CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Technology continues to change the world, and has made life easier because of how it has become integrated into the existence of individuals that it is almost impossible to do without. The advent of technology with the development of the Internet has permitted the progress of humanity; the World Wide Web has revolutionized organizations and institutions such as the College of Health Sciences (CHS), University of Ghana, into embracing the digital world. Due to this, all including staff of College of Health Sciences Library (CHSL) have become both users and content authors. Institutions such as libraries have become hyper-places where the flow of information and data generated by electronic devices, have exceeded the boundaries of the physical environment.
Technology is a remarkable instrument with which social, political and cultural beliefs have been transformed (Isman, 2004). That is to say, majority of human challenges are tackled better and effectively through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ‘ICT’ seems to have replaced the term ‘technology’ and ‘information technology’. It is characterized by constant and continuous change as new technologies are invented. This constant and rapid technological change due to obsolescence poses threats to especially library staff as regards acceptance and thereby leads to their resistance to adoption of emerging technologies and subsequently causes technostress. The infusion of new ICTs in academic institutions such as the College of Health Sciences Library, University of Ghana, and other higher educational centres the world over have changed user-librarian and teacher-student influence.
The term Technostress was first introduced by the American psychologist Craig Brod in his book published in 1984 by Addison Wesley: “Technostress: the human cost of the computer revolution”. The psychologist referred to the stress associated with the use of technologies and their impact on the psychological level. Brod (1984a) first defined Technostress as “a modern disease of adaptation caused by inability to cope with new computer technologies in a healthy manner”, this is relative to both computers and software. Technologies evolve too quickly, therefore adaptation to the location of individuals, brings about psychological pressure which is characterized by discomfort and frustration. Some symptoms of Technostress are anxiety, mental fatigue, depression, nightmares. This particularly causes anger resulting from the difficulties of computer software use and management of faults which interrupted the workflow.
With the introduction of Internet network, technostress acquired a new meaning with the transition to the era of connections or networking, where information is everywhere. In the new sense, individuals are immersed and absorbed into huge amount of information which they manage on daily basis leading to a cognitive overload and also referred to as “information overload” in psychology (Chiappetta, 2017). In these cases the individual experiences a state of anxiety, characterized by a widespread fear of being overwhelmed by an immense amount of material that cannot be organized in order and under control. Champion (1988) also revealed in her study as she bluntly described technostress as “the result of technology”. Brod (1984b) again defined technostress as a condition caused by the difficulty of people and professional areas to adapt to rapid changes in technology.
Technological advancement however, has advantages such as providing libraries such as the college of Health Science Library and other organizations easy access to information and has made previously impossible work arrangements feasible, for example the ability to work efficiently in
virtual environments without physical presence in the library or office for that matter. It has as well enhanced timeliness and connectivity hitherto would have brought about bottlenecks, taking into consideration geographical boundaries since in reality institutions are dispersed, such as exists in University of Ghana’s Balme Library which has under its umbrella college libraries like the College of Health Sciences Library (CHSL) and the School libraries under it.
Aina (2004a) refers to a library as an organized collection of sources of information and similar resources, which are accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. He asserted that libraries provide physical or digital access to materials and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space or both. An academic library such as the CHSL is one that is situated in higher educational institutions such as universities, polytechnics, colleges and which supports the objectives of the institutions in the areas of learning, teaching and research and service provision. The Librarian has inadequate time to reason critically and reflect on actions any more. Everything is instantaneous (Kinman & Jones, 2005b)
Academic libraries are among the sectors of the Ghanaian economy that is developing vigorously. The provision of easy access to tertiary education has brought about this development (Atuahene & Owusu-Ansah, 2013). A typical example is the CHSL where its patrons are lecturers, students, researchers and support staff (non-teaching staff) and members of the local community within the geographical location of the university.
