eChapters

1. Introduction

The aim of social networking sites is to build and maintain social interactions through content creation and communication within networks. However, academic social networks have a different focus. It prioritizes facilitating research and academic importance by connecting research groups and their scholarly outputs more effectively.These platforms typically offer features such as personal academic profiles, connections based on shared academic interests, and tools for managing and monitoring one's research outputs. Additionally, they enable users to utilize the research outputs of others in their f ield to advance their work. This study focus on to evaluate the capabilities of prominent academic social networking sites in meeting the essential requirements of researchers and the academic community(Bankar & Lihitkar, 2021)

1. Introduction

Academic libraries have traditionally been the cornerstones of academic institutions, serving as repositories of knowledge and centers for learning. In the past, libraries were just regarded as physical repositories of books and other reading material, and their role was to acquire, organize, process, store, and provide access to that physical collection. These traditional libraries were characterized by their emphasis on the preservation of physical collections and the provision of a quiet, contemplative space for study and research. However, the role of libraries has expanded significantly in recent years beyond physical collections to include digital resources such as e-books, online journals, databases, and multimedia content. Modern academic libraries are dynamic and multifaceted, providing not only access to information but also a range of services that support teaching, learning, and research. They have become vibrant hubs of activity, offering collaborative spaces, technology-rich environments, and various programs and workshops that enhance the academic experience. The focus has shifted from merely preserving information to facilitating access, promoting information literacy, and supporting the diverse needs of the academic community.

Introduction 
India’s urban transition is among the most significant in the world, both in scale and complexity. With over 34% of the population residing in urban areas as of 2018 and projections indicating that nearly half the nation will be urban by 2047, the quality of urban governance will decisively shape India’s developmental trajectory (United Nations, 2018). Urban areas are expected to contribute over 70% of the GDP by 2030. However, cities face multifaceted governance challenges ranging from infrastructure deficits and environmental stress to inadequate service delivery and institutional fragmentation (NITI Aayog, 2021). In response, digital urban governance has emerged as a transformative paradigm, leveraging information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enable responsive, efficient, and inclusive urban administration. Digital technologies are increasingly embedded into urban governance structures and processes, from e-governance portals and grievance redressal apps to real-time traffic monitoring systems and digital financial tools. This shift is reflected in flagship national programmes such as Digital India, Smart Cities Mission, and the National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM), which aim to digitise public service delivery, enhance citizen engagement, and enable data-driven decision-making at scale (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs [MoHUA], 2021; MeitY, 2015). At the heart of this transformation is the creation of robust digital infrastructure such as Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs), city data platforms, and open APIs combined with evolving institutional frameworks that promote interoperability, decentralisation, and cooperative federalism (Kapur & Joshi, 2021; NIUA, 2023). The chapter explores the evolution and current landscape of digital urban governance in India by first outlining the conceptual underpinnings of urban governance and then transitioning into the digital domain. It analyses the role of urban digital infrastructure and the institutional architecture that supports it, highlighting the coordinated efforts under NUDM to build an open, interoperable, and citizen-centric digital ecosystem across India’s 4,400+ towns and cities (MoHUA & MeitY, 2021). Complementing this are the

Introduction
Urban sustainability has become a critical focus as the global population increasingly concentrates in cities. With over 56% of the world’s population residing in urban areas, cities are significant drivers of economic growth and innovation but also contribute disproportionately to environmental degradation, resource depletion, and social inequities. Urban sustainability aims to balance economic, social, and environmental dimensions, ensuring that cities are livable, resilient, and capable of meeting the needs of current and future generations. Information Technology (IT) is pivotal in advancing urban sustainability by enabling smarter resource management, reducing environmental footprints, and fostering inclusive and equitable development.

1. Introduction

Electronic journals are an important source for scientific technical research and development. This resource is widely used by research and development workers and other users of the libraries to carry out qualitative research, education and gain knowledge. In recent years there has been a surge in the number of electronic journals available to libraries for their users to access. More titles are made available by publishers and subscription agents. There is a common view amongst Liberians that libraries are forsaking traditional print resources in favor of electronic resources. With the application of information technology, particularly internet, there has been a shift from traditional print journal to electronic journals. This type of use survey is essential to improve the existing library services, to plan new services, rationalize the use of the limited financial resources in an economic way, evaluate the performance of the library and enhance the user satisfaction.

1. Introduction
 
Today we are living in the Era of Information. Over last decade, electronic resources have become increasingly substantial components of academic library collection. This is due to the continuous development of Information Technology and its impact on library collection development policies due to changing demand of users for the pin pointed and exhaustive information within a short time. With the growing popularity of e-resources, the traditional libraries are gradually migrating from print documents to e- resources where providing access to information is considered more important than owning it. This is further augmented by the advent of Internet. Which has opened up windows of opportunity to different Information sources.

