Perception, usage and barriers towards the utilisation of the Telecentre among rural women in Tanzania

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to assess the usage pattern of telecentres, how rural women frame telecentres and barriers that limit use of telecentres. Further, the study examined the effects of demographic characteristics and location on telecentre usage. Design/methodology/approach The study used a sequential mixed research design in three rural districts surrounding telecentres: Kongwa, Sengerema and Kilosa districts. The study population comprised rural women who were users and non-users of telecentres. The study conducted six focus group discussions (FGDs) with 37 users and six FGDs with 36 non-users in the first phase of the study in 2014; questionnaires were administered to 90 users and 90 non-users in the second phase of the study in 2015. Findings The primary use of telecentres among users was to access internet (71.4 per cent, n = 60), followed by information and communication technology (ICT) training courses (63.1 per cent, n = 53) and secretarial purposes (63.1 per cent, n = 53). Rural women used internet for educational purposes, followed by news, information on health issues, job opportunities, social and entertainment issues. Rural women currently using internet were more likely to be better educated (ß = 1.926, p = 0.001) and have higher incomes (ß = 5.318, p = 0.021) at both bivariate and multivariate analysis. Users indicated that they faced the following barriers towards using telecentre: short duration of ICT training, frequent power outages, low speed of internet and few computers at the telecentres. Non-users were not using telecentres because of lack of ICT skills and language barriers. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence to telecentres, libraries and other rural ICT initiatives to design rural ICT services that are gender-sensitive and demand-driven.

A Sustainable Rural Telecentre Concept on Sustainability Pillars

“…With the existence of social entrepreneurship club (SEC) at telecentres, the impact relies much on sustainability which is relevant to eradicate poverty and sustained economic growth in rural areas. This is the economic impact of telecentres (Lwoga andChigona, 2019, Kapondera andNamusanya, 2017).…”

Social Media Application in Agriculture Extension Programming for Small Scale Rural Farmers: Is Knowledge Impeding the Lack of Adoption?

“…ICT adoption in rural farming communities are constrained by complex and interconnected barriers at the domestic, regional and international levels influenced by sociocultural and environmental factors with the lack of knowledge and attitude being the key inhibitors (Aldosari et al, 2017, Imran, 2009Lwoga & Chigona, 2019). In the diffusion of innovation theory, knowledge and several socio economic characteristics such as family structure and community groups are a key characteristic of the persuasion stage in the adoption process hence a knowledge based community influences a constructive attitude towards ICT innovations (Rogers, 1995).…”

“…Despite the successes and benefits outlined in the literature, there are many barriers affecting social media use in extension programming in many countries with large rural farming populations even with expanding technological and broadband infrastructure (Awan, Ahmed, & Hashim, 2019;Lwoga & Chigona, 2019;Saravanan, 2010). There are many studies that demonstrate the application of social media in extension programming (Barau & Afrad, 2018;Jayathilake et al, 2017;Thomas & Laseinde, 2015;Zipper, 2018) but very few studies that empirically establish the inhibiting factors that prevents the prevalent use of social media in extension programming especially amongst small scale rural farmers (Beza et al, 2018;Newbury, Humpreys, & Fuess, 2014).…”

Psychological Capital of MIS Development Teams, System Effectiveness, and Social Innovation: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Confidence is also positively related to the employee’s performance in the workplace (Stajkovic and Luthans, 1998; Lwoga and Chigona, 2019). It is a human attribute that can be gained or lost and is able to affect a person’s level of energy and sense of self-worth.…”