Patronage of Online Bookstores by Postgraduate Students at Nigerian Universities

The preference for online bookstores is increasing among students; however, research that focuses on online bookstores has not been given attention in the Nigerian university context. This study examined, through empirical analysis, the patronage of online bookstores by postgraduate students at Nigerian universities. A survey design was adopted using a questionnaire to collect data from 969 postgraduate students selected from twelve universities from the South-west and South-south regions. Six research questions were developed. The findings reveal that Amazon is the online bookstore most often patronised by Nigerian postgraduate students. The books ordered most often are textbooks, fiction, and reference books. The factors driving patronage of online bookstores are convenience, the wide range of products available, the opportunity to purchase anytime and anywhere, the ability to save time, and cost advantages. Culture and censorship do not have an impact on the patronage of online bookstores. Overall, postgraduate students are satisfied with their experience of online bookstores, although the challenges include internet connectivity, long waiting times for delivery of ordered books, inadequate information and communication technology (ICT) skills, limited access to computers with internet access, loss of ordered books during transit, and the risks inherent in paying for books ordered online. Since only one bookstore in this study, Ikasuwa, is based in Nigeria, it is recommended that Nigerian bookstores and booksellers consider creating online platforms to reach out to customers.

Game Development to Introduce Indonesian Traditional Weapons using MDA Framework

It is unfortunate that more and more youths are less concerned and are not interested in acquainting and studying Indonesian traditional culture, especially concerning on traditional Indonesian weapons. This fact is noticed from data as collected from several bookstores including online bookstores which the number of books on traditional weapons originating from abroad as published in Indonesia has a significant comparison compared to books on traditional weapons from Indonesia, in a stagerring 1:7 comparisson. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a media that can generate interest in couriosly learning about Indonesian culture, especially when introducing traditional Indonesian weapons. This research was conducted to develop a media in the form of android games that can be applied for the introduction of Indonesian culture, especially traditional weapons. The employed method of game development is the MDA Framework. Evaluation was carried out by using the Playtesting Evaluation and Gameflow methods. The evaluation results related to the concentration of players during game playing presents that the game has given a lot of encouragement to players to play games in several aspects of: game graphics, game sound, game stories, gameplay, simple interfaces, and completion of missions and main objectives regarding traditional Indonesian weapons, trigerring the player interest in playing this game and to maintain their focus throughout the game. In overal, the evaluation results using playtesting evaluation and Gameflow test depicts that a rating above average with an overall rating of 3.61 (72.18%) and the game Mystical Weapon of Nusantara can be accommodated as a medium for the introduction of traditional Indonesian weapons as indicated by the probability of a t-test of 1,169x10-19 which is far below the value of α = 0.05. Thus, it is concluded that there is an improvement in user knowledge, as well as the value of respondent answer showing above the average, which is 3.83 (76.67%).

Examination of the Accuracy and Applicability of Information in Popular Books on Dog Training

There is a wealth of popular literature available on dog behavior and training; sourcing reliable and trustworthy advice is important to achieving successful training. The aim of this study was to select five best-selling (at that time) dog training books, and review their general content and references to basic learning theory and human communicative cues. An Internet search was performed on three online bookstores’ websites for “best selling” “dog training” books. The books were by Millan and Peltier (2006), Fennell (2002), Stilwell (2005), Pryor (1999), and Monks of New Skete (2002). The results showed marked differences across all books, including inconsistencies in the depth of information provided, and some starkly contrasting training methods were advocated. Overall, these books were not all considered to function as instructional manuals. The persistent popularity of these books suggests that they have likely contributed appreciably to the type of information accessed by dog guardians.