The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)
type: channel
description: 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.
publisher: LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
language: en
publication name: The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)
issn: 2077-7205
items: Digital governance for democratic integrity in West African electoral contexts
items: Adoption of Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) for Value-Added Tax (VAT) Collection in Kenya and Tanzania: A Systematic Review
items: Asymmetry in South Africa's Regulation of Customer Data Protection: Unequal Treatment between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Over-the-Top (OTT) Service Providers
items: A Proposed "Agricultural Data Commons" in Support of Food Security
items: Towards a Tiered or Differentiated Approach to Protection of Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) in Relation to the Intellectual Property System
items: The Role of Discursive Constructions in Nigeria's ASUU-FGN Labour Conflict of 2013
items: Assessing the Social Media Maturity of a Community Radio Station: The Case of Rhodes Music Radio in South Africa
items: Teachers' ICT Adoption in South African Rural Schools: A Study of Technology Readiness and Implications for the South Africa Connect Broadband Policy
items: Realities of Microenterprises' ICT Use for Business Activities and for Acquiring Online Government Support: A Study in Western Cape Province, South Africa
items: Digital Transformation in South Africa's Short-Term Insurance Sector: Traditional Insurers' Responses to the Internet of Things (IoT) and Insurtech
items: Intelligent Malware Detection Using a Neural Network Ensemble Based on a Hybrid Search Mechanism
items: Best Practices for Establishment of a National Information Security Incident Management Capability (ISIMC)
items: The Digitalised Terrorism Ecology: A Systems Perspective
items: Factors Impacting Tanzanian Rural and Peri-urban Drug Dispensaries' Perceived Benefits from Using an mHealth Reporting System
items: Pilot Testing of an Information Extraction (IE) Prototype for Legal Research
items: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Deployments in Africa: Benefits, Challenges and Policy Dimensions
items: Indigenous Peoples, Data Sovereignty and Self-Determination: Current Realities and Imperatives
items: Innovation Entanglement at Three South African Tech Hubs
items: Drivers and Modalities of Collaborative Innovation among Nairobi's Mobile Tech Start-ups
items: Innovation Practices at Makerspaces in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco
items: Social Entrepreneurs' Use of Fab Labs and 3D Printing in South Africa and Kenya
items: Cybersecurity Policymaking in the BRICS Countries: From Addressing National Priorities to Seeking International Cooperation
items: A Sociocultural Framework to Analyse M-Learning Options for Early Childhood Development (ECD) Practitioner Training
items: E-Government Information Systems (IS) Project Failure in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Literature
items: Applying Blockchain Technology to Security-Related Aspects of Electronic Healthcare Record Infrastructure
items: Intermediation Capabilities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Ghana’s Agricultural Extension System
items: User Perceptions of Mobile Banking Apps in Tanzania: Impact of Information Systems (IS) Factors and Customer Personality Traits
items: Social Media Use, Disbelief and (Mis)information During a Pandemic: An Examination of Young Adult Nigerians’ Interactions with COVID-19 Public Health Messaging
items: The Neo-Colonial Political Economy of Scholarly Publishing: Its UK-US Origins, Maxwell's Role, and Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa
items: Narrative Styles and Institutional Isomorphism in South African CEOs' Shareholder Letters

Digital governance for democratic integrity in West African electoral contexts
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Critical Intervention
  topic: section
subject: digital platforms
  topic: keywords
subject: digital governance
  topic: keywords
subject: elections
  topic: keywords
subject: democratic integrity
  topic: keywords
subject: information integrity
  topic: keywords
subject: disinformation
  topic: keywords
subject: West Africa
  topic: keywords
creator: Zara Schroeder
creator: Marie Batista
creator: Scott Timcke
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Zara Schroeder, Marie Batista, Scott Timcke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-15
publication date: 2025-12-15
starting page: 1
ending page: 9
doi: 10.23962/ajic.i36.24998

