Mobiiliasiointipalveluiden käyttäjäkeskeinen suunnittelu Namibiassa: Mobiilin henkilökorttihaun ja tunnistautumisen prototypointi

The average e-government implementation level in Africa remains low. While many African governments have created e-government strategies and informational government websites, much attention has not yet been paid to implementing socially inclusive and accessible services. Especially in Namibia, where a digital divide is prevalent and income inequality rates are high, creating equal opportunities to access government services is important in order to combat the divide. Offering services on mobile platforms, gathering an understanding of citizens' needs, and designing intuitive user interfaces have been suggested as courses of action for Namibia. It seems that Namibian e-government initiatives would benefit from user-centred design. The aim of this thesis is to explore the opportunities of mobile platforms for delivering citizen-centric e-government services to Namibian citizens, and how a combination of design science and user-centred design might support the creation of such \textit{m-government} services. The subject is approached through a practical design challenge: creating prototypes for two mobile services related to identification (a service for online ID applications, and for digital authentication of individuals). According to the results, mobile platforms hold a multitude of opportunities related to making existing government services more efficient and approachable, and related to the young, urban Namibians' proficiency in mobile use and overall positive perceptions of offering identification services on mobile platforms. For rural communities, m-government services could help reduce the amount of travel related to interacting with the government, but internet coverage remains an issue. The results also indicate that using prototypes can facilitate cross-cultural co-creation of knowledge by helping to establish a mutual understanding of concepts between parties.Sähköisten asiointipalveluiden keskimääräinen taso Afrikassa on yhä matalalla. Vaikka valtionjohto monissa Afrikan maissa on luonut strategioita sähköisten asiointipalveluiden kehittämiseksi ja verkkosivuja tiedotusta varten, paljoakaan huomiota ei ole vielä kiinnitetty sosiaalisesti inklusiivisten ja saavutettavien palveluiden kehittämiseen. Varsinkin Namibiassa, jossa digitaalinen kuilu eri ryhmien välillä on syvä ja tuloerot suuria, on tärkeää luoda asiointipalveluiden käytölle yhtäläiset mahdollisuudet erojen pienentämiseksi. Menettelytavoiksi Namibiassa on ehdotettu palveluiden tarjoamista mobiilialustoilla, tiedonkeruuta kansalaisten tarpeista sekä käyttöliittymien suunnittelua intuitiivisiksi. Vaikuttaa siltä, että projektit voisivat hyötyä käyttäjäkeskeisestä suunnittelusta. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena on tutkia mobiilialustojen mahdollisuuksia kansalaiskeskeisten sähköisten asiointipalveluiden tarjoamiseksi Namibian kansalaisille, sekä tietojärjestelmätutkimuksen ja käyttäjäkeskeisen suunnittelun yhdistelmän mahdollisuuksia tukea tällaisten mobiiliasiointipalveluiden suunnittelua. Aihetta lähestytään käytännön suunnitteluhaasteen kautta: työssä kehitetään kaksi prototyyppiä henkilöllisyyteen liittyvistä palveluista (yksi sähköistä henkilökorttihakua varten, toinen sähköistä tunnistautumista varten). Tulosten mukaan mobiilialustat tarjoavat monenlaisia mahdollisuuksia nykyisten asiointipalveluiden tehostamiseksi ja kehittämiseksi lähestyttävämmiksi. Mobiilialustojen käyttö on lupaavaa myös siinä mielessä, että nuoret, kaupungeissa asuvat namibialaiset ovat kyvykkäitä mobiilikäyttäjiä ja heidän suhtautumisensa henkilöllisyyteen liittyvien palveluiden tarjoamiseen mobiilialustoilla oli yleisesti ottaen positiivista. Maaseudulla asuvien yhteisöjen osalta mobiiliasiointipalvelut voisivat vähentää julkisten palveluiden käyttöön liittyvää matkustusta, mutta internet-yhteyden saatavuus seuduilla on yhä heikkoa. Tulokset viittaavat myös siihen, että prototyyppien käyttö voi fasilitoida kulttuurienvälistä tiedon yhteisluomista helpottamalla yhteisen konseptuaalisen ymmärryksen syntymistä eri osapuolten välille

Promoting Entrepreneurship amid Youth in Windhoek’s Informal Settlements: A Namibian Case

Considering the high unemployment rate among Namibian youth and a lack of job opportunities, the promotion of entrepreneurship has gained wider attention in the country. A number of initiatives have been started such as entrepreneurship trainings and workshops, business idea competitions, etc. All these aim to inspire young people to think of alternative income sources. As part of a two-year funded community outreach research and development (R&D) project, we have investigated participatory approaches to engage marginalized youth into conceptualizing their own context, imparting skills, and deriving new career paths. This article reports and reflects on one of the interventions we have recently concluded with a group of youth in Havana, an informal settlement in the outskirts of Windhoek. We conducted what we entitled “The Havana Entrepreneur”, a series of interactions inspired upon the model of the American reality game show “The Apprentice”. Over a number of weeks two youth groups were given challenges to tackle by means of competing against one another. After completion of each challenge, groups were rated by a number of judges on skills demonstrated such as marketing, presentation, reflection and creativity among others. We observed an increase in, and improvement of skills revealed along tasks’ completion, besides an openly expressed self-realization and discovery of abilities by participants. Moreover, the youth are currently engaged in the continuation of activities beyond the initial entrepreneurial interactions. Thus we suggest replicating “The Havana Entrepreneur”, including the recording on camera of it by the youth themselves as a new mode to instigating a wider entrepreneurial spirit in informal settlements

Human-computer interaction for development (HCI4D):the Southern African landscape

