The use of IT-based information services

Fuelled by nationalism, public universities in Bangladesh adopted Bangla as their MOI. In contrast, considering the role of English in the processes of internationalization, globalization and economic benefit attached to English, private universities in Bangladesh have adopted English as their MOI. Through the exploration of lecturers’ MOI ideologies, the present study aims to discover these diverse trajectories in the adoption of MOI policies in public and private universities in Bangladesh. The study was conducted at two research sites in the district of Dhaka – a local public university (UPB) and a private university (UPR). Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted with five social sciences lecturers from UPB and four social sciences lecturers from UPR. The findings suggest that MOI policies in public and private universities in Bangladesh are non-identical and individual language ideologies have played a vital role in the adaptation of such policies.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the smartphone security behavior of the students of a public university in Bangladesh by focusing on the security measures obtained and potential risky practices performed by them while using smartphones. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quantitative method for collecting data from the students using a purposive sampling technique. A total of 304 students participated in this study who use smartphones in their daily lives. A structured questionnaire was designed using Google Forms for collecting data. The collected data were analyzed using MS Excel and SPSS. Findings Most of the participants used two-factor authentication, biometric security features and strong and unique passwords for their important accounts and apps on their smartphones. They also performed potentially risky practices such as connecting to public Wi-Fi networks without using a virtual private network, downloading apps and files from unofficial sources and using public charging cables to charge smartphones. However, students’ smartphone security measures were greatly influenced by their gender, faculty/ institute, experience of using smartphones and type of internet connection used, and the performance of the risky practices varied based on their gender, age group and experience of using smartphones. Originality/value This study offers a unique contribution to the limited literature in Bangladesh by concentrating on university students’ smartphone security behaviors, encompassing both preventive strategies and risky habits.

This study explores students’ and teachers’ perceptions and experiences of translanguaging practices in English and Bengali teaching classrooms at a large public university in Bangladesh. Qualitative research has been conducted to collect data which included classroom observations, focus group interviews with students and a semi-structured face-to-face interview with teachers. Following Braun and Clarke's framework, data was analysed thematically, in order to determine repeated patterns of language use, participation and learning impacts. Based on the findings, it can be said that translanguaging is perceived to support developing English language proficiency and enhancing student engagement and confidence, by supporting grammatical clarification, lexical knowledge and idea formulation. Along with English, Bengali was used, and the majority of the students were engaged and then felt confident, especially at the time of peer interaction and problem-solving activities, which is found by the classroom observation and interview data. Moreover, most of the students stated that they felt less anxious and more motivated to participate. However, the study finds several challenges as well, such as monolingual policy, lack of formal teacher training in translanguaging pedagogy and peer judgment related to the use of Bengali in English classrooms. The study reveals that translanguaging can create an inclusive learning environment where students feel more encouraged to participate in classroom activities, comprehend the topics clearly and increase their confidence, in tertiary-level English language classrooms. In the context of Bangladeshi higher education, translanguaging which is complemented by teacher preparation and structural flexibility, can lead to successful multilingual education, which is suggested by the findings.

IntroductionImproved hygiene and sanitation practices in educational settings are effective for the prevention of infections, controlling the transmission of pathogens, and promoting good health. Bangladesh has made remarkable advances in improving higher education in recent decades. Over a hundred universities were established to expand higher education facilities across the country. Hundreds of thousands of graduate students spend time in university settings during their studies. However, little is known about the sanitation and hygiene practice of the university-going population. This study aims to understand and uncover which factors influence students’ sanitation and hygiene behavior in university settings.MethodsThis study was conducted in a public university named Shahjalal University of Science and Technology located in a divisional city of Bangladesh. Based on the Integrated Behavioral Model for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (IBM-WASH), we adopted an exploratory qualitative study design. We developed semi-structured interview guides entailing sanitation and hygiene behavior, access, and practice-related questions and tested their efficacy and clarity before use. We conducted seventeen in-depth interviews (IDIs), and four focus group discussions (FGDs, [6–8 participants per FGD]) with students, and seven key informant interviews (KIIs) with university staff. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Triangulation of methods and participants was performed to achieve data validity.ResultsDespite having reasonable awareness and knowledge, the sanitation and hygiene practices of the students were remarkably low. A broad array of interconnected factors influenced sanitation and hygiene behavior, as well as each other. Individual factors (gender, awareness, perception, and sense of health benefits), contextual factors (lack of cleanliness and maintenance, and the supply of sanitary products), socio-behavioural factors (norms, peer influence), and factors related to university infrastructure (shortage of female toilets, lack of monitoring and supervision of cleaning activities) emerged as the underpinning factors that determined the sanitation and hygiene behavior of the university going-population.ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that despite the rapid expansion of on-campus university education, hygiene practices in public universities are remarkably poor due to a variety of dynamic and interconnected factors situated in different (individual, contextual, socio-phycological) levels. Therefore, multi-level interventions including regular supply of WASH-related materials and agents, promoting low-cost WASH interventions, improving quality cleaning services, close monitoring of cleaning activities, promoting good hygiene behavior at the individual level, and introducing gender-sensitive WASH infrastructure and construction may be beneficial to advance improved sanitation and hygiene practices among university students.

