Factors influencing access and usage of e-Resources at Nkumba University Uganda

Abstract: Electronic resources (e-Resources) are now generally perceived as powerful sources of information and are regarded as indispensable scholarly reference source. With easy access, e-Resources provide synthesized information sources with regularly updated information and hyperlinks to offsite contents providing latest information and thinking on a subject. Aiming to explore access and usage of e- Resources at Nkumba University Library (NUL), this study investigated the level of accessibility and usage of subscribed e-Resources by third year undergraduate students. Understanding the level of access and usage of e-Resource is important because it gives pointers to the level of access of contemporary knowledge in the learning and research processes by the students. A positivist approach hinged on the modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) formed the theoretical basis of the study. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, interviews and observations. A 51% of encompassing 110 individuals out of 216 responded to the questionnaire. This research provides evidence and pointers that need to be considered when designing interventions to encourage usage and access of e-Resources in contextually similar environments. The study proposes a conceptual framework that depicts factors cardinal in influencing access and usage of e-Resources more especially in resourceconstrained countries

Decolonisation of e-Government research and practice exploring contextual issues and opportunities in Africa

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Multidisciplinarity in Data Science Curricula

This paper sought to identify and compare disciplinary emphases in data science curricula across South Africa’s 26 public universities using a website scoping review method. The key findings reveal that only 12 of the 26 universities offer data science programmes that are publicly accessible on their websites. Of those 12, only 5 offer data science at the undergraduate level, and these undergraduate programmes are objectified (entirely leaning) to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Only seven of the universities offer a few non-STEM subjects with only one offering more non-STEM subjects compared to STEM subjects. The implications are that curricula of data science, which is multidisciplinary in nature, are more likely to inherit the STEM curricula challenges. The resultant impact will therefore likely extend to skills, future careers, and employment, in view of the growing demand for data scientists amid the unemployment challenges. It is recommended that intentional efforts must be made to necessarily ideologise non-STEM disciplines into data science curricula in South Africa, that is, to deeply embed societal contexts into data science curricula

Analysing contemporary and future growth prospects in developing and emerging economies

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Information knowledge and technology for Development in Africa

Information, knowledge, and technology occupy significant space in the information and knowledge society and ongoing debates on development such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda 2030 and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Disruptive technologies and cyber-physical systems, obscuring the lines between the physical, digital and biological, escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic, present a ‘new normal’ that profoundly affects the nature and magnitude of responses required to sustain and benefit from the new developments. Africa, known for late adoption of new technologies and innovations, is leapfrogging development stages in several enviable ways. This book, Information knowledge and technology for development in Africa’, written by eminent African scholars, comprises chapters that satisfactorily address information access, artificial intelligence, information ethics, e-learning, library and information science education (LISE) in the 4IR, data literacy and e-scholarship, and knowledge management, which are increasingly essential for information access, services, and LISE in Africa. We expect the book to support research, teaching and learning in African higher education and worldwide for comparative scholarship

Information knowledge and technology for Development in Africa

Information, knowledge, and technology occupy significant space in the information and knowledge society and ongoing debates on development such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda 2030 and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Disruptive technologies and cyber-physical systems, obscuring the lines between the physical, digital and biological, escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic, present a ‘new normal’ that profoundly affects the nature and magnitude of responses required to sustain and benefit from the new developments. Africa, known for late adoption of new technologies and innovations, is leapfrogging development stages in several enviable ways. This book, Information knowledge and technology for development in Africa’, written by eminent African scholars, comprises chapters that satisfactorily address information access, artificial intelligence, information ethics, e-learning, library and information science education (LISE) in the 4IR, data literacy and e-scholarship, and knowledge management, which are increasingly essential for information access, services, and LISE in Africa. We expect the book to support research, teaching and learning in African higher education and worldwide for comparative scholarship

Conquering the digital divide: Botswana and South Korea digital divide status and interventions

Background: Botswana is putting in place initiatives towards establishing itself as a knowledgebased economy. Transformation from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy is partly hinged on innovation, research and development capability, knowledge channels, and the funding of research and development activities. Objectives: Bridging the digital divide and narrowing the intra-national divide brings about global information and communication technology (ICT) usage that translates into changing work patterns and eventually transformed economies. This article outlines the different interventions implemented in Botswana to bridge the divide. The South Korean experience in bridging the divide is discussed so as to serve as lessons on how to effectively bridge the divide to Botswana’s initiatives. Method: Using a mix of exploratory and empirical study, this article presents the findings on the status of ICT uptake in Botswana and investigates the level of the digital divide in the country. Results: The results of the study show that the digital divide is much more evident in Botswana than in South Korea. South Korea has put in place robust strategic initiatives towards reducing the digital divide and this has largely transcended into its transformation into a full-fledged knowledge society. Conclusion: This article is timely as it unearths the different pointers that may be utilised in policy formation and what interventions need to be taken at both the individual and national level to bridge the digital divide