Purpose The use of social media is prevalent and having the largest number of members than any other online platform available on the internet. Members of all age groups use social media websites according to their needs. This study aims to investigate the impact of social media usage on the academic performance of college students in Kashmir. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was formulated and a survey was carried out to collect data from the undergraduate students of different government colleges in Kashmir. The questionnaires were distributed randomly among both, male and female of the first, second and third year students of different undergraduate programs. Findings The findings show a majority of the students use social media networking sites to fulfill their educational needs. YouTube is the most largely used social media network among undergraduate students. A majority of the students feel that social media networks are easy to use and they have been using these sites for the past three years. The use of social media greatly helps the students to share knowledge and information with others, to improve their academic grades and to improve their reading and writing skills. A majority of the students spend an hour in using social media networks. Students use their laptops, mobile phones and personal computers to access social media websites. Social implications This study will help to highlight the important role of social media networks in the pedagogical activities of students. Originality/value This study affirms that students do use social media networking sites for academic purposes, which is a good factor to improve their academic skills and grades. Teachers must encourage their students to make the best use of social media networking sites for recreational and academic purposes.

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As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, most educational institutions shifted to online education. Students and faculty members in many public institutions, particularly those in developing countries, are hampered by the absence of formal online learning management systems. Responding to COVID-19, many institutions in developing countries adopted social media sites to maintain e-learning and sustain education process. The distinction between online and real-world communities is becoming increasingly narrow, especially among the younger generations who have grown up with social media at their fingertips. This research explores perspectives of higher education students in India regarding the use of social media for e-learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, an online questionnaire was directed to a sample of higher education students in India via a personal network. The results showed that students were more satisfied with their use of social media because of their perceptions of its ease of use and usefulness. The majority of the students are active on social media for 1–2 h daily (p < 0.01). YouTube was the platform of choice among all the respondents (n = 154; 36%). The results confirmed that students feel that social media websites have a significant positive impact on their overall academic performance (p < 0.01). Novel methods of teaching and learning are constantly being sought out by educators. The present moment is an opportunity to examine and analyze the theoretical benefits of social media technologies and consider their relative advantages for education through the use of technology’s ability to enhance student learning.

PurposeOpen access is a new scholarly publishing model that has appeared in place of the commercial publishing model. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of awareness, use and attitudes of the Indian students in higher educational institutions about scholarly open access.Design/methodology/approachSurvey method was used in the study. The sample population of the study was 212 Indian students belonging to different higher educational institutions in India.FindingsThe results of the study reveal a gloomy picture about the open access (OA) awareness and use among Indian students. Unfamiliarity with the OA journals and high publication fee were the main obstacles for the students not to publish in OA journals. However, a majority of the students reported their willingness to publish in OA journals in future if the obstacles are removed. A very meager ratio of the respondents had published in OA journals so far. In addition, motivational factors for publishing in OA journals were also taken into consideration, and respondent's indicated winning research grants, great impact and higher citations as main factors to publish in OA journals.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is geographically limited to the students of the higher educational institutions located in India.Practical implicationsThis study will help to understand the involvement and behavior of the Indian students toward scholarly open access. The study will also guide what measures need to be taken in the take up of open access movement.Originality/valueInstitutional repositories appeared to be relatively a novel term for the respondents, and in order to get the citation advantages and higher visibility, librarians can make an effort to persuade students to publish their research work in open access journals and institutional/subject repositories. The study recommends that institutions need to take appropriate measures to inform students about the importance and overall benefits associated with using of OA platforms in their scholarly work.

Objectives: The objective of this analysis was to examine patient-reported productivity losses for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) in EU and US real-world practice. Methods: Adults with CMT were recruited to a two-year international observational study exploring the real-world impact of the disease. Data were collected via CMT&Me, a 'bring your own device' app specifically developed for this study, through which participants were asked questions about demographic and employment variables. This interim analysis examined the impact of CMT on ability to work and study in participants from Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US. Results: Of participants who responded, just over half (52%) reported that they were currently working for pay. Twenty-one percent of all participants reported not working due to a disabled status. A further 7% were unemployed, of whom 62% reported that CMT was a contributing factor. Of those working for pay, 77% reported that their work life was affected by CMT. The highest rates were in the UK (81%), while the lowest were in Italy and Spain (both 74%). The most frequently reported ways in which work life was affected by CMT were type of job (58%), number of days taken as sick leave (31%), and working part-time (28%). Participants reported missing a mean of 1.08 days of work in the past two weeks due to their condition. Of the 5% of participants who reported that they were studying, 74% reported that their study life was affected by CMT. The most frequently reported ways in which study life was affected were choice of school/college/university, and Other (both 52%). Conclusions: CMT is associated with substantial productivity losses, which are comparable across EU countries and the US. Further research is needed to explore the specific indirect costs associated with these productivity losses, and to better manage CMT's impact on patients' work/ study lives.