Anamika Das

Scientometrics, a notion of Meta-science, applies quantitative methods to analyse scientific publications, likewise it may also be used to delve into the LIS field offering insights into its structure and dynamics. This paper utilizes Scientometrics analysis to investigate global trends in Library and Information Science (LIS) literature, covering the period from 2000 to 2023. The research examines publications, citations, co-occurrence networks, and keyword trends to identify key thematic areas, emerging topics & collaboration patterns between countries. Using bibliographic data from the Scopus database, the study analyses 5591 articles, focusing on English-language publications, The Bibliometrix package in R-Studio’s Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software were employed for better data visualization and scientific mapping. The findings highlight "Library Philosophy and Practice" as the most prolific source. Core sources are identified using Bradford's Law, with significant contributions from institutions like Wuhan University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study also reveals a global distribution of LIS research, with the USA, China, and India leading in publication counts. Notable highly cited documents and frequent keywords are identified, reflecting the evolving focus of LIS research. This analysis contributes to understanding the current landscape of LIS literature, informing future research directions and collaborative efforts.

The political articulation of sexual violence, as legally understood today, took place in India from 1970s onward. In succeeding decades, its definition broadened, positioning it in contexts of caste-based violence, of violence against women at workplaces, and of custodial violence. The Delhi gang rape case, in 2012, introduced another set of political and legal articulations, simultaneously revealing the very politics around them. This paper begins by tracking these phases and definitions, to emphasize one area where such violence has been vocalized the most in recent years, i.e. institutes of higher education in India. Legal codes in this context, carry grave contradictions. Beside, altogether different interpretation occurs when these are applied within institutes of higher education via bureaucratic channels. Recorded cases have shown presence since 2013, except in some regions which appear in negligible measure. Therefore, alongside tracing the historical journey of political articulations of sexual violence in institutes of higher education, this paper takes the case of Raipur city, in the state of Chhattisgarh located in the central-eastern part of India, which has negligible presence in sexual violence crime records in the context of higher educational institutes. Based on a close reading of legal texts, and field visits conducted across institutions in Raipur between 2020–2022, I argue that the limitation of law in combating gender violence, appears not when it is neglected, but often when it is consciously reinterpreted against minority communities, despite claiming to protect those very communities. I attempt to reassess the potential of ‘law’ as a tool to combat gender violence, around existing debates around society and law.