ABSTRACT

The study shows the use of information resources and services by the academia. Aim: study focuses on age, designation, gender, qualification and computer literacy impact all use of information resources and services. Objectives: To know the use of information resources by faculty of fashion institute, to study the awareness of OPAC among faculty of fashion institute, to find out the frequency of using library by faculty and to investigate the level of computer literacy. Methodology: used survey method, collected data through questionnaire method. The questionnaire designed and distributed 380 questionnaires to users of selected fashion design institute and we received 120 filled questionnaires. The outcome shows that they are satisfied with information resources and services of Fashion design institution.

Keywords: Information, Resources, Services, Fashion design, Fashion institution, Fashion technology, Swatch library; South India.

ABSTRACT

Probably since the beginning of agriculture, farmers have recognized the value of rows of trees/ shrubs planted in the farm (called as Agroforestry) which offers environmental protection, crop and livestock production and reduce the soil health hazards. The role of agroforestry is immense in the undulating terrains like North East India, rain fed area like Central India or the problem soils in general. Even though research and extension work is on the way to increase the trees out side the forest, the information and knowledge on best tree + crop combination is either scarce or limited to regions in the form of research articles, books or  journals. The recent scope of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and its applicability due to its easy, fast and any where accessibility have opened the window of opportunity towards the scientific agroforestry and farm forestry developments. One such means of ICT is through the availability of useful databases and websites on agroforestry.

Introduction

While tracing the history of veterinary medicine, we come across the Chinese writings about the diseases of horses, oxen and buffalos in the past about 2500 B. C. Similarly we can find about 4000 years old.  Indian art showing the people caring the horses and elephants. Even we can find in the art about ancient Egypt how they cared for their cattle and dogs health. The Ancient Romans had a word for the people that are doctors for animals, which is, veterinarius. In about A.D. 500 a Roman wrote a book on what veterinarians do.  In 1598, Carlo Ruini, an Italian author wrote a book named as, “Anatomy of the Horse”.

5.1 Introduction
One of the main methods for cost avoidance and prevention is value engineering/ value analysis. “Society of American Value Engineers (SAVE)” states that value Analysis is the systematic use of known procedures which determine the function of a product or service, define a monetary value for the function, and provide the essential function reliably at the lowest overall cost. If these are applied to a new product, it is called value engineering. By analysing the function of any product, material part, component, system, or service, it is possible to find extraneous expenditures connected with them and effectively remove them without compromising the product’s quality, functional dependability, or ability to provide services. The principles and steps of value analysis/ value engineering will supplement the effort of design thinking.
5.2 Symptoms for Introducing Value Analysis (VA)
If one or more of the following symptoms exist, starting a VA programme is expected to yield very positive effects.
i. Sales of the company’s products are declining.
ii. The prices of the products of the company are greater than those of the products of its rivals.

A Hospital Management System not only provides an opportunity to the hospital to enhance their patient care but can also increase the profitability of the organization. These kinds of applications enable hospitals and doctors to serve their patients better. Computers are being extensively used for routine administrative purposes by health care professionals.

In veterinary medicine, hospital management software is designed for all types of practices, ranging from small, single-vet ones to large ones with multiple locations and vets, and covers a wide range of hospital administration and management processes. It is an integrated end–to-end management system that provides relevant information across the hospital to support effective decision making for patient care, administration & critical financial accounting in a seamless flow. Specific areas of application include scheduling of appointments, registration of cases including client and patient data, case history and electronic medical records, health care reports, reminders, inventory controls, reports and accounting.

Veterinary Nuclear Medicine (VNM)

Veterinary Nuclear Medicine (VNM) is a specialized field that uses radioisotopes to detect, diagnose, and treat diseases. Gamma scintigraphy involves injecting radioactive tracer pharmaceuticals into the animal’s body and imaging them as they move through the body using a gamma radiation-sensitive camera. This technique provides a 2D or 3D image of the whole body or a specific organ, allowing for the estimation of the quantitative distribution within the region of interest (ROI). Advancements in gamma scintigraphy have allowed for the acquisition of information about both static and dynamic high-resolution images, such as heart wall motion, blood flow, and myocardial perfusion. Unlike other diagnostic modalities viz X-rays, ultrasonography, and CT; gamma scintigraphy offers functional information of specific organs. The most commonly used gamma radiation-emitting isotope is 99m-Technetium (99mTc), which emits a gamma energy of 98% 140-keV photon with only 10% internal conversion. Other radionuclides used in veterinary nuclear medicine facilities include iodine (123I and 131I), Gallium (67Ga), and Thallium (201Ti).

