The Impact and Challenges of Cloud Computing Adoption on Public Universities in Southwestern Nigeria

<p>Cloud computing technology is a distributed computing approach whereby users access shared resources under various service models through the internet. It allows individual access to information technology resources through the internet upon demand. Cloud computing is an essentially growing terminology in the IT world and has become increasingly present in the life of institutions of higher learning. Institutions of higher learning consider cloud computing and construction of digital content platforms as a way of enhancing resource utilization and improvement of service delivery. The sudden and frenzied rush for cloud computing by universities has been aggravated by exponential growth in data traffic and the need for innovative learning such as e-learning and virtual classrooms amid COVID 19 pandemic (Kenya Education Network-KENET, 2021). Perhaps it is from that realization and the need to adhere to COVID 19 protocols that most public universities in Kenya have adopted cloud computing. In this study, we sought to find out the critical success factors for adoption of cloud computing in public universities in Kenya. The study set out three (3) objectives and consequently three (3) null hypotheses to guide it. Quantitative research design was adopted for this study. Similarly, International Business Machines-IBM (2011) model for cloud adoption offered theoretical guidance. At a confidence interval of 95%, an online sample size calculator was used to arrive at three hundred and sixty two (362) respondents out of six thousand two hundred (6200) target population. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique and an online list randomizer were used to select respondents in the selected universities to participate in the study. Multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses in this study based on empirical data obtained by a survey questionnaire of thirty nine (39) questions from the two (2) public universities. Multiple regression results showed significant positive effect of Management Support (β=.257), Technical Support (β=.353), and User Preparedness (β=.475) on adoption of cloud computing at p<.05. Regression results gave a coefficient of determination R2=.908 which means 90.8% of the variation in adoption of cloud computing can be explained by Management Support, Technical Support, and User Preparedness combined. Based on the coefficient of determination (R2), the three null hypotheses (H01, H02, & H03) were rejected at p<0.05. Regression analysis showed that Management Support, Technical Support and User Preparedness are critical success factors in cloud adoption in public universities in Kenya. This study provides new and relevant insights to literature on cloud adoption in higher education service in Kenya.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0984/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The importance of electronic information resources (EIRs) for academic activities has been widely acknowledged. Despite its overwhelming benefits, reports have shown that undergraduates of public universities in Southwestern Nigeria exhibit low use of EIRs and this adversely affects their studies. Studies concentrated more on ICT literacy skills than academic discipline (AD) as a factor that influences electronic information resources (EIRs) use. The study, therefore, was carried out to examine academic discipline as a predictor of electronic information resources (EIRs) use by undergraduates of public universities in southwestern Nigeria. The survey design of the correlational type was adopted. The multi-stage sampling procedure was used. Five states (Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos) were purposively selected in southwestern Nigeria. The purposive sampling technique was used to select eight public universities with four common academic faculties (science, engineering/technology, arts/humanities and social science) in the selected states. The proportionate to size sampling technique was used to select 1378 undergraduates across the faculties. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson product moment correlation. Findings from the study revealed the distribution of academic disciplines of undergraduates according to Biglan model as: hard pure (20.0%), hard applied (23.6%), soft pure (29.9%) and soft applied (24.6%). The EIRs were prominently used for classwork/assignment, project writing, knowledge update, group/individual practical works and tutorials. The frequency of use of electronic information resources by undergraduates in universities in Southwestern Nigeria is high (Weighted mean = 3.41). A majority of the undergraduates accessed e-databases, web 2.0, e-books, library website, the internet and e-mail both at home and campus environment. The study also revealed that academic discipline significantly predicted electronic information resources use by undergraduates in universities in Southwestern, Nigeria(F=8.088, P < .001). Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that institutional policies supporting the use of electronic information resources for academic activities across various academic disciplines by undergraduates of public universities in Southwestern Nigeria, should be implemented.

