Use Of Internet By The Faculty Members Of Mizoram University

USE OF INTERNET BY THE FACULTY MEMBERS OF MIZORAM UNIVERSITY: An Analysis By Julie Lalthlanthangi M.Phil Dept. of Lib. & Info. Sc. Mizoram University

Abstracts Internet is one of the most wonderful inventions of 20th Century. There is no area where Internet is not being used. For teaching, learning and research, its usefulness and potentialities has been tested. This study is mainly concerned with the Internet use behavior of the faculty members of Mizoram University with reference to their studies. It is concerned to identify the role of Internet in providing information and also to determine the frequency to use the Internet as well as to identify the reasons for seeking information through Internet by the faculty members. It also deals with the difficulties that teachers experience in obtaining required information from the Internet as almost every faculty is trying to locate the recent information available with the Internet in the area of his interest.

Introduction Advances in technology gave birth to many new interdisciplinary fields including Information Technology (IT). The technological revolution in the last four decades has made a tremendous impact on the way information is processed, stored, retrieved, communicated and disseminated. The growth and development of IT is one of the most significant achievements of the present century. It is considered as one of the key factors in shaping the present societies and formulating technologies for the future. The emergence of computer is one of the hallmarks in the revolution triggered by the networking technology. This technology has not only changed the ways computers worked and the way people worked with computers, but also have made a profound impact in different areas, especially in those of learning and communications. It has shrunk the world and brought people together. The influence of this technology can be found almost in every walk of life.

Information Technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) is “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.” In short, IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit and retrieve information, securely. In this definition, the term “information” can usually be replaced by “data” without loss of meaning. Recently it has become popular to broaden the term to explicitly include the field of electronic communication so that people tend to use the abbreviation ICT (Information and Communication Technology). Strictly speaking, this name contains some redundancy. In recent times, computers are being used for a number of wide and varied applications, ranging from communicating to each other from remote corners of the world to gathering of information, downloading software and even playing games. In course of time, computers were interconnected to form computer networks. Networking allowed sharing data as well as resources stored in one computer with another. More and more networks were formed in due course. As the number of networks grew, computer networks located in different places were connected to each other to form larger networks. Computers spread their ‘net’ across the world, and thus emerge the era of the Internet.

Internet and its services The Internet, or simply the Net, is the publicly available worldwide system of interconnected computer networks that transmits data by packet switching using a standardized Internet Protocol (IP) and many other protocols. It is made up of thousands of smaller commercial, academic, domestic and government networks. It carries various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat and the interlinked web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web. Internet is worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer networks that transmit the data by packet switching. It is a global network connecting millions of computers scattered in more than 100 countries. These computers are linked into exchange of data, news, and opinions. These days the Internet seems to be everywhere. Web addresses appear on televisions advertisements and billboards. There are TV shows

and magazines devoted to the Internet. And every new computer program that comes out has some Internet features. It has revolutionized the way we live in the society and work in offices, the industries, etc. Its incredible growth, spearheaded by the networking technologies, has influenced every walk of life making it imperative for everyone to understand the utility of this global strategic tool. The Internet has caused a great revolution in the society, allowing people from all over the world to communicate their ideas and feelings. The Internet has also changed the way the society treats people. It has allowed minor groups much more power than they had in real life. There are many changes to society because of the Internet; whether such changes enhance or ruin our life is up to us. Internet provides easy access to ever increasing volume of information. It is a pool of information contributed by more than 100 countries and it is a powerful dissemination tool. Internet is one of the boons of information technology. Introduction of Internet and Web technology has reduced the cost, time and manpower of publishing documents. Internet provides a wealth of information such as online E-Books, E-Journals, Enewsletter, and E-database. The vast resources can be accessed by the library and information centre and can be provided to the users. There are several services that are provided by the Internet. Some of the major services can be basically grouped into different heads such as electronic mail or e-mail, Internet telephony, World Wide Web (www), Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and so on. As the ‘internetworking’ is getting stronger, different activities of people such as learning, teaching, communicating, banking and so on has been taking new shapes. Internet is proving to be the single most significant phenomenon offering never ending opportunities. Once you know the information that you want to find, how to find it, where to find it and how to access it, the Internet becomes an extremely powerful resource irrespectively of whether you are using it for work, education, entertainment or just for the fun of exploring. Once you know how to send and receive electronic mail, subscribe to mailing lists, joint and participate in discussion groups and Internet chats, your power to communicate with people anywhere in the world increases dramatically.

