The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)
The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC) is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open access journal published by the LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg. AJIC's content focuses on dimensions of digital, electronic and physical ecosystems that facilitate information, communication, innovation and transformation in African settings and in the broader Global South.
LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Digital governance for democratic integrity in West African electoral contexts
Digital technologies are transforming electoral processes across West Africa. Social media, digital ID systems, and online results interfaces offer new avenues for transparency and civic participation, but they also threaten democratic integrity. This article examines the region’s digital-political ecosystem, focusing on how digital platforms are shaping electoral communication in contexts marked by democratic fragility, ethnic divisions, and political instability. Biometric voter registration and electronic results transmission have improved electoral administration, yet at the same time social-media disinformation, internet shutdowns, and surveillance undermine fundamental democratic freedoms. This article also draws attention to emerging digital-governance frameworks that are applicable in West Africa, including UNESCO’s 2025 Model Policy Framework for Information Integrity in West Africa and the Sahel and the AAEA’s 2023 Principles and Guidelines for the Use of Digital and Social Media in Elections in Africa. The effectiveness of digital governance, which requires a balancing of state security concerns against protections for human rights and free expression, will play a central role in determining whether West Africa’s digital transformation strengthens or undermines electoral legitimacy and political stability.
Copyright (c) 2025 Zara Schroeder, Marie Batista, Scott Timcke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Adoption of Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) for Value-Added Tax (VAT) Collection in Kenya and Tanzania: A Systematic Review
Domestic revenue collection through taxation is still below its potential in many Sub- Saharan African countries. In an attempt to boost their tax revenues, many national governments have deployed electronic fiscal devices (EFDs) to improve value-added tax (VAT) collection. However, there is evidence indicating that the deployment of EFDs in some African countries has encountered substantial challenges. Using the systematic review method, the research described in this article investigated challenges encountered in adoption of EFDs in Kenya and Tanzania. The review concludes by modelling recommendations, extracted from seven existing studies, in terms of the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework (Tornatzky & Fleisher, 1990). This model is an effort to provide a potential guide for successful EFD adoption in East Africa.
information and communication technology (ICT)
technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework
Copyright (c) 2018 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Asymmetry in South Africa's Regulation of Customer Data Protection: Unequal Treatment between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Over-the-Top (OTT) Service Providers
This article examines the asymmetry that currently exists in South Africa in the regulatory treatment of customer data usage by mobile network operators (MNOs) and over-the-top (OTT) service providers. MNOs and OTTs must receive customer "consent", in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act) and its Regulations, before sharing the customer's "personal information" with a third party. But MNOs have an additional requirement to meet, in terms of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA), which is not applicable to OTTs: a requirement whereby a customer must provide "written authorisation" to an MNO before the MNO can share "communication-related information which relates to the customer concerned" with a third party. In this article, I examine and analyse provisions of the POPI Act, POPI Act Regulations, RICA, other relevant legislation, court decisions, records of a Parliamentary hearing, the standard terms and conditions and privacy policies of two South African MNOs (Vodacom and MTN), and two international OTT service providers (Google and Facebook). Based on the analysis, I argue that the unequal regulatory treatment between the MNOs and OTTs, if allowed to persist, threatens to undermine the growth of key elements of South Africa’s digital economy.
Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA)
Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act)
Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Proposed "Agricultural Data Commons" in Support of Food Security
This article identifies a data governance model that could help reduce dataset access inequities currently experienced by smallholder farmers in both developed-world and developing-world settings. Agricultural data is globally recognised for its importance in addressing food insecurity, with such data generated and used by a value chain of contributors, collectors, and users. Guided by the modified institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, our study considered the features of agricultural data as a "knowledge commons" resource. The study also looked at existing data collection modalities practiced by John Deere, Plantwise and Abalobi, and at the open data distribution modalities available under the Creative Commons and the Open Data Commons licensing frameworks. The study found that an "agricultural data commons" model could give greater agency to the smallholder farmers who contribute data. A model open data licence could be used by data collectors, supported by a certification mark and a dedicated public interest organisation. These features could engender an agricultural data commons that would be advantageous to the three key stakeholders in agricultural data: data contributors, who need engagement, privacy, control, and benefit-sharing; small and medium-sized-enterprise (SME) data collectors, who need sophisticated legal tools and an ability to brand their participation in opening data; and data users, who need open access.