The use of technologies is intended to improve the processes of knowledge dissemination among the lecturers in universities in the modern age. The research was at the cross-section between open science project and sharing of knowledge among lecturers in public universities Southwestern Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was used. The sample population of the study included 227 lecturers in the public universities in Southwestern Nigeria through the purposive sampling method with 12 universities being selected of 3 states that comprise Ekiti, Ondo and Osun States, Nigeria. An online questionnaire using WhatsApp was used to collect data and analyse the data concerning the research questions with the descriptive statistics. The findings revealed low awareness and usage of open science initiatives to disseminate knowledge among the lecturers with the average mean (=2.49). The implementation of open science initiatives was crippled by rigorous peer review process and poor funding of research. The study found a positive significant relationship between awareness and knowledge dissemination using open science initiatives among the lecturers in the public universities in the selected state, Nigeria (r =.429; df=221; p=0.01). In conclusion, the research concluded that the awareness of open science initiatives among lecturers in public universities in selected state, Nigeria was low. Although they know about Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), research data management training, open data repositories, and Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA). It was recommended that university management ought to formulate policies that will promote the implementation of open science initiatives in knowledge dissemination among lecturers in public universities in Southwestern Nigeria.

Cloud computing is one of the most high-profile trends in Information Systems today. Although capable of delivering significant benefits to organizations such as scalable computing and storage, data sharing, on-demand anytime and anywhere access, there are also risks and barriers to the adoption of cloud computing. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence the adoption of cloud computing at the Mankweng hospital in South Africa. The study was conducted through a quantitative method, where a questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. The data collected from the participants was analysed using Microsoft excel. The findings indicated that the factors that impacted the adoption of cloud computing in the hospital were the availability of cloud computing services, the unreliability of in-sourced IT services, the need to have data backup, the benefits of adoption of cloud computing outweighs the cost and the adoption of cloud computing eliminates or decreases the cost of system upgrades and maintenance. The exploratory nature of this study helped reveal these factors.

Completion of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programme within five years as stipulated by the National Universities Commission is the desire of students due to the associated minimal cost. However, many Ph.D. students, particularly in public universities in southwestern Nigeria do not complete their programmes in record time. This study, therefore, investigated student factors as predictors of completion time of Ph.D. programmes in public universities southwestern Nigeria. A sample of 146 respondents in the 2015–2016 cohort whose titles of theses were registered in less than five years were enumerated from University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Olabisi Onabanjo University and Ekiti State University. A questionnaire titled “Completion Time of Doctoral Programme Questionnaire” (CTDPQ) was used to collect data. A null hypothesis was postulated, while a research question was raised and answered using descriptive and inferential statistical tools of frequency counts, percentage, Means and standard deviation and PPMC Analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that there was a positive significance relationship among academic capability (r = 0.362, p < 0.05), student interest (r = 0.354, p< 0.05), funding status (r = 0.336, p < 0.05) and employment status (r = 0.354, p < 0.05) with completion time of Ph.D. programme in faculties of education in public universities in Southwestern Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that students’ academic capability, interest, funding status and employment status should be prioritised to ensure completion time of Ph.D. in public universities.

Determinants of Cloud Computing Adoption in a Large Company in Sweden

Over the past few years, cloud computing has evolve d as one of the major advances in the field of Information Technology (IT) utilizing third-party s ervices. Therefore, trust in cloud vendors as well as the determination of potential risks, such as privacy a nd security issues, are crucial for ensuring the su ccessful adoption of an appropriate cloud. Prior research ha ve addressed the technical aspects of cloud-based environments, such as cloud virtualization, scalabi lity and security. Nevertheless, it is argued that the biggest obstacle of cloud computing is not technolo gical, rather it is perceptual or attitudinal. The adoption of cloud computing has been central to several scho larly research areas, particularly user acceptance. This study presents an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which integrates Trust (TR), Anxiety (ANX) and Perceived Risk (PR), to investigate users ’ attitudes and intentions toward the adoption of c loud computing. The proposed model was empirically examined using the Structural Equation Model (SEM) to analyze data gathered by a survey of both IT profes sionals and end users. The results herein suggested that trust, anxiety and PR can be successfully integrate d within the TAMs. Trust has demonstrated to have a strong positive influence on Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), but it had no significant effects on Perceived Use fulness (PU). Both anxiety and PR were found to have significant negative effects on PEOU and PU. In addition, Behavioral Intention (BI) to use the cloud can be p redicted by trust, attitudes and PU, as PR was show n to have no significant effect on BI. The proposed model, including PR, trust and anxiety, has been demonstrated to be a true predictor of user intentions, toward t he use of cloud computing, within the context of Sa udi Arabia.

