E-Governance: Strategy for Mitigating Non-Inclusion of Citizens in Policy Making in Nigeria

The Nigerian federation that currently has 36 states structure adopted the Weberian Public Administrative system before now as an ideal way of running government, which was characterized with the traditional way of doing things without recourse to the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Today e-governance is seen as a paradigm shift from the previous way of governance. Research has shown that, the adoption and implementation of e-governance is more likely to bring about effective service delivery, mitigate corruption and ultimately enhance citizens’ participation in governmental affairs. However, it has been argued that infrastructure such as regular electricity power and access to the Internet, in addition to a society with high rate of literacy level are required to effectively implement and realize the potentials of e-governance for improved delivery of services. Due to the difficulties currently experienced, developing nations need to adequately prepare for the implementation of e-governance on the platform of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Hence, this study seeks to examine whether the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the context of Nigeria would mitigate the hitherto non-inclusion of citizens in the formulation and implementation of government policies aimed at enhanced development. To achieve the objective of the study, data were sourced and analyzed majorly by examining government websites of 20 states in the Nigerian federation to ascertain if there are venues for citizens to interact with government in the area of policy making and feedback on government actions, as a way of promoting participatory governance. The study revealed that the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the country is yet to fully take place. This is due to lack of infrastructure, low level of literacy rate and government inability to provide the necessary infrastructure for e-governance to materialize. The paper therefore, recommends among others the need for the Federal Government to involve a sound and clear policy on how to go about the adoption and implementation of egovernance through deliberate effort at increasing budgetary allocation towards infrastructural development and mass education of citizens

The Impact of e-Democracy in Political Stability of Nigeria

The history of the Nigerian electoral process has been hitherto characterized by violence stemming from disputes in election outcomes. For instance, violence erupted across some states in Northern Nigeria when results indicated that a candidate who was popular in that part of the country was losing the election leading to avoidable loss of lives. Beside, this dispute in election outcome lingers for a long time in litigation at the electoral tribunals which distracts effective governance. However, the increasing penetrating use of ICTs in Nigeria is evident in the electoral processes with consequent shift in the behavior of actors in the democratic processes, thus changing the ways Nigerians react to election outcomes. This paper examines the trend in the use ICT in the Nigerian political system and its impact on the stability of the polity. It assesses the role of ICT in recent electoral processes and compares its impact on the outcome of the process in lieu of previous experiences in the Nigeria. Furthermore, the paper also examines the challenges and risks of implementing e-Democracy in Nigeria and its relationship to the economy in the light of the socio-economic situation of the country. The paper adopted qualitative approach in data gathering and analysis. From the findings, the paper observed that e-democracy is largely dependent on the level of ICT adoption, which is still at its lowest ebb in the country. It recognizes the challenges in the provision of ICT infrastructure and argues that appropriate low-cost infrastructure applicable to the Nigerian condition can be made available to implement e-democracy and thus arouse the interest of the populace in governance, increase the number of voters, and enhance transparency, probity and accountability, and participation in governance as well as help stabilize the nascent democrac

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

An investigation into how Web 2.0 technologies can be used to enhance the educational supervision of teachers

The concept of educational supervision has witnessed significant development in recent years and many studies in this field have demonstrated how computers and the internet have been employed in the process. However, the researcher has found no studies that examined the use of Web 2.0 online platforms and tools that promote interaction among users in educational supervision.The main purpose of this study is to examine the possibility of using Web 2.0 technologies in educational supervision in Saudi Arabia and investigate how these technologies can be used to enhance the educational supervision of teachers. In practical terms I planned to introduce Web 2.0 tools into the educational supervision process to support and enhance activities undertaken by supervisors and teachers.A small-scale four-stage development programme was run with groups of teachers and supervisors with the evaluation of that process making use of a mixed method approach to data collection. In the first stage interviews were held with seven supervisors and seven teachers, in order to explore the possibility of application, to build a picture and to enable me to become acquainted with data collection and analysis procedures and techniques. In the second stage, data was collected from 23 supervisors by focus group and questionnaire regarding the current usage of Web 2.0 technology in educational supervision and to examine how such technologies could facilitate supervisors’ work. In stages three and four, data was collected from thirty teachers through a pre-survey, followed by a Web 2.0 training programme and post-survey. The objectives in these stages were to study teachers’ usage of Web 2.0 technology and to evaluate the effect of the training programme in order to recognise and use the affordances of Web 2.0 tools for supervision.Teachers’ knowledge, awareness and confidence in relation to all of the tools were shown to have increased after the training programme, with the majority showing enthusiasm about employing this technology in educational supervision. The participants generally agreed that using Web 2.0 technologies in educational supervision is crucial and facilitated supervisors’ work

