E-Government, Information and Communications Technology Support and Paperless Environment in Nigerian Public Universities: Issues and Challenges

The move toward a paperless environment has become the driving force behind sustainable development and e-government usage in many public sector institutions. It is equally at the heart of the government campaign to make service delivery in public institutions cost-effective, seamless, and efficient. The universities are supposed to be at the front-line of this campaign due to their operations which involve the heavy usage of papers at huge costs. Thus, making it important for university management to provide ICT support in order to promote paperless exchange of information and presentations. It is, however, understood recently, that there are issues which surround the low usage of ICT among university management and ultimately paperless environment. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to conceptually discuss the mode of university operations and how paperless environment can be attained. The paper highlights the cyclical order of document generation, document management and document sharing as the process in which a paperless environment can take place within both the academic and the administrative settings in the university. The paper further discusses the challenges hindering the attainment of paperless environment among which are infrastructural gap, inadequate ICT support and attitudinal challenge. It is recommended that for the smooth operation of a paperless environment, the government must bridge the infrastructure gap especially power as well as train and retrain staff on the path ICT usage

The impact of technology on the health care services in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Modern technology has enabled global integration with an immense opportunity for sharing knowledge. This paper examines the impact of modern medical technology on the Gauteng medical services. Gauteng is the smallest of the nine provinces in South Africa with the highest population. It produces 33.9% of the GDP of South Africa, equivalent to 10% of that of the entire African continent. Gauteng has the fourth largest economy in Africa after Algeria. Although numerous studies have identified the impact of technology on the medical fraternity, little data and analytical attention has been given to South Africa regarding modern technology, especially its impact on medical tourism. Patients from poor countries lacking modern technology travel to South Africa to benefit from technology that has improved diagnosis and made surgery quick, safe, efficient, and reduced the post-operative recovery to a few days. A multi-case approach was used in this study to explore the benefits of modern technology on the health care services. An in-depth analysis was conducted on two public and two private hospitals, selected because of their location in Gauteng and their bed capacity. A five point Likert questionnaire was administered to the hospital managers, nurses, doctors and medical technologists. In conclusion the paper emphasises the need for improved environmental friendliness by utilising paperless medical records and prescriptions, and recommends upgrading technological acuity of policy makers and healthcare Managers about the impact of Medical Technology in Disease management

Africa–Europe Cooperation and Digital Transformation

Africa–Europe Cooperation and Digital Transformation explores the opportunities and challenges for cooperation between Africa and Europe in the digital sphere. Digitalisation and digital technologies are not only essential for building competitive and dynamic economies; they transform societies, pose immense challenges for policymakers, and increasingly play a pivotal role in global power relations. Digital transformations have had catalytic effects on African and European governance, economies, and societies, and will continue to do so. The COVID-19 pandemic has already accelerated the penetration of digital tools all over the globe and is likely to be perceived as a critical juncture in how and to what purpose the world accepts and uses new and emerging technologies. This book offers a holistic analysis of how Africa and Europe can manage and harness digital transformation as partners in a globalised world. The authors shed light on issues ranging from economic growth, youth employment, and gender, to regulatory frameworks, business environments, entrepreneurship, and interest-driven power politics. They add much-needed perspectives to the debates that shape the two continents’ digital transformation and innovation environments. This book will interest practitioners working in the areas of innovation, digital technologies, and digital entrepreneurship, as well as students and scholars of international relations. It will also be relevant for policymakers, regulators, decision-makers, and leaders in Africa and Europe

UNPACKING THE ROLE OF POLITICAL-WILL IN DIGITAL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FOR SOCIOECONOMIC BENEFITS

As digital technology transforms many organisational alliances, new collaborative networks such as digital business ecosystems have emerged. In digital business ecosystems, participants leverage technological innovations to develop capabilities for value co-creation. Despite the growing number of studies, there is lack of research on how political-will facilitates development of digital business ecosystems. Therefore, this study develops a framework to explicate the role of political-will in the development of digital business ecosystems to achieve socioeconomic benefits. The findings show that political-will leads to provision of resources and legislative support as well as formulation of strategic initiatives required at the birth, expansion and maturity phases of digital business ecosystems to generate socioeconomic benefits such as (1) reduced corruption, (2) improved operational processes, (3) increased government revenue, (4) reduced bureaucracy and (5) improved transparency, fairness and accountability

“I wish I did not understand Arabic!” Living as a black migrant in contemporary Tunisia

After the fall of former dictator Ben Ali in 2011, questions of race have come to the forefront in Tunisia, along with the quests for equality for ethnic minorities. Several associations and TV programs began tackling the everyday reality of social discrimination and violent attacks suffered by Black Tunisians and Black Foreign Nationals. Their discourse, however, tends to borrow the concept of human rights and values from the West, and rests ideologically and linguistically on American models―Martin Luther King―, French words―racisme―, and on an idea of race which risks to conflate Blacks’ categories and to overlook different historical trajectories behind every actor. Addressing life histories of Black sub-Saharan new comers in the Southern region of Mednine allowed me to question racial concepts in Southern Tunisia by drawing comparisons with the other biggest group of Blacks who were present on the same territory: Black slave descendants. This paper suggests that Blackness in this region is an ascription from the outside, and does not confine in one trait, that is, colour. It points at a conceptualization of race where racial prejudices are constructed, and come at play with other coordinates: lineage, Arab ethnocentrism, institutional and legal positioning, and the status of outsiders

Covid-19 and digitalization : The great acceleration

Peer reviewedPostprin

Technology Adoption: Issues and Challenges in Information Technology Adoption in Emerging Economies

Recognizing the need, effect and importance of Information Technology (IT) in any society, this study explored some of the challenges in the transfer and adoption of IT in developing countries. In Advanced countries, IT has generally revolutionized all facets of life, including technology, business, education and the global economy. Developing countries have not fully participated in this global revolution. This paper discusses some of the challenges that developing countries and donor countries encounter in the transfer and adoption of IT in developing countries. Some of these challenges include government policies, infrastructure, training, and culture of the recipient countries. The study also high lights some solutions to these challenges and calls for the full involvement of the government and people of the recipient nations and the International community

Working Paper 65 - Governance in Africa: The Role for Information and Communication Technologies

The information and knowledge age is upon us due to rapid advances ininformation and communication technologies (ICTs). These new technologies arechanging the way we live and work, and they are transforming many aspects ofsocial and economic organization in ways we could have hardly imagined less thantwo decades ago. ICTs offer developing countries formidable and cost-effectivetools for accelerated development. This paper assesses the role that ICTs can playin Africa’s development with special emphasis on governance. The 21st centurychallenges for governance in Africa are reviewed. The paper summarizes the usesof ICTs in governance and discusses possible risks. It also attempts to offer ideasthat should be considered in employing ICTs for governance, and identifies keyareas for intervention by African countries and the African Development Bank. Thepaper stresses the importance of the human factor in realizing good governance,given that ICTs are only tools.