Librarians’ Perceptions, Information Technology Competencies and Use of Cloud-Based Storage Systems in Academic Libraries in South-West Nigeria

The study investigated how perceptions and IT competencies of academic librarians influenced their use of Cloud-Based Storage (CBS) systems in libraries in South-West Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 127 academic librarians working in 11 university libraries across six Southwestern states of Nigeria. The answers from these valid copies of the questionnaire were descriptively (frequency count and percentage) and inferentially (regression statistics) analyzed using SPSS version 23. The findings revealed that the librarians had high perceptions for the use of CBS systems and also their IT competencies were on the high side. The perceptions and IT competencies of librarians significantly influenced the use of CBS systems in Nigerian academic libraries. In addition, the findings also indicated that perceptions and IT competencies of librarians jointly significantly influenced the use of CBS systems in Nigerian academic libraries. The significant outcomes of this study are that the perceptions and IT competencies of librarians have been found to be positively associated with the use of CBS systems in academic libraries in South-West Nigeria. Hence, a critical effort is required to improve the librarians’ encouraging perception and level of optimism of IT competency in increasing the awareness and application of CBS systems and other library technologies among librarians in South-West Nigeria and Nigeria at large

Review of the environmental and organisational implications of cloud computing: final report.

Cloud computing – where elastic computing resources are delivered over the Internet by external service providers – is generating significant interest within HE and FE. In the cloud computing business model, organisations or individuals contract with a cloud computing service provider on a pay-per-use basis to access data centres, application software or web services from any location. This provides an elasticity of provision which the customer can scale up or down to meet demand. This form of utility computing potentially opens up a new paradigm in the provision of IT to support administrative and educational functions within HE and FE. Further, the economies of scale and increasingly energy efficient data centre technologies which underpin cloud services means that cloud solutions may also have a positive impact on carbon footprints. In response to the growing interest in cloud computing within UK HE and FE, JISC commissioned the University of Strathclyde to undertake a Review of the Environmental and Organisational Implications of Cloud Computing in Higher and Further Education [19]

ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

Factors Influencing Administrative Staffs toward the Adoption of Cloud Computing

Adoption of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has been one of the most challenging issues in developing part of the world. Uptake of new ICT innovations involves fulfilling many requirements ranging from technical to human resources. This study investigated factors influencing administrative staffs toward the adoption of cloud computing. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model serves as an assessment framework to understand administrative staffs’ behavioral intention towards cloud computing. The results of T-test showed that there is no significant influence of gender on effort expectancy, performance expectancy and social influence of administrative staffs towards the adoption of cloud computing. Similarly, results of ANOVA revealed there is no significant influence of age on effort expectancy, performance expectancy and social influence of administrative staffs towards the adoption of cloud computing. On the other hand, the result of Linear regression showed that there is a significant relationship between effort expectancy, performance expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions on administrative staff’s behavioral intention towards the adoption of cloud computing. Knowledge gained from the study is advantageous to both tertiary administrative staffs and Nigeria ICT policy makers

Perception and Attitude of Librarians towards Cloud Computing in the University of Dar es Salaam Library

Abstract The study investigated the perception and attitude of librarians towards Cloud Computing in the University of Dar es Salaam library. Five research objectives were raised to guide this research work; some of which are determining the level of awareness of cloud computing by librarians, perception of cloud computing by librarians, attitude of librarians towards cloud computing and others. It applied a descriptive research design using quantitative approach. The population of the study was made up of 125 librarians but a census sampling method was employed to generate 94 respondents and only questionnaire was used to collect data. The study used Statistical Product and Services Solution (SPSS) program version 21 to generate percentages and frequencies from quantitative data which were presented in tables. The findings of the paper revealed that librarians at the University of Dar es Salaam are aware of Cloud Computing technology; they have positive perception about it and also receptive disposition towards cloud computing amongst others. It was therefore recommended that library heads should always encourage staff not to only be aware of new technologies but to take a bold step in applying these technologies. They should endeavour to sponsor staff for further studies, seminars and conferences

Perception and Attitude of Librarians towards Cloud Computing in the University of Dar es Salaam Library

Abstract The study investigated the perception and attitude of librarians towards Cloud Computing in the University of Dar es Salaam library. Five research objectives were raised to guide this research work; some of which are determining the level of awareness of cloud computing by librarians, perception of cloud computing by librarians, attitude of librarians towards cloud computing and others. It applied a descriptive research design using quantitative approach. The population of the study was made up of 125 librarians but a census sampling method was employed to generate 94 respondents and only questionnaire was used to collect data. The study used Statistical Product and Services Solution (SPSS) program version 21 to generate percentages and frequencies from quantitative data which were presented in tables. The findings of the paper revealed that librarians at the University of Dar es Salaam are aware of Cloud Computing technology; they have positive perception about it and also receptive disposition towards cloud computing amongst others. It was therefore recommended that library heads should always encourage staff not to only be aware of new technologies but to take a bold step in applying these technologies. They should endeavour to sponsor staff for further studies, seminars and conferences