G2G interaction model of information sharing among local agencies based on phenomenology approach: Dhi-qar province employees’ viewpoints

The exchange of information electronically has help local agencies to increase their productivity and performance. At the same time, it improves the process of policy-making by providing better public services to citizens. However, only a few studies that examine the factors influencing the electronic interaction among local agencies in developing countries, including in Iraq. In fact, government agencies usually rely on information provided by other government agencies, making the electronic interactions crucial for effective inter-organizational operations management in the government. This study aims to determine the factors affecting the interaction among local agencies in Dhi-Qar, Iraq. Thus, it proposes a government-to-government (G2G) interaction model among local agencies from the environmental, organizational, and technological contexts, using phenomenological approach based on the Diffusion of Innovation and Social Exchange theories. Data were collected in two phases. First, a series of interviews with local egovernment employees were carried out to discover the factors that influence the G2G interaction in Dhi-Qar, Iraq. Later, another series of semi-structured interviews focusing on extracting the main issues that influence G2G interaction was followed. The collected data were validated through triangulation and member checking. A case study was used to confirm the findings. The study has discovered the factors that influence the electronic interaction among local agencies in Dhi-Qar. The factors are benefits, compatibility, complexity, costs, information security, inter-agency trust, internal resistance to change, information technology (IT) capability, legislation, physical security, and top management support. Based on these factors, the government-to-government interaction model (G2GIM) is proposed. This model can be applied to different local agencies in implementing e-government projects

Electronic Government Adoption Based on Citizen-Centric Approach in Regional Government in Developing Countries: The Case of Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)

In the latter part of the 20th century ICT has been broadly employed in an effort to enhance the quality of service provision to the public. In the light of this, both public and private sectors have recognised the necessity of adopting technology and its applications in their potential. However, using ICT facilities for development facing various factors such as; establishing technical infrastructures, users and employees’ awareness, legal framework for interactions with public authorities, security, privacy, trust, digital divide, along with organizational issues should be taken into consideration. Therefore, all these challenges should be considered and discussed if continuing progress is to be maintained because missing a few issues and only discussing some of them will lead to a waste of resources. Currently, most of the developing countries suffer from the lack of transparency, accountability, and increasing corruption in government administration. E-government has appeared as a potential solution to reduce the level of corruption by enhancing the services to its citizens effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, e-government has the potential to enhance and organise the relationships between stakeholders which include; citizens, government, and business. So, thriving implementation of e-government will improve accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness of government institutions and also may decrease corruption at both federal and regional levels. This research proposes a novel e-government stage model based on the citizen’s participation of improvements in the delivery of governmental services. In other words, find the importance of putting citizens’ insights and their requirements in the context of e-government development along with the potential use of a multi-channel delivery of services. It is expected that the model will enable more transparent and effective communications with businesses. Thereby, reducing bureaucracy and by implication, may result in a reduction in corruption. To accomplish this, the researcher investigates in the literature to find out the existing models and experiences in the area of e-government in order to identify the drawbacks reasons and limitations of the failure. The researcher also set out to investigate and analyse iii one of the well established e-government stage models, to identify possible opportunities to adopt for use in regional government in developing countries. The proposed model has been evaluated by adapting the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) decision making method and integrating it with the SWOT analysis method. SWOT factors were identified through interviews with experts from various ministries in the KRG. The proposed model were evaluated by adopting a qualitative case study strategy such as IT projects, taking the expert’s opinion of the proposed model by using qualitative method. Moreover the researcher, by using a qualitative case study strategy such as the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), observes the proposed model in various government institutions in the KRI. The analysis of pragmatic data leads to a narrative inclusive model for e-government initiatives in the public sector that can be assisted in different ways. The advantage of this model is to decrease the uncertainty of e-government implementation in the public sector by recognising the consequence of the institutional readiness, adoption processes, the needs of ICT tools, and the factors that influence the implementation process. The model might also assist policy makers in government to offer a clear vision for e-government. Ultimately, any conclusions could be useful to other researchers in the developing world who are seeking to explore the potential of similar initiatives

