Browsing by Author "Akter, Mahmuda"

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Academics and Practitioners’ Views Concerning the States of Unemployment and Unemployability of Bangladeshi Graduates
(Daffodil International University, 2017-03-22) Alam, Md. Eftekhar; Sobhani, Dr. Farid A.; Akter, Mahmuda
Unemployment has been one of the biggest challenges plaguing the global economy as well as that of Bangladesh. A question that immediately comes to mind when we talk about the unemployment is: what is the actual problem? Is it unemployment or unemployability? Unemployment and unemployability are two different issues. Unemployment is a situation of job unavailability; on the other hand, being unemployable means that a job seeker does not possess the prerequisite soft skills and qualities that a specific job demands despite being technically proficient. Unemployment of the graduates in Bangladesh has been a serious problem. Lately, graduates are more prone to business education, which in more transferable to the job. In 2013, about 41% Bangladeshi youths were considered NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) and the portion of young unemployed NEETs was 78%, according to the report. One of the main problems lies in the system of imparting education and the subsequent assessment of additional soft skills and capabilities needed to survive in today’s competitive work atmosphere. This paper has considered whether the issue is unemployment or unemployability. Are there enough jobs or do the graduates in Bangladesh really possess the right skills and qualifications for the jobs available? The solution lies not only in ensuring the balance between the two but also in measuring the employability skills efficiently. The purpose of the study is to know the states of unemployability and unemployment of Bangladeshi graduates as well as the facts behind the sates. Selected academics and practitioners were interviewed using purposive sampling techniques. The study addressed the issues of unemployability and unemployment, identified the facts and ended with a few policy recommendations.
An experience of teaching productive skills to beginner level students
(BRAC University, 2013-08) Nipa, Shamim Ara; Akter, Mahmuda
In my internship report, I tried to focus on teaching productive skills to the beginners in an English medium school as a facilitator. My internship objective was to gain the experience of teaching productive skills to the beginners in school. I wanted to observe how teachers teach the productive skills and how they make a good interaction with students. Productive skills are speaking and writing. Learners use the language that they have acquired and produce a message through speech and written text that they want others to understand. I tried to focus on both speaking and writing in two separate ways. I wrote this brief report where I found that teachers teach the productive skills in many ways. While teaching, I tried to apply some of the techniques, activities and practices that I learned as a student of English linguistics. The paper contains literature review, implementation and some recommendations along with my contributions. The paper also illustrates how I used some technique to teach beginners.
Chakma language : survival from being extinct in Bangladesh
(BRAC University, 2014-12) Chakma, Sujana; Akter, Mahmuda
At present days, the world is marked by a discrepancy in language development. Language loss has become a common phenomenon throughout the world. There were almost 50,000 languages and among them only 10,000 languages currently are surviving. Almost, everyday the world is losing one language. It is likely to happen in those countries who have more than language in practice. In such situation the dominant language engulfs the minority languages. In Bangladesh several indigenous groups are living and practicing their own culture. However, because of various reasons they are unable to maintain their own culture. Thus, they are gradually losing their cultural heritage and language loss is its consequence. This paper focuses on Chakma community to explore the factors to language shift from Chakma to Bangla. In order to explore the reasons, a survey has been conducted on 60 Chakma people living in Rangamati and Dhaka region. Researcher will be comparing data collected from both regions. This paper concludes with some steps that can be used to save the Chakma language from language loss.
EFEECT OF VARIETY AND NITROGEN LEVELS ON THE FOLIAGE YIELD OF CORIANDER (Coriandrum sativum L.)
(Department of Agricultural Botany, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207, 2013-12) Akter, Mahmuda
A field experiment on coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) was conducted at the Agricultural Botany farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Sheree-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka during the rabi season of December 2012 to January 2013 to find out the appropriate variety and suitable nitrogen dose for the maximum foliage yield of the crop. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatment consisted of five varieties, namely, Champak super one, Rosina, Green Beauty, Multicut 5X and Faridpur local, and four nitrogen doses viz. control (no nitrogen), 30, 60 and 90 kg Nha-1. The treatment effects were found significant in most of the parameters studied. The maximum plant height, plant spread, number of leaves plant-1, length of the longest leaf; single plant weight and fresh plant weight m-2 were obtained from the variety Rosina and 90 kg N ha-1. Application of 60 and 90 kg N ha-1 gave statistically similar results in respect of the above foliage yield contributing parameters. The variety Rosina and 90 kg N ha-1 independently as well as in combination gave the highest foliage yield of coriander. The nitrogen doses of 60 kg and 90 kg ha-1 were identical in producing foliage per hectare. The performance of the variety Faridpuri or Local was the poorest in terms of foliage yield and yield contributing characters.
