| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to identify, using a case study, the key components
required for the development and deployment of a web portal for use by residential
estates communities in urban centres in Kenya. This was aimed at providing a web
based platform for the social interaction amongst estate residents.
The study was conducted by choosing as a case study population, members of the
entire block of an apartment, to whom a questionnaire was administered. The
methodology chosen incorporated the insider (emic) view of the researcher as a
resident of the block. A second questionnaire was subsequently administered to a
wider sample set consisting of members across various estates within the city of
Nairobi that served to corroborate the results of the first questionnaire. The
questionnaires were structured so as to identify the key features and usage of existing
residential estate community web portal, if any, and highlight the most common
features desired to be incorporated in the development of such a community website.
The. results of the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS software.
According to the study, 92% of the respondents thought that the availability of a
community web portal is important for the social interaction of the estate residents.
Only 9% of the respondents were aware of the presence of any community website for
their estate. The study also showed that 68% of the respondents access the Internet via
use of mobile phones. The key features preferred on a community web portal were
identified as the support for personal information sharing (e.g. Photos, personal
profile), discussions and voting on issues of common interest, access to authorized
members only and management of common social amenities such as garbage
collection. A prototype web portal titled "MyNeiba" that incorporated some of the
features highlighted was developed and tested.
The research recommends popularizing existing residential community web portals in
a bid to increase their use for social interaction. It also highlights an opportunity for
further research in ways of optimizing such web portals with a view to improving
their access via mobile phones thereby increasing their usage. | en |