Human-Computer interaction for development (HCI4D) research aims to maximise the usability of interfaces for interacting with technologies designed specifically for under-served, under-resourced, and under-represented populations. In this paper we provide a snapshot of the Southern African HCI4D research against the background of the global HCI4D research landscape.We commenced with a systematic literature review of HCI4D (2010-2017) then surveyed Southern African researchers working in the area. The contribution is to highlight the context- specific themes and challenges that emerged from our investigation

Pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries

This rigorous literature review focused on pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries. It aimed to: 1. review existing evidence on the review topic to inform programme design and policy making undertaken by the DFID, other agencies and researchers 2. identify critical evidence gaps to guide the development of future research programme

Elements for Developing a Value-Added Digital Services Model for Rural Entrepreneurs in Namibia: An Exploratory Study

Supporting digitally enabled entrepreneurship in rural areas requires a holistic approach to ensure rural entrepreneurs take advantage of digital services finding innovative solutions that allow businesses to thrive in competitive markets. In the absence of a model for value-added digital services for rural entrepreneurs, it is uncertain what type of digital services should be offered for rural entrepreneurs once the challenges of connectivity, electricity and digital skills have been addressed and whether those digital rural services are responsive to rural communities\u27 needs and aspirations. The purpose of this study was to explore elements to be considered when developing a Valued Added Digital Services Model for Rural Entrepreneurs in Namibia. The study applied a cross-sectional survey using a mixed-method to collect data from 134 respondents comprising 14 rural entrepreneurs and 63 members from four rural communities and 57 ICT sector key informants. The results elucidated that, Digital Infrastructure, Digital Skills, Digital Inclusion, Digital Services and Digital Actors are the five key elements for the model. The study proposed a conceptual model that facilitates the understanding and underscore the effectiveness of an ecosystem approach that is embedded in drivers and pillars of a thriving entrepreneur and proposes interventions to mitigate the barriers for effective adoption of digital services by rural entrepreneurs

THE POLITICS OF BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGIES: Borders control and the making of data citizens in Africa

Biometric technologies are complex hardware and software infrastructures that link biometric data such as fingerprints, iris scans, face scans, or DNA data with personal data. A handful of foreign private actors have implemented biometric solutions in more than half of African countries. This paper investigates the politics of biometric artifacts, it looks at how biometric data furnish the basis for the emergence and institutionalization of certain political discourses and power configurations. To this aim, we link the study of biometric data artifacts to the role of private contractors and the full-scale involvement of public institutions in the establishment of border control markets. The empirical context of the research is the work practices of the actors involved in the export of biometric technologies for border security solutions in Namibia. Preliminary findings suggest that the technological and political rationalities of biometric solutions introduce a set of novel problems in the making and management of data profiles. Border control as a political issue seems to be increasingly intermeshed with a logic of economic profit and technological efficiency raising questions of data justice and political accountability

Artistic Cartography and Design Explorations Towards the Pluriverse

This edited volume uses an interdisciplinary approach to art and design that not only reframes but also repositions agendas and actions to address fragmented global systems. Contributors explore the pluriverse of art and design through epistemological and methodological considerations. What kinds of sustainable ways are there for knowledge transfer, supporting plural agendas, finding novel ways for unsettling conversations, unlearning and learning and challenging power structures with marginalised groups and contexts through art and design? The main themes of the book are art and design methods, epistemologies and practices that provide critical, interdisciplinary, pluriversal and decolonial considerations. The book challenges the domination of the white logic of art and design and shifts away from the Anglo-European one-world system towardsthe pluriverse. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, visual studies, arts-based research, and design studies

An exploration of how teachers in Namibia experience and respond to the learner-centered approach in their working lives.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Teacher sense-making lies at the heart of effective teaching and learning because it influences interpretation of policy reform and how it is implemented. The study explores the experiences and responses of Namibian teachers towards the learner-centered approach which was introduced after independence. The purpose is to understand how teachers interpret and implement the new teaching policy; their coping ways; and why they implemented the policy the way they do. The study was conducted in Ohangwena, the region located in the northern central part of Namibia. Eight participants from secondary schools were selected for narrative interviews; while nine teachers, three from different secondary schools, were chosen for focus group interviews. The focus was placed on teachers who were educated and trained in the apartheid education system, commenced their teaching career during the same period and went through the major shift to the present post-independence education. The narrative approach within the qualitative interpretive paradigm was used to explore the experiences and responses of long-serving teachers and how they shaped their individual, professional and social lives. This approach allowed the study to effectively employ the qualitative data collecting techniques such as narrative and focus group interviews; and narrative analysis models to interpret and make sense of data. Three key elements of the integrated cognitive sense-making model by Spillane, Reimer and Reiser (2002) were used as an analytic framework to understand how teachers interpret reforms and why they decide to implement it the way they do. It highlighted that the sense-making process of the implementing teacher was influenced by the individual factors from the teacher persona; school contexts; and nature of policy. Findings indicate that teachers experience numerous curriculum reforms; however, how they perceive and make sense of them is influenced by a variety of factors which emanate from individual, contextual and policy elements. The study detects that there is a mismatch between teacher beliefs and policy demands. It is also evident that many policy demands are not compatible with the school contextual realities. Teacher interpretation of the new teaching policy and the decision making of their behaviour and action on how to implement is intensely influenced by experiences and emotions; and situational conditions at their working places. The findings confirm that aspects from individual, working contexts and policy are very critical in the sense-making and implementation processes. These findings have implications for all the stakeholders at all education levels, particularly for Professional Development programmes at school and regional levels in assisting teachers to improve their perceptions and beliefs for positive interpretation and acceptance of the new reforms. Keywords: Learner-centered approach; teacher experiences; teacher responses; teacher work life; teacher sense-making; policy implementation