Cloud computing is likely to be taken up extensively by governmental organisations in the coming years, including the European Commission (EC), Parliament, Council and other EU institutions (EUIs), as well as EU executive or decentralised agencies and other EU bodies.1 On 21st November, 2018, the EC adopted a digital strategy (ECDS) with the double objective to transform the Commission into a user-focused and data-driven organisation. Building on the conclusions of the Tallinn Digital Summit in September 2017, this strategy recognised the need for the public sector to seize the opportunities offered by digital technologies and to accelerate the completion of the digital single market. Realising that cloud computing is already transforming the way to deliver state-of-the-art public services globally, the EC ambitions to become a data-driven administration by 2022. Digital strategy aims at a broad adoption of cloud computing by 2022, working closely with other EUIs and member states. This objective is framed by a cloud strategy for the EC. The main purpose of this paper is to provide the readers with a detailed analysis of the approach to information technology security taken by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Informatics (DIGIT) under its cloud strategy and by other EUIs in their cloud adoption. The adoption of cloud computing by EUIs takes place against the dual background of increasing pressure to become digitally enabled and a reinforced regulatory framework on personal data protection and information security. A common approach to cloud consumption will enable common strategies for compliance with legal requirements. The adoption of cloud computing by the EUIs also unfolds within a highly structured public procurement framework. DIGIT is planning to work within this framework using dynamic procurement models, which will enable access to a fast-evolving cloud computing market. Building on the experience of the first cloud framework contract (Cloud I), DIGIT is coordinating the preparation of the Cloud II framework contract to enable access for EUIs to the global market of cloud providers from 2020. With DIGIT serving as a broker, we will explore the challenges and opportunities that the European Commission is facing on its digital transformation path. This paper explains some of the lessons that the EUIs have learned from cloud experiments, from 2014 on through the Cloud I.

This Study examined knowledge sharing among librarians in federal universities in Southwestern Nigeria. The study determines the level of knowledge sharing among librarians in federal universities in Southwestern Nigeria, identifies channels of knowledge sharing among librarians in federal universities in Southwestern Nigeria and examine the perception of librarians toward knowledge sharing among librarians in Southwestern Nigeria. The descriptive research design was adopted. There are seven (7) federal universities in Southwestern Nigeria. The target populations were the librarians who have at least a bachelor degree in library and information science. The total populations are 100 librarians. Total enumeration technique was used to cover all the 120 librarians working in 7 federal university libraries in Southwestern Nigeria. The data collection instrument for this study was the questionnaire for librarians. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the data analysis. Specifically, descriptive statistics of frequency count, percentages, mean and standard deviation was used to analyze the research questions raised. The results of showed indicate that the main barriers to information sharing are a lack of funding and poor staffmanagement communication. It is however recommended that in order to encourage academic librarians to share their knowledge and provide high-quality services, well-packaged incentives should be provided.

The study investigated the influence of level of motivation and job satisfaction on the level of turnover intention of academic staff in private universities in Southwestern Nigeria. The descriptive design method was employed and multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for the study. One thousand four hundred and seventy three academic staff participated in the study. The participants were drawn from 8 private universities randomly selected from 4 states which were randomly sampled from 6 states in Southwestern geo-political zone. Research questions were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation and multiple regression was used to analyse the hypothesis. The results revealed low level of motivation and job satisfaction as well as high level of turnover intention of academic staff in private universities in Southwestern Nigeria. Results also indicated a significant influence of the level of motivation and job satisfaction on the level of turnover intention of academic staff in private universities in Southwestern Nigeria. This means that 12% of the total variance in turnover intention of academic staff in private universities in Southwestern Nigeria is attributed to the influence of the level of motivation and job satisfaction. This indicates that the independent variables (motivation level and job satisfaction level) and the dependent variable (turnover intention level) have linear and significant relationship.