Academic result measured by Grade Point Average is often considered as the most dominant performance indicator of a student in most of developing countries like Bangladesh. Several prior studies have been conducted to determine the factors which act as control measures to the academic performance in tertiary level education. But the obtained results varied largely depending on the socio-economic context and education policy of the nations. The study aims at finding out the factors that affect the academic performance of students of a public university situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh and to assess the relative predictability of various factors on academic performance. A sample of 314 graduate students from different disciples was chosen based on a random sampling method. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a statistical tool has been used to extract factors affecting academic performance. Multiple Linear regression was run to predict the influence of these factors on the dependent variable. The academic factor that includes conventional exam system, teachers’ evaluation system, and academic study environment appeared as the most dominant determinant factors affecting academic performance. Other important factors such as the financial condition of students, family income, social media affiliation, part-time job, extra-curricular activities also dictate academic performance. Regression coefficient indicates that gender, higher secondary examination grades, sleeping duration, academic study hours have a significant influence on academic achievement. The study results will be useful to the students, academicians, guardians of the students, policymakers, and researchers to have a better understanding of determinants of academic achievement and taking appropriate measures accordingly. Keywords: Academic performance, PCA, Academic factors, demographic and socio-economic factors, Public university students, Bangladesh. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-5-07 Publication date: February 28 th 2021

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to review of the concepts and approaches to entrepreneurship education and promotion based on the published literature. It also looks into the practices of entrepreneurship education in university level in some selected countries from North-America, Europe and Asia. This paper puts a special emphasis on the historical development of entrepreneurship education in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative method was applied for the paper. Existing literature on entrepreneurship education was reviewed to find the kind of entrepreneurship education provided in some selected countries. The websites and primed documents of the leading public and private business schools of Bangladesh were consulted to figure out the historical development in entrepreneurial education. Findings: The paper found marked difference in the availability of the institutions, diversity of the methodological practices relating to entrepreneurship education in institutes of higher education and the policy framework for entrepreneurship promotions in different countries. The paper has also generated qualitative and analytical insights about. the practice of entrepreneurship education which is simultaneously important for the academia and practice. Implications: The implication of the finding of the paper is, highly relevant to the universities, policy makers, practitioners, and relevant, agencies’ policy-setting process in the entrepreneurship development context This is because entrepreneurship education in the context of university level has been recognized to have impact on student, group and society. This finding also improves the understanding of donors and development partners about the extent to which quality entrepreneurship education can play a role in economic development. This paper also encourages further research that examines the measurement of role of university education in entrepreneurship development. Originality/value: This study provides a step towards the comparison of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship development promotion programs in different countries across Europe, Asia and America. The comparison of the entrepreneurship education in different private and public universities in Bangladesh is also done for the first time.

Higher education is one of the most significant parts of the education structure. The progress of present society is subject to a great extent on the quality of higher education. Higher education has huge potential to stimulate affluence in developing countries. Higher education must be standard, well-being and viable progress oriented in these present circumstances. This article aims to investigate the higher education arrangement of Bangladesh, focusing on quality and convenience. The key objective of this study is to discover the quality of higher education at a public university in Bangladesh. The article stresses prevailing complications and challenges confronted by the higher education organisation to give possible solutions; this article provides some recommendations quality and convenience of ensuring higher education system in Bangladesh. As a study area, Comilla University was selected. Qualitative and quantitative methods mutually have been used for investigating the data. It is probable that the findings of the study would be capable to exemplify the general state of higher education arrangement of Bangladesh.

The purpose of this paper is to explore on the perceptions of faculty members and students of tertiary institutions of Bangladesh regarding adoption of cloud computing in teaching and learning. The qualitative study used purposive sampling technique for selecting the 10 faculty members and 10 students from four private universities and four public universities of the capital city of Bangladesh. The researchers conducted a semi-structured interview with the participants. The data were coded, categorised and analysed inductively for a qualitative thematic pattern. The findings revealed that the faculty members and students agreed that using cloud computing was completely beneficial for them. However, the participants also opined that for some of them, technophobia towards adopting an innovation, the complexity of using technology, pop-up advertisements and lack of institutional infrastructure and trained staff discouraged them from using cloud computing and adhere to the traditional mode of imparting and receiving knowledge. In addition, lack of awareness and knowledge about cloud computing also hindered them from adopting it. The study is the first initiative to explore the perceptions among faculty members and students in private and public universities in Bangladesh.

