Awareness and Use of Cloud Computing: Its Implications in Selected Academic Libraries in Imo State, Nigeria

The study investigated awareness and use of cloud computing; its implications by libraries in selected academic libraries in Imo State, Nigeria. Four research questions were asked and answered. Also, three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 significance level. Survey research design was adopted. The total population of the study was 53 librarians, comprising professional staff of the library in Imo State University, Owerri, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede and Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri. The sample size was the entire population; hence the census enumeration sampling technique was employed. Rating scale was used for data collection. Data collected were presented in tables and column charts, and analyzed using mean, standard deviation. Testing of hypotheses was done using F-ratio (ANOVA) at the significance level of 0.05. Findings reveal that there is certain level of awareness on cloud computing technologies and models in the libraries studied. It was also discovered that cloud computing technology were used by libraries in the institutions studied, and economy of resource cost effectiveness and file sharing are some of the major positive implications of librarians adoption cloud computing technologies. However security and privacy, multiple taxation were also identified as major negative implications of cloud computing adoption by the librarians in discharging their functions in the libraries. Based on these findings, recommendations were made.

Influence of Information Behaviour and Perceived Risks on Substance Use of Undergraduates in Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study investigated the influence of information behaviour and perceived risks on substance use among undergraduates in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria.The study adopted survey research design. The population comprised 82,809 undergraduates in 14 approved private, state and federal universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Krejcie and Morgan table was used to determine the sample size of 1,513 undergraduates. A two-stage random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The Cronbach‟s alpha reliability coefficients for the constructs ranged from 0.89 to 0.99. The response rate of 93.9% was achieved. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential (multiple regression) statistics. Findings showed that information behaviour and perceived risks had no combined significant influence on substance use among undergraduates (Adj R2 = -.001, F(2, 1417)= .627, p>0.05). Additionally, among other findings, it was discovered that information behaviour had a significant influence on substance use among the undergraduates (R2= .022, β = .149, t(1,414)= 6.420, p<0.05 The study concluded that information behaviour and perceived risks did not jointly influence substance use. However, both information behaviour and perceived risks, on individual basis influenced substance use. The study recommended that university management and stakeholders should intensify efforts to increase awareness programs to eradicate substance use on university campuses. Intervention from World Health Organization.

Utilization of Information and Communication Technology Based Information Resources in Library User Education Programmes: A Study of Colleges of Education in South-South, Nigeria

The study investigated utilization of information and communication technology-based information resources in library user education programmes in South-South Nigeria. Four research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 1022 respondents which consist of 62 staff and 960 library users. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire of a four-point rating scale and observation checklist. Tools used for data analysis of research questions were frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation; t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at selected probability of 0.05 level significance. The findings revealed that the ICT facilities available are limited for effective utilization of ICT-based information resources in library user education programmes. The study reveals that ICT-based resources listed in the table were utilized to high extent in South-South colleges of education libraries for user education programmes. It also shows that poor funding was the major challenge of utilization of ICT-based resources for user education programmes in colleges of education libraries under study.

Factors Influencing Electronic Medical Record Systems Success in Selected Tertiary Healthcare Facilities in South-West, Nigeria

Survey research design of the correlational type was employed for this study using stratified random sampling to select two hundred and forty-five (245) respondents. The research instrument which was a structured questionnaire was tagged Adoption Factors and Usage Evaluation of Electronic medical record systems System Success. A total of 222 copies research questionnaire were filled and returned. A statistical package for social science application was used in analysing the results of the research using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient for hypotheses one and two, and multiple regression analysis for the hypotheses three and four. The result from the study revealed that there was a positive significant correlation between adoption factors and EMRS systems’ success (r= 0.440) and there was a strong positive correlation between usage evaluation and system success of EMRS in the two healthcare facilities (r= 0.618). More so, findings showed that adoption factors jointly and significantly affect EMRS system success with coefficient of 0.648, and a multiple R square of 0.420. And there was also a relative contribution of adoption factors (β = 0.215) and usage evaluation (0.526) on EMRS success. The study concludes that electronic medical record systems have become a standard for every healthcare facility for improvement in the efficiency and profitability of the organisations. The study therefore recommends that, all healthcare facilities in Nigeria should adopt the electronic medical record systems, and all healthcare providers should be given thorough training on the use of EMRS.

Leadership Style, Business Information Use and Corporate Social Responsibility Practice in Credit Direct Limited Lagos State, Nigeria

A survey research design was used for this study. The population comprised Two hundred and fifty-six (256) staff of Credit Direct Limited, Lagos State. Total enumeration was used. A self-designed structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient was used to test the reliability of the research instrument. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that both leadership style and business information use have positive influence on corporate social responsibility practice in Credit Direct Limited, Lagos State (R2 = H3: R = .253; R2 = .064; Adjusted-R2 = .056; F (2, 8.631); Sig. = 0.000). the level of corporate social responsibility practice is high, for leadership style, transformational leadership was highly used and finally business information was highly used. The study concluded that corporate social responsibility practice in the organization will be enhanced if there is a significant improvement in her leadership style and business information use. The study recommended that the management of credit direct limited, Lagos state should improve their level of corporate social responsibility through adequate utilization of business information available to them, the leadership style that encourages CSR practice should be adopted and they should also improve on their corporate philanthropy which will enhance the image of the organization.

