LIRC@SFIT

The journal impact factor has numerous flaws, which makes it highly irresponsible for the UGC to rely on it to evaluate a teacher’s research performance and decide whether she gets a job or not. University Grants Commission. Credit: PTI Thomas Manuel The Sciences 18/Apr/2018 Since 2012, nearly 12,000 individuals and 500 organisations have signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). This includes India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT). In fact, in their joint Open Access Policy, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the DBT quote the central recommendation of the declaration verbatim, which is that journal-based metrics like the journal impact factor (JIF) should not be used as “a surrogate measure of the quality of individual research articles, to assess an individual scientist’s contributions, or in hiring, promotion, or funding decision.” And yet this enlightened attitude has only partially filtered down to the ground. T...

 From SCOPUS..... Share these step-by-step instructions on how to improve their Scopus author profiles using the new Author Feedback Wizard with your authors. This new feature helps ensure that the correct papers are associated with the author’s preferred profile name. Source: https://blog.scopus.com/posts/an-improved-way-to-check-your-scopus-author-profile (accessed on April 23, 2018 at 1.30 pm)

Environment protection programmes are as important as the academic curriculum at VIBGYOR High, a school in Goregaon. Keeping in mind various pressing issues related to environment protection, the school has been taking effective steps to facilitate an environmentfriendly campus. They have initiated multiple campaigns like ‘Go Blue’, to save water, ‘Waste Management’, where compost pits have been installed to control school waste and ‘Anti-Plastic’, where students have taken to clean the beaches of Mumbai, to raise awareness among students. As a part of the waste management initiative, VIBGYOR collaborated with non-governmental organisation Daily Dump to install compost pits in their campus that help recycle food waste into manure. This is used as fertiliser in the school garden. These compost pits are situated behind the canteen, where most of the food waste is generated. “Students are...

SELF­IMPROVEMENT Teachers to learn how to use technology in classroom and develop e­content Our routine work revolves around conducting lectures, supervising exams and assessing answer papers. We hardly get enough time to upgrade our knowledge. It is good to know that colleges are noticing this and organising faculty enrichment programmes to help teachers upgrade. ASHWINI MHATRE, teacher MUMBAI: At a time when college teachers are busy supervising University of Mumbai (MU) examinations and assessing answer sheets, college managements are simultaneously planning faculty enrichment programmes for their teaching and non-teaching staff. Workshops on developing e-content, using technology in classrooms and assessment methodology are some of the topics that colleges plan to cover this summer for their staff. Mithibai college, Vile Parle, which recently secured autonomy from University Grants Commission (UGC) had organised a two-day f...

 57. Break the Glass Ceiling! By Aruna Sundarajan, Secretary, DoT Voice and Data, Vol.25, Issue 3, March 2018 She is being dubbed as the ‘first lady in Indian telecom’ and is credited for bringing in reforms to India’s ICT arena. On the occasion of Women’s Day, Aruna Sundarajan, Secretary, DoT, sends out a message to the women workforce - to come out of cocoon and break the glass ceiling 58. IoT to be the Catalyst for Industry 4.0 by Jayant Krishna, ED & COO, National Skill Development Corporation Voice and Data, Vol.25, Issue 3, March 2018 National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is playing a proactive role in acquiring new skills around Big Data, Data Analytics, Cyber Security, IoT and Android. 59. Software: Testing Times by Jyoti Bhagat PC Quest, Vol 31, Issue 4, April 2018 60. Tech Outlook 2018 Dataquest, Vol XXXVI, No. 1, January 2018 Technologies and trends that will shape Enterprise IT in 2018 that will bring new technology trends tha...

Today, cell phones have become an integral part of human life. They are truly changing our life by making everything convenient and time saving. ........   To read more, visit: http://www.voicendata.com/cell-phone-radiation-affects-fertility-make-changes-lifestyle-healthy-living/  (accessed on 19 April, 2018)

PUNE: An entrepreneurial lab for social innovation has been set up on Sunday at the International Centre of Savitribai Phule Pune University ( SPPU ). It has received funding of Rs10 lakh from the European Union (EU) to start operations and is only the country's fourth such lab to receive financial benefits from the EU . Vijay Khare, director of the International Centre at SPPU, said, "The lab has been established for budding entrepreneurs from the university. Innovative ideas that will give solutions to problems related to the daily needs of people in society would be encouraged through it." The two objectives of the lab are boosting social innovation and entrepreneurship. The international project, which has been approved by the EU, will be called Social Innovation for Local Indian and Israeli Communities and Graduate Entrepreneurs (SILICE). Among foreign universities, the Tel-Hai Academic College in Israel, University of Edinburgh in Britain, ...

To read the full article, go to: https://www.deccanherald.com/content/670582/statistics-show-less-half-engg.html Reference: Deccan Herald dated 16 April, 2018 (Accessed on 18/04/2018)

Mumbaiwale: A bestseller in Bandra Hill Road gem: An underground library with 10,500 books, run by a chemist who ought to be in a book too MUMBAI   Updated: Apr 14, 2018 00:51 IST Rachel Lopez   Hindustan Times Gharda libarary at Bandra in Mumbai.(Satish Bate/HT Photo) I almost missed it. Walking down Hill Road, Bandra, where you can spend more in a restaurant than at the fashion stalls outside it, there are enough distractions. I nearly glossed over a billboard advertising a lecture that took place the day before. But the venue seemed interesting – a library right on Hill Road, a few steps from Elco Arcade. You’re forgiven if you didn’t know about it either. The Bai Ratanbai Gharda Memorial Library is in the basement of Gharda House, a glass-fronted, nondescript building obscured by hawkers and kiosks. THE PLACE Walk in and you’ll realise it’s a treat for book lovers. The 10-year-old library is air-conditioned, spotless (none of the ...

Cuckoo Clocked: Can an app make you a better birder? Cornell Lab’s Merlin app is coming to India. They’re crowdsourcing images from local birdwatchers, and everyone’s aflutter. The Merlin Bird ID app has changed birding in North America in the four years since its launch, helping novices identify species in seconds, from a single photo.(Image Courtesy Cornell Lab) In theory, it sounds perfect. You spot a bird in the wild (or on the windowsill of your concrete jungle), take a quick shot with your smartphone, and an app identifies the species in seconds with 90% accuracy. For those who’ve used it, four-year-old Merlin Bird ID has revolutionised birdwatching. But the app, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Caltech, using crowdsourced photographs, is perhaps better known for how academia, machine learning and crowdsourced data can collaborate towards conservation. In North America, where it was launched, it’s allowed ordinary folks to identify bird...

Source: Daily News and Analysis dated 9 April, 2018

With $6.5 M in funding, this edtech startup helps professionals remain relevant in their industry Neha Jain      posted on 6th April 2018 AEON Learning offers online education platforms for working professionals encompassing both higher education and technology skill upgradation. At a glance Startup: AEON Learning Founders: Karthik KS, Sankar Bora, Vikalp Jain and Rahul Jain Year it was founded: 2013 Where it is based: Bengaluru Sector: Edtech Problem it solves: Provides online education Funding raised: $6.5 million In a fast-paced world where growth and development take place in a blink of an eye, keeping abreast with the goings-on in your industry becomes most crucial. Hence, online education has become one of the booming sectors in India. With the increasing internet penetration and the euphoria of Digital India, online education is expected to grow manifolds. It has witnessed a significant...