Research has shown that technology, when used prudently, has the potential to improve instruction and learning both in and out of the classroom. Only a handful of African tertiary institutions have fully deployed learning management systems (LMS) and the literature is devoid of research examining the factors that foster the adoption of LMS. To fill this void, the present research investigates the factors contributing to students' acceptance of LMS. Survey data were obtained from registered students in four Nigerian universities (n=1,116); the responses were analyzed using artificial neural network (ANN) and structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. The results show that social influence, facilitating conditions, system quality, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness are important predictors for students' behavioral intention to use LMS. Students' behavioral intention to use LMS also functions as a predictor for actual usage of LMS. Implications for practice and theory are discussed.
The efficacy of information and communication technology (ICT) projects and initiatives in developing countries, and how they may assist poverty reduction or otherwise improve the quality of life for communities in those countries, is still a topic of debate. Knowledge empowers people, while information technology integrates such knowledge for purposeful action and reaction. This paper describes a framework, based on social capital and knowledge management theories, which aims to further that debate in the field of information systems. The framework is primarily a sensitising device, designed to assist thinking about how social capital and knowledge theories facilitate ICT interventions for poverty reduction. The framework has four stages, the process of ICT development, the ICT intervention, the evaluation of the impact of the ICT intervention and the process of poverty reduction, which is the final and most contested stage of an ICT intervention. Each stage of the framework is discussed, using illustrations from various development projects. Finally, the paper draws some conclusions about the contribution of social capital and knowledge management theories to the issue of ICT intervention and evaluation in developing countries.
Investments in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have been a major issue of concern in academia and industry. How much a country should invest in its telecommunications infrastructure so as to improve their levels of teledensity is a major challenge. This research examines investments in the telecommunications sector of low and middle-income developing countries. The findings suggest that increased investment in telecommunications infrastructure without the involvement of other socio-economic factors may not improve growth of teledensity in developing countries. The study, however, suggests a positive relationship between teledensity and other variables such as GDP per capita, telecommunications staff and length of wait times to acquire and maintain telephones. Some strategies are suggested as steps to take in order to improve the teledensity levels of the countries used in this study.
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