Librarians’ Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Management in Private University Libraries in South-West and South-South, Nigeria

This study investigates the influence of librarians„ emotional intelligence on conflict management in private university libraries in South-West and South-South, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design. The population comprises 200 librarians in South-West and South-South, Nigeria. Total enumeration technique was used. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was tested for reliability, yielding Cronbach‟s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.87 to 0.95. Descriptive & inferential Statistics were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup conflicts as predominant in libraries. Collaborating, accommodating, sharing, avoidance and competing were prevalent techniques for managing conflicts in libraries. Librarians were found to be highly emotionally intelligent. The study concluded that librarians‟ emotional intelligence influenced conflict management. The study recommended that there is a need for private University Libraries to tackle misunderstandings among librarians while at the same time ensuring librarians are constantly emotionally intelligent.

Towards a National Framework for Digital Preservation in Nigeria: Technologies and Best Practices

The need for preserving digital resources (acquired or generated) by institutions in Nigeria becomes imperative in the wake of adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by these institutions. The paper advocates for a national framework for preserving digital resources for long-term or future use and to avoid the risk of losing national memory in this digital age. Technology emulation, migration and encapsulation are some of the digital preservation strategies discussed in the paper. The paper also identified two key national institutions that can drive the digital preservation initiative in Nigeria. Keywords: Archive, Preservation, Digital materials, Technology Obsolence

Digitization of Information Resources in Public Libraries and Museums in South-East, Nigeria: Problems and Prospects

This study examines the problems and prospects of digitization of information resources in public libraries and museums in South-East, Nigeria. Two research questions were formulated to guide the study and a survey research design was also used for the study. The population of the study consists of all the staff and users of public libraries and museums in South-East, Nigeria. A total sample size of 317 was selected using a simple random sampling technique. The researcher constructed two sets of questionnaire entitled “Problems and Prospects of Digitization of Information Resources in Public Libraries and Museums Questionnaire (PPDIRPLMQ) for data collection. The instrument for data collection was trial-tested for reliability. A total 317 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the respondents and 293 were returned and found usable by the researcher. This gave a response rate of 92%. The data collected were analyzed using Mean (X) Standard Deviations and percentages to answer the research questions. Based on the data collected and analysed, the major findings of the study revealed some of the barriers to the digitization of information resources in public libraries and museums and also proffered some strategies in surmounting these challenges. Keywords: Digitization, Information resources, Public libraries, Museums

Health Information Resources Accessibility as Predictors for Clinical Decision Making among Medical Doctors in Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria

The study evaluates health information resources as predictors for clinical decision- making among medical doctors in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Ile-Ife. A survey research design was adopted by the study and random sampling technique was used to select 265 medical doctors from a population of 822. Primary data were obtained on socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents, level of accessibility, frequency and various core skills of health information resources using a structured questionnaire and focus group discussion (FGD). Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentage and mean. Results revealed that 59.8% of the respondents were male while 51.1% were female. Findings, however, showed that pattern recognition from experience ( &#x0304 = 3.32), critical thinking without emotion (&#x0304 = 3.16), hypothesis updating (&#x0304 = 3.607) and perception based confidence (&#x0304 = 2.97) were the core skills used by the medical doctors in clinical decision making. The focus group discussion emphasized that medical doctors should possess critical thinking without emotions and good time pressure balance in order to make accurate clinical decisions. The study concludes that medical doctors have quality access to health information resources to make clinical decisions. The study, therefore recommended regular trainings of medical personnel on health information resources to ensure accurate and sound decision making in order to enhance optimal performance. Keywords Information sharing, Job satisfaction, Librarians, Private Universities

Trends in Inaugural and Public Lecture Presentations at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), 1986-2019

This study is designed to determine the trend of inaugural and public lecture presentations at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), from 1986 – 2019. A total of thirty-five hard copies of the inaugural and thirty-three public lectures were retrieved from the University Library for the research. The frequency of presentation, gender of the lecturers, discipline/programme, subject matter and trend of presentation of the lectures were analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequency tables, percentages, charts and graphs. Findings revealed that only a few lecturers have presented their inaugural lectures compared to the number of Professors in the University. More males had presented lectures, when compared to females. Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture and Management had low presentation. The subjects of the public lecture revolved around and demonstrated the societal challenges and issues at the time of the presentations. Recommendations were made primarily to ensure motivation and policy position on inaugural and public lectures presentation. Keywords: Inaugural lectures, Public lectures, Research, Universities