Adoption of Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) for Value-Added Tax (VAT) Collection in Kenya and Tanzania: A Systematic Review
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: electronic fiscal devices (EFDs)
  topic: keywords
subject: electronic tax registers (ETRs)
  topic: keywords
subject: value-added tax (VAT)
  topic: keywords
subject: tax collection
  topic: keywords
subject: information and communication technology (ICT)
  topic: keywords
subject: technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework
  topic: keywords
subject: Kenya
  topic: keywords
subject: Tanzania
  topic: keywords
creator: Emmanuel Eilu
rights: Copyright (c) 2018 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2018-12-04
publication date: 2018-12-04
doi: 10.23962/10539/26169

Asymmetry in South Africa's Regulation of Customer Data Protection: Unequal Treatment between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Over-the-Top (OTT) Service Providers
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: data protection
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa
  topic: keywords
subject: regulatory asymmetry
  topic: keywords
subject: mobile network operators (MNOs)
  topic: keywords
subject: over-the-top (OTT) service providers
  topic: keywords
subject: Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA)
  topic: keywords
subject: Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act)
  topic: keywords
subject: digital economy
  topic: keywords
subject: competition
  topic: keywords
subject: personal information
  topic: keywords
subject: privacy
  topic: keywords
subject: consumer protection
  topic: keywords
subject: compliance
  topic: keywords
subject: enforcement
  topic: keywords
subject: regulatory uncertainty
  topic: keywords
creator: Stanley Shanapinda
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-06-27
publication date: 2019-06-27
doi: 10.23962/10539/27536

A Proposed "Agricultural Data Commons" in Support of Food Security
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: agricultural data
  topic: keywords
subject: open data
  topic: keywords
subject: institutional analysis and development (IAD)
  topic: keywords
subject: knowledge commons
  topic: keywords
subject: data commons
  topic: keywords
subject: data collection
  topic: keywords
subject: copyright
  topic: keywords
subject: database rights
  topic: keywords
subject: licensing
  topic: keywords
subject: Creative Commons
  topic: keywords
subject: Open Data Commons
  topic: keywords
subject: privacy
  topic: keywords
subject: benefit-sharing
  topic: keywords
subject: social certification
  topic: keywords
subject: certification marks
  topic: keywords
creator: Jeremiah Baarbé
creator: Meghan Blom
creator: Jeremy De Beer
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-06-27
publication date: 2019-06-27
doi: 10.23962/10539/27534

Towards a Tiered or Differentiated Approach to Protection of Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) in Relation to the Intellectual Property System
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs)
  topic: keywords
subject: genetic resources (GRs)
  topic: keywords
subject: traditional knowledge (TK)
  topic: keywords
subject: traditional cultural expressions (TCEs)
  topic: keywords
subject: tiered or differentiated approach
  topic: keywords
subject: intellectual property (IP)
  topic: keywords
subject: World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
  topic: keywords
subject: Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources
  topic: keywords
subject: Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC)
  topic: keywords
creator: Chidi Oguamanam
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-06-27
publication date: 2019-06-27
doi: 10.23962/10539/27533

The Role of Discursive Constructions in Nigeria's ASUU-FGN Labour Conflict of 2013
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: Nigeria
  topic: keywords
subject: tertiary education sector
  topic: keywords
subject: universities
  topic: keywords
subject: labour disputes
  topic: keywords
subject: strikes
  topic: keywords
subject: critical discourse analysis (CDA)
  topic: keywords
subject: conceptual metaphor (CM)
  topic: keywords
subject: sociolinguistic registers
  topic: keywords
subject: Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
  topic: keywords
subject: Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN)
  topic: keywords
creator: Samuel Alaba Akinwotu
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-06-27
publication date: 2019-06-27
doi: 10.23962/10539/27531

Assessing the Social Media Maturity of a Community Radio Station: The Case of Rhodes Music Radio in South Africa
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: social media
  topic: keywords
subject: community radio
  topic: keywords
subject: social media maturity model (SMMM)
  topic: keywords
subject: Rhodes Music Radio (RMR)
  topic: keywords
subject: Makhanda (Grahamstown)
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa
  topic: keywords
creator: Mudiwa A. Gavaza
creator: Noel J. Pearse
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-12-06
publication date: 2019-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/28661

