Abstract
This study is on the impact of computer in rural area. The total population for the study is 200 selected residents in selected communities in Ini local government of Akwa Ibom state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up civil servants, married men, youths and students were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The complete picture of the rural areas can be revolutionized if we can manage sufficient amount of computer services penetration there. It is anyway a very major form of discrimination against the lesser privileged in rural areas as they have lesser functional knowledge of computer and more and more services are computer based today. Therefore it is very important that every male and women, married or unmarried is provided with sufficient opportunities to learn computer operations and take complete advantage of the situation. (http://www.tutorialspoint.com). Addressing the ICT requirements of rural areas is a fundamentally distributed and suitable exercise that requires planned budgeting. A systematic effort to understand the needs of these areas, their social and political background and the physical constraints placed on them due to lack of ICT awareness. There is a growing consensus that addressing the investment in infrastructure, human capacity building, and applications in key development sectors is important for increasing economic growth of developing countries including that of Africa [1]. The ICT capacity for development grows from their information processing and information sharing characteristics; but these characteristics cut across all sectors. For example, Internet has become the most efficient means for communication, trading and delivery of services and goods influencing all human activities. Effective ICT deployment would improve basic services like education and health and boost revenue and job opportunities. For ICTs to make these impacts on the majority of the rural population there should be affordable access to it and sufficient human resources and technical capacity to create and use applications and content and an enabling policy environment that promotes free enterprise. In addition, the ability of rural population to improve their livelihood is not only limited by lack of access to ICTs and their applications in key sectors, but also by a complex web of constraints ranging from unresolved problems of governance and injustice at the local levels and the dynamics of the global economic system
The development in information technology (IT) and the convergence between information and communications technology (ICT) and multimedia has brought about many changes and new approaches in the way people work, conduct businesses and communicate. With each ICT development, a phenomenon called the ‘digital divide’ grows wider. The digital divide refers to the disparities between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in terms of the availability of and access to information and technologies. Digital divides exist both within countries and regions and between countries. It transcends locality, race, gender, age, language, culture and religion. The digital divide affects a large number of the remotest villages which will have no chance of tapping into the global store of knowledge in Nigeria. Thus the digital divide describes the gap caused by various factors, between those who have access and those who do not have access to computer facilities, information literacy or even basic computer literacy skills. Women in general have a lower literacy rate and most are in the deepest part of the divide, so are thus further removed from the information age than men whose poverty they share. More and more concern is being shown about the impact of those left on the other side of the digital divide because the restrictions will be magnified as the progress of IT enhancement accelerates
Effective ICT deployment would improve basic services like education and health and boost revenue and job opportunities. For ICTs to make these impacts on the majority of the rural population there should be affordable access to it and sufficient human resources and technical capacity to create and use applications and content and an enabling policy environment that promotes free enterprise
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the impact of computer in rural area
- To ascertain whether computer contribute to the development of rural area
- To ascertain the relationship between computer and the mindset of rural communities
For the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;
H0: there is no impact of computer in rural area
H1: there is impact of computer in rural area
H02: there is no relationship between computer and the mindset of rural communities
H2: there is relationship between computer and the mindset of rural communities
- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be very significant to students, rural communities and the general population. It will give a clear insight on the impact of computer in rural area. It will also serve as a reference to other researcher that will embark on this topic
- SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study covers the impact of computer in rural area. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;
- a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
- b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
COMPUTER: A computer is a device that can be instructed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically via computer programming. Modern computers have the ability to follow generalized sets of operations, called programs. These programs enable computers to perform an extremely wide range of tasks
RURAL AREA: A rural area is an open swath of land that has few homes or other buildings, and not very many people. A rural areas population density is very low. Many people live in a city, or urban area. Their homes and businesses are located very close to one another.
ILLITERATE: unable to read or write.
LITERATE: able to read and write.
THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER IN RURAL AREA
