The National University Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies

Gender Difference in Attitudes of Learners Towards Online Learning at Higher Education of Bangladesh

Md Nahid Mia — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Online learning has created a new window in today’s education system. It is an entirely new experience in the education system of Bangladesh. As a result, the pupils, the tutors and the education administration face some challenges adjusting to the new learning mode. The main objective of this study was to compare the attitudes of learners studying at the different programs of the National University central campus by basing on the gender issue regarding online learning. In this study, five independent factors were identified through a literature review that influences the successful execution of online learning. It is a quantitative study where the sample size was 141, which was found by applying the formula of Yamane (1973). A stratified sampling technique was used as the population is not homogeneous. A pilot study has been conducted with 52 responses to test the validity and reliability of the factors. Two factors were excluded from over twenty-six elements through this analysis. Different descriptive statistical tools have been used to analyze the primary data by using the SPSS software version 23. The study founds no gap exists between the responses of male and female learners except for the factor of students’ competency level on digital learning technology, the supportive environment for online learning and online assessment. The output of the study also claims that the tutors’ and the academic administration’s support is significant for the successful execution of online learning. The main limitation of this study is that it ignores the educational programs of NU-affiliated campuses, which does not represent the complete scenario of NU. In this regard, further analysis can be conducted to get a more effective result.

NU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences & Business Studies Vol. 7 & 8, No.2 & 1, July 2021 - December 2022 p.1-21

Assessing Knowledge, Skills and Capacities in Environmental Management: A Study on Bangladesh

Md Mafizur Rahman, Akhter Hussain — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In Bangladesh, there is a gap in environmental understanding, one of the most critical issues that make the development process extremely challenging. Therefore, Bangladesh needs adequate knowledge, capacity, and skills in environmental management. This objective warranted an assessment of available capacity and needs for specific knowledge and skills in environmental management. Data and information were collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary level information was collected through in-depth interviews and observation. For secondary information, both published and unpublished literature were studied. In Bangladesh, to address ever-increasing environmental problems, government interventions and policy initiatives, academic programmes, research initiatives, and environmental activism became quite visible in the mid-nineties of the last century. In the academic arena, two types of initiatives became prominent. First, the environmental dimension was added to some of the existing academic disciplines of different public universities to develop knowledge and skills. On the other hand, some public and private universities in Bangladesh introduced new academic programs specifically focusing on the environment. However, in public universities where environmental education has been introduced as an addition or extension to parent disciplines, only a limited number of courses on environmental management have been introduced. This has left aside other pertinent areas of environmental management from the purview of the educational programme. The disciplines that included environmental management in their domains still emphasize on their parent subject areas. Therefore, it is recommended to introduce a comprehensive education programme consisting of environmentrelated courses with suitable bearings on environmental management.

NU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences & Business Studies Vol. 7 & 8, No.2 & 1, July 2021 - December 2022 p. 23-38

4th Industrial Revolution: View from the LIS Professionals in Bangladesh

Md Nasiruddin — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The study has aimed to conduct a countrywide library survey for measuring LIS Professionals’ knowledge, attitude and practices concerning 4^th Industrial Revolution in the current context of Bangladesh. Both desk and field research methods have been applied with a view to explore the perception of the Bangladeshi library professionals about the 4^th IR. Library Professionals have been treated as a vital knowledge-force as they are playing a very dynamic role in the universal diffusion and advancement of knowledge and education around the globe for creating knowledge based society. The survey has been designed with a total population of 340 LIS Professionals from 50 libraries belonging to three categories of which 20 are government public libraries, 10 special libraries and 20 academic libraries (especially the Honours College Libraries affiliated under National University of Bangladesh). Data has been collected from the respondents through questionnaire method and have been analyzed using simple SPSS. Findings revealed that the level of knowledge of the LIS Professionals regarding ICT skills associated with 4^thIR to some extent is poor. Findings also revealed that their attitude towards embracing the 4^thIR to some extent is still negative. LIS professionals whose mindset is to provide traditional library services instead of innovative services are becoming apprehensive to adopt the changing technologies. They do not like to practice innovative library to not intend to learn and handle advanced technologies to face the challenges of the 4^th IR. The study has attempted to find out the reasons behind this. It has also suggested ‘the things to be done’ by the LIS Professionals to cope up with the sophisticated technologies associated with the 4^th IR.