ABSTRACT

The Village Knowledge Centre programme was started in January 1998 in the Union Territory of Pondicherry (now Puducherry) in the east coast of South India with the support of IDRC and CIDA. In order to ensure access to all, the VKCs are located in public buildings (Panchayats, SHG’s building, Community Hall, School, Farmers and Fishermen Associations, Women Self-Help Groups, Community Based Organization, etc.,). The information content is developed in close interaction with the local people in a bottom-up manner.

ABSTARCT

The  Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT) has been working in the agriculture field since, 1999. At present, it is focusing on a Research-based project on the cultivation of Aromatic/ Medicinal plants aiming to promote Medicinal and herbal cultivation and increase the income and participation of community. Initially the grant -in-aid is being provided to some farmer groups in  Shilogi village of Tehri District and  Malethi village in Pauri District.  These farmers came forward and offered their land for research work. The project supported the community through both, backward and forward linkages. Rural Development Institute, HIHT, is facilitating the whole operation, from choosing the coordinators to the advisory agencies. RDI is trying to make sure a proper people (especially poor) friendly delivery mechanism through village Resource Centre.

The human civilization and environmental eco-system are the two most important components of real world. The technology intervention to safeguard human civilization and the environment has always been the foremost priority of scientific and engineering community through their innovative expeditions.

In this chapter, we will explore multiple comparison tests, with a particular emphasis on three significant tests: least significant difference (LSD), Bonferroni, and the techniques to visualize their outcomes. We aim to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of how to conduct and interpret the results of these comparison tests visualization using the R software.

Treatment Comparison

The “doebioresearch” package is commonly used for testing the significance of treatment groups in various experimental designs such as randomized block design (RBD), completely randomized design (CRD), and least significant difference (LSD). This package excels in conducting multiple comparison tests like LSD, Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT), and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD). It efficiently calculates all comparisons in the background, resulting in the generation of only group labels, as previously demonstrated in the output of the “doebioresearch” package. Additionally, the “agricolae” package is another useful tool that provides detailed values for multiple comparison tests. These three tests—LSD, DMRT, and HSD—are particularly popular in agricultural experiments and form the focus of our discussion.

I. Least significant difference (LSD) test

• To conduct the least significant difference test for comparing treatment means, the “agricolae” package is essential.

• To install the “agricolae” package, use the following code:

• install.packages (“agricolae”)

• After installation, activate the package with this command:

• library (“agricolae”)

• The data frame required for analysis in this context remains consistent with what is needed for randomized block design (RBD), completely randomized design (CRD), LSD, and variability analysis, among others. As an illustration, consider an example involving variability analysis.

Introduction
Given increasing demands, dwindling resources, and climate-induced uncertainties, water resource management is a critical challenge in the 21st century. Integrating Information Technology (IT) into water resource management offers transformative solutions to optimize water usage, monitor resources, predictshortages, and enhance distribution efficiency. IT tools such as remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and big data analytics are at the forefront of this evolution, enabling more effective planning, decision-making, and resource sustainability.

ABSTRACT

The major part of the agriculture in India is Rainfed. The increasing pressure of population on land has resulted into over exploitation of land, water and other ecological resources, resulting in water scarcity, land degradation and rapid depletion of ground water-table. Government of India has adopted watershed management strategy to address these problems, but all existing watershed management programmes are mainly fragmented and governed by different departments. This has resulted in formation of providing better service delivery and governance. In this study an attempt is made to identify the scope of convergence between National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) with Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) for generation of social capital and self-employment in the command area of a watershed using geospatial technology.

Weather conditions strongly influence crop growth, irrigation requirements, pest and disease development, and final agricultural productivity. This chapter examines the application of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning for agricultural weather forecasting and predictive analytics. It explains how historical meteorological records, satellite observations, and IoT sensor data can be integrated to develop more accurate forecasting systems. Techniques such as Long Short-Term Memory networks, attention mechanisms, ensemble learning, and probabilistic forecasting support improved prediction of complex weather patterns. The chapter connects forecasting with agricultural decision-support systems for irrigation, pest management, and crop planning. It also considers data heterogeneity, missing observations, uncertainty, and future developments such as hybrid models, federated learning, and digital twins.

Introduction

The innovative use of web technologies enables us to reach both local and distant users much more easily and effectively. Technologies such as email and Web provide tremendous opportunities for library & Information Scientists to deliver the information to the desktops of users. Web offers significant advantage by integrating different library & information services with a common user interface offered by Web browsers.