The introduction of smartphones as a tool for agricultural extension in rural Uganda: A three-phase study

While Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have long been an interest in development efforts, smartphones have only recently become prevalent. The impacts of standard mobile phones are represented in the literature, but smartphones are new enough that little research has been published regarding their use in development contexts. This study follows the introduction of smartphones to an agricultural extension organization in rural Uganda with the goal of understanding what expectations the staff members have for the devices, analyzing the effectiveness of the training provided, and discovering how the staff make use of the phones. In particular, this study pays close attention to the fact that these phones, rather than being adopted by individuals, were adopted by the organization and their use mandated. The study was conducted in three phases. In phase one, semi-structured interviews were used to collect information about how participants use their standard mobile phones to aid in their work duties and their perceptions about and expectations of smartphones. In phase two, participant observation was employed to gain insight into how participants were trained to use the smartphones and what they thought of the training, as well as how they learned to operate the smartphones over the course of the first few weeks of using them. In phase three, conducted six months after the introduction of the smartphones, a survey was used to collect information about how the participants were using the phones and how they felt about them. The phase one interviews revealed that participants relied heavily on their mobile phones due to the challenges of their rural location; before mobile phones allowed them to communicate with client farmers remotely, they spent most of their time travelling long distances over bad roads to visit clients in person. They expressed excitement at the prospect of smartphones and were most interested in the idea of having a camera on their phone. A few participants expressed concerns about the phones, including worries about short battery life or poor quality, but all participants overwhelmingly expressed that having smartphones would greatly benefit both the individuals using them and the organization as a whole. Phase two revealed that the two-day training seminar used to introduce the smartphones was both overwhelming and insufficient. Because many participants had never used a smartphone or even a computer before, even the basics needed to be practiced and repeated many times before participants felt confident in their knowledge of them. As a result, only a few applications were introduced. In the weeks that followed many participants had trouble using their smartphones, and many even had trouble using the applications that had been covered during training. However, participants remained positive and inquisitive, and expressed their confidence that they would be able to master their new devices in time. Phase three revealed that after six months participants were using the smartphones regularly. Participants frequently used the applications they had the most experience with, such as placing phone calls and checking the time or date, and the applications that they had expressed excitement about in phase one, such as taking pictures. Only a few individuals were using novel applications, such as GPS or email. Some participants reported problems with the phones and solar charging kits, but responses were still overwhelmingly positive. Participants reported many positive changes including being viewed as a better resource, experiencing increased communication, and being able to work more efficiently. It was found that a participant’s status within the organization, gender, education, location, and functionality of their smartphone all played a role in how they used their phone. Age was not a significant factor

Intentions to select an information technology career : a study of South African women

In South Africa, the importance of computing and information technology (IT) is increasing. Yet, there is an under representation of women IT employees, this may be due to the low percentage of women obtaining IT degrees. South African women are already seriously underrepresented in the IT field and represent an untapped resource. Therefore attention needs to be directed to factors which effect women’s intentions to pursue IT careers. This study drew on two theoretical perspectives, namely the Theory of Planned Behavior, and Social Cognitive Theory to derive a model of how two important factors, computer selfefficacy, and computer anxiety influence women’s feelings about the impact of computers on their daily lives and society, as well as their understanding of computers (i.e. computer attitude). The model further depicted the direct effect of computer attitude. Women’s computer attitudes were also expected to improve once they have received computer training. Although the main focus of the study was towards women’s computer attitude and intention to select an IT career, the study also compared the extent to which gender influences computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, computer attitude and intention to select an IT career, as well as the relationships that exist between these variables. Hypotheses were thus derived from the model, and uses prior research to argue the validity of the hypotheses. Quantitative data was collected from a sample of 263 first year students from a leading South African University. Statistical analyses of the data revealed that female students intention to select an IT career consisted of two factors namely, IT career interest and perceived tangible rewards. Pearson correlation and multiple regressions were used to test hypotheses. Results revealed that factors such as computer training, computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, and positive computer attitude influenced IT career interest and perceived tangible rewards. Amongst female students, computer training, computer self-efficacy and perceived tangible rewards impacted IT career interest. This means that if females received computer training, they were more confident towards computers and aware of IT careers prospects, and thus they would be more likely to select an IT career. The study results also detected gender differences which indicated that females are more computer anxious than males, while males are more computer confident and like computers more than females. In addition females are also less likely to select IT careers than males. These results provide important guidance to educational institutes, the IT industry, IT managers, human resource professionals, and other individuals’ interested in career development issues and the gender gap in South African IT

Re-imagining scientific communities in post-apartheid South Africa : a dialectical narrative of black women’s relational selves and intersectional bodies

The focus of this research study is on black South African women’s experiences of being science students, becoming graduates and professionals, and the ways in which they navigate institutional and disciplinary spaces that have historically been dominated by white masculinities. Women scientists are living in a critical era as the socio-cultural and political-economic landscape is transforming rapidly, affecting changes in aspects of identity and processes of identification. The individual life histories of black South African women scientists provide a telling story of a society in transformation because they experience the world as an outlier group; paradoxically positioned within an interstitial space between their dual sense of belonging to and alienation from a marginal and an elite group. The racialised gender gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines raises critical concerns around the political nature of scientific enquiry and whether black women will achieve equity in society and economic empowerment if they continue to be marginalised from society’s power structures. Little is known about their journeys into becoming the new generation of scientists in post-apartheid South Africa. Using a narrative method to enquire into the lives of 14 young women, the aim of the study was to critically examine questions of discursive, material and symbolic elements that emerge within their narratives across temporal shifts, and how these new meanings reflect specific subjectivities, reconfigure their dynamic social identities and transform time into ‘other spaces’ of belonging beyond categories of social divisions