institutional analysis and development (IAD)
Towards a Tiered or Differentiated Approach to Protection of Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) in Relation to the Intellectual Property System
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has, for nearly two decades, engaged in formulating the nature and content of a text-based legal instrument or instruments for the effective protection of genetic resources (GRs), traditional knowledge (TK), and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs, also known as folklore) within or relating to the international intellectual property (IP) system. This task has been the job of WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), established in 2000. In this article, I explore the context and rationales for, and evolution of, one of the IGC’s evolving contributions: development of a tiered or differentiated approach to the protection of TK and TCEs. The article discusses and analyses the empirical ramifications and challenges of the tiered approach-alternatively referred to as differentiated approach—with reference to examples of forms of TK and TCE in Africa, North America and Australia. I conclude that the approach is a work in progress, still evolving, which provides a useful broad policy framework at the international level while, at the same time, its details are contingent on many considerations better addressed at national and local levels.
Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs)
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources
Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC)
The Role of Discursive Constructions in Nigeria's ASUU-FGN Labour Conflict of 2013
The performance of Nigeria's tertiary education sector has been undermined on numerous occasions by labour conflicts. While these labour disputes are widely reported in the media, there has been only minimal scholarly examination of the discourses that predominate in the media during these conflicts. Using the critical discourse analysis (CDA) and conceptual metaphor (CM) frameworks, this study examined the discursive features of a labour conflict in 2013 between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). Statements by ASUU and FGN officials and their supporters, as published by Nigerian print and online news sources during the dispute, were purposively sampled, along with media outlets’ editorial statements and readers’ online comments. It was found that the labour dispute was discursively and metaphorically constructed in militaristic terms, as a conflict between two enemies engaged in a kind of battle or war. It was also found that both ASUU and the FGN engaged in propagandistic discourses in line with their militaristic discursive constructions, and that the two sides propagated disparaging discourses in respect of each other’s motivations and behaviours. It was also found that certain readers reproduced elements of the prevailing discourses in their online comments on media coverage of the strike.
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
Assessing the Social Media Maturity of a Community Radio Station: The Case of Rhodes Music Radio in South Africa
Social media has become a major factor within the operations and functions of radio stations. This study used a social media maturity model (SMMM), developed from available literature, to assess the social media maturity of a South Africa community radio station, Rhodes Music Radio (RMR). The study found that RMR had a level 3 rating on a 5-level maturity scale, indicating that it was quite, but not yet fully, mature in its social media use. In addition to outlining the research and its findings, this article makes recommendations for how the station could increase the maturity of its social media use.
Teachers' ICT Adoption in South African Rural Schools: A Study of Technology Readiness and Implications for the South Africa Connect Broadband Policy
The South Africa Connect national broadband policy of 2013 aims to ensure that the country achieves universal internet access by 2030, thereby fostering digital skills development. This study investigates one dimension of the South Africa Connect policy objectives, by considering rural teachers' adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for teaching and learning at 24 schools. This research used baseline data from the Information and Communication Technology for Education (ICT4E) project undertaken in rural schools in seven South African provinces. The technology readiness index (TRI) was used as the theoretical lens. We found that the vast majority of the teachers surveyed were optimistic about the use of ICTs for teaching and learning, which suggests teachers’ readiness to use ICTs despite the existing financial, technical and digital skills challenges at their schools. We also found that the majority of the schools had policies prohibiting student use of personal digital devices, apart from calculators, on school premises. In our analysis, these policies potentially conflict with the objectives of South Africa Connect. This study contributes to theory and practice by offering empirical evidence of the usefulness of the TRI for presenting teachers’ readiness to adopt ICTs in situations of conflicting forces. The study also has the potential to contribute to policy deliberations by highlighting the possible disconnect between the schools’ bans on student personal digital devices and the objectives and targets set by the South Africa Connect policy.
information and communication technologies (ICTs)
Realities of Microenterprises' ICT Use for Business Activities and for Acquiring Online Government Support: A Study in Western Cape Province, South Africa
This article provides findings from a study, in South Africa's Western Cape Province, of microenterprises' experiences and perceptions of use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for general business activities and for acquiring online government business support information. Using the capability approach (CA) theoretical framework, the study analysed data from interviews with microenterprise owners and digital government experts. The study found that the microenterprises were adept in their use of ICTs in their businesses, but that they encountered problems in using online government business support information services. These problems were found to be the result of deficiencies in the online services' content, structure, design, navigation, mobile-friendliness, language usage and bureaucratic requirements.