Background and AimsThere is a dearth of information about binge eating disorder (BED) among Bangladeshi university students, who may be more susceptible to BED due to the rise in unhealthy lifestyles and food habits. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of BED symptoms among Bangladeshi university students.MethodsStudents (N = 525) from three public universities in Bangladesh participated in this cross‐sectional study between November 2022 and March 2023. Face‐to‐face interviews were conducted using a structured paper‐based questionnaire that included two validated survey tools; the binge eating disorder screener and the patient health questionnaire‐9. To identify the factors associated with BED symptoms, multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted, with sociodemographic and behavioral information (e.g., age, sex, smoking status, etc.) considered as covariates.ResultsThe prevalence of BED symptoms among participants (mean age 21.28 years, 50.3% male and 49.7% female) was 20.6%. Male students had a 2.28 times higher likelihood of having BED symptoms compared to female counterparts (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.28; 95% CI: 1.33−3.89). Older students (AOR = 3.56, 95% CI: 1.80−7.05), students who were overweight or obese (AOR = 3.32, 95% CI: 1.87−5.89), and students reporting higher depressive symptoms (AOR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.66−4.35) were at greater risk for developing BED compared to their respective counterparts.ConclusionsThis study provides new insights into the prevalence of BED symptoms and its contributing factors among Bangladeshi students. Approximately 1‐in‐5 university students reported having BED symptoms. University students who are older, overweight, or obese, and who report depressive symptoms may be at greatest risk. Future longitudinal studies are needed to determine the causal factors underlying BED. Findings from this study can assist policymakers and public health professionals in developing effective and targeted strategies to mitigate the risks associated with BED among Bangladeshi university students.

In this advanced era, thousands of students, apply for the admission test which is a rigorous academic system, build on a foundation of high-quality assessments that have been adopted around countrywide to consent to enter into tertiary education both at private and public universities in Bangladesh. Among them, thousands of students apply to several universities at the same time where they have to provide virtually identical information that mired massive data redundancy, low resource utilization and difficulty in resource retrieval as universities have their own repository that implemented by omni online application system. Nevertheless, the essence of Computer Technology is now swelling in such an extend though we can use this as beneficial to steadfastness over aforementioned complexities. Subsequently, a shared cloud based system, which have ample scope; evokes for uniform distribution of resources among the wide range university at very stratum. In this treatise, we are proffering an architecture of Cloud Computing; an expansion of Computer's Latest technology, for storing information in a centralized repository that can be used by every stratification for analogous aspects of University Authority those approved by the UGC (University Grants Commission of Bangladesh); which is indispensable to lead the diminution of data redundancy. Moreover, we delineate the commensurate analysis of our incentive architecture with the existing one to elucidate the salience along with ingenuousness of the envision architecture over the current one.

Campus crisis management remains an understudied topic in the context of COVID‐affected higher education. In this paper, we contrasted the ability to tame the wicked problems brought by the pandemic of COVID‐19 in private and public universities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, India, Kazakhstan, Uganda, and Ukraine. The cross‐country analysis and diversity of institutional types allowed us to consider a wide range of challenges faced by academic leaders and their institutions during the global pandemic. By drawing on institutional policy reviews and interviews with university administrators, we have examined tensions between the human and institutional agencies on these crisis‐stricken campuses given differing institutional coupling, sizes, resources, and missions. The focus on agential co‐dependencies and institutional coupling lays the ground for conceptualizing campus crisis management as a culturally specific construct in the context of higher education affected by the global pandemic.

Our study aimed to examine the practices and knowledge of food handling and safety among 1534 university students in Bangladesh (mean age 22.09 ± 1.78), as well as the relationship between these factors and their academic and demographic backgrounds. Participants in this study were undergraduate and graduate students from four public universities in Bangladesh from different religions, income levels, years and majors of study, residential areas, living alone or not, and whose mothers are working or non-working. The questionnaire included 14 questions on food handling practices and 16 on knowledge. Questions were related to food preparation, hygiene, cross-contamination, and storage. The overall mean score for food handling practices was 34.9% (SD = 13.7), while that of knowledge was 41.8% (SD = 16.5). Female students, those from food-related majors, and those engaged in cooking activities scored significantly higher in the knowledge and practice sections (p < 0.05). Students who lived with their families performed significantly better on the knowledge parts, while those who shared a home with roommates in mess performed significantly better on the practice part (p < 0.05). Students having housewife mothers, personal poisoning experience, and continuous involvement in food purchasing scored significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the practices section but not in the knowledge one. On the other hand, students living in urban areas scored significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the knowledge section but not in the practices one. Our results highlight the importance of educational interventions and initiatives to enhance food safety awareness among Bangladeshi university students.

