropriate curriculum, are essential for an IL programme to thrive. The programme is unique since it is the fust evident IL programme designed and delivered in Sri Lanka using an IL model.}

1 table, 29 ref

008356   Vaishnav A A (NO, , ) : Delivery of books & newspapers (public libraries) act, 1954: expected amendments & Actions. Int Libr Movement 2013, 35(2), 112-16.

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008355   Tripathi S (Central Library, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Email: sneha.tripathi@gmail.com) : Exploring the shifting paradigms of librarian-client relationship. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(1), 49-55.

This paper is an attempt to explore the relationship shared by library professionals with their users. Some popular models were studied to understand the basics of building long term relationship. Issues regarding continuing librarian-client relationship are discussed along with the measures to be adopted by the libraries to gain the loyalty of their users. Indian library scenario is discussed in the light of changing needs of their users.

35 ref

008354   Tripathi H K;Garg K C (NO, ICAR Library, Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan, New Delhi, Email: gargkc022@gmail.com) : Scientometrics of Indian crop science research as reflected by the coverage in Scopus, CABI and ISA databases during 2008-2010. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(1), 41-8.

Paper analyses scientific output of India in the discipline of crop sciences as reflected by the coverage of scientific output in three different databases i.e. SCOPUS, CAB Abstracts and ISA (Indian Science Abstracts) during 2008-2010. The analysis indicates that highest number of papers was published on rice and wheat crop. Agricultural universities and institutions under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) were most productive institutions. Most of the papers were published in Indian journals with low impact factor. Environment and Ecology, Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Research on Crops were the most preferred journals used by the Indian scientists. The major research is focused on `genetics and plant breeding' followed by `soil, climate and environmental aspects' and `agronomic aspects'. The authorship pattern reveals that co-authored papers accounted for 72% of total output.

9 tables, 17 ref

008353   Pareek N K (NO, Computer Centre Univ, Vigyan Bhawan, M L Sukhadia Univ, Udaipur-313 001, Email: npareek@yahoo.com ) : Encryption scheme for medical gray images. Int J appl Res Inf Technol Comput 2014, 5(1), 25-30.

The security of digital medical images attracts much attention recently, especially when these images are sent through the communication networks. An image encryption technique converts an image to another image that is hard to understand. In the proposed method, bitwise operations are exploited to develop a new and fast grey scale medical image encryption algorithm. Theoretical and experimental analyses both confirm the security and the validity of the proposed algorithm.

1 illus, 3 tables, 6 ref

008352   Omagbemi;Clement O;Odunewu;Abiodun O (NO, , ) : Appraisal of library services provision to prison inmates. Int Libr Movement 2013, 35(2), 61-75.

Prisons are established confinements for the safe keeping of those legally interned or awaiting trials. Whichever way is the case, except for those who are to be executed upon the pronunciation of death penalty on them; prisons are expected to transform and reform the interned towards the re-integration of the affected individuals into the larger society on completion of their terms. For prisons to achieve the objectives of reformation and rehabilitation, there is the need for the training and re-training of the inmates. Training and re-training desires exposure of the inmates to adequate and timely information. Information is a major resource in the development of human beings and the world entirely. Iloeje (2001) submits that information is the heart of the world developments. He further explains that our increased access to timely, accurate, relevant, reliable and current information has been a significant precursor to our technological innovations.

8 tables, 13 ref

008351   Olatokun W;Ilevbare G (Africa Regional Centre for Information Science (ARCIS) No 6. Benue Roa, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Email: woleabbeyolatokun@yahoo.co.uk) : Probing university students adoption and utilization of social networking websites in Nigeria. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2014, 61(1), 15-23.

This study was designed to examine the influence of socio-demographic variables, innovation characteristics, time and social systems, on university students' adoption and use of social networking websites (SNWs). Survey design was adopted. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection from 600 respondents comprising undergraduate and postgraduate students in the two public universities. Frequency distribution, factor and regression analyses were performed on the data collected. Findings revealed that socio-demographic variables had positive influence on students' adoption and use of SNWs. The three Diffusion of Innovation variables significantly contributed to the adoption and use of SNWs but innovation characteristics had the strongest influence, while time exerted the least. All the innovation characteristics had positive and significant correlation with the use of SNWs with relative advantage having the highest contribution and complexity the least. In view of these findings, university authorities need to design and develop appropriate social networking systems to serve as a cost-effective platform to deliver instructions to students.

1 table, 32 ref