scholarly journals The Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure on University of Mines and Technology Campus and Its Impact on Library e-Resource Accessibility

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-83
Author(s):  
P. Anafo ◽  
S. Akpah ◽  
Y. Ofori

Abstract The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, Ghana has a Local Area Network (LAN) infrastructure whose primary purpose is to facilitate research; teaching and learning; and information dissemination. The LAN infrastructure spans a maximum distance of 1.39 square-kilometers with an upload and download speed of 115 Mb/s and interconnects the administration block, faculties, library and halls of residence with high-speed ethernet links operating over a dedicated fiber optic backbone. The LAN infrastructure with connectivity to the internet impact operations in various sections of the University, notably, the University Library. The main purpose of the library is to interact with different information networks to make available e-resource materials to students, academic and non-academic staff. This can only be achieved over a dedicated LAN infrastructure. The introduction of Library Management Systems (Koha), Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) and the UMaT Space has improved library services such as document delivery, circulation and borrowing, amongst others. However, there exist a major challenge associated with library e-resources accessibility. This paper sought to investigate the factors hindering library e-resource accessibility for the purposes of improving research. Questionnaire was administered to respondents to solicit primary information while secondary information was obtained from published literature. 537 out of 855 participants responded to the questionnaire administered. 351 (65.36%) represented undergraduate students, 73 (13.60%) represented postgraduate students, 87 (16.20%), 21 (3.91%), 5 (0.93%) represented teaching, non-teaching and library staff respectively. The responses were analysed using simple tables and pie charts. Results from the study showed inadequate access points to enable users access these e-resource materials and lack of knowledge about the existence of these resources. The investigation further revealed the need for the library to embark on an information literacy drive for both students and academic staff. Various ways of improving e-resource accessibility was suggested.   Keywords: Local Area Network, ICT Infrastructure, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), E-Resources

Author(s):  
Nurul I. Sarkar ◽  
Krassie Petrova

Previous studies have shown that motivating students to learn about local area network (LAN) design can be difficult when presented in the traditional lecture format. To overcome this problem, a Web-based tool (“WebLan-Designer”) was developed as an aid in teaching and learning of LAN design at the introductory level. A WebLan-Designer provides a set of learning resources (tutorials, quizzes, network modeling, network design scenarios, key terms and definitions, and review questions and answers) and assists undergraduate students in learning the basics of both wired and wireless LAN design. The tool is Internet-based and can be accessed at any time so that students can study LAN design at their own pace and convenience. This flexible learning approach contributes positively to distance education and e-learning. The effectiveness of WebLan-Designer is evaluated both formally and informally; positive student and peer feedback indicates that the design and implementation of the tool has been successful and that using WebLan-Designer may have a positive impact on student learning and comprehension.


1991 ◽  
Vol 30 (01) ◽  
pp. 53-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Schosser ◽  
C. Weiss ◽  
K. Messmer

This report focusses on the planning and realization of an interdisciplinary local area network (LAN) for medical research at the University of Heidelberg. After a detailed requirements analysis, several networks were evaluated by means of a test installation, and a cost-performance analysis was carried out. At present, the LAN connects 45 (IBM-compatible) PCs, several heterogeneous mainframes (IBM, DEC and Siemens) and provides access to the public X.25 network and to wide-area networks for research (EARN, BITNET). The network supports application software that is frequently needed in medical research (word processing, statistics, graphics, literature databases and services, etc.). Compliance with existing “official” (e.g., IEEE 802.3) and “de facto” standards (e.g., PostScript) was considered to be extremely important for the selection of both hardware and software. Customized programs were developed to improve access control, user interface and on-line help. Wide acceptance of the LAN was achieved through extensive education and maintenance facilities, e.g., teaching courses, customized manuals and a hotline service. Since requirements of clinical routine differ substantially from medical research needs, two separate networks (with a gateway in between) are proposed as a solution to optimally satisfy the users’ demands.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 6683-6753 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Blöschl ◽  
A. P. Blaschke ◽  
M. Broer ◽  
C. Bucher ◽  
G. Carr ◽  
...  

Abstract. Hydrological observatories bear a lot of resemblance to the more traditional research catchment concept but tend to differ in providing more long term facilities that transcend the lifetime of individual projects, are more strongly geared towards performing interdisciplinary research, and are often designed as networks to assist in performing collaborative science. This paper illustrates how the experimental and monitoring setup of an observatory, the 66 ha Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) in Petzenkirchen, Lower Austria, has been established in a way that allows meaningful hypothesis testing. The overarching science questions guided site selection, identifying dissertation topics and the base monitoring. The specific hypotheses guided the dedicated monitoring and sampling, individual experiments, and repeated experiments with controlled boundary conditions. The purpose of the HOAL is to advance the understanding of water related flow and transport processes involving sediments, nutrients and microbes in small catchments. The HOAL catchment is ideally suited for this purpose, because it features a range of different runoff generation processes (surface runoff, springs, tile drains, wetlands), the nutrient inputs are known, and it is convenient from a logistic point of view as all instruments can be connected to the power grid and a high speed glassfibre Local Area Network. The multitude of runoff generation mechanisms in the catchment provide a genuine laboratory where hypotheses of flow and transport can be tested, either by controlled experiments or by contrasting sub-regions of different characteristics. This diversity also ensures that the HOAL is representative of a range of catchments around the world and the specific process findings from the HOAL are applicable to a variety of agricultural catchment settings. The HOAL is operated jointly by the Vienna University of Technology and the Federal Agency for Water Management and takes advantage of the Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems funded by the Austrian Science Funds. The paper presents the science strategy of the setup of the observatory, discusses the implementation of the HOAL, gives examples of the hypothesis testing and summarises the lessons learned. The paper concludes with an outlook on future developments.


Photonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Khalid.H. Mohammadani ◽  
Rizwan Aslam Butt ◽  
Kamran Ali Memon ◽  
Fayaz Hassan ◽  
Abdul Majeed ◽  
...  

The combination of a high-speed wireless network with passive optical network technologies has led to the evolution of a modern integrated fiber wireless (FiWi) access network. Compared to broadband wireless networks, the FiWi network offers higher bandwidth with improved reliability and reduced maintenance costs due to the passive nature of passive optical network (PON). Since the quality of service (QoS) is a baseline to deploy high-speed FiWi broadband access networks, therefore, it is essential to analyze and reduce the typical problems (e.g., bandwidth and delay) in the high-speed next-generation networks (NGANs). This study investigates the performance of a fiber wireless architecture where a 10-Gigabit-capable passive optical network (XGPON) and fifth generation of wireless local area network (WLAN) (i.e., IEEE 802.11ac) are integrated. Both technologies take benefits from each other and have pros and cons concerning the QoS demands of subscribers. The proposed work offers a very flexible QoS scheme for the different types of services of 5G WLAN and XGPON with the help of the highest cost first (HCF) algorithm, which leads to reduced upstream delays for delay-sensitive applications. The simulation results show that the HCF algorithm boosts the performance of the dynamic bandwidth assignment (DBA) scheme and results in up to 96.1%, 90.8%, and 55.5% reduced upstream (US) delays for video: VI(T2), background: BK(T3), and best effort: BE(T4) traffic in enhanced-distributed-channel-access (EDCA) mode. Compared to earlier work, the HCF and immediate allocation with the colorless grant (IACG) DBA combination results in the reduction of up to 54.8% and 53.4% mean US delays. This happens because of 50% to 65% better bandwidth assignment by the IACG DBA process due to efficient mapping by the HCF algorithm.


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