Teachers' ICT Adoption in South African Rural Schools: A Study of Technology Readiness and Implications for the South Africa Connect Broadband Policy
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: information and communication technologies (ICTs)
  topic: keywords
subject: schools, rural areas
  topic: keywords
subject: teachers
  topic: keywords
subject: adoption
  topic: keywords
subject: teaching and learning
  topic: keywords
subject: technology readiness index (TRI)
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa
  topic: keywords
subject: national broadband policy
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa Connect
  topic: keywords
creator: Samuel Dick Mwapwele
creator: Mario Marais
creator: Sifiso Dlamini
creator: Judy Van Biljon
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-12-06
publication date: 2019-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/28658

Realities of Microenterprises' ICT Use for Business Activities and for Acquiring Online Government Support: A Study in Western Cape Province, South Africa
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: microenterprises
  topic: keywords
subject: digital government
  topic: keywords
subject: e-government
  topic: keywords
subject: government business support information
  topic: keywords
subject: government websites
  topic: keywords
subject: information and communication technologies (ICTs)
  topic: keywords
subject: capability approach (CA)
  topic: keywords
subject: Western Cape
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa
  topic: keywords
creator: Muhammad Ameer Osman
creator: Donald Flywell Malanga
creator: Wallace Chigona
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-12-06
publication date: 2019-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/28659

Digital Transformation in South Africa's Short-Term Insurance Sector: Traditional Insurers' Responses to the Internet of Things (IoT) and Insurtech
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: insurance
  topic: keywords
subject: insurtech
  topic: keywords
subject: internet of things (IoT)
  topic: keywords
subject: business models
  topic: keywords
subject: digital transformation
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa
  topic: keywords
creator: Andrew Moodley
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-12-06
publication date: 2019-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/28657

Intelligent Malware Detection Using a Neural Network Ensemble Based on a Hybrid Search Mechanism
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: cybersecurity
  topic: keywords
subject: malware
  topic: keywords
subject: malware detection
  topic: keywords
subject: artificial intelligence
  topic: keywords
subject: neural networks
  topic: keywords
subject: neural network ensemble
  topic: keywords
subject: memetic algorithm
  topic: keywords
subject: optimisation
  topic: keywords
subject: hybrid search
  topic: keywords
subject: tabu search
  topic: keywords
creator: Stephen M. Akandwanaho
creator: Muni Kooblal
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-12-06
publication date: 2019-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/28660

Best Practices for Establishment of a National Information Security Incident Management Capability (ISIMC)
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: cybersecurity
  topic: keywords
subject: information security
  topic: keywords
subject: cyber threats
  topic: keywords
subject: CSIRT
  topic: keywords
subject: national ISIMC
  topic: keywords
subject: confidentiality
  topic: keywords
subject: integrity
  topic: keywords
subject: availability
  topic: keywords
subject: standards
  topic: keywords
subject: intrusion
  topic: keywords
subject: protection
  topic: keywords
subject: detection
  topic: keywords
subject: incident management
  topic: keywords
subject: incident handling
  topic: keywords
subject: incident response
  topic: keywords
creator: Morné Pretorius
creator: Hombakazi Ngejane
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2019-12-06
publication date: 2019-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/28656

The Digitalised Terrorism Ecology: A Systems Perspective
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
creator: Nixon Muganda Ochara
creator: Nancy Achieng Odhiambo
creator: Armstrong Kadyamatimba
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-06-30
publication date: 2020-06-30
doi: 10.23962/10539/29196

Factors Impacting Tanzanian Rural and Peri-urban Drug Dispensaries' Perceived Benefits from Using an mHealth Reporting System
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: mobile health (mHealth)
  topic: keywords
subject: online reporting
  topic: keywords
subject: drug dispensaries
  topic: keywords
subject: drug dispensing outlets
  topic: keywords
subject: information systems
  topic: keywords
subject: perceived benefits
  topic: keywords
subject: updated D&M IS success model
  topic: keywords
subject: extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2)
  topic: keywords
subject: system quality
  topic: keywords
subject: information quality
  topic: keywords
subject: service quality
  topic: keywords
subject: facilitating
  topic: keywords
creator: Alistair Elias
creator: Joel S Mtebe
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-06-30
publication date: 2020-06-30
doi: 10.23962/10539/29193