Menstrual literacy is crucial for safeguarding the health, dignity, and rights of women. However, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Bangladesh, it remains an overlooked issue. Female university students, positioned at a pivotal developmental stage, require accurate and comprehensive knowledge about menstruation. Despite overall improvements in education, significant gaps persist in menstrual knowledge and hygiene practices among this group. This study aimed to predict menstrual literacy levels among female university students in Bangladesh using tree-based machine learning models. It also sought to identify the most influential predictors shaping menstrual knowledge. A cross-sectional analytical design was employed to assess menstrual literacy and apply predictive modeling. A total of 576 female students from a public university in Bangladesh participated in a structured survey. Data were collected on sociodemographic and menstrual characteristics. Five tree-based machine learning models-Random Forest, Decision Tree, Extra Trees, LightGBM, and XGBoost-were trained to classify participants based on their level of menstrual knowledge. Model performance was evaluated using accuracy, F1-score, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC)- Area Under the Curve metrics. Overall, 76% of participants demonstrated good menstrual knowledge, while 24% had poor knowledge. The Random Forest model outperformed others with an accuracy of 81%, followed closely by Extra Trees, LightGBM, and XGBoost (each at 80%). Key predictors identified across models included menstrual duration, type of hygiene materials used, permanent residence, and whether participants received early menstrual education. All models performed better in predicting participants with good knowledge, revealing a class imbalance. Tree-based machine learning approaches effectively predict menstrual literacy and uncover critical influencing factors. These findings can guide targeted educational interventions and public health strategies to improve menstrual literacy, particularly in LMIC settings such as Bangladesh.

Background The university cafeteria is a crucial element in shaping students’ dining experiences and their physical well-being. This study was conducted at a public university in Bangladesh. Purpose This research has a dual purpose: firstly, to assess student satisfaction with the university cafeteria using key indicators and secondly, to identify critical factors influencing this satisfaction through advanced data analysis employing recursive feature elimination (RFE). The ultimate goal is to enhance cafeteria services, align them with student preferences, and boost overall satisfaction. Methods Data collection involved 150 paper-based questionnaires with mixed data types, including questions based on prior research assessments. The model-building process included the chi-squared test and the recursive feature elimination process. Results The study identifies 12 factors significantly affecting cafeteria food satisfaction, with four factors having a notable impact: meal type and freshness, staff attitude, and wait length. Discussion This research highlights the interconnectedness of seemingly distinct cafeteria factors and their potential to influence health outcomes. Practical recommendations are made for improving cafeteria efficiency and adapting to changing student needs. Translation to Health Education Practice Health education interventions aimed at enhancing the cafeteria experience for university students should include a quantitative analysis of factors impacting students’ overall cafeteria satisfaction.

Background: Work-life balance is a crucial factor influencing individuals' physical and mental health, particularly for female teachers who face the challenge of managing both professional and personal responsibilities. In Bangladesh, female educators in public universities, such as Government Brajalal College (BL College) in Khulna, often experience significant stress due to heavy workloads and societal expectations, which can adversely affect their well-being. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between work-life balance and its impact on physical and mental health among female teachers at BL College, Khulna, Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 130 female teachers at BL College from January to June 2024. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire, which included sections on demographic information, work-life balance indicators, and self-reported physical and mental health status. Statistical analysis was performed using correlation and significance tests to explore the associations between work-life balance factors and health outcomes. Results: The findings revealed that 46.2% of participants reported a moderate workload, and 42.3% had limited personal time. A significant proportion (38.5%) reported experiencing physical health issues, while 38.5% also indicated mental health concerns. The study found significant negative correlations between workload and both physical (r = -0.32, p &lt; 0.01) and mental health (r = -0.28, p &lt; 0.05). In contrast, personal time was positively correlated with better health outcomes (r = 0.35 for physical health, p = 0.001). Conclusion: This study highlights the significant impact of work-life balance on the physical and mental health of female teachers in Bangladesh. Reducing workload and increasing personal time may enhance their overall well-being. Institutions should consider implementing policies that promote a healthier work-life balance for educators.