Digital Transformation in South Africa's Short-Term Insurance Sector: Traditional Insurers' Responses to the Internet of Things (IoT) and Insurtech
This article explores the impact of the internet of things (IoT) and insurtech on South Africa's short-term insurance industry. The research found, based on interviews with high-level players in or connected to the South African industry, that while IoT and insurtech are significant potential drivers, the country’s incumbent insurers have to date been slow to adopt these digital transformation elements in their business models. This article outlines the drivers of IoT and insurtech, the factors influencing the slow adoption of these elements by traditional South African insurers, and recommendations for the adoption of these elements by South African insurers.
Intelligent Malware Detection Using a Neural Network Ensemble Based on a Hybrid Search Mechanism
Malware threats have become increasingly dynamic and complex, and, accordingly, artificial intelligence techniques have become the focal point for cybersecurity, as they are viewed as being more suited to tackling modern malware incidents. Specifically, neural networks, with their strong generalisation performance capability, are able to address a wide range of cyber threats. This article outlines the development and testing of a neural network ensemble approach to malware detection, based on a hybrid search mechanism. In this mechanism, the optimising of individual networks is done by an adaptive memetic algorithm with tabu search, which is also used to improve hidden neurons and weights of neural networks. The adaptive memetic algorithm combines global and local search optimisation techniques in order to overcome premature convergence and obtain an optimal search outcome. The results from the testing prove that the proposed method is strongly adaptive and efficient in its detection of a range of malware threats, and that it generates better results than other existing methods.
Best Practices for Establishment of a National Information Security Incident Management Capability (ISIMC)
The South African Government's National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (NCPF) of 2012 provides for the establishment of a national computer security incident response team (CSIRT) in the form of the National Cybersecurity Hub-more correctly referred to as an information security incident management capability (ISIMC). Among other things, the National Cybersecurity Hub is mandated to serve as a high-level national ISIMC that works in collaboration with sector ISIMCs to improve South Africa's critical infrastructure security. In this article, we identify standards, policies, procedures and best practices regarding the establishment of ISIMCs, and we provide recommendations for South Africa's deployment of an ISIMC collaboration network.
The Digitalised Terrorism Ecology: A Systems Perspective
This study uses a systematic review methodology to interpret existing literature on the digital dimensions of contemporary terrorism and counter-terrorism. Using the theory of synergetics as a guiding analytical framework, the study conducts meta-synthesis of relevant literature, including application of soft systems methodology (SSM), in order to generate conceptualisation of a digitalised terrorism ecology. This ecology comprises five interacting sub-systems: open digital infrastructure; digital information ecology; digital terrorism enactment; digital capabilities; and digital enslavement.
Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Factors Impacting Tanzanian Rural and Peri-urban Drug Dispensaries' Perceived Benefits from Using an mHealth Reporting System
This study examines the factors impacting Tanzanian drug dispensaries' perceptions of the potential benefits of using a mobile health (mHealth) reporting system. Since 2003, the Government of Tanzania has implemented its Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlet (ADDO) programme in support of dispensaries in under-served rural and peri-urban areas. A core element of this ADDO programme is the dispensary use of an mHealth application for reporting on the drugs they are dispensing and the medical conditions that are being treated. This study canvassed the views of ADDO programme dispensaries using the mHealth reporting system in the Iringa, Mbeya, and Njombe Regions, through a survey questionnaire completed by 318 dispensaries and focus group discussions with 38 dispensary personnel. The data revealed that four factors-system quality, information quality, service quality, and price value-are all having a statistically significant impact on dispensaries' perceptions of the potential benefits of using the mHealth system.
extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2)
Pilot Testing of an Information Extraction (IE) Prototype for Legal Research
This article presents findings from pilot testing of elements of an information extraction (IE) prototype designed to assist legal researchers in engaging with case law databases. The prototype that was piloted seeks to extract, from legal case documents, relevant and accurate information on cases referred to (CRTs) in the source cases. Testing of CRT extraction from 50 source cases resulted in only 38% (n = 19) of the extractions providing an accurate number of CRTs. In respect of the prototype’s extraction of CRT attributes (case title, date, journal, and action), none of the 50 extractions produced fully accurate attribute information. The article outlines the prototype, the pilot testing process, and the test findings, and then concludes with a discussion of where the prototype needs to be improved.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Deployments in Africa: Benefits, Challenges and Policy Dimensions
The deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is proliferating on the African continent, but policy responses are still at their early stages. This article provides an overview of the main elements of AI deployment in Africa, AI's core benefits and challenges in African settings, and AI's core policy dimensions for the continent. It is argued that for AI to build, rather than undermine, socio-economic inclusion in African settings, policymakers need to be cognisant of the following key dimensions: gender equity, cultural and linguistic diversity, and labour market shifts.
Copyright (c) 2022 Authur Gwagwa, Erika Kraemer-Mbula, Nagla Rizk, Isaac Rutenberg, Jeremy De Beer https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Indigenous Peoples, Data Sovereignty and Self-Determination: Current Realities and Imperatives
This study explores the current state and dynamics of the global Indigenous data sovereignty movement-the movement pressing for Indigenous peoples to have full control over the collection and governance of data relating to their lived realities. The article outlines the movement's place within the broader push for Indigenous self-determination; examines its links to big data, open data, intellectual property rights, and access and benefit-sharing; details a pioneering assertion of data sovereignty by Canada's First Nations; outlines relevant UN and international civil society processes; and examines the nascent movement in Africa. The study identifies a fundamental tension between the objectives of Indigenous data sovereignty and those of the open data movement, which does not directly cater for Indigenous peoples' full control over their data. The study also identifies the need for African Indigenous peoples to become more fully integrated into the global Indigenous data sovereignty movement.
Innovation Entanglement at Three South African Tech Hubs
This study explores innovation modalities at three South African tech hubs: Bandwidth Barn Khayelitsha and Workshop 17 in Cape Town, and the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in Johannesburg. The study finds that tech start-ups' ability to scale is generally enhanced by their participation in the hubs. Furthermore, it is found that scaling by start-ups, and by the tech hubs hosting them, is enhanced when they actively drive the terms of their "entanglement" with exogenous and endogenous factors and external entities-a conceptual framework first developed in an earlier study of university research linkages (Abrahams, 2016). This present study finds that innovation entanglement by the hubs and their start-ups allows them to work through the adversity and states of complexity prevalent in their innovation ecosystems.
Drivers and Modalities of Collaborative Innovation among Nairobi's Mobile Tech Start-ups
This article sets out findings from research into the collaborative modalities present in the innovation practices of mobile tech start-ups in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Drawing on findings from qualitative data collection from respondents at 25 startups in the Nairobi mobile tech ecosystem, the study explores the start-ups' participation in tech hubs, their internal collaborative activities, their external collaborations, their approaches to managing the knowledge and innovations they generate, and their approaches to the scaling of their enterprises. The study finds that three key drivers of the start-ups' collaborative innovation practices are openness, networking, and informality.
Innovation Practices at Makerspaces in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco
This article sets out findings from research exploring approaches to innovation at makerspaces in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. Based on interviews with individuals involved in makerspaces in each country-seven spaces in Egypt, two in Tunisia, and one in Morocco-we provide findings on the origins and general characteristics of the spaces, as well as findings on five core themes that emerged from the interviews: knowledge-sharing; innovation and product development; openness, collaboration, and innovation ownership; attitudes towards intellectual property (IP); and scaling.
Social Entrepreneurs' Use of Fab Labs and 3D Printing in South Africa and Kenya
This article outlines findings from a study in South Africa and Kenya that explored social entrepreneurs' use of fabrication laboratories (fab labs), and in particular fab lab 3D printing services, in order to advance their social innovations and enterprises. Based on interviews with representatives of fab lab initiatives and social enterprises, the study found strong linkages between social entrepreneurship and fab labs, and between social entrepreneurs and the use of 3D printing technology. However, it was also found that social entrepreneurs tend not to rely primarily on fab labs for access to 3D printers, preferring to buy and build their own printer units-a practice made cost-effective through the selection of low-cost, open source models. In respect of the computer-aided design (CAD) software used to design the files for 3D printing, it was found that social entrepreneurs prefer the stability and user-friendliness of proprietary CAD software, despite the cost implications. At the same time, it was found that social entrepreneurs frequently use free and open source CAD files available online, and that they seek, in turn, to share their designs on a free and open source basis.