Pilot Testing of an Information Extraction (IE) Prototype for Legal Research
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: information retrieval (IR)
  topic: keywords
subject: information extraction (IE)
  topic: keywords
subject: natural language processing (NLP)
  topic: keywords
subject: legal cases
  topic: keywords
subject: document databases
  topic: keywords
subject: source cases
  topic: keywords
subject: cases referred to (CRTs)
  topic: keywords
creator: Brenda Scholtz
creator: Thashen Padayachy
creator: Oluwande Adewoyin
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-06-30
publication date: 2020-06-30
doi: 10.23962/10539/29192

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Deployments in Africa: Benefits, Challenges and Policy Dimensions
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
creator: Authur Gwagwa
creator: Erika Kraemer-Mbula
creator: Nagla Rizk
creator: Isaac Rutenberg
creator: Jeremy De Beer
rights: Copyright (c) 2022 Authur Gwagwa, Erika Kraemer-Mbula, Nagla Rizk, Isaac Rutenberg, Jeremy De Beer https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-12-15
publication date: 2020-12-15
doi: 10.23962/10539/30361

Indigenous Peoples, Data Sovereignty and Self-Determination: Current Realities and Imperatives
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
creator: Chidi Oguamanam
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-12-15
publication date: 2020-12-15
doi: 10.23962/10539/30360

Innovation Entanglement at Three South African Tech Hubs
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
creator: Lucienne Abrahams
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-12-15
publication date: 2020-12-15
doi: 10.23962/10539/30358

Drivers and Modalities of Collaborative Innovation among Nairobi's Mobile Tech Start-ups
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
creator: Victor Nzomo
creator: Jacquelene Mwangi
creator: Louisa Matu-Mureithi
creator: Caroline Wanjiru Muchiri
creator: Isaac Rutenberg
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-12-15
publication date: 2020-12-15
doi: 10.23962/10539/30359

Innovation Practices at Makerspaces in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
creator: Nagham ElHoussamy
creator: Nagla Rizk
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-12-15
publication date: 2020-12-15
doi: 10.23962/10539/30357

Social Entrepreneurs' Use of Fab Labs and 3D Printing in South Africa and Kenya
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
creator: Tobias Schonwetter
creator: Bram Van Wiele
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2020-12-15
publication date: 2020-12-15
doi: 10.23962/10539/30356

Cybersecurity Policymaking in the BRICS Countries: From Addressing National Priorities to Seeking International Cooperation
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Critical Interventions
  topic: section
subject: Cybersecurity
  topic: keywords
subject: Data protection
  topic: keywords
subject: Personal information
  topic: keywords
subject: Content moderation
  topic: keywords
subject: Cybercrime
  topic: keywords
subject: Policy
  topic: keywords
subject: Policymaking
  topic: keywords
subject: BRICS
  topic: keywords
subject: Brazil
  topic: keywords
subject: Russia
  topic: keywords
subject: India
  topic: keywords
subject: China
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa
  topic: keywords
creator: Luca Belli
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Luca Belli https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-12-06
publication date: 2021-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/32208

A Sociocultural Framework to Analyse M-Learning Options for Early Childhood Development (ECD) Practitioner Training
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: M-learning
  topic: keywords
subject: Mobile learning
  topic: keywords
subject: Early childhood development (ECD)
  topic: keywords
subject: Professional development
  topic: keywords
subject: Training
  topic: keywords
subject: Sociocultural learning
  topic: keywords
creator: Susanna Oosthuizen
creator: Nicky Roberts
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Susanna Oosthuizen, Nicky Roberts https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-12-06
publication date: 2021-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/32209

E-Government Information Systems (IS) Project Failure in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Literature
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: E-government
  topic: keywords
subject: Information systems (IS)
  topic: keywords
subject: Project failure
  topic: keywords
subject: Literature review
  topic: keywords
subject: Qualitative meta-synthesis
  topic: keywords
subject: Design–reality gap analysis
  topic: keywords
subject: ITPOSMO
  topic: keywords
subject: Root cause analysis
  topic: keywords
creator: Joseph B Nyansiro
creator: Joel S Mtebe
creator: Mussa M Kissaka
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Joseph B Nyansiro, Joel S Mtebe, Mussa M Kissaka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-12-06
publication date: 2021-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/32210