Unveiling the path towards sustainability: scientific interest at HEIs from a scientometric approach in the period 2008-2017

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorLa humanidad ha experimentado el impacto de un modelo económico insostenible a todos los niveles. Este tema se ha cristalizado en diferentes cumbres y conferencias durante el siglo XX. Como resultado de esta preocupación, surgió el concepto de Desarrollo Sostenible (DS). Sin embargo, este concepto ha recibido muchas críticas por ser altamente antropocéntrico y compartimentado, carente de coherencia conceptual o interconexión entre todos los aspectos involucrados. Más tarde, la aparición de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM) en 2000 y los recientes Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) en 2015 constituyen una nueva era. Este es el plan para lograr un futuro mejor y más sostenible para todos, en el que todos los agentes involucrados deben participar. En este punto, las instituciones de educación superior (IES) tienen un papel central y la sostenibilidad se ha convertido en una prioridad política para la ciencia. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer los patrones de la investigación llevada a cabo en investigación de sostenibilidad, incluido el flujo de actividad científica, así como la colaboración o el impacto que genera dicha investigación. Este estudio de doctorado explora cómo se puede delinear este concepto desde un enfoque bibliométrico, lo cual conduce a la ‘ciencia de la sostenibilidad’. La producción científica de artículos fue identificada y analizada en el período 2008-2017 en la Web of Science (WoS). Además, este estudio explora las instituciones de educación superior (IES) y su papel en el fomento de la sostenibilidad, mediante la evaluación de su investigación y la implementación de prácticas de sostenibilidad en las IES españolas. Además, presenta una delineación de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) y propone una metodología para clasificar la producción científica en cada uno e los objetivos. El análisis de esta producción se realiza a través de indicadores bibliométricos unidimensionales y multidimensionales. Estos indicadores se han dividido y analizado en diferentes niveles de agregación, desde el más general hasta el más específico, comenzando con las características generales de investigación y descendiendo al nivel de país, instituciones o temática, entre otros. Los resultados muestran un interés creciente en la investigación de sostenibilidad y se observa una fuerte influencia del pilar medioambiental. Además, hay países con una alta producción científica pero no tan especializados en el tema como otros con una menor producción. En cuanto a las instituciones, los resultados obtenidos muestran que las IES realizaron un importante esfuerzo de investigación para el desarrollo sostenible y son las que producen un mayor número de documentos. Además, se observa que las instituciones tienden a colaborar con centros geográficamente próximos. Al analizar las Prácticas de sostenibilidad en las IES españolas, se encuentran asociaciones altas entre variables como la presencia de un Plan de Sostenibilidad y de una Oficina Verde. Sin embargo, este estudio demuestra claramente que, aunque se reconoce que el desarrollo sostenible es muy importante para las IES y la sociedad, todavía no está integrado en las estrategias, actividades y políticas de todo el sistema. Como conclusión, se afirma que es esencial identificar estrategias de sostenibilidad e introducir desarrollo sostenible en todas las actividades en el entorno de las IES. Finalmente, esta tesis contribuye a la literatura sobre instituciones de educación superior sostenibles, así como al análisis y la mejora de educación superior para el desarrollo sostenible, especialmente en el sistema de educación superior español. Además, este estudio contribuye al análisis bibliométrico al ofrecer dos propuestas de delineación científica para la ciencia de la sostenibilidad y los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible, así como metodologías para clasificar la producción científica. Este análisis denota la importancia de los estudios bibliométricos para el estudio y la caracterización de la producción científica en un campo transdisciplinario que, además, se puede extrapolar a otros campos de estudio.Humanity has experienced the impact of an unsustainable economic model at all levels. This topic has crystallized in different summits and conferences during the 20th century. As a result of this concern, the concept of sustainable development (SD) emerged. However, it has received much criticism for being highly anthropocentric and compartmentalized, and lacking conceptual coherence or interconnectedness among all the aspects involved. The introduction of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 