ABSTRACT
This
study examined the use of social network for knowledge sharing among
undergraduates students using Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma Edo State as a
case study. The field survey research design was used in this study. The
instrument used for data collection was questionnaire. The population of this
study consist of all undergraduate library and information science students of
Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma (AAU). However a sample size of one hundred and
fifty (150) undergraduate students in library and information science in one
university in Edo State was used. A total of one hundred and thirty two (132)
copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed with simple table
percentage, mean and standard deviation. It was found that students share
knowledge on entertainment, about exam, lectures and timetable. It was also
found that Students share knowledge to learn from each other and to maintain
reciprocity in relationship. It was also found that students use Whatsap,
Facebook, YouTube and BBM messenger. It was also found that poor internet
connection, delay in response from the other party, tendency to be distracted online
and epileptic power supply hinder students in using social network. The study
recommended that: students who are heavy users, should moderate the use of the
sites to avoid addiction and create a balance between their offline and online
lives while using the sites and tertiary Institutions should organize a seminar
to enlighten students on the not too-good aspects of using social networking
sites as media of interaction.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study
Social networking sites are fast becoming very popular
means of both interpersonal and public communication in Nigeria. Social
networking sites are modern interactive communication channels through which
people connect to one another, share ideas, experiences, pictures, messages and
information of interest. Boyd and Ellison (2007) define social networking sites
as:
Web based services that allow individuals to construct a Public or
semipublic profile within a bounded system (2) articulate a list of other users
with whom they share a connection and (3)view and traverse their list of
connections and those made by others within the system.
They are
interactive networks which information and communication technology (ICTs)
bequeath to the modern society through the instrumentality of the Internet and
the telecommunication gadgets. The social networking makes it possible to
expand the networks and to increase the possibilities for communicating with
wider audiences on the globe in knowledge sharing. Over the year, it has becomes a very useful
tools for Nigeria Undergraduates to share knowledge through social media sites
with various available gadget which has enhance their carrier achievement in
the various higher institutions.
The
interactive aura of the new network confers an unprecedented popularity on
them. Also the ubiquity of the social networking sites within their short
period of arrival is unparalleled in the annals of media industry. Awake (2011)
buttresses this point by noting that social networking has become hugely popular.
Similarly, it took 38 years for radio to reach 50 million users, 13 years for
television to attract the same number and 4 years for the Internet to do so,
but it took Facebook 12-month only to gain 200 million users in sharing of
knowledge which has become easy and flexible. Social networking sites provide
various interactive platforms based on the intentions of their founders. There
are for instance, social, political, academic, businesses, sports and religious
platform. In other words, the social networking site by their nature has the
capabilities of educating, informing, entertaining and inflaming the audience.
Social network can be defined as collaborative
online applications and technologies which enable and encourage participation,
conversation, openness, creation and socialization amongst a community of
users.
Social network has
influenced the education nationwide in Nigeria and beyond, it introduction has
played a significant role in the administration and teaching and learning in
both colleges and universities. Social network has changes the traditional way of
sharing knowledge and information among students in the higher institutions in
Nigeria. The use of social network in knowledge sharing cannot be overestimated
it has helped to enhance access to information and learning with the use of
networking in fostering transformation and easing accessibility to information
for undergraduates.
A wide variety of characteristics and
capabilities have been defined for social network in the literature. However,
for the purpose of this study, those features of social media have been
considered that are relevant to knowledge sharing purposes. They are the
capabilities of social media that encourage, support, and enable undergraduates
to share their knowledge easily and effectively through different mechanisms.
These characteristics of social media can be categorized into four features:
Social connections have become very important and have improved and enhance
accessibility of information and sharing of knowledge tremendously among
Nigerian Universities.
Knowledge is
today regarded as a factor of production together with land, labor and capital.
As the world moves towards a knowledge-based economy, knowledge is being
considered as the main driver of this new economy. The success of economies in
the future is going to be based on how companies or organizations acquire, use
and leverage knowledge effectively (Bircham-Connoly, et al., 2005). On the
other hand, understanding the concept of knowledge has become a dilemma due to
the lack of theories on the subject (Willem, 2003). This is mostly due to its
intangible nature, which makes it very difficult to quantify. As such,
organizations may find it difficult to manage knowledge effectively. Within the
overall knowledge management domain, a critical area that needs more attention
is knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing is embedded within the
knowledge-processing scope where knowledge is generated and put to use (Shapira
et al., 2005). Effective knowledge management strategies must emphasize the
role of knowledge sharing to achieve maximum results for organizations.