Hinders of Cloud Computing Usage in Higher Education in Iraq: A Model Development

Cloud computing (CC) is a trendy technology that is being used in business and daily life. However, limited studies is found on higher education usage. The barriers and obstacles that confront the usage is not clear and in particular in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to examine the barriers and obstacle that confront the usage CC services in Barash University in Iraq. Using the technology organization environment framework and the internal external factor (IE-TOE), the study proposed the conceptual framework. The data was collected from academic, non-academic staff and students using convivence sampling technique. The data was analyzed using Smart PLS. The findings showed that organizational obstacle followed by technological, internal and external factors, and environmental factors are the most severe obstacles that confront the university in using CC services. Decision makers can benefit from the developed model to ease the implementation of CC

Acceptance model of SaaS cloud computing at northern Malaysian main campus public universities

Technology advancement has side effects, although it has moved in a fast pace that facilitated life and increased business revenue. To cope with negative aspects while looking for friendly technology, Software as a Service (SaaS) Cloud Computing emerged to preserve natural resources, effectively utilize computing and power consumption, while achieving performance, decreasing cost, and increasing revenue. Yet, there are paucity in empirical studies investigating salient factors affecting the usage, acceptance, or adoption of SaaS services from the individual perspectives specifically in higher education sector. The main objective of this study is to investigate the salient factors with proper model that includes technical, social and control characteristics, as well as user security predisposition. Besides, educational level has also proven to be influential in adopting innovations. Hence, probing its role is another objective. The last objective is to investigate differences between student and lecturer groups in the relationships postulated in the model. A survey with questionnaires was conducted on students and lecturers in four public universities in Northern Malaysia. The scope of the acceptance is to investigate the personal-level use of SaaS services. Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) and Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI) were applied. Results revealed appropriateness of the model although the role of Trialability and Subjective Norms were not significance. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge and literature in highlighting the role of these factors that SaaS providers could benefit in planning for new services and in promoting SaaS usage to universities

ACCEPTANCE OF CLOUD COMPUTING IN AN AIRLINE COMPANY BASED ON ROGER’S DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY

As using cloud computing develops, one of the problems that managers face at the organization level is that the personnel cannot work with these systems, users do not accept these new systems and the problem of accepting these technologies, effective factors in accepting them and the existing barriers in accepting them by users are very important. In many organizations wherein cloud computing has been launched, a time period is required to accept this new system by their personnel. If this time period is less and the personnel can work with these systems earlier, the productivity increases in the organization. The present paper aims the analysis of effective factors on acceptance of cloud computing by personnel working in Birjand International Airport in South Khorasan County (Iran) based on Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory. Examination of effective factors on acceptance of cloud computing in an organization can pave the way for improving its implementation and performance. This research has been done by descriptive survey method and its community includes personnel working in different official and informatics departments of Birjand International Airport. The data gathering instrument was questionnaire and for determining questionnaire validity opinions of masters and for determining consistency Cronbach's alpha has been used. For data analysis descriptive and inferential statistics have been used. The results of present paper indicated that there is meaningful and positive relationship between acceptance features of cloud computing and perception elements of testability, comparative advantage, visibility, complexity, and compatibility of cloud computing with its acceptance rate and there is meaningful and negative relationship between features of perception of not needing cloud computing and its acceptance rate. But there was no meaningful relationship between perception of cloud computing test opportunity and its acceptance rate. As one of the modern ways of providing electronic service has been cloud computing in recent years and it has many benefits for air transportation systems, this paper presents a model for analysis of effective factors in acceptance of cloud computing among personnel of an airline company (airport) and it can be used for examining cloud acceptance in other air companies

An overview of cloud services adoption challenges in higher education institutions

Information Technology (IT) plays an important role in enabling education services be delivered to users. Most education online services in universities have been run on the cloud to provide services to support students, lecturers, researchers and administration staff. These are enabled with the emergence of cloud computing in the world of IT. Cloud computing offers on demand Internet-based computing services. This paper presents an overview of cloud computing adoption in higher education, mainly tertiary institutions and universities. The focus of the paper is the challenges of cloud computing in higher education. It introduces the background to cloud computing and reviews research on adoption challenges in higher education institutions. These challenges are important as they provide an overview of the adoption of cloud in higher education. The authors proposed an integrated reference model based on the challenges in the literature integrated with TAM model to investigate the factors influence the users’ attitudes and behaviors toward using cloud education services in universities ICT provision