PurposePrevious empirical research on cloud computing (CC) adoption factors has examined the effects of only a small number of firm’s characteristics on CC adoption. The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the effects of a wide set of firm’s characteristics, which concern four important aspects of it, its strategy, processes, personnel and technology, on the propensity to adopt CC.Design/methodology/approachHaving as theoretical background the technology, organization and environment (TOE) theory of technological innovation adoption, in combination with Scott-Morton’s framework on firm’s main elements, ten research hypotheses have been developed based on previous CC and management literature. They were tested using data collected through the e-Business W@tch Survey of the European Commission from 676 European firms from three traditional manufacturing sectors.FindingsThe results reveal three characteristics of a firm that affect positively its propensity to adopt CC for all firm sizes: the adoption of ICT investment reduction strategy, the adoption of product/service innovation strategy and the sophistication of firm’s administration support ICT infrastructure. Furthermore, they reveal four additional characteristics of a firm that affect positively the propensity for CC adoption only in the small firms: the adoption of process innovation strategy, the employment of ICT personnel, as well as the sophistication of firm’s production support and e-sales ICT infrastructures.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, this study provides a theoretical foundation for the elaboration of the organizational perspective of the TOE theory of technological innovation adoption, which opens a new stream of CC adoption factors research, investigating the effects of a wide range of firm’s characteristics on CC adoption. Second, based on the above foundation, this study enriches substantially the empirical literature on CC adoption factors. The main limitation of this study is that it has been based on data from only three European manufacturing sectors.Practical implicationsThe findings provide new interesting insights concerning specific firm’s characteristics and therefore internal conditions that increase its propensity for CC adoption, and reveal specific kinds of strategy and ICT infrastructures for which CC is more appropriate and beneficial.Originality/valueThe authors have developed a theoretical foundation for extending our knowledge concerning the characteristics and internal conditions of firms that favor/promote the adoption of CC, which supports and enables the substantial extension of the existing knowledge base on CC adoption factors. Based on this theoretical foundation, the authors have formulated and tested ten research hypotheses concerning effects of firm’s strategic directions, processes, ICT infrastructures and ICT personnel, which have not been investigated previously, on CC adoption propensity.

This research is one of the first few to investigate the adoption and usage of cloud computing in higher education in the context of developing countries, in this case Thailand. It proposes extending the technology acceptance model to integrate subjective norm, perceived convenience, trust, computer self-efficacy, and software functionality in order to better understand the degree of influence that each has on the adoption of cloud in an educational setting. The instrument development was modified from past studies on technology adoption. Data was collected from two leading universities in Thailand, Mahidol University International College, and Thammasat University. Structural equation modeling was applied to the research, the results of which illustrated that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, intention to use, perceived convenience, trust, and software functionality have a statistically positive relationship towards the adoption of cloud computing. However, it is interesting to note that, contrary to most studies, computer self-efficacy and subjective norm did not posit a positive relationship. The research also presents the conclusions, which include a discussion of the findings, the academic and practical implications, and limitations.

Conceptualizing a model for adoption of cloud computing in education

Cloud Computing is one of the most important trend and newest area in the field of information technology in which resources (e.g. CPU and storage) can be leased and released by customers through the Internet in an on-demand basis. The adoption of Cloud Computing in Education and developing countries is real an opportunity. Although Cloud computing has gained popularity in Pakistan especially in education and industry, but its impact in Pakistan is still unexplored especially in Higher Education Department. Already published work investigated in respect of factors influencing on adoption of cloud computing but very few investigated said analysis in developing countries. The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of Punjab, Pakistan are still not focused to discover cloud adoption factors. In this study, we prepared cloud adoption model for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of Punjab, a survey was carried out from 900 students all over Punjab. The survey was designed based upon literature and after discussion and opinions of academicians. In this paper, 34 hypothesis were developed that affect the cloud computing adoption in HEIs and tested by using powerful statistical analysis tools i.e. SPSS and SmartPLS. Statistical findings shows that 84.44% of students voted in the favor of cloud computing adoption in their colleges, while 99% supported Reduce Cost as most important factor in cloud adoption.

<p>This work appraised relationship between welfare packages and worker’s performance in selected Universities in Southwestern Nigeria. It seeks to explore the socio-economic characteristics and the relationship between welfare packages and worker’s performance in selected universities in Southwestern Nigeria. Specifically, it identified socio – economic characteristics and evaluated the relationship between welfare packages and workers’ performance. Pre-set hypothesis was, there is no relationship between welfare packages and staff performance in universities in Southwestern Nigeria. South Western Nigeria consists of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.The study population consisted of Academic and Non-teaching staff of the University of Ibadan, ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile Ife, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, LadokeAkintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Bowen University, Iwo and Covenant University, Ota. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from the staff of the selected Universities. Both descriptive and inferential statistical tools were employed in the study.Findings revealed that male dominate employment in the selected Universities. Also, each institution administered available welfare package in terms of: Passage appointment, Passage allowance, Salary allowance, Maternity leave, Medical care, Sick leave, Job security, Annual leave, Rent and housing allowance, Pension grant, Training opportunity, Academic leave. Affirmatively, there is statistically significant relationship between the identified welfare packages and staff performance. It was recommended that, there is need for the management of university to take cognizance of the importance of staff welfare packages, also borrow ideas and incorporation of those welfare packages that are found in other universities that are not included in their own.</p>