Antecedents of IT Alignment in Public Sector: Case of E-Syariah Implementation in Malaysia

IT alignment has been receiving a considerable attention amongst IS scholars and researchers. Despite the growth of IT alignment literature, further review indicates that most of the studies are carried out in either commercial or entrepreneur-led organizations. In correspondence to a strong call for IT alignment studies to be carried out within the setting of public sector organizations, this study attempts to fulfil the gap by examining antecedents of IT alignment in the context of public sector. Drawing on the previous literature on IT alignment, the effects of five antecedents of IT alignment namely; shared domain knowledge, prior IS implementation success, centralization, formalization and CEO-CIO relationships are examined. It is further argued that high level of IT alignment in government sectors contributes towards the improvement of government’s performance which is represented by improved public service delivery. Using case study on the use of E-Syariah in Malaysian Islamic Judicial System, the researcher finds out that all antecedents except centralization and formalization, have direct and positive impacts towards IT alignment practice in public sector, which consequently improve the delivery of government services to the public

Managing successful e-government implementation : case of E-Syariah in Malaysia.

Studies of e-government have shown how strategic use of e-government systems helps government agencies to improve public service delivery and gain more efficient governance. The success of this initiative is seen to be dependent upon the role of government’s key implementation tasks in managing alignment between the organizational, technological and human-related factors; which ultimately lead to improved delivery of public service. However, very little work has been carried out to understand the issue. This study helps to fill this gap in the important research area by investigating the role of government’s key implementation tasks in managing alignment for improved delivery of judicial service. This exploratory qualitative research carried out an in-depth case study of the implementation of E-Syariah system within different Syariah Court Offices in a state in Malaysia namely Kelantan. By analyzing the collected data from the case, findings were drawn up in which it confirms the existing literature that government’s key implementation tasks play a significant role in the successful implementation of E-Syariah. New government’s key task emerged from the case data – (i) informing values of ICT, (ii) inculcating inner-connection to Islamic values and (iii) establishing collaborative relationships between government agencies through central coordination approach. An insight into the case uncovers enabling roles of these key implementation tasks for organization – human dimension, human-technology dimension and technology-organization dimension. This study also discusses the implication of improved delivery of judicial service to good governance in light of the following identified attributes; efficiency and effectiveness, transparency and empowerment. In summary, this research extends our theoretical underpinning of the role of government’s key implementation tasks in managing alignment for improved delivery of public service; and provides useful insights for public officials (e.g. top management, policy-makers) in managing e-government implementation

Integration of ICT in education : an Islamic perspective.

Rapid increase in the development of Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the desire of obtaining education has left the society with no choice of education through ICTs. Education facilitated by the new ICT is transforming learning and instruction forms in ways "that extend beyond the efficient delivery or entertainment value of traditional approaches". Education in Islam is considered as an instrument by which people can be trained in the Islamic way of life. It's challenging to achieve the objective of Islamic education through ICTs. This paper discuses the integration of ICTs in education, highlight the objective of Islamic education and then finally suggests an innovative approach to obtain desired objectives

Building trust in e-commerce from an Islamic perspective: A literature review

Studies indicate that trust has a significant impact on users’ acceptance of e-commerce. Discussion on the role of trust in e-commerce environment can be largely found in the literature; however, it scarcely looks at the issue from the Islamic perspective. As religion is one of the factors that helps to gain trust among Muslim internet users to conduct e-commerce, it is therefore pertinent to explore how to build online trust through an analysis of the essential requirements of e-commerce from the perspective of Islamic law of contract. Library research is employed by the means of investigating classical and contemporary literature to search for information on essential requirements underpinning e-commerce contract. Review of existing literature sheds light on some conditions related to offer and acceptance (form), buyer and seller (parties), and object and price (subject matter) of sale contracts concluded via online environment. An appraisal of these issues will justify the validity of e-commerce in Islamic law, thus enhancing the level of online trust among Muslim users

The use of social networks in education : challenges and opportunities.

Technology can have a reciprocal relationship with teaching. The emergence of new technologies pushes educators to understanding and leveraging these technologies for classroom use, at the same time, the on the ground implementation of these technologies in the classroom can directly impact how these technologies continue to take shape. Social network such as Friendster, MySpace, Facebook and twitter are popular and influential because they help satisfy the human need to create and connect. It is imperative that emergency communicators not only monitor the information shared across social media, but also engage the dialogue to help shape the conversation. Undoubtedly, without these recent technologies in the classroom, strong lessons can still be achieved, but there's a sharp disconnect between the way students are taught in school and the way the outside world approaches socialization, meaning making, and accomplishmen