Cybersecurity Policymaking in the BRICS Countries: From Addressing National Priorities to Seeking International Cooperation
In the concluding statement of the 2021 BRICS Summit, the bloc’s five members—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—pledged to pursue enhanced cooperation on cybersecurity issues, including by “establishing legal frameworks of cooperation among BRICS” and a BRICS intergovernmental agreement on cybersecurity. This piece briefly outlines the mounting relevance of cybersecurity for the BRICS countries, recent national policymaking in this area in the bloc, and the dynamics at play as the BRICS countries seek to further intensify and structure their cooperation on cybersecurity matters.
Copyright (c) 2021 Luca Belli https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Sociocultural Framework to Analyse M-Learning Options for Early Childhood Development (ECD) Practitioner Training
This article, a contribution to m-learning (mobile learning) research, centres on the motivation for, and development of, a suitable framework to analyse m-learning options for early childhood development (ECD) practitioners. Grounded in a sociocultural learning perspective, the framework was developed as part of a larger study into the feasibility of m-learning for ECD practitioners in the Penreach professional development programme in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Analysis of existing frameworks enabled the development of a new, modified framework to suit the Penreach context. Here we unpack the framework and explain its development. The new, modified framework aims to assist researchers, developers, and implementers by prompting consideration of five sociocultural learning features associated with m-learning in ECD, namely: device access, data affordability, authenticity, collaboration, and personalisation.
Copyright (c) 2021 Susanna Oosthuizen, Nicky Roberts https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
E-Government Information Systems (IS) Project Failure in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Literature
E-government information systems (IS) projects experience numerous challenges that can lead to total or partial failure. The project failure factors have been identified and studied by numerous researchers, but the root causes of such failures are not well-articulated. In this study, literature on e-government IS project failures in developing-world contexts is reviewed through the application of qualitative meta-synthesis, design–reality gap analysis, and root cause analysis. In the process, 18 causal factors and 181 root causes are identified as responsible for e-government IS project failures. The most prevalent of the 18 causal factors are found to be inadequate system requirements engineering (with 22 root causes), inadequate project management (19 root causes), and missing or incomplete features (16 root causes). These findings can be of use to future researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to identify methods of avoiding e-government IS failures, particularly in developing-world contexts.
Copyright (c) 2021 Joseph B Nyansiro, Joel S Mtebe, Mussa M Kissaka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Applying Blockchain Technology to Security-Related Aspects of Electronic Healthcare Record Infrastructure
The centralised architecture employed by electronic health records (EHRs) may constitute a single point of failure. From the perspective of availability, an alternative cloud-based EHR infrastructure is effective and efficient. However, this increased availability has created challenges related to the security and privacy of patients’ medical records. The sensitive nature of EHRs attracts the attention of cyber-criminals. There has been a rise in the number of data breaches related to EHRs. The infrastructure used by EHRs does not assure the privacy and security of patients’ medical records. Features of blockchain platforms, such as decentralisation, immutability, auditability, and transparency, may provide a viable means of augmenting or improving services related to the security of EHRs. This study presents a series of experimental data flow configurations to test the application of blockchain technology to aspects of EHRs. The insights gained from these experiments are founded on a theoretical base to provide recommendations for applying blockchain technology to services related to the security of EHR infrastructure. These recommendations may be employed by developers when redesigning existing EHR systems or deploying new EHR systems.
Copyright (c) 2021 Ryno Adlam, Bertram Haskins https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Intermediation Capabilities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Ghana’s Agricultural Extension System
Information and communication technologies (ICTs), specifically those that are digital and interactive, present opportunities for enhanced intermediation between actors in Ghana’s agricultural extension system. To understand these opportunities, this study investigates the capabilities of ICTs in support of seven forms of intermediation in the context of agricultural extension: disseminating (information), retrieving (information), harvesting (information), matching (actors to services), networking (among actors), coordinating (actors), and co-creating (among actors). The study identifies the types of ICTs currently functioning in Ghana’s agricultural system, and applies a Delphi-inspired research design to determine the consensus and dissensus of researchers, scientists, and practitioners about the potential of these ICTs to support each of the seven intermediation capabilities. The findings reveal that experts reached consensus that interactive voice response (IVR) technologies currently have the highest potential to support disseminating, retrieving, harvesting, and matching. Meanwhile, social media messaging (SMM) technologies are currently seen as highly capable of supporting coordinating and, to a lesser extent, co-creating, but no consensus is reached on the potential of any of the technologies to support networking.