Application of Internet in Libraries Internet provides instant access to billions of information sources/database, which include books, reports, journals, video films, sound recordings, and others on topics. Quality and success of any activity depends on effective use of IT for supporting activities. The librarians and

information professionals have a vital role to play in bridging the information gap. The Internet has become an indispensable resource for special libraries worldwide to enhance the collection, improve services and operations. It has become the very important information access point; it has spread within the library community. Internet has incorporated into different areas of library services and respective responsibilities. The designations are changing from traditional to web based titles. This effect can be seen from direct service positions to upper-level administrative jobs to perform Internet related functions. The personnel’s are integrating the traditional library service into modern technological services. As library is meant for providing information and due to information explosion, fast information services are required. Internet is working to make the work easier and reduce the time lag in providing the information even if it is located somewhere at far. Basically Internet services provide the networking by connecting with other computers, including library catalogs, moving files and texts, sending and receiving e-mail, and even for searching of database. Some of the other functions are read news from many different sources, software finding. Internet has not only helped in accessing the information but also introduced new ways for storing, moving, finding and communicating the information among themselves and the users. Internet has opened various aspects for reference and public services. As various dictionaries, census information and CIA World Fact Book are available form numerous websites, so ready reference service can be provided at greater speed. Internet has made simple and speedy purchase of information sources like books, journal, and electronic publications. Many publishers’ catalogues, tools like books in print as well as forms for ordering documents are available on the Internet. Librarians can check current publications on the area of activity of the institution that maintains the library; confirm the price etc and place order online on the day of publication itself. Internet has made possible saving of journal budget by sharing access to electronic journals. Documentation has also become easy and efficient because Internet and the computers enable the quick updating and dissemination of required information. Internet can be used for providing short range and long range reference services because various primary and secondary sources of information are available online from many sites. Today in libraries access to on-line information service has become a standard part of library practice and libraries have acquired CD-ROM’s and have mounted them on campus networks for wide access. Scholarly

publication and many other forms of publications are increasingly moving towards electronic delivery to end-user. In this context, the role of the library and that of the librarian is changing from being the provider of information to the facilitator of information. Under the circumstances libraries need to redefine their role.

Mizoram University: An Overview Mizoram University was established on 2nd July 2001 by Mizoram University Act, by an Act of Parliament bestowing the youngest Central University certain unique features and was notified by the Gazette of India on 25th April 2000 as a Central University. Thus, Mizoram University becomes functional and Prof. A.K.Sharma was the first Vice Chancellor who occupied his office on 2nd July 2001. The objectives of the University, as laid down in the act are “to disseminate and advance knowledge by providing instructional and research facilities in such branches of learning as it may deem fit, to make provisions for integrated courses in humanities, natural and physical sciences, social scientists, forestry and other allied disciplines in the educational programmes of the University and to pay special attention to the improvement of the social and economics conditions and welfare of the people of that state, their intellectual, academic and cultural development”. Keeping these objectives in view, Mizoram University has embarked on various programmes/schemes in terms of academic and administrative development. In Mizoram University, there are 6 Schools and under it there are 27 departments. The University has its own Website (www.mzu.edu.in) that can be accessible through Internet for better exposition of information about the University as well as the study programmes undertaken by the University from time to time. The Website is also constantly updated which provides the latest information about the University. The members of the faculty of the Mizoram University include highly acclaimed scholars and researchers with international and national repute, exposure and quality publications to their credit. They are led by Prof. Amar Nath Rai, a renowned academician who is at present the Vice Chancellor of this University Mizoram University Computer Center is providing computing facilities to students, teaching and non-teaching staff of the University as well as imparting technical knowledge to students and staff alike. There are at present, as many as 25 high end computers available for the users. Broadband Internet connection is provided through VSAT and the users can

get useful resources from the Net. A leased-line Internet connection with 2 Mbps bandwidth is commissioned. Computer training programme for non-teaching staff of the University has been chalked out and planned to start during academic vacations. The trainings will be for basic and intermediate levels. The main objectives of these trainings will be preparing the employees for Egovernance. The Computer Center is Data Center for Campus Networking, which has covered all existing Academic and Administrative buildings. The Campus Network runs on a robust optical fibre backbone with a number of IP Phones. The Internet connection is shared over the campus LAN. As many as six high-configuration Windows and Linux servers are running presently. The Centre had developed Intranet applications such as, Intranet Mail, Intranet Website, etc. LAN messenger software was installed in all computers and it is being extensively utilized by all employees for quick communications such as sharing of files, data and voice chat, etc. It has licensed copies of software such as Oracle 10g, SPSS 15.0, eThrust antivirus/security packages along with a number for Microsoft products which are covered under Campus Licensing Agreement. List of the E-Resources Provided by UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium to the Computer Centre include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Emerald (LIS Collection) Blackwell Publishing Cambridge University Press Institute of Physics Publishing Oxford University Press Taylor & Francis Springer Link JCCC (gateway portal) Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID)

Mizoram University marches ahead and despite some initial teething problem, has achieved many notable results. It has clear vision for its future growth and has the promise and potential of becoming one of the most reputed institutions in the country.

