Determining the Key Dimensions for Evaluating Service Quality and Satisfaction in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

Offering quality services and evaluating the rate of success in providing users with target services is the pervasive importance of academic libraries. The central purpose of this study is to determine key dimensions of service quality and satisfaction through developing a new item-scale for evaluating service quality and satisfaction in academic libraries. For primary data collection the study used a 28-item instrument based on five dimensional modified version of SERVQUAL. Respondents were asked to indicate their degree of opinions in the three-columns format: desired service expectation, minimum service expectation, and perception of service performance on a 7-point Likert-type scale. The researcher initially conducted a pilot survey to clarify the overall structure of the questionnaire items to be accepted and used. The reliability of the analysis of data with distinct service attributes were taken from ten public and private university libraries in Bangladesh. Subjecting data obtained to exploratory factor analysis shows that academic library service quality and satisfaction is related to four basic dimensions: caring, competence, resources, and library as a place. Twenty-six service items were identified after extraction through exploratory factor analysis, where nine items were shown before “caring,” five items for “competence,” seven items for “resources,” and five items for “library as a place.” The result in fact provides a generic and robust instrument and recognizes a new item-scale, namely “real service expectation” for the librarians and information science practitioners in the assessment of service quality and satisfaction in academic libraries and in the related fields.     

Electronic information sharing in local government authorities: Factors influencing the decision-making process

Local Government Authorities (LGAs) are mainly characterised as information-intensive organisations. To satisfy their information requirements, effective information sharing within and among LGAs is necessary. Nevertheless, the dilemma of Inter-Organisational Information Sharing (IOIS) has been regarded as an inevitable issue for the public sector. Despite a decade of active research and practice, the field lacks a comprehensive framework to examine the factors influencing Electronic Information Sharing (EIS) among LGAs. The research presented in this paper contributes towards resolving this problem by developing a conceptual framework of factors influencing EIS in Government-to-Government (G2G) collaboration. By presenting this model, we attempt to clarify that EIS in LGAs is affected by a combination of environmental, organisational, business process, and technological factors and that it should not be scrutinised merely from a technical perspective. To validate the conceptual rationale, multiple case study based research strategy was selected. From an analysis of the empirical data from two case organisations, this paper exemplifies the importance (i.e. prioritisation) of these factors in influencing EIS by utilising the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. The intent herein is to offer LGA decision-makers with a systematic decision-making process in realising the importance (i.e. from most important to least important) of EIS influential factors. This systematic process will also assist LGA decision-makers in better interpreting EIS and its underlying problems. The research reported herein should be of interest to both academics and practitioners who are involved in IOIS, in general, and collaborative e-Government, in particular.     

The effects of group stereotypes on adolescents' reasoning about peer retribution

This study examined the effects of negative group stereotypes on adolescents' reasoning about peer retribution. The sample of adolescents was drawn from central and northern Israel and consisted of 2,604 Arab and Jewish students (ages 13-17; grades 7-11). A quasi-experimental, between-subject design was used, in which the students in each grade were assigned randomly to 1 of 4 peer retribution scenarios. The findings provide evidence that Arab and Jewish students have stereotypes about one another and that in-group bias affected their approval and reasoning about peer retribution only in specific situations. This inquiry provides evidence that it was the number of justifications endorsed within a specific domain that distinguished Arab and Jewish respondents. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Relationship between parenting styles and academic performance of adolescents: mediating role of self-efficacy

The literature supports the importance of parenting styles that are necessary to fulfill the developmental needs of the children and eventually improve their quality of life. Baumrind’s typology of parenting styles was used. There are many studies that examined the relationship of parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive parenting styles) and academic performance, but there is lack of measurement of the relationship with respect to Pakistan. Current study analyzed the relationship of parenting styles and academic performance along with self-efficacy as mediating variable. Sample of the study consists of 313 university students from four academic departments. Measures included the parenting styles and self-efficacy. GPA was taken as a measure of academic performance of adolescents. Self-reported questionnaire was used to take the response from students. With the help of structural equation modeling, structural model was tested. Results of the study indicate that parenting styles individually have no significant relationship with the academic performance. In addition to this, self-efficacy only mediates the relationship of authoritative parenting style and academic performance. It can be concluded that self-efficacy in individuals is an important attribute necessary for the psychological development of the adolescents. Self-efficacy enhances the individual’s confidence to progress. There is a need to conduct more research on the relationship of parenting styles and academic performance in Pakistan. Implications for parents, teachers, are discussed.     