EFEECT OF VARIETY AND NITROGEN LEVELS ON THE FOLIAGE YIELD OF CORIANDER (coriandrwn sativum L)
(Department of Agricultural Botany, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207, 2014-12) Akter, Mahmuda
A field experiment on coriander (coriandrwn sativum L.) w' conducted at the Agricultural Botany fanTi of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural Unive ;Lv (SAU), Sheree-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka during the rabi season of December 20. to January 2013 to find out the appropriate variety and suitable nitrogen dose ir the maximum foliage yield of the crop. The experiment was laid out in fit lorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatmen consisted of five varieties, namely, Champak super one. Rosina. Green Beams Niulticut 5X and Faridpur local, and four nitrogen doses viz, control (no nitroc: 30. 60 and 90 kg Nha''. The treatment effects were found significant in most of the parameters studied. The maximum plant height. plant spread, number of Ie.ives plant", length of the longest leaf single plant weight and fresh plant weight m' 2 were obtained from the variety Rosina and 90 kg N ha* Application of 60 and 90 kg N ha" gave statistically similar results in respect of the above foliaLe yield contributing parameters. The variety Rosina and 90 kg N ha -1 independently as well as in combination gave the highest foliage yield of coriander. The nItrogen doses ofoO kg and 90 kg ha" were identical in producing foliage per hcctar. The performance of the variety Faridpuri or Local was the poorest in terms of foliage yield and yield contributing characters.
Factors influencing utilization of Manoshi delivery centers in urban slums of Dhaka
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 2009-12) Rashid, Sarawat; Hashima-e-Nasreen; Akter, Mahmuda
BRAC introduced Manoshi - a community-based maternal, neonatal and child health initiative in urban slums of Bangladesh in 2007. Community delivery centers were established to provide appropriate management of delivery and essential newborn care along with referral facilities. A population and facility-based exploratory qualitative study, conducted during November 2007 to January 2008, aimed to identify factors affecting the use of delivery centers. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, exit interviews, informal discussion with different service providers and non-participant observations. Findings suggest that slum residents preferred delivery centers because of free service, delivery attended by trained birth attendants, and management of complications through referral linkages. Preference of home delivery and essential newborn care were identified as an important factor that hindered the use of delivery centers though delivery at the centers was safer than the delivery at home. Other reasons for not using the delivery centers were preference for family birth attendants, facing no problem at home, and objection from mothers-in-law. The delivery-centre related factors, namely, absence of medical doctors, non availability of drugs and injections and fear for surgery were also found to be factors resisting use of delivery centers. Provision for salary or other incentives for health providers, quality performance, training of health providers on effective management of complications and good client-provider interaction may influence better use of delivery centers and play a significant role to continue Manoshi in urban slums without BRAC support.
Recruitment & selection process at “The Daily Star”
(BRAC University, 10/5/2025) Akter, Mahmuda; Disha, Nadia Afroze
This report discusses human resources (HR) and the administrative functions of The Daily Star newspaper, especially in the recruitment and selection process. The report was written during my Bachelor of Business Administration coursework at BRAC University during my 3-month HR and Administration Department internship. As an intern, I participated in different HR duties, including organizing the recruitment phase, screening candidates, scheduling meetings, coordinating, and managing document management. I also ensured that there was full logistical assistance in the interview process and that the employee records were accurate. These duties offered me an excellent practical experience and an insider knowledge of how HR operations work in terms of organizational objectives, as well as in relation to the employees and their expertise. My company was among the activities that I was majorly involved in, and this activity was the recruitment and selection process of interns and permanent positions. I went through resumes, shortlisted, and organized interviews. Once I had the interview rooms and all the documents ready, I helped the interview panel by directing candidate flow to smooth the interview process. I was also expected to perform several administrative duties, including data input for employees to HR software and maintaining and managing files for employees. These were also in the form of secondary data that I used in the documentation of files, and ensured that everything was well-organized and up to date. Nonetheless, there are a few challenges that I had to overcome during my internship, such as a lack of technical training in the usage of HR software and tools. Despite my capabilities to do simple assignments, a better recruitment process and greater training on complex HR systems would have equipped me with a greater ability to undertake more complicated tasks. Task monotony was another challenge, as some functions had to be repeated so frequently that they narrowed my access to a bigger variety of HR activities. Moreover, I understood little could be suggested in post-internship placement owing to issues of confidentiality, which had long-term effects on the development of a career. Despite these, the internship was a fresh learning experience. I became familiar with how HR operates, gained extensive knowledge of effective communication, and learned the importance of the HR role in creating an efficient and harmonious working environment. I suggest implementing more structured technical training in HR software and tools to enhance my future experiences as an intern, and rotating through different tasks so they are not repetitive. Moreover, the mentorship program might further assist the interns in understanding more about the HR dynamics so that they are ready to enroll in job roles in the field in the future. Finally, the HR department of the newspaper, The Daily Star, provides an evolving environment that supports interns. Although it still has some weaknesses to be polished, especially in technical training and career development, the experience has taught me healthy skills, which can assist me in my career activities in the future.
