The Impact of ICT (Internet) on Research and Studies: The Experience of Delta State University Students in Abraka, Nigeria
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050510644347 |
| Pages | 17-21 |
| Date | 01 December 2005 |
| Published date | 01 December 2005 |
| Author | Oghenevwogaga Benson Adogbeji,Blessings Amina Akporhonor |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
The Impact of ICT (Internet) on Research and
Studies: The Experience of Delta State University
Students in Abraka, Nigeria
Oghenevwogaga Benson Adogbeji and Blessings Amina Akporhonor
LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 10 2005, pp. 17-21, #Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/07419050510644347 17
Introduction
The marriage of the computer with
telecommunications gives birth to
information and communication
technology. Information and
communication technology (ICT)
therefore is the integration of computers
with telecommunication with a view to
processing and disseminating
information. ICT has played such a
significant role in the world that there is
hardly a field of activity in life where it
is not evident. The advent of the
internet, which came on board as an
outcome of an experiment conducted by
a US military team in attempting to
exchange information is now a tool that
no field of life can do without. The
internet has made the access, retrieval
and dissemination of information from
non-local and distant resources not only
easy but also available to any end user
regardless of origin. The internet has
made changes in almost all aspects of
our lives as it plays a role in most of
what we discuss today regarding access
to, dissemination and retrieval of
information (Chanchage, 2001) as
reported by Adomi (2003). A web
server is a dedicated system located
somewhere that is set aside to render
services to the users via the internet. It
allows access to the information/
database in the server as ordered by the
originator of such information, e.g.
access to published articles, lecture
notes or any other pieces of information
that are contained on the web server.
Since an academic environment is a
place where research is carried out and
also a place where students and staff
(lecturers and non-teaching staff)
compile materials for studies, it
becomes pertinent that there should be
quick access to information, for better
decision-making opportunities. The
internet has nowadays become an
important component in academic
institutions as it plays a pivotal role in
meeting information and
communication needs of institutions
(Luambano and Nawe, 2004). The
internet is so vital as an information
provider source that even recent
information can easily be opened
world-wide with little or no effort and at
a very modest cost. It was also noted by
Luambano and Nawe (2004) that the
internet provides up-to-date
information. This is of paramount
importance to researchers and students
in that every information seeker needs
accurate but up-to-date information in
order to create impact in the growth of
knowledge. Be that as it may, the
advantages of the internet are so
numerous that in any academic
institution its uses become even more
vital. Surveys carried out so far show
that the internet is always being made
available in an academic environment,
and is most common in the developed
nations of the world. Nigeria, being a
developing nation that has embraced
ICT and the internet for some years,
now finds it important to have internet
facilities installed in academic
institutions. Individual users are the
great promoters of internet services. For
instance at the Delta State University,
Abraka, Nigeria, there is one cybercafeÂ
that was established in 2000, with about
25 computers available there now
where an internet service is being
rendered. This is being run by the
university but there are more than 20
cybercafeÂs locally in Abraka, the town
where the University is located, that are
being run by private individuals to
render more and competitive internet
services. A ``cybercafeÂ'' in this context
is a place where computers that are
connected using the wide area network
(WAN) and then hooked to an internet
service provider (ISP), and renders
internet services to users on a fee-based
basis. The cost varies from one
cybercafe to another but ranges from 60
NGN (Nigeria naira) to 120 NGN per
hour.
The increase of so many cybercafeÂs
in Abraka has been helpful to the
academic community engaged in any
research work or those who need
information for any purpose. The
internet service has created much
impact in research and studies at Delta
State University, Abraka; hence the
need to assess the level of the impact of
the application of ICTs in academic
work.
As a result of the benefits of the
internet to research work, it has become
a valuable tool for research and studies
(Yumba, 1997; Ojedokun and Owolabi,
2003). Nigeria as a nation has embraced
this technology and, as elsewhere in the
world, has benefited much from the
internet service in the area of research
and ability to communicate via e-mail
around the world. Delta State
University, Abraka, being a tertiary
institution, has also recorded
experiencing a tremendous impact from
this technology as it has made research,
work and studies easier for the teaching
and support staff and students. That is to
say, it has aided them in searching for
reliable information on the internet that
has provided them with more valuable
materials that can easily be downloaded
from the net without traveling. This is
important because the access factor is
that they may not have had access to
analogous information in other formats
either.
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