dc.description.abstract |
The Kenya government, in its quest to increase access to Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) and ensure that rural communities have access to
information, have come up with Digital Villages Project (DVP) in partnership with other
stakeholders. Whilst the motive behind the DVP is to increase information accessibility
there is little to show that the same has been achieved. Accordingly, this study
investigated access to and use of information by local communities in Mukuru and
Kangundo digital villages. The study sought to determine the information needs of the
local communities, establish the factors influencing the choice of information source, find
out the extent to which Mukuru and Kangundo digital villages are used by the
communities to access information and examine the factors affecting the use and access
of information in Mukuru and Kangundo digital villages. The study was informed by
information chain model whose key elements: local content, economic resources, social
resources and action resources formed the basis for the research. The study was guided
by qualitative research approach with purposive sampling technique being used to
identify the two digital villages and the respondents under the study. Data was collected
from a sample size of 50 respondents consisting of 2 managers of the digital villages, 7
staff members, 40 users and 1 key informant using interview method. Observation and
documentary analysis were used as secondary data collection method. Data analysis was
done qualitatively and presented using direct excerpts, narrative explanations and
supported by figures and tables. Findings show that local communities require all kinds
of information in their day to day life with particular emphasis on agricultural and health
information. However, there is a general observation that digital villages are not being
used by local communities to access this information due to lack of technological
knowhow, shortage of finances and the social perception of the digital villages. The study
recommends review of the current digital villages‘ model in order to enhance their usage
as a source of information. This includes collaborating with local institutions to generate
local content so as to meet the needs of local communities, marketing of digital villages
as a source of information and improving quality of services offered in the digital
villages. The study concluded that, access and use of information in the digital villages
should be enhanced by addressing the challenges and adopting a new framework of
implementation proposed under this study |
en_US |