Developing Rural Communities in Nigeria Through Information and Communication Technologies and the Potential Barriers (Published)
The roles of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in all spheres of human activities have been applauded by researchers and/or professionals in the field. Rural community development is a critical driving force in a nation’s advancement. The effort is to address and successfully support the specific needs and opportunities of the communities and their inhabitants. As a result, any nation that has weak or undeveloped rural communities finds it extremely difficult to reach the height of its developmental stride. In the same manner, the role of new technologies in modern times cannot be quickly exhausted in a hurry. As a result, this paper attempts to identify and conceptualize “ICTs” and “Community development”. It also attempts to understand the technological tools, and how these various tools are used to address community developments, particularly in Nigeria and the wider world at large. The paper further examined the challenges or obstacles hindering the effective use of Information and Communication Technology tools in rural community development in contemporary times. The authors finally made suggestions for combating the effective implementation of ICT tools in rural community developments.
Keywords: Community development, ICTs, and rural development, electronic development, technology tools
Changes in Livelihood: Do Universities Make any Difference in their Host Communities through Corporate Social Responsibilities in Nigeria? (Published)
In Nigeria, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of universities. These universities most often are sited in outskirts of urban centres but over the years these communities have become fully urbanized. The question is how has the sitting of the universities contributed to community development and change in the livelihood of its host community through corporate social responsibilities (CSR). The paper argued that community service which is one of the core mandates of university constitutes part of its CSR to its host communities. This paper focuses on two universities host communities in Rivers State Nigeria. Drawing on interviews and focus group discussion, the paper examines the benefits host communities to University of Port Harcourt and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education derived and the negative impact of sitting the of the presence of the university in the communities. The findings suggest a range of positive benefits to the host communities. However, they also highlighted a number of problems that may negatively affect the livelihood of the host community. The benefits include employment of the indigenes, access to quality education, health care and increase economic activities. The negative impacts are increase crime rate and population growth.
Keywords: Community development, University, community service learning, corporate social responsibilities