A Retrospective Study of South Asian Further Education College Students and their Experiences of Secondary School

This paper evaluates the results from a survey of further education college students and the processes of their secondary schooling. Postal survey responses from 109 randomly sampled college students (aged 16-19) from three colleges in the city of Birmingham provide the empirical base for the current research. The objectives of the study are to retrospectively analyse the secondary school experiences of South Asian college students currently in further education, probing key educational processes by ethnicity and gender. Respondents revealed their approaches towards education in general, teachers, religion and culture and parents. The broad conclusion suggests that respondents had managed to develop mixed 'educational identities', encompassing elements of the home as well as the school, aimed at permitting the effective transition from further into higher education. Differences were found between Hindu, Sikh and Muslim respondents and between genders.     

Scientometric Analysis of Library and Information Science Journals 2003–2012 Using Web of Science

This article highlights the research productivity and scholarly communication of library and information science professionals during 2003–2012 by using Web of Science databases from 40 library and information science core journals. Data was interpreted by using two open-source software Vantage point (powerful text-mining tool for discovering meaningful result from raw data) and CiteSpace II to visualize the library and information science growth and trends. Underlying results indicated that mainstream of authors (12,847, 69.9%) published their article as a single author from 2003–2009, this trend has declined and collaborative number of publications trend has inclined during the last 3 years. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign produced 95 (0.52%) of the total publications and stands at the leading position. The maximum number of publications was carried out by universities rather than non-academic institutions. This article identified that Asian countries, such as China, Taiwan, India, and Iran, are still in its infancy stage. The present study could be considered as a useful tool for effective allocation of research funds in the research community and academic world of library and information science to enhance the research process.     

A novel computerized water level control system of PWR steam generator of nuclear power plant

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Performance improvement of complementary feeders using static transfer switch system

The performance of complementary feeders, running in parallel, can be significantly improved by installing static transfer switches （STSs） at critical locations. We develop the STS control logic, which transfers the critical load from the preferred feeder to the alternate feeder when a voltage sag or a fault occurs on the preferred feeder. A forced commutation technique is proposed and implemented to turn off the preferred feeders＇ thyristor, thus avoiding cross current to flow and minimizing the transfer time. Simulation results show that the forced commutation technique is more effective as compared to the recently proposed time delay technique for STS operation. Two different feeders, namely New Exchange, the preferred feeder, and Sector 1-10/2, the alternate feeder of Islamabad Electric Supply COmpany （IESCO）, Pakistan, have been selected for case studies. The software PSCAD/EMTDC professional package has been used for simulation.     

Technical college teachers sharing their knowledge: does leadership,institutional factors or barriers predict their practices?

This study determines the preferable leadership practised by colleges’ directors, institutional factors and challenges encountered in knowledge sharing in Malaysian technical higher learning institutions (HLIs). Using a pragmatic mixed-method strand, we obtained 212 teachers and instructors’ viewpoints on knowledge sharing factors and barriers. The study also interviewed four teachers in exploring college directors’ leadership practices and issues faced while sharing their knowledge and experiences with their colleagues. The findings revealed that technical college teachers favoured enabling others to act as a preferable leadership practice that empirically supports their knowledge sharing practices. Thus, reward system and culture were antecedents and significant predictors for teachers’ knowledge sharing practices in technical HLIs compared with their colleges directors’ transformational leadership practices. Teachers also highlighted that their directors provide affirmative responses concerning the knowledge sharing activities; thus, practising their roles as a knowledge sharing catalysts. However, lack of support from the management, micro-politics and teachers’ own negative perceptions were identified as challenges and constraints teachers encountered while sharing their knowledge with their peers. The findings put forward some suggestions for improvement on technical college’s knowledge sharing practices.     

MPACT and citation impact: Two sides of the same scholarly coin?

This article provides the first comparison of citation counts and mentoring impact (MPACT) indicators — indicators that serve to quantify the process of doctoral mentoring. Using a dataset of 120 library and information science (LIS) faculty members in North America, this article examines the correlation between MPACT indicators and citation counts. Results suggest that MPACT indicators measure something distinct from citation counts. The article discusses these distinctions, with emphasis on differences between faculty ranks. It considers possible explanations for weak correlations between citations and mentoring at the full professor rank as well as implications for faculty activity analysis and broader institutional evolution.     

Teacher Perceptions of South Asians in Birmingham Schools and Colleges

The views of a range of teachers towards South Asians in schools and colleges in Birmingham are explored in this paper. Based on 23 teachers, often senior in nature, from 11 educational institutions (9 schools [1 independent, 2 selective, 6 comprehensive] and 2 further education colleges), analysis of attitudes is in relation to gender and religion; socialisation and language differences between South Asian groups; and teacher ethnicity and antiracist multicultural education policy. It was broadly found that teachers viewed the education of South Asians based on the modus operandi of the educational institution they represented as well as the way in which differing South Asians based on socio-economic status, ethnicity and gender were thought to act and behave. There are implications for how South Asians are perceived as individuals as well as groups by teachers, as well as how schools can make a real attempt to improve existing home-school relations.     

The Impact of Religio-cultural Norms and Values on the Education of Young South Asian Women

This paper is a discussion of how the educational attitudes, perspectives and experiences of young South Asian women in schools and colleges in the city of Birmingham, UK, are affected by domestic religio-cultural norms and values. Taking into consideration social class and the different types of schools they attend, young South Asian women were interviewed and surveyed to ascertain the effects of religion and culture upon education. The empirical findings show that all young South Asian women had supportive parents who actively encouraged them in education, irrespective of religion. For young Muslim women a strong bond between religion and individual was found, but for Hindus and Sikhs it was more tentative. For young working-class South Asian women, Hindus and Sikhs also regarded religion as less significant in their lives, but for Muslims it was again seen as crucial--but certain practices were argued to be more cultural than religious, and thereby problematic. For some young South Asian Muslim women, it leads to further marginalisation in education, given that they also originate from lower social class positions.