Applying Blockchain Technology to Security-Related Aspects of Electronic Healthcare Record Infrastructure
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: Healthcare
  topic: keywords
subject: Electronic health records (EHRs)
  topic: keywords
subject: Blockchain
  topic: keywords
subject: Information security
  topic: keywords
creator: Ryno Adlam
creator: Bertram Haskins
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Ryno Adlam, Bertram Haskins https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-12-06
publication date: 2021-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/32211

Intermediation Capabilities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Ghana’s Agricultural Extension System
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: Information and communication technology (ICT)
  topic: keywords
subject: Agricultural innovation systems (AIS)
  topic: keywords
subject: ICT for agriculture (ICT4ag)
  topic: keywords
subject: Agricultural extension
  topic: keywords
subject: Intermediation
  topic: keywords
subject: Intermediation capabilities
  topic: keywords
subject: Ghana
  topic: keywords
creator: Nyamwaya Munthali
creator: Rico Lie
creator: Ron Van Lammeren
creator: Annemarie Van Paassen
creator: Richard Asare
creator: Cees Leeuwis
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Nyamwaya Munthali, Rico Lie, Ron Van Lammeren, Annemarie Van Paassen, Richard Asare, Cees Leeuwis https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-12-06
publication date: 2021-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/32212

User Perceptions of Mobile Banking Apps in Tanzania: Impact of Information Systems (IS) Factors and Customer Personality Traits
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: Mobile banking apps
  topic: keywords
subject: Adoption
  topic: keywords
subject: Personality traits
  topic: keywords
subject: Information systems (IS)
  topic: keywords
subject: IS success model
  topic: keywords
subject: Tanzania
  topic: keywords
creator: Daniel Ntabagi Koloseni
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Daniel Ntabagi Koloseni https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-12-06
publication date: 2021-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/32214

Social Media Use, Disbelief and (Mis)information During a Pandemic: An Examination of Young Adult Nigerians’ Interactions with COVID-19 Public Health Messaging
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: COVID-19
  topic: keywords
subject: Pandemic
  topic: keywords
subject: Public health
  topic: keywords
subject: Social media
  topic: keywords
subject: Media messages
  topic: keywords
subject: Codes
  topic: keywords
subject: Encoding
  topic: keywords
subject: Decoding
  topic: keywords
subject: Disbelief
  topic: keywords
subject: Misinformation
  topic: keywords
subject: Young adults
  topic: keywords
subject: Nigeria
  topic: keywords
subject: Lagos
  topic: keywords
subject: Ajegunle
  topic: keywords
creator: Olutobi Akingbade
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Olutobi Akingbade https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-12-06
publication date: 2021-12-06
doi: 10.23962/10539/32215

The Neo-Colonial Political Economy of Scholarly Publishing: Its UK-US Origins, Maxwell's Role, and Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Critical Interventions
  topic: section
subject: Scholarly publishing
  topic: keywords
subject: Academic journals
  topic: keywords
subject: Global science
  topic: keywords
subject: Universities
  topic: keywords
subject: Colonialism
  topic: keywords
subject: Decolonisation
  topic: keywords
subject: Impact metrics
  topic: keywords
subject: Distribution rights
  topic: keywords
subject: Copyright
  topic: keywords
subject: Fair use
  topic: keywords
subject: Fair dealing
  topic: keywords
subject: Robert Maxwell
  topic: keywords
subject: United Kingdom
  topic: keywords
subject: United States
  topic: keywords
subject: Sub-Saharan Africa
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa
  topic: keywords
creator: Eve Gray
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Eve Gray https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-05-31
publication date: 2021-05-31
doi: 10.23962/10539/31367

Narrative Styles and Institutional Isomorphism in South African CEOs' Shareholder Letters
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: Corporate communications
  topic: keywords
subject: Narrative styles
  topic: keywords
subject: CEO shareholder letters
  topic: keywords
subject: Institutional isomorphism
  topic: keywords
subject: South Africa
  topic: keywords
creator: Elda Du Toit
creator: Leana Esterhuyse
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Elda Du Toit, Leana Esterhuyse https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2021-05-31
publication date: 2021-05-31
doi: 10.23962/10539/31369