1,721,009 research outputs found
University of Botswana Undergraduates Uses of the Internet: Implications on Academic Performance
No full textThe recognized potential of technology to improve education has led to several initiatives to foster effective use and integration in the curriculum. The Internet as a new invented technology holds the greatest promise humanity has known for learning and universal access to quality education. It allows students to broaden their academic experience, access important information and communicate to others within academic community. In the light of these therefore, this study examined undergraduate’s uses of the Internet and its implications on their academic performance at the University of Botswana, Gaborone. Three hundred and six undergraduate students from thirteen systematically selected departments formed the study sample. A modified Internet Use scale was used to gather data for the study. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square and Friedman test. The results indicate that: majority of the respondents (66%) access the Internet 1-5 hours per week, 33.3% of respondents access the Internet 6-20 hours per week and 0.7% of respondents access the Internet between 21-25 hours per week. Moreover, most respondents use the Internet for the purpose of obtaining course related information. The results also reveal that Internet contributes significantly to academic performance of the respondents. To enhance and optimise the use of the Internet so that learning can take place at any time and anywhere, providing more access to computers and the Internet on campus constitutes the major recommendations. Future areas of research could include determining variations in Internet use by students from different disciplines, determining the nature and relationships between Internet use and academic performance
Perception and Use of E-Collaboration by Postgraduate Students in Nigeria Universities
Get PDFCollaboration in the Nigerian context has focused majorly on traditional collaboration and not even among postgraduate (PG) students. Advancement in technology has ushered many changes, particularly the introduction of numerous e-tools for collaboration. It is based on this that the study examined the perception and use of e-collaboration by postgraduate students in Nigeria Universities. The study adopted a survey design using a questionnaire to collect data from 631 postgraduate students selected across ten universities in South-West Nigeria. Six objectives were developed to guide the study. The results revealed that e-collaboration is perceived by postgraduate students as a collaboration among individuals engaged in a common task using electronic technologies. E-collaboration is used mostly for projects and research and it is impactful in providing opportunities to interact better than face- to-face collaborative activities. The study revealed electronic mail, social media including (Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp), discussion forums and Google documents as the tools most significantly used for e-collaboration. The reasons why respondents use e-collaboration include flexibility, availability, and compatibility with cell phones. The level of awareness about the ethics of e- collaboration is reported to be too low. However, a small percentage were aware that participation in decision-making and the sharing of blame and credit for outcomes is the responsibility of all members. Challenges faced by PG students in their e- collaboration efforts are power failure, lack of trust, and poor internet connection and speed. It is recommended that more awareness of e-collaboration should be promoted and coupled with improved internet connectivity
Predicting Users’ Acceptance of E-Library from the Perspective of Technology Acceptance Model
No full textOpen Educational Resources and Distance Learning: Challenges and the Way Forward in Higher Education
No full textOpen Educational Resources and Distance Learning, Challenges and the Way Forward in Higher Education
No full textReliability and Factor Analysis of a Blackboard Course Management System Success: A Scale Development and Validation in an Educational Context
No full textStakeholders\u27 Perceptions of the Impact of the Global System for Mobile Communications on Nigeria Rural Economy: Implications for an Emerging Communications Industry
No full textPurpose – The major purpose of the study was to examine the impact of GSM on the economies of the rural dwellers in Nigeria, specifically, on job creation, time management, reduction in crime rate and their general income flow. *Methodology/ Approach- The study adopted a descriptive survey research design, and data was collected using a questionnaire administered to one thousand respondents randomly selected from ten rural communities in a part of Nigeria. *Research Limitations/ Implications- The sample was taken from a state of the federation out of the 36 states in Nigeria, however, the rural communities represent typical rural villages in the country, hence, the findings could be generalized for the whole country. *Practical Implications- The GSM is an emerging communication industry in Africa, with Nigeria rated as one of the fastest growing market in this field of communication. However, the impact of the communication system is largely felt in the urban cities, the impact on the rural dwellers is still marginally poor. Hence, focus should be shifted to the utilization of the GSM for the development of rural economies in Africa, Nigeria inclusive. *The Originality/ Value of the Paper- The paper is a product of a recent survey carried out by the authors; hence the findings reported here are original and reflect the current views and practices in the rural communities in Nigeria with regards to the impact of the communication mode. Apart from some ‘market’ researches in this area, this perhaps represents one of the few academic thorough researches in the field in Nigeria. Key Words: Nigeria, Communications, Global System of Communication, Economy, Rural, Industry
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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