An Appraisal of Students’ Level of Satisfaction of Support Services of Distance Education at the University of Education, Winneba

In recent times, Distance Education has become a critical component of tertiary education delivery around the globe. This mode of learning system has taken systematic teaching and learning processes to persons living in isolated areas where facilities for the traditional form of classroom teaching are not adequately provided. This study was conducted among 564 Post-Diploma distance education students of the University of Education, Winneba study centres of the Institute for Educational Development and Extension (IEDE). The study investigated students’ level of satisfaction of the support services provided them by the University. It was structured within the framework of descriptive survey and employed the use of questionnaire for data collection. Both descriptive and multivariate statistical methods were used to analyse the data collected. It was found that the most important factors influencing students’ level of satisfaction of distance learning support services are self check questions and exercises, readiness of help desk staff and instructor demonstration of knowledge in the subject area. It is recommended that every effort should be made by Universities or Distance Education institutions to provide learner support systems that are learner centred in order to enhance learners’ service experience. Institutions providing distance education should endeavour to undertake an in-depth study of learner support services provided at the various study centres to enable them to align these learners support services with peculiar learners’ requirements and expectations. Key Words: Distance Education, support services, satisfaction, scale reliability coefficien

Social Media & Privacy: Understanding Privacy in The Age of Content Creator Culture

In today\u27s digital age, content creators are gaining public attention and becoming highly influential. With that increased influence, it is important to acknowledge the privacy concerns within this culture. This interpretive research study seeks to identify and understand the dynamics of privacy within the content creator culture. This research will leverage information from interviews with content creators from various social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Using theories to understand the phenomena, theories of privacy calculus, privacy paradox and self-disclosure, will be used to view how content creators define and navigate privacy, strategies employed to control personal information sharing, and measures set in place to address privacy concerns. The findings of this research will fill a gap in the literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of privacy dynamics within the content creator culture. This knowledge will not only contribute to academic discussions but also inform the development of practical guidelines and recommendations for content creators, social media platforms, and policymakers to ensure a balance between content sharing and privacy protection

Digital Transformation of SMEs through social media

This research paper explores the strategic integration of social media platforms by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) beyond marketing. Drawing from Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities theories, the study investigates how social media enhances management, coordination, and control functions. Through five diverse case studies from Ghana, findings reveal SMEs’ innovative use of platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, Slack, and Trello. These platforms foster efficient internal communication, customer engagement, project management, and talent acquisition. Challenges such as technical expertise and dynamic digital landscapes are identified

Rationalizing Online Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender

This study seeks to understand romance scam from the offenders\u27 perspective and how they rationalize their motivations, opportunities and abilities towards the commission of the crime. To this end, we adopt the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability framework and the Rationalization dimension of the Fraud Triangle Theory. The study employed a qualitative methodological approach to analyze the opportunities presented by emerging technologies to cyber fraudsters amid socio-economic drivers. One is the interplay of various socio-economic factors being a major driving force behind the commission of cybercrime. These include peer recruitment and training, poverty, unemployment, low level of education and low income. The uniqueness of this study stems from the fact that it deviates from previous studies to investigate cybercrime from the perspective of the perpetrators. Again, this study is arguably one of the first to put all three dimensions of the MOA framework and the rationalization dimension of the Fraud Triangle to study romance scammers\u27 behaviors

Technology for street traders in Tanzania: A design science research approach

The informal sector employs the major part of workers in developing countries. Street trading is a common form of informal work. Despite its huge economic value in developing countries, little research is being done to improve street traders’ empowerment and entrepreneurship. Also, development informatics is over-focused on social development and under-focused on economic development. This study takes a design science research (DSR) approach in order to identify barriers for street traders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that can be addressed with technology. As a follow-up to our previous qualitative study, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of (N = 285) street traders. The data was analysed using mixed methods. The results show that street traders operate in a challenging environment, and make most of their decisions based on tacit knowledge. Traders are restrained by unreliable business information, weak business strategies, and access to capital. A variety of technology innovations, such as customer-client matchmaking, and record keeping are proposed to directly address the daily challenges of street traders. Future technology projects form exciting possibilities for technology experts, students, and scholars globally. The expected future implications of this project are increased STI capacities, economic growth, and human development.</p

Internationalising a Multi-disciplinary PhD program offered by the University of Eastern Finland: Strategies and Approaches

Given the interrelated and interdependencies of countries, business organizations including higher education have taken the advantage to extend their products and services across borders. Higher education, for instance, is one aspect that has benefited from the international cooperation and trade liberalization. However, many of the higher institutions that have extended their service to foreign countries fail to make an impact due to the poor managerial and internationalisation strategies. For such a reason, this thesis has analysed and proposed internationalization strategies and approaches for a multidisciplinary PhD program (IMPDET) from the University of Eastern Finland. The proposition of the internationalisation strategies was based on the International market assessment opportunity framework that has widely been used in international business. Hence, this framework encapsulates with several other fine-grained international business strategies in every stage. Network and waterfall models were proposed for the IMPDET program in terms of its entry into developing economies. The proposition of the internationalisation strategies was partly based on data collected from the selection of students and managements of the IMPDET program. Through a mixed research method analysis, the internal abilities and suitability of the IMPDET program was ascertained. The investigation revealed that the IMPDET program has the internal ability, such as the required resources, to internationalise its operations in the foreign country. Additionally, this thesis found that the IMPDET program is suitable for meeting the challenges of the emerging economies, as this forms part of the key objectives of IMPDET to extend its operations to the developing economies