ABSTRACT
The study assessed the use of online resources by
agricultural science lecturers of tertiary institutions in Benue State,
Nigeria. A total of 193 lecturers, randomly sampled from a population of 775
from six tertiary institutions of learning, including, two universities, two
colleges of education and one college of agriculture were used for the study.
The survey method, employing a structured questionnaire, was adopted in
carrying out the research. Six study questions and two hypotheses were used to
guide the study. Statistical analysis was carried out through the use of
frequency distributions, percentages, mean scores and standard deviations,
regression analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Findings indicated that a
large proportion of the respondents were in the age bracket of 46 and 55 years
with a mean age was 42 years. Majority of the respondents were men. Majority of
respondents had a household size of between 6 and 10 members, with a mean
household size of 6 members. A large proportion of respondents possessed first
degree or its equivalent; those with PhD made up 9.3% of the respondents. The
majority of respondents were those that had work experience of about 10 years.
Majority of respondents spent between 10 to 20 years on formal education, with
average of 20 years being spent on formal education. Majority of the respondents
earned between N101, 000 - 200,000 per month, with an average income of N181,
413.37. The results, also, showed that majority of respondents possessed
general computer skills, with appreciable levels of skillfulness. In the area
of general internet and online usage skills, majority of respondents possessed
the requisite skills, with the majority of them also possessing appreciable
levels of skillfulness. Majority of respondents had access to the internet on a
daily basis and the majority of such respondents used the internet for academic
research purposes. The basic type of connectivity to the internet available to
most respondents was through the use of private cyber cafes. The main types of
online resources used included electronic journals, electronic books, search
engines and encyclopedia. Online resources that respondents frequently used
included electronic journals, search engines, encyclopedia, abstracts,
dictionaries and video/picture or graphic files. The online resources that were
perceived to be useful to respondents included search engines, electronic
journals and encyclopedia. Socio-economic and institutional factors that
significantly influenced the use of online resources included age and number of
years spent on formal education. Perceived constraints against access and use
of online resources included, among others, unstable power supply, high cost of
access and usage of online resources, non-subscription for relevant online
resources by institutions, slow connection to the internet, and lack of
sponsored training from institutions. It was recommended that tertiary
institutions should subscribe for such online resources as AGORA, OARE and
HINARI, for the benefit of their lecturers and that staff training and
re-training should be built into staff development programs; institutions
should provide internet services that are effective and efficient. This will
enhance better and effective connectivity in the search, access and use of
online resources; lecturers should upgrade themselves, through involvement in
personal training programs that will enhance their computer, internet and
online usage skills, in order to be able to locate, access and make more
effective use of online resources.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
information
Online resources, also
variously called, digital resources, internet resources, network resources,
computer resources, online services, online facilities, electronic information
sources or e-library resources (Issa, Amusan and Daura, 2009); Okiki and Asiru,
2011), are those resources that are found on computer networks of organizations
(intranets) or on the global network of millions of computers (Internet). The
terms ‘digital resources’, ‘internet resources’, ‘network resources’, ‘computer
resources’, ‘online services’, ‘online facilities’, ‘electronic information
sources’ or ‘e-library resources’, among others, are therefore being used
synonymously in the present study to describe information accessed online or
through local networked resources (Harle, 2009). The word ‘online’ is an
adjective, which refers to being connected through a computer. The effective
utilization, or otherwise, of online resources may be a factor of how well
information communication technologies (ICTs) are being used. Internet usage,
especially, directly impacts the use of online resources. This implies that the
more the number of internet users found in a given country, the greater the
indication that more online resources are being used.
According to the Internet World
Stats (2011), the estimated number of internet users world-wide, as at June
2010, was one billion, nine hundred and sixty-six million, five hundred and
fourteen thousand, eight hundred and sixteen (1,966,514,816) people, out of the
total estimated world population of six billion, eight hundred and forty five
million, six hundred and nine thousand, nine hundred and sixty (6,845,609,960)
people. The leading countries in internet usage, according to the report
include: China, the United States of America (USA), Japan, India, Brazil,
Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom (UK), France and Nigeria. The report stated
that Africa with fourteen percent (14.8%) of the world’s population,
representing one billion, thirteen million, seven hundred and seventy nine
thousand, fifty (1,013,779,050) people, have one hundred and ten million, nine
hundred and thirty one, seven hundred (110, 931,700) internet users, which is
equal to five percent (5.6%) of global internet users.
Nations, all over the world,
are competing with one another concerning the most profitable ways of utilizing
information for their national development. According to the World Bank (2002),
knowledge is a critical determinant of competitiveness in the world economy and
with the information revolution and increasing demands for a highly skilled
workforce, nations must accord high priority to building the capacity to
effectively utilize technology in education. The Bank emphasizes the critical
importance of effectively utilizing new information and communication
technologies (ICTs) to meet the growing need for a more sophisticated labor
force, better management of information systems, and more effective
contribution to poverty reduction around the world.
While the developed nations, on
one hand, are doing all they can to maintain their leadership position in
constructive information usage, the developing nations, on the other hand, are
trying all they can to bridge the prevailing digital divide (Halavatau, 2003).
Online information constitutes one of the major global sources of information
being tapped by nations.....
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