Information and communication technology (ICT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Nyamwaya Munthali, Rico Lie, Ron Van Lammeren, Annemarie Van Paassen, Richard Asare, Cees Leeuwis https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
User Perceptions of Mobile Banking Apps in Tanzania: Impact of Information Systems (IS) Factors and Customer Personality Traits
This study probes the roles that information systems (IS) success factors and user personality traits play in Tanzanian users’ perceptions of their experiences with mobile banking apps. Based on a survey of 249 mobile banking customers, the study finds that users are being positively influenced by the apps’ system quality and system service, but not by the apps’ information quality. The study also finds that, with respect to user personality traits, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness and extraversion are all traits that have a positive impact on customers’ use of, and satisfaction with, mobile banking apps. The findings suggest that developers of mobile banking apps for the Tanzanian market need to both improve the quality of the information in the apps and continue to target a range of personality traits.
Copyright (c) 2021 Daniel Ntabagi Koloseni https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Social Media Use, Disbelief and (Mis)information During a Pandemic: An Examination of Young Adult Nigerians’ Interactions with COVID-19 Public Health Messaging
This study contributes to transdisciplinary understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic through an examination of perceptions of public health messages as consumed primarily through social media by a purposively enlisted set of young adult Nigerians. The research used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to elicit the views of 11 young adults, aged 21 to 24, resident in Ajegunle, a low-income community in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. The study identifies the centrality of social media platforms to the respondents’ processes of meaning-making, and draws on Hall’s (1980) encoding/decoding model in order to bring to the fore their oppositional interpretations of public health messages. The study also identifies respondents’ varying levels of disbelief about the realities of COVID-19, their mistrust of the government officials conveying and enforcing decisions to combat the pandemic, and the propensity for the social media messages they consume and propagate to serve as channels of misinformation.
Copyright (c) 2021 Olutobi Akingbade https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Neo-Colonial Political Economy of Scholarly Publishing: Its UK-US Origins, Maxwell's Role, and Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa
The prevailing dynamics of today's global scholarly publishing ecosystem were largely established by UK and US publishing interests in the years immediately after the Second World War. With a central role played by publisher Robert Maxwell, the two nations that emerged victorious from the war were able to dilute the power of German-language academic publishing-dominant before the war-and bring English-language scholarship, and in particular English-language journals, to the fore. Driven by intertwined nationalist, commercial, and technological ambitions, English-language academic journals and impact metrics gained preeminence through narratives grounded in ideas of "global" reach and values of "excellence"-while "local" scholarly publishing in sub-Saharan Africa, as in much of the developing world, was marginalised. These dynamics established in the post-war era still largely hold true today, and need to be dismantled in the interests of more equitable global scholarship and socio-economic development.
Copyright (c) 2021 Eve Gray https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Narrative Styles and Institutional Isomorphism in South African CEOs' Shareholder Letters
Among the most-read corporate documents are chief executive officers' (CEOs') shareholder letters. Using institutional isomorphism as lens, this study examines the extent to which the narrative styles used by South African CEOs in their shareholder letters are similar to the styles used by CEOs at leading international companies. The study also explores the degree to which impression management techniques are present in the South African CEOs' shareholder letters. The study uses DICTION software to conduct a narrative analysis of South African CEOs' shareholder letters for a single financial year, and compares the findings with those drawn from the Craig and Amernic (2018) study of the shareholder letters of CEOs from samples of international Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. The study finds that optimism and realism are the two most-used narrative styles in South African CEOs' shareholder letters, and that these findings are markedly similar to those generated by the Craig and Amernic (2018) study of international companies. The study contributes to the understanding of normative institutional isomorphism in corporate reporting by providing empirical evidence that the narrative styles employed by CEOs of companies in a developing economy with high corporate governance standards conform to the same norms as those of CEOs of large international companies. The study also finds that the South African CEOs' dominant communication styles in the shareholder letters lend themselves to being tools of impression management.
Copyright (c) 2021 Elda Du Toit, Leana Esterhuyse https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0