and the recent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 heralded a new era. They represent a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all, in which all stakeholders need to be involved. At this point, higher education institutions (HEIs) have a central role to play and sustainability has emerged as a policy priority for science. The objective of this study is to investigate the patterns of sustainability research, including the flow of scientific activity, as well as the collaboration or impact that such research generates. This doctoral study explores how can sustainability can be delineated from a bibliometric approach, leading to a new approach of “sustainability science”. The scientific production of articles was identified and analysed for the period 2008–2017 using the Web of Science (WoS). Moreover, this research study explores HEIs and their role in fostering sustainability, by assessing their research and the implementation of sustainability practices in Spanish HEIs. As well, it presents a delineation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and proposes a methodology for classifying the output on each SDG. This analysis is done through unidimensional and multidimensional bibliometric indicators. These indicators have been divided and analysed in different levels of aggregation, from the most general to the most specific, starting with general research features and progressing to country, institutional, and thematic levels, among others. The results indicate a growing interest in sustainability research and a strong influence on the environmental pillar. Moreover, some countries with the highest scientific output are not as specialized in terms of topics as others with a lower output. Regarding institutions, the results obtained indicate that HEIs made an important research contribution to SD and are the ones that produce a higher number of documents. It was found that institutions tend to collaborate with other institutions that are close. By analysing sustainability practices in Spanish HEIs, it was found that there are more associations between variables such as having a sustainability plan and having a green office. However, this study clearly demonstrates that although SD is recognized as being very important to HEIs and society, it is not yet embedded in the whole system’s strategies, activities, and policies. In conclusion, this research study reveals that it is essential to identify sustainability strategies and introduce SD in all activities in the HEI environment. Finally, this thesis contributes to the literature on sustainable HEIs, as well as to how higher education for SD is understood and can be improved, especially in the Spanish higher education system. Moreover, this contributes to bibliometric study by offering two delineation approach to sustainability science and sustainable development goals as well as methodologies for classifying scientific output. This denotes the importante of bibliometric studies for the study and characterization of scientific output in a transdisciplinary field that can be extrapolated to other fields of study.Programa de Doctorado en Documentación: Archivos y Bibliotecas en el Entorno Digital por la Universidad Carlos III de MadridPresidente: Carlos Balaguer Bernaldo de Quirós.- Secretario: Birger Larsen.- Vocal: Sandra Sofía Ferreira Da Silva C

Technology transfer practices and strategies: Issues for Nigerian construction organisations and for research

Technology transfer is increasingly being seen as an important issue for economic development and growth. Arguably, this is why developed and especially developing countries are very keen on technology transfer. However, there are those that contend that organisations in the Nigerian construction industry are not as engaged in technology transfer as many would like, and that potential benefits of doing so are not realized. In the same vein, the challenges that confront construction organisations in Nigeria in terms of technology transfer have received very little empirical studies. This paper, therefore, presents a thorough review of literature on strategic issues and choices that Nigerian construction organisations face in grappling with technology transfer, together with associated challenges. Consideration is also given to what technology transfer actually means to such organisations, and how this is viewed in line with other terms such as innovation. The paper argues and concludes that the challenges that confront construction organisations in Nigeria are multifaceted and likely to impact on their strategic choices. In the same vein, it is also argued that these have implications for researchers attempting to investigate technology transfer practices and strategies in construction organisations in Nigeria in terms of their choice of research strategy and design