It is in the light of the above that this research work
will seek to examine social network for knowledge sharing among undergraduates
in Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma Edo State.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
Over the years, social networking
sites have metamorphosed from few-user-based sites into phenomena that have
become niches for billions of users. The growth and popularity of social media sites have
generated concerns among school authorities, communication experts and
socio-psychological researchers about the benefit and potential risks facing
undergraduates, as they engage in online social networking to cater for their
social and information needs rather than oral or face-to-face communication in
sharing of knowledge.
Throwing further
light on the risk of social network sites on oral communication among their
users, Trukle, (2012), the founder and director on technology and self,
asserted that the convenience the social networking sites give users to
communicate with one another can damage their interpersonal communication.
Also, social networking sites make the users see one another as “objects” to be
accessed and only for the parts that the users find useful, comforting amusing.
The major change over time has been
made by the use of technology supporting students in the academic community. As
the majority of students in higher education today belong to the
digital-age-student generation, they frequently use online technology to
interact with instructors, other learners, and to access online materials and
share knowledge.
Through use of
social network in academic, students have encountered with benefits─ as
convenience, possibility of interaction anywhere/anytime, time-saving, low
price and many others─ in addition to facing to limitations─ such as less
effective or spontaneous contact, connection problems, lack of platform
compatibility, less creative and innovative thinking, and other issues.
There is no doubt that no academic system can achieve its
educational goals without sound information resources and services. These
resources and services in the present era should extend beyond print and
physically available resources to non-print, electronic and virtually available
resources and services. Although most of the Nigerian university libraries are
striving to provide adequate library and information resources and services to
their teaming population of users more so in this information era, certain
problematic factors may be posing challenges to students thereby hindering
their provision of information services.
This study is concerned with the trend of use of the
sites, what benefits students derive from using the sites, the dangers
associated with them and ways to avert such dangers.
1.3
Objective Of The Study
The general objective
of this study is to examine the use of social network for knowledge sharing
among undergraduates of Ambrose
Alli University Ekpoma Edo State.
To achieve the general
objective, the following specific objectives were formulated:
i.
To examine the role of social network
for knowledge sharing among undergraduate students.
ii.
The examine the most used social
networking site by undergraduates of Ambrose Alli University.
iii.
To examine why students use social
media platform for knowledge sharing.
iv.
To examine problem encounter by
undergraduates in the used of social network site.
1.4
Research Questions
The following questions
will are raised to guide this study:
1.
What are the roles of social network in
knowledge sharing among undergraduates in Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma Edo
State.?
2.
What are the most used social
networking site by undergraduates in Ambrose Alli University?
3.
Why do students use social media
platform for knowledge sharing?
4.
What are the challenges commonly
encountered by undergraduates in Ambrose Alli University in the used of social
media sites?
1.5 Significant of the Study
This research aimed to contribute towards understanding
the use of social media as it plays a significant role in knowledge sharing
among undergraduate students in the universities. The study is significant as
it portrays the potentials am,,nd advantages of applying social media in
sharing of knowledge among students, such as closing the gap of traditional way
of sourcing information and knowledge.
This study will also be of a great significant as it will enlighten
students the more on the role of social media in sharing of knowledge and its
impact on their academic achievement. It will also help the students to
familiarize themselves with the available social networking site for the
purpose of knowledge sharing and also enhancing their academic performance.
The findings
of this study is hoped to assist the management of the institution to identify
the challenges
commonly encountered by undergraduates in Ambrose Alli University in the used of social
media sites.
This will further help the management in proffering possible
solutions that will help to tackle challenges faced in
the used of social media sites by
undergraduates in Ambrose
Alli University.
The findings that will
be derived from this study will go a long way of adding value to existing
literature.
1.6
Scope and Limitation of the Study
This
research work is undertaken to examine the use of social media
for knowledge sharing among undergraduates in library and information science
among universities in Edo State. But due to time, finance and other factors,
the study will be limited to Ambrose
Alli University Ekpoma (AAU) as a case study.
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms
The
following operational definition of terms will be used in this study:
Social Media: It is a revolutionary arm of the web that provides new ways of creating
content, collaborating, interacting, and sharing information online in an open
social environment.
Social
Networking: Is a systems that allow individuals to construct
a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of
other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list
of connections and those made by others within the system.
Knowledge:
Ability of people and organizations to understand and act effectively.
Knowledge
Sharing: A process during which the employees defuse their
knowledge and information across their organization in a way through which people
exchange their knowledge (implicit and explicit) jointly and create new common
knowledge.
Undergraduates: University or college
students who is studying for their first degree. ================================================================
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