University libraries have long desired one-stop shopping for their clienteles and, in this period of electronic age, their clienteles are demanding for it. They need to search from a single point at any physical location, and retrieve information from citations in journal indexes, abstracts and full text information from the electronic sources. This paper reports findings of a study undertaken in late 2003, which aimed to identify how far the use of internet has enhanced teaching, research and scholarly communication at Egerton University. The study involved students, faculty members and library staff. Apart from fairly maintained internet services, the results of this study show that use, interest and confidence in using the internet by female respondents is less compared to male respondents. E-mail and search engines were found to be the most frequently used resources and tools of internet. It also explored that majority of both the library staff and users have not received any instructions in the use of internet. Besides, charges for internet within the university libraries and other university service points are exorbitant and somewhat prohibitive.
The study sought to determine the impact of adoption and use of mobile phone technology on the performance of micro and small enterprises in Kisii municipality, Kenya. The owner's' perception on mobile phone adoption, purpose, sources, factors and perceived effects were studied. The study targeted owners of MSEs in Kisii Municipality. A cross sectional survey research design aimed at identifying MSE owners' perception on the adoption and use of mobile phone technology was used. Stratified sampling was used to identify the MSEs and simple random sampling techniques used to select the respondents and questionnaires placed to collect the data. A questionnaire was used to collect data and a split-half method of estimating reliability used with the aim of assessing the reliability and validity of the research instrument through the expert advice of the supervisors and faculty. The study sample comprised four hundred (400) owners of MSEs out of a population of three thousand five hundred and twenty eight (3528). Once the data had been collected, quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, distributions in percentages and frequency counts. Qualitative data was recorded from field data, transcribed and reported in themes and sub themes. Multiple regression analysis was also utilized to assess the relationship among the independent and dependent variables. The study showed among other findings, that there is an impact on adoption and use of mobile phone technology on the performance of micro and small enterprises.
Knowledge management and knowledge assets have gained much prominence in recent years and are said to improve organizational performance. However, the effects of knowledge management practices on organizational performance are not well known, particularly with respect to the newly established universities in the East African region. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of knowledge management practices on organizational performance at selected campuses of Kisii University in the South-western part of Kenya. The knowledge management practices identified were knowledge capture and acquisition, knowledge sharing, and knowledge management policies and strategies. The study established that knowledge management practices have a strong and positive effect on organizational performance. Hoarding of knowledge by members of staff was the major knowledge management challenge identified. Recommendations and areas for further studies are indicated.
The quest for higher education in Kenya has compelled universities to redesign their academic programmes and develop different modes of study such as work-based, vocational and part-time. As universities introduce these modes of study, libraries are also obliged to redesign their information resources and services to effectively serve users enrolled in these programmes. However, little is known of how university libraries are prepared to provide services to these groups of learners. The study investigated the provision of library and information services to part-time, postgraduate students in Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library of the University of Nairobi. The objectives were to identify the usage patterns of library and information services offered to part-time postgraduate students; determine the suitability of the regulatory framework governing the provision of library and information services; and identify the factors that influence the provision of library and information services to part-time postgraduate students. The study involved part-time postgraduate students and library staff. The study was guided by Ranganathan’s Laws of Library Science and utilized models of informationseeking behaviour and information-seeking. This was a case study in which data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. The total population was 7,053 registered part-time postgraduate students out of which a sample of 379 students was selected through stratified random sampling using Yamane’s simplified formula, while 11 library staff was purposively chosen. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as weighted averages, frequencies and percentages while qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. The study found that part-time postgraduate students had a low usage of Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library, which could be attributed to lack of time. It was established that the Library had a regulatory framework governing the provision of library and information services to all readers and not specific to part-time postgraduate students. The study also found that several factors including accessibility, personal experience, and relevance, and reliability, ease of use, familiarity, cost and format were important in determining the part-time postgraduate students’ efforts to pursue information. The study further revealed that challenges including inadequate funds to design specific services that would sufficiently meet the needs of part-time postgraduate students, inadequate literacy skills among the students, lack of expertise, inadequate staff and lack of understanding of the parttime postgraduate students’ information needs were encountered in the provision of library and information services to part-time postgraduate students. The study recommended that universities should integrate information literacy in their academic programmes, review library policies, carry out user surveys, and embed librarians in postgraduate students’ environment.
The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of User Interface Design on Information Systems Usage for the Technical Vocational and Educational Training Information System at (TVET-IS) at Integrated Polytechnic and Regional Centre (IPRC) Kigali, with the following objectives; to examine the design of the user interface of TVET information systems at IPRC Kigali; to evaluate the level of usage of the TVET information system at IPRC Kigali; and to establish the relationship between TVET Information system user interface design and its usage. The study was a descriptive research design with a simple random sampling method used to select academic, administrative, and ICT staff respondents for administration of the questionnaire. From a target population of 308, a sample size of 174 staff was selected. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 with tables, frequencies and charts used for presentation. TVET IS components considered in this research, were interface usability, interface layout and the interface design technology. The correlation coefficient (r = 0.587, P<0.01) was found between interface layout and IS Usage implying that the relationship was positive and statistically significant. Similarly r = 0.743, P<0.01 for the relationship between interface design Technology and IS Usage implying that the relationship was positive and statistically significant. Correlation coefficient (r = 0.642) and p-value (0.000) was produced between interface usability and IS usage meaning the relationship was positive and statistically significant. The TVET IS was used for data entry, retrieval and data security to a very minimal degree. The finding therefore showed that the relationship between User Interface Design and IS usage with multiple correlation coefficient R = 0.994, provided evidence that user interface design and TVET IS usage was positive and statistically significant. The recommendation after this study and findings is that IPRC Kigali administration should set up policies and mechanism to have all its activities done online with much emphasis on TVET Information System since most modules for the activities are included in this system. The online activities would include those activities that bring incentives to the staff and activities like accreditation of programs and accreditation of schools be done online through TVET-IS. More coaching is paramount to the users of the system so that they are very conversant with the system and technologies used. Workforce Development Authority should only accept online applications for accreditation and its approval to IPRC through TVET Information. The government should set the policy where online services are paramount and this would encourage institutions like IPRC Kigali to use the available systems like TVET-IS to the maximum.
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