Williams E. Nwagwu

Penetration of Nigerian predatory biomedical open access journals 2007–2012: a bibiliometric study

This paper presents the bibliometric characteristics of 32 biomedical open access journals published by Academic Journals and International Research Journals – the two Nigerian publishers in Jeffery Bealls list of 23 predatory open access publishers in 2012. Data about the journals and the authors of their articles were collected from the websites of the publishers, Google Scholar and Web of Science. As at December 2012, the journals had together produced a total of 5,601 papers written by 5,599 authors, and received 12,596 citations. Authors from Asia accounted for 56.79% of the publications; those from Africa wrote 28.35% while Europe contributed 7.78%. Authors from Africa accounted for 18.25% of the citations these journals received, and this is about one‐third the number of citations by authors in Asia (54.62%). At country level, India ranks first in the top 10 citer countries, while Nigeria, the host country of the journals, ranked eighth. More in‐depth studies are required to develop further information about the journals such as how much scientific information the journals contain, as well as the science literacy of the authors and the editorial.

Counterpoints about predatory open access and knowledge publishing in Africa

The promise of open access (OA) as a replacement for existing scientific information dissemination ethos and practice has been contentious, with the interests of different stakeholders – countries, publishers, and OA activists, among others – clashing on an unprecedented scale. This paper examines some of the challenges that have been triggered by the OA movement, particularly at the Africa regional level. Basically, OA is technology heavy and its economic arrangements benefit mainly the developed world. There is evidence of OA initiatives in Africa, but these initiatives are mainly individually based, defragmented, and largely underdeveloped, and sometimes predatory. This author argues that policy‐makers in Africa need to embrace OA and establish useful policies – for regional journals and regional repositories and for academic reward, and support this with technical investment to enable quality online publishing.

Contexts of utilization of ICT by medical practitioners in private hospitals in Osun State Nigeria

Purpose – This study aims to address the question of how the unified theory of acceptance and utilization of technology (UTAUT) model explains the use of ICT by medical practitioners in private hospitals in Osun State, Nigeria.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a systematic random sample of 211 medical practitioners in 135 hospitals using a questionnaire.Findings – The respondents were more comfortable with mobile phones than they were with any other technologies. The significance of the relationship between age of respondents and use of ICT reduced with increasing age of respondents higher than 39. Availability of ICTs and the social worlds of the medical practitioners, together with ICT implementation contexts, positively and significantly explained the use of ICT in the hospitals.Research limitations/implications – An expanded study focusing specifically on how social influence promotes ICT use by medical practitioners in private hospitals in the state will be a necessity.Practical ...

FARMERS’ AWARENESS AND USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES IN THE LIVESTOCK INNOVATION CHAIN IN IBADAN CITY, NIGERIA

The use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in agriculture is a new and growing field that focuses on how agricultural and rural development activities can be enhanced using modern ICTs. Currently in Nigeria, this field has not addressed how livestock farmers use ICTs to conduct their businesses. The objective of the study was to examine the awareness and use of ICTs by livestock farmers in Ibadan, an agrarian community in Nigeria. The study also investigated the relationship between ICT awareness and use in the various innovation links as well as how the farmers’ demographic characteristics relate to these uses. A questionnaire was used to guide data collection from various types of farmers. From the trade societies of each type of livestock, 340 farmers were selected for the study and usable data was collected from 300 respondents. For all the ICTs listed, more respondents reported awareness of ICTs than use, except for mobile phones where an equal number of respondents reported awareness and use. Marketing was the purpose for which most of the respondents reported using ICTs. Computers were used by large farmers for feed formulation and knowledge management; mobile phones served the purpose of managing animal health, linking customers, managing farms and marketing goods, while Internet/email was scarcely used for farming purposes. The findings of the study raise the question of the need of building electronic livestock farmers network in Ibadan as well as training farmers in the city on how to use ICTs to meet livestock farm needs.

POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ USE OF EBOOKS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, NIGERIA

The purpose of this study was to examine the diffusion of electronic books, commonly known as ebooks, among postgraduate students in the arts and technology faculties of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Ebooks have become increasingly popular in recent years, but factors influencing their adoption and use are not understood in many institutions. Guided by a sample survey design, data was collected from 346 postgraduate students, 129 from the arts and 202 from technology, using a questionnaire and an interview schedule. Students from both faculties used ebooks, identified through serendipitous browsing of the Internet, and mainly Google searches. Many of the ebooks they found are not recommended by their lecturers, while those that are recommended are not available free of charge. Students therefore use ebooks mainly to cross-validate and gain extra insights about what they have been taught. There are significant differences between arts and technology students’ use of ebooks with respect to cost, ease of use and other aspects, with technology students having the advantage. There is no programme in the university aimed at harvesting and organising ebook resources for students to access. Institutionalising ebooks could be a useful strategy to address the dearth of current and relevant texts in universities, although ebooks may pose challenges to existing library management processes. An ebook revolution will cause great changes in information services in libraries – how would university libraries partner to benchmark this evolving practice with respect to questions about standards, technologies, licensing and pricing, particularly in the developing world?