Title: Web 2.0 applications' use and perception for research collaboration in Egyptian public universities

Authors: Hisham M. Abdelsalam; Sara Gamal; Christopher G. Reddick; Saqib Saeed

Addresses: Operations Research and Decision Support Department, Faculty of Computers and Information, Cairo University, 5 Ahmed Zewail St., Orman, Giza, 12613, Egypt ' National Management Institute, Hassan Aflaton St., from Nozha St., Ard El-Golf, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt ' Department of Public Administration, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 501 W. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., San Antonio, Texas 78207-4415, USA ' Department of Computer Science, Bahria University, Shangrila Road, Sector E-8 Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract: This paper examines the use and perception of Web 2.0 technologies for research collaborations in public universities in Egypt. Existing research has focused mainly on Web 2.0 applications in developed countries; this study provides a case study of a developing country. Existing research examines Web 2.0 applications in teaching, while this study focuses on faculty research collaborations. The methods used were descriptive statistics and a statistical analysis of survey sample of researchers in public higher education institutions in Egypt in 2012. The survey results revealed that the dominant channels for research collaborations among faculty were still Web 1.0 technologies, but Web 2.0 applications are becoming more prominent. The statistical analysis revealed that demographic and institutional factors made a difference in the use of Web 2.0 among faculty.

Keywords: research collaboration; Web 2.0; higher education; Egypt; public universities; developing countries; demographics; institutional factors; blogs; social networks; Wikis; social bookmarking.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2013.054198

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2013 Vol.19 No.1/2/3, pp.99 - 119

Received: 27 Jul 2012
Accepted: 13 Mar 2013
Published online: 30 Apr 2014 *

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