Information Seeking Pattern There is no field of human activity where information is not a component whether it is research and development, business and industry, government affairs, education, and training. The information has to be acquired, processed, stored, retrieved and disseminated. Indeed the performance in all these spheres of activity depends largely upon the availability of information at the right time in adequate quality and quantity. All human activities result in the creation of information which is mostly communicated through various media. The information handling activities are to be based entirely on the needs of the users. The user categories have different needs for information depending upon their functions, responsibilities and duties. The user group belongs to government officials, legislators, parliamentarians, researchers, teachers, students, and so on. Information needs vary distinctly among these categories of users. The matching of information needs to sources of information has to be based on the careful assessment of information needs. Use of information, gaps in information requirements to meet variety of use has become the focus of study today. Information seeking pattern of the individuals is an important item in getting information relevant to their needs. Such a big area, such as Science and Technology depends on the intellectual and educational factors that the user might have undergone. The profession of the users also has the major say in their information seeking. A teacher or an academician would usually express his need in an expressible form whereas a researcher would express the same in a very hazy fashion. For the researchers of all disciplines, information occupies a special place in their daily life. It has been indicated through several studies that the information need of researchers can be simply and easily listed and their behavior quite safe predicted; many of these studies have assumed that information is a discrete, even concrete reality. It is a commodity to be acquired and can be contained in discrete visible packages of equal value. In the present era of information and knowledge revolution, the increase in information available on the Web has affected information seeking behavior. Innumerable types of information, in a large variety of containers and in many different locations are all available in one place. In the modern society, the types of information and the media which present them have became manifold and multifarious, offering men and women vast selection. Regardless of which group in a human society is discussed, each one bases its actions upon current information and discards the earlier data. Philosophies emphasize the direct, experimental acquisition of knowledge in

the material, physical plane of existence as the most proper form of information. So, no one can deny that knowledge and information are vital. Information seeking pattern is the purposive seeking for information as a consequence of a need to satisfy some goal. In course of seeking, the individual may interact with manual information systems such as newspaper or a library, or with computer based systems such as the Web. It involves personal reasons for seeking information, the kinds of information, which are being sought, and the ways and sources with which needed information is being sought. Information seeking pattern is expressed in various forms, from reading printed material to research and experimentation. Scholars, students and faculties actively seek current information from the various media available such as encyclopedias, journals and more currently, electronic media.

Findings The present study aimed to examine the use of Internet by the faculty members of Mizoram University. The data for research project was gathered through questionnaire answered by faculty members of Mizoram University. The main objective was split up into specific sub-objectives. The sample of study included faculty members i.e. lecturer, reader and professor from all departments in the University. The questionnaire was designed in order to systematically collect data concerning Internet seeking behavior of faculty members. The important findings of the study are following: • Majority of the faculty members of Mizoram University have a Ph.D Degree (61.9%). • Only 19.04% of the respondents belong to female category which is a glaring example of sex-ratio imbalance of the teaching community. • Internet is very popular among the faculty members of Mizoram University. • All the respondents (100%) are aware with the basic of IT knowledge. • Most of the faculty members (66.6%) are having Internet facility at the office. • 78.57% of the respondents, which is the majority, use Internet for downloading information resources. • 52.76% of the respondents are opting that the convenient time to browse the Internet is from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. • Majority of the faculty members (45.23%) use the Internet daily followed by members (19.04%) who use the Internet twice in a week.

• Google search engine is the most common search engine used by the faculty members (83.3%) of Mizoram University. • Majority of the respondents (76.19%) seeks online journals to meet their information needs, while 23.8% does not use an online journal. • Most of the respondents (59.52%) are satisfied with the results, which they get from an online journal. • Most of the faculty members use an Internet for 1 hour (26.19%) in a day.

Conclusion It can be concluded that most of faculty members of Mizoram University rely on Internet resources to meet their information needs. This facility is available to their offices. Internet is very popular among the faculty members. Internet plays a vital role in all fields of studies as it provides a wealth of information. It has changed the way of seeking and disseminating information. In spite of some problems, the Internet is one of the best mediums for getting timely, relevant and most useful information as it plays a crucial role in the access of information resources. To satisfy their current information’s, faculty members get access to online journals, databases. There are a number of free and fee-based useful electronic journals, magazines, etc. published and available on Internet and publishers providing various facilities to users such as free access, free trial, sample copy, etc. which can be accessed by the users to cater their information needs. There are thousands-perhaps millions-of databases containing high quality information that are accessible via the Web. It can also be concluded that among all the search engines, Google is most commonly used search engine by the faculty members. Most of the Web resources available through an Internet provide valuable information for each and every user. But, although the Internet resources provides many valuable information, there are sources to be questioned, scrutinized, or ignored as the Web documents may lack authority and quality control since anyone who wishes to can publish information on the Web as unlike print documents, the Web document does not pass through the various quality filters such as editing or peer review. On one hand, it can provide effective and timely access to useful and accurate information, but on the other hand it can be an intentional or unintentional vehicle for poor or wrong information. It has rightly been said that the Internet revolution, on one hand has democratized the information access but on the other has also posed as a treat to the quality content which is being disseminated through it.

It is clear form the study that, the faculty members of Mizoram University make use of the Internet and it occupies an important place among various information sources. It is widely used by the faculty for their research purposes and it plays an active role in searching of information. Using the Internet requires analytical and evaluative skills, rather than the simpler information location skills which the faculty members are accustomed to using. But along with these location skills, comes a new wealth of information and accessibility. The pace of availability and the ease of accessibility of information make the faculty members to use the Internet more frequently.

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