Anatomy, medical education, and human ancestral variation

It is argued in this article that the human body both in health and disease cannot be fully understood without adequately accounting for the different levels of human variation. The article focuses on variation due to ancestry, arguing that the inclusion of information pertaining to ancestry in human anatomy teaching materials and courses should be carried out and implemented with care and in line with latest developments in biological anthropology and related sciences. This seems to be of particular importance in the education of health professionals, as recent research suggests that better knowledge of human variation can improve clinical skills. It is also argued that relatively small curricular changes relating to the teaching of human variation can produce significant educational gains.     

Scandix pecten-veneris L.的植物素、生物学潜力及酶抑制活性研究（英文）

目的:本研究旨在测定Scandix pecten-veneris L.的植物素和评价其生物学潜力。方法:测定S.pecten-veneris提取物中植物素的含量,包括生物碱、黄酮、多酚和单宁。使用2,2-二苯基-1-苦肼基(DPPH)测定抗氧化活性;同时通过铁还原/抗氧化能力(FRAP)测定还原能力;使用琼脂扩散测定法评价对七种细菌和四种真菌菌株的抗微生物活性。同时,对脲酶、磷酸二酯酶-Ⅰ和过氧化氢酶-Ⅱ进行酶抑制研究。结论:沙门氏菌显示出适度的抗自由基活性;羟基自由基的潜能降至初始值的20%左右。S.pectenveneris多种提取物的抗氧化活性与总酚含量呈线性相关。S.pecten-veneris叶对金黄色葡萄球菌表现出最高的抑制活性;对白色念珠菌表现出到最高的抗真菌活性。植物提取物对脲酶的活性最有效;对磷酸二酯酶-Ⅰ和碳酸酐酶-Ⅱ显示出中等活性。结果表明,S.pecten-veneris具有良好的药用潜力,可用于治疗一些特定的疾病。     

语言课堂中的教师话语分析——如何改进外语教学中的教师语言

鉴于教师语言在教学中,尤其是外语教学中的重要性,本文在言语行为理论框架的指导下对外语教学中的教师语言进行了分析讨论,并在调查结果的基础上从讲解语、提问语、评价语等方面提出了改进教师语言的合理建议。     

Impact of light intensity on flowering time and plant quality of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Antirrhinum majus</Emphasis> L. cultivar Chimes White

Shades of different light intensities (29%, 43%, 54%, 60% or 68%) along with control (no shade) were studied to observe their effects on the flowering time and plant quality. A hyperbolic relationship was observed between different light intensities under shade, and time to flowering. The total number of flower buds showed a curvilinear relationship with light intensities. Growth parameters related to the plant characteristics such as plant height, leaf area and plant fresh weight were improved under shading treatments at the expense of flowering time and number of flower buds. However, both linear and polynomial models applied assumed that cultivar Chimes White was equally sensitive to light intensity throughout development.     

Searching the Polish Medical Bibliography (Polska Bibliografia Lekarska) for trials

Background: The Polish Medical Bibliography (Polska Bibliografia Lekarska) contains 350 000 records dating from 1979. These records from the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health care systems and preclinical sciences are from nearly 300 biomedical journals published in Poland. Methods: We systematically searched the Polish Medical Bibliography Part II (1996–2006) CD‐ROM (July 2006) using both English and Polish phrases for randomized trials, manually checked results and, for the trials identified in this way, sought these on medline and embase . Results: Systematic searching identified records of 680 randomized trials from all areas of health care. Nearly 40% of these were not found on either medline or embase . Conclusions: The Polish Medical Bibliography should be of interest to health care information specialists concerned with comprehensive searches for trials.     

The COVID‐19 (Coronavirus) pandemic: reflections on the roles of librarians and information professionals

This Regular Feature explores the role of health science librarians in the coronavirus pandemic. COVID‐19 has spread rapidly all over the world. All major cities around the globe are in lockdown. In Pakistan, the first case was diagnosed on 26 February 2020, and currently, there are more than 2039 diagnosed cases and 26 deaths as on 31 March 2020. Across the country, there are further 12 000 suspected cases. This will undoubtedly increase if precautionary measures are not taken. Pakistani universities, colleges and schools were in lockdown. The role of university librarians in this emergency included raising awareness through public health education, providing support to medical staff, researchers and providing ongoing traditional services to regular library patrons in Pakistan. The Regular Feature also provides links to useful resources. JM.