SARS-CoV-2 Spike Analysis for IL-6 Inducing Peptide Prediction Using Machine Learning
(Daffodil International University, 2025-09-20) Akter, Mahmuda
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a versatile cytokine that plays a key role in regulating the immune system, managing inflammation, and contributing to the development of diseases like COVID-19. Finding peptides that can trigger IL-6 is essential for advancing immunotherapy and drug development. However, traditional lab methods for screening these peptides can be quite expensive and take a lot of time. This study introduces a machine learning approach designed to predict IL-6 inducing peptides accurately, utilizing biologically relevant features extracted through the ProPy3 Python library. We gathered data on amino acid composition (AAC), dipeptide composition (DPC), and various physicochemical properties for each peptide, resulting in a total of 435 descriptors. Our dataset included over 113,000 peptides, but only 369 were identified as IL-6 inducers, leading to a significant class imbalance. To tackle this issue, we employed the Synthetic Minority OverSampling Technique (SMOTE). We trained and assessed three different models: Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and XGBoost. Among these, XGBoost stood out with the best performance, achieving an AUC of 0.95. To make sense of the predictions, we used SHAP (Shapley Additive explanations) analysis, which helped us pinpoint the key features that drive IL-6 induction. In the end, we applied our trained models to peptides from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to identify potential new IL-6 inducers, showcasing the practical application of our work. The pipeline we proposed is not only accurate and interpretable but also scalable for predicting IL6 peptides, and it can be adapted for other immunological targets as well.
The JSC english language examination in Bangladesh: is it actually testing learners’ language skills
(BRAC University, 2019-04) Akter, Mahmuda; Sanjana, Lubaba
Language tests have been a matter of concern in a country like Bangladesh where English is taught in isolation. The high stake tests tend to test language items discreetly without considering content embedded language testing. The JSC English examination is also following the decade-old trend which has various impacts on young learners’ language learning. The survey shows that the conventional testing system emphasizes writing and reading test abandoning the listening and speaking skills. For this reason, students lack communicative competence and face trouble in their future education. Hence, in the following dissertation, various discrepancy of JSC English examination has been closely examined by surveying both students and teachers and incorporated their opinion to give an exquisite insight from their perspectives. Also, this study could be further expanded by addressing other stakeholders for making it more dynamic and for bringing revolutionary changes in the near future to fulfill learners’ need in terms of language learning.
Voice and accountability: the role of maternal, neonatal and child health committee
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 2011-09) Leppard, Margaret; Rashid, Sarawat; Rahman, Atiya; Akter, Mahmuda; Hashima-E-Nasreen
The study aims to explore how the MNCH committee encouraged community participation and how its communication activities empowered the community people to ensure the healthcare needs of the poor and disadvantaged people. A range of qualitative method was used in the study. In-depth interview, focus-group discussion, informal discussion, observation and document review were used as data collection method. This study conducted in two sub-districts of Nilphamarl and Mymensingh districts of Bangladesh during February-April 2010. Thematic content analysis technique was followed. Findings reveal that the committee members took necessary steps to solve the maternal complication by referral, follow-up of referred cases, and providing financial support to the extreme poor if needed, and the committee helped increase the availability of healthcare service providers and Improve the nature of services accessible to the community people. However, the capacity of the committees to raise the voice of poor people was fairly limited due to lack of adequate orientation of the committee members and also for lack of publicity about their roles. Besides, the committee could not run properly due to disagreement between power and literacy among the committee members. The MNCH committee has potential as it allowed the people's voice and could, thus, serve as a pathway through which ordinary people could hold local health authorities and local service providers to account. The findings informed the further development of an enabling environment in which the voices of MNCH committee members and community people would be stronger.