Internet For Academic Purposes Research Articles

Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in Predicting the Intent to Use the Internet for Academic Purposes

Purpose – This study sought to investigate the factors that influence students’ intention to use the Internet for academic purposes in Universiti Utara Malaysia. This study applies theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as the base model. The model employed the original variables from the theory i.e. attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intention. Method – A survey involving of questionnaires was conducted among 369 public university students. Multiple regression was employed to examine the factors influencing intention to use the Internet for academic purposes. Findings – Results revealed that the variables attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control are statistically significant in influencing intention to use the Internet for learning purposes. It was also found that 38% of the variance in students’ intention to use the Internet is cumulatively explained by their attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. Significance – The paper provides useful scientific insight into the relationships between attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control variables towards intention to use the Internet for academic purposes. The findings can be used to promote the use of Internet among students in enhancing their learning experience.

Comparison of the internet usage levels amongst final year students of faculty of medicine and health colleges in Turkey: According to the gender variable

The use of internet is becoming widespread all over the world including the health sector. Internet has been increasing its importance for individuals in the health sector for purposes of increasing speed and efficiency of surgeries, sharing patients’ data, storing information in the database. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between a group of medicine faculty and health college students’ level of internet use and their views about the internet with regard to their gender. The final year students of the faculty of medicine and health college at Fırat University constituted the sample of the research. Of 219 final year students, 155 students who were present when the research was conducted constituted the sample of this study. A Likert type questionnaire was used to determine students’ level of internet use. The questionnaire was developed previously by the researcher and the test of its reliability and validity was performed. The study reveals that 14.8% of the students use internet for 2 h or more in a week and 72.9% of students do not use internet in weekdays at all. The findings also showed that 76.1% of the students know the concept of ‘internet’ for more than four years, and 61.9% of the students access to internet from the internet cafes, 48.4% of the students use internet for academic purposes and 63.9% of the students want to set up their web pages on the internet. In the light of research findings, it is thought that internet-based and interactive lesson applications are inevitable education tools for education faculties of medicine and health colleges in the future. According to the findings, female students seem to log into internet less but stay connected more, and students mostly prefer to use internet cafes for internet access. In these cafes, internet is used mainly for academic purposes. It is expected that this study will provide some educational implications that enable effective use of internet in health education and a cooperative learning environment that would allow male and female students to study collaboratively.

Dynamics of Internet Usage: A Case of Students of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) Nigeria.

The survey was conducted in the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Nigeria with a view to identifying the rate and purpose of Internet use by students in other to be well positioned to provide effective Internet services to them. Questionnaire was randomly distributed to 1200 students in their hostels out of which 67.66% was returned. The results were collated and analyzed using tables, frequency and percentages. The work revealed that majority of the students in the University use the Internet for academic purposes in spite of the location of the facility. Students in the management and agricultural sciences use the Internet more than those of engineering and sciences. The distance of the Internet center to the students’ residence determines the time spent and the frequency of the visit to the center. Recommendations are made based on the findings. Key Word: Internet use, students

Use of Computers and the Internet in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

ABSTRACT The Internet is an important source of up-to-date information for health clinical students in many countries. Several studies have explored use of the computer and the Internet by medical and dental students but few have investigated the extent to which these students used the Internet for academic purposes. The objectives of this study were to assess students' use of the Internet, identify the type of health information students sought from the Internet, and examine the influence of gender on Internet usage. One hundred and seventy-three students of the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Nigeria, completed a self-administered questionnaire between February and March 2004. Clinical students constituted the majority of the sample. Only a handful of the students had a personal computer but 87% claimed to be computer literate. Virtually all the students had used the Internet but only about a quarter had ever searched any database for health information. Despite the availability of the Internet as an important source of health information, only a small portion had fully utilized the resource.

Internet Use by Students of the University of Dar es Salaam

This paper is based on a Master’s dissertation whose objective was to determine the purpose for which students of the University of Dar es Salaam use the Internet (see www.udsm.ac.tz/). It was to determine if students were using the Internet for academic purposes. The study also investigated the level of students’ access to the Internet, as well as the problems students faced in Internet use. The web site has specific information on faculties, institutes, and departments, including training programmes. The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) has been installed at the Main Campus and UCLAS libraries, replacing the manual card catalogues. The OPAC has simple and advanced search options, using ADLID software. Plans are underway to convert the manual catalogue of MUCHS library into an online catalogue. The survey method was used as the basic method for data collection, employing the questionnaire and the interview. Participant observation and focus group discussion are other methods used. The study revealed that the level of students’ access to the Internet was low, and the major reason was that at the time of the study, computers with Internet facilities were inadequate. The findings also revealed that the students who had access to the Internet were not using it effectively. They used it mainly for communication with friends and relatives more than for academic purposes. The cause of this was found to be lack of skills required for effective use of the internet. The study recommends the provision of more computers with Internet facilities, increasing Internet access speed, as well as providing more chances of training in Internet use.