NU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences & Business Studies Vol. 7 & 8, No.2 & 1, July 2021 - December 2022 p. 39-56

Psychological and socio-economic considerations associated with consuming CSD: A Study

Md Khairul Alam Rasel, Shadrul Hassan Himel — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

people of all ages love to have carbonated soft drinks except those who have some serious health issues. Understanding the consumption pattern of the Generation Y (a generational cohort) would be high priority to the marketer because of the significant characteristics of that segment. Therefore, this paper examines the underlying positive psychological and socio-economic causes which drive the Generation Y to consume carbonated soft drinks. A sample of 257 respondents were taken on the basis of judgemental sampling for this study. Regression analysis and factor analysis were administered to analyse the collected data. This research reveals that Refreshing nature of Carbonated soft drinks (CSD), Meeting with friends, family and co-workers, Taste of CSD, Sweetness nature of the CSD are remarkable underlying positive psychological and socio-economic considerations which drive Generation Y to consume carbonated soft drinks.

NU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences & Business Studies Vol. 7 & 8, No.2 & 1, July 2021 - December 2022 p. 57-74

Revisiting the Needham Puzzle and Contemporary Chinese Society

Mowsume Bhattacharjee — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Needham puzzle is: Why did China fail to originate the scientific-industrial revolution before England? This paper aims to revisit Joseph Needham's work by identifying the reasons behind the expansion of modern science in Europe rather than China despite the revolutionary technical achievements of then China. The central research question of this study is: How relevant is the Needham puzzle to explain the recent development of Chinese society in relation to science and technology? Following the research question, this paper draws primarily on secondary data collecting information from published and unpublished research works. This paper developed an analytical framework to explain the Needham puzzle and examines the recent trends of Chinese development with a special focus on the domain of science and technology. In conclusion, this paper revisits the Needham puzzle and, based on the analytical framework, finds that the Needham puzzle is relatively less relevant to explain the socioeconomic, political, religious, scientific, and technological development of contemporary Chinese society.

NU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences & Business Studies Vol. 7 & 8, No.2 & 1, July 2021 - December 2022 p. 75-97

Academic Library Services during Post-Covid Era: A Case Study

Meenal Oak, Md Nasiruddin — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Libraries and Information centres, from the last so many decades serve as a strong resource of information to the society. The libraries as academic institutions are considered as a heart of the parent organizations and the role is played in the current era very well by providing the online as well as print information resources to the clientele. During the last year, due to Covid 19 pandemic effect, the entire academic world has been badly affected and changed the global education scenario. It has changed the way of processes and delivery of education; being a part of the education system, academic libraries are also not exceptional for that. Academic libraries are also witnessing a sea change in the storage, processing and service delivery of information. Academic libraries will have to redesign, reform the nature of library collection, processes and also the service delivery of information in order to exceed the user expectations and remain sustainable in the present scenario of the Post Covid-19 era.

Thus, the present work has highlighted an effort of a management Institutional library taken to reshape, reform and reorganize the library services and collection in order to meet the new challenges for sustainability.

NU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences & Business Studies Vol. 7 & 8, No.2 & 1, July 2021 - December 2022 p. 99-110

Women Empowerment in Bangladesh NGOS

Rezuana Rahman — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The main objective of this study is to investigate women empowerment in nongovernmental organizations’ profile in Bangladesh. It discusses the scope of the women empowerment concept of the four big nongovernmental organizations in Bangladesh such as Grameen Bank, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, Proshika and Association for Social Advancement. This paper is based on the literature and studies that highlight the women empowerment issue of these four NGOs. Results showed that two NGOs such as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee and Proshika consider their women empowerment issue comparatively from a broader view that includes a number of programmes. On the other hand, the rest of the two nongovernmental organizations initiated the women empowerment activities comparatively from a narrower perspective. The overall findings indicate that the concept of women empowerment in all four nongovernmental organizations is concerned as a global concept where contextual perspective in of women empowerment is less considered. In this connection, this paper argues that due to the low level of focus on the contextual perspective, the contribution of nongovernmental organizations to the women empowerment in Bangladesh is not up to the mark in consideration to the duration they are working towards women empowerment. The findings of the paper would be an important guideline to the policy makers, managers of nongovernmental organizations and development practitioners.

NU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences & Business Studies Vol. 7 & 8, No.2 & 1, July 2021 - December 2022 p. 111-126

Editorial Board & Contents Vol.7-8, No.2-1, Jul 2021 -Dec 2022

Md Nasiruddin — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract not available

NU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences & Business Studies Vol. 7 & 8, No.2 & 1, July 2021 - December 2022 p. i-iii