http://dspace.ewubd.edu:8080/handle/123456789/402 2026-04-05T21:52:05Z http://dspace.ewubd.edu:8080/handle/123456789/4275 Understanding Challenges and Coping Strategies of University Students in Dhaka City During COVID-19 Tanjeela, Mumita; Billah, Masum; Rutherford, Shannon The COVID-19 health emergency has challenged the socio-economic circumstances and health status of mankind worldwide. The effect of these disruptions trickled down and impacted the lives of vulnerable people, including students. The prolonged closure of educational institutions has contributed to aggravating these negative impacts. Around 40 million students have experienced adverse financial and health repercussions amidst the pandemic in Bangladesh. Students experienced inevitable changes in the trajectory of their lives, including lifestyles, relationships with family and community, and reliance on support. As the pandemic-ordained lockdown required virtual learning, students found themselves unprepared, anxious, and ambivalent. The coping strategies of the students amidst the COVID-19 have not been adequately explored in Bangladesh. The objectives of our study are firstly, to delve deeper into the challenges and coping strategies embraced by the students from public and private universities in Dhaka. Secondly, it aimed to identify how social connectedness supported students for resilience building. 2023-11-22T00:00:00Z http://dspace.ewubd.edu:8080/handle/123456789/4274 Men, Masculinity and Suicide in Jhenaidah District, Bangladesh Khan, Anisur Rahman Emile Durkheim’s Le Suicide (1897) laid the foundation for theoretical and methodological innovation in sociology. Within the framework of the positivistic paradigm, Durkheim viewed suicide as a social fact–caused due to social influences/forces. Nonetheless, Le Suicide later received several criticisms on theoretical and methodological grounds. In Social Meaning of Suicide (1967), Jack Douglas, a post-Durkheimian sociologist, emphasizes that sociological analysis must uncover and interpret the range of motives and meanings associated with each act of suicide. Suicide is a serious but under-researched public health problem in Bangladesh. Every year more than 10000 people die by suicide in Bangladesh. Sociological work (both Durkheimeian and post- Durkheimian) on suicide is almost absent in Bangladesh. Drawing on the interpretive methodological paradigm as suggested by Jack Douglas, the current research attempted to explore the social meanings/motives of male suicide from various rural settings of Jhenaidah district. In this connection, the theoretical embodiment of hegemonic masculinity propounded by sociologist Raewyn Connell was used to explicate/understand the social context/meanings of suicide. For the study, 15 male suicide cases were selected based on referrals from a local non-governmental organization named Society for Voluntary Activities (SOVA), which works to reduce suicide in the district. For each case, three separate interviews of the participants (15x3=45) were conducted. Data were collected in two phases in 2020. Each case was treated separately and analyzed in descriptive and reflexive ways. Findings disclosed that the deceased men encountered serious difficulties in achieving/retaining the hegemonic or culturally most exalted versions of masculinity in their real lives. Eventually, they considered suicide as the only way to escape from shame and defeat which stemmed from the crises of their masculinity. Based on the findings, the study suggested some protective actions to minimize the socially embedded risk factors of male suicide in Bangladesh. 2023-02-09T00:00:00Z http://dspace.ewubd.edu:8080/handle/123456789/3615 The Role of Institutional Pressures on the Use of Quality Assurance Practices in Enhancing Effectiveness: A Case Study of Higher Education Institutions of Bangladesh Ferdousi, Farhana The focus of this study is to explore the institutional pressures and their influence on the use of quality assurance (QA) practices in the higher education institutions (HEIs) of a developing country. The findings show that the use of QA practices was the result of three institutional pressures, i.e, coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures. The findings reveal the gradual changes in the nature and intensity of institutional pressure. The changes in institutions QA practices arose due to coercive pressures, including the preferences of stakeholders and regulatory bodies including the University Grants Commission (UGC), Bangladesh Accreditation Council (BAC) aimed at improving the academic standards including academic content and academic programs, curriculum review, research, and establishment of formal QA framework. While mimetic pressures were attributed to the high competition and the resultant uncertainty within the HEIs, the normative pressures emerged due to the influence of top management support and training. Moreover, results reveal the effects of QA practices on the effectiveness of the cases in terms of increased satisfaction of stakeholders, public image, employability, improved internal and external processes, and stakeholders’ confidence. The study contributes to the quality management literature and developing country literature by providing knowledge about institutional pressures and their subsequent impact on QA practices in HEIs within a developing country. Working Paper is a routine publication of EWUCRT. This is a preliminary research report published after its review by at least two experts in the field. Thereafter, it is circulated to a wider audience of readers including students, faculty and specialists in the field for comments. EWUCRT earnestly requests the readers of the report to share their comments with us electronically using e-mail id: ewucrt@ewubd.edu. 2022-06-23T00:00:00Z http://dspace.ewubd.edu:8080/handle/123456789/3614 Developing an Alumni Profile for East West University Hussain, A. M. Tanvir; Siddica, Asiya; Bari, Estiaque In 2021, East West University (EWU) entered its 25th year of pursuing excellence in higher education. To the best of our knowledge, despite admirable performance by a large share of EWU alumni in their chosen profession, no systematic information is available regarding current and historical performance of EWU alumni. In this research, we surveyed EWU alumni and used this information to develop systematic understanding of EWU graduates’ job market performance. Specifically, we explored three broad areas: (i) reaching the alumni, (ii) developing a comprehensive alumni profile, and (iii) identifying the potential benefits of alumni involvement. A total of 9,329 alumni responses were collected; of these, nearly 74% completed undergraduate degrees at EWU while the rest were graduate alumni. Wherever appropriate, we conducted the analysis by faculty to decouple the differences and nuances among the science, arts and business faculties. We found that nearly 64% of our undergraduate alumni are involved in jobs, 7% are involved in businesses, and an additional 12% are currently full-time students engaged in higher studies. Therefore, around 17% of our undergraduate alumni are currently not involved in jobs or businesses. We learned that about one in every two undergraduate alumni seeking employment found a job within the first three months after graduation. Our results also indicate that EWU alumni are employed in a wide variety of sectors including newly emerging sectors, e.g., e-commerce, business process outsourcing, travel and hospitality, etc. More detailed results and analysis are provided in the report. Working Paper is a routine publication of EWUCRT. This is a preliminary research report published after its review by at least two experts in the field. Thereafter, it is circulated to a wider audience of readers including students, faculty and specialists in the field for comments. EWUCRT earnestly requests the readers of the report to share their comments with us electronically using e-mail id: ewucrt@ewubd.edu. 2022-06-23T00:00:00Z