Moving beyond rhetoric - a study of (under-) representation in ICT4D research

While decolonialization of knowledge production is not a new concern, the debate in ICT4D has gained traction following a growing attention to the issue in ICT4D journals and conferences. This paper aims to contribute to this debate by analyzing underrepresentation of Global South - based scholars in ICT4D research output. The study aspires to provide a foundation for critical self-examination of our research practices. The study is a literature review of papers published in the top three ICT4D journals and ICT4D papers published in the top IS journals over 10 years (2011-2020). The findings show that most of the papers are published from authors in countries ranked as very high- or high development with a significant lower representation of authors from countries ranked as low development. Moreover, there is, despite the field’s acknowledgement of the concern, no substantial improvement over the studied time period. While we do not argue that we have a solution for the continuation of historical patterns of underrepresentation of colleagues based in the Global South, we end the paper with offering some suggestions on how to move forward

Curriculum as Cultural Practice: Postcolonial Imagination

The opportunity to take familiar curriculum concepts/ideas and re-imag-ine and re-articulate them in ways that facilitate the development of new habits of mind is exciting for me for a number of reasons. First, it brings to the forefront what I have been “preaching ” in my academic work for some time now, namely, that alternative sites for curriculum theorizing could be generated from already established curricular metaphors/concepts and their reflections in practice. Second, the move itself is a recognition that multiple modes of theoretical representation emerge from genuinely valuing alter-native insights and perspectives grounded in a dynamic variety of human experiences, thereby adding richness and complexity to curriculum and curriculum discourse. Third, it is an opportunity for me to closely examine a popular and taken-for-granted curriculum metaphor—“curriculum as cultural practice”—and demonstrate how, historically, it has been mediated through a colonial imagination “contrived to the disbenefit of the other” (London, 2001, p. 45). The intent here is to re-imagine and re-theorize thi

Demarginalizing Interdisciplinarity in IS Research: Interdisciplinary Research in Marginalization

This paper reports on the second Workshop of a World University Network (WUN) Research Development Funded project on “The trans-nationalization of Indigenous movements: The role of digital technologies” at the University of Southampton, UK. The workshop explored interdisciplinarity and how interdisciplinary collaboration can help scholars study complex social phenomenon, such as the ways in which marginalized Indigenous communities use and shape digital technologies (such as social media) to enhance their cause. The workshop brought together scholars from diverse disciplines to engage in a critical debate. In addition to scholars from information systems, scholars from history, political science, geography, literature, arts, and anthropology came together to discuss how marginalized Indigenous communities can use digital media. The workshop highlighted the need for more interdisciplinary research and called for more critical approaches to bring such marginalized topics to the forefront of research in information systems. We consider three broad areas of inquiry in this paper: demarginalizing methodology for interdisciplinary research, interdisciplinary perspectives for demarginalization, and interdisciplinary contexts for demarginalization

A Methodology for Context—Specific Information Systems Design Theorizing

Prescriptive knowledge constitutes one of the important contributions of information systems design theorizing in information systems (IS) research. Existing methods for IS design theorizing apply kernel/reference theories as sources of justificatory knowledge that serve to justify and validate the knowledge produced. This has gaps in guiding how specific contexts of stakeholders and their practices can be entertained in the design process. This research attempts to address the above void, taking a socio-technically complex agricultural extension information service and the contexts that define it into account. The research builds on an existing IS design theory framework and shows how it can be improved by incorporating context into its components. It contributes to theory by adapting the existing frameworks using contextual insights from the local development practices and the stakeholders’ conditions. It in turn contributes to practice by developing a context-specific knowledge that can guide practitioners engaged in rolling out information and communication technology for development interventions in such environments

Critical Realism sebagai Alternatif Landasan Filosofis di Penelitian Sistem Informasi

Tulisan ini dibuat untuk memperkenalkan landasan filosofis critical realism atau yang pada sebuah artikel di Indonesia disebut sebagai realisme kritis di akademisi dan praktisi sistem informasi Indonesia. Critical realism diajukan oleh beberapa peneliti terdahulu sebagai metode alternative untuk membantu perkembangan keilmuan di bidang sistem informasi. Banyak akademisi terdahulu yang mengkritik ketidakmampuan keilmuan sistem informasi menyumbangkan teori. Pada tulisan ini dibahas landasan critical realism dan bagaimana critical realism dapat membantu perkembangan teori. Selanjutnya, juga diberikan contoh penelitian di bidang sistem informasi yang menggunakan critical realism. AbstractThis essay was made to introduce critical realism as a philosophical foundation in information systems research. The expected audience for this writing is Indonesian information systems academia and practitioners. Information systems researchers suggest that critical realism affords the potential to establish alternative approach to theorising in information systems. There have been several articles made by senior scholars criticising the state of theorising in information systems. In this essay, we described the basic information about critical realism and how critical realism may help to theorising in information systems. We also showed an example of recent critical realism research in information systems and listed additional recent papers using CR

From research to action: the practice of decolonizing ICT4D

The production of knowledge in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) research has been characterized by an ongoing shift from dominantly Western-based to Indigenous theory formulations. This editorial puts forward core concepts in the decolonization of ICT4D, arguing that these are fundamental to the creation, reading, and interpretation of ICT4D knowledge. Drawing on a decolonial read of the articles published in Vol. 28.3, we advance the argument that decolonizing ICT4D, rather than simply a means to read and analyze data, is an emancipatory practice to be adopted in an open challenge to Western-centric modes of doing ICT4D research

Religion and Spiritual Influence on Igbo Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Persistence

This article examines how religiosity and spirituality influence entrepreneurial behaviour. The focus is on indigenous Igbos in Nigeria. Igbos are famous for successfully establishing transgenerational business legacies and indigenous enterprise clusters across West Africa. They are also notorious for their cultural devotion and belief in Chi or Chukwu (God), alusi (gods, spirits or deities), ndi ichie (ancestors) and the oracle. Hence, the majority of Igbo personal names contain the word ‘Chi’. Igbo cultural values are based on the spiritual maxims of “Onye a Hana Nwanne ya” (don't leave your brother behind), “Onye biri ebeya biri” (live and let live) and “Akuruno” (make wealth reach home). These charactertics make the Igbos a unique population, which allows us to examine the links between their entrepreneurial behaviour, religion and spirituality. Using a qualitative design (interviews), we analyzed expert data provided by 34 Igbo entrepreneurs to clarify these links. The findings reveal that “other-worldly” and “this-worldly” orientation are the two main forces that influence entrepreneurial behaviour. An “other-worldly” orientation influences entrepreneurial behaviour such that the pursuit of a family business lifestyle has become the norm. Also, “this-worldly” orientation influences entrepreneurial behaviour that is associated with risk-taking, informal entrepreneurial learning, community-based entrepreneurship, social responsibility, etc