Make Cyber Space safe for all Internet users

A newspaper article by Dr Ndiege who is the programme director, School of Science and Technology, and assistant professor, Information Systems, USIU - Africa. [email protected] Summary Cybercrime is fast growing in Africa, not only due to the penetration of the internet but also as a result of lack of clear regulations. The primary targets of cyber security crimes are usually uneducated individuals who have limited or no knowledge on how to identify cyber scams and protect themselves. By establishing an information security culture among young cyber users, Africa will be building a future generation that appreciates the need for information securit

Building University-Industry Partnerships

A Newspaper Article by Dr Ndiege who is the programme director of the School of Science at the USIU - Africa. [email protected] Summary A classic motivation for academia to collaborate with industry may include enrichment of teaching, access to funding, joint research and development activities, reputation, and internship. Conversely, for industry, the motivation may include tapping into a pool of skilled workforce, training of industry employees, access to university facilities, and assigning of research-related activities. Despite the many benefits associated with university-industry collaboration, it is important to be cognisant of the possible bottlenecks that may impede the efforts

Absorptive capacity and information technology adoption strategies in Kenyan SMEs

Although Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), arguably, make up a significant part of economic development in many countries, these enterprises have continued to face challenges especially in developing countries like Kenya. With Information Technology (IT) being considered a critical component of the survival of SMEs, many are striving to invest in it. However, a number of these SMEs are still far from realising the full potential of their IT investments. In today‟s challenging and dynamic business environment, SMEs need to leverage both internal and external knowledge, exploit it to help improve and maintain their competitiveness, and consequently, their survival. This study has endeavoured to address the IT adoption strategy challenges experienced by SMEs in Kenya and other developing countries, as these have been largely flawed. The study has explored on the way in which these enterprises can build strong Absorptive Capacities (AC) and exploit these to improve their IT adoption processes through a model of AC. To achieve this, a qualitative, interpretive case study research approach was employed in this study. The findings of this study suggest that although AC plays a critical role in the performance of SMEs in Kenya, many of these enterprises have low levels of AC. It also became clear that all the SMEs that participated in the study had not attained maturity in their IT adoption process. However, SMEs that exhibited strong AC employed the use of more superior IT adoption processes than did their counterparts with low levels of AC. From the results of this study an IT Adoption Strategy Improvement Model (ITASIM) has been developed to help SMEs improve their IT adoption strategies. The model focuses on improving SMEs‟ AC and injecting these alongside the elements of a good strategy in the SMEs‟ IT adoption process. Furthermore, in order to help in the effective implementation of ITASIM, implementation guidelines have been developed

Effects of use of online registration system on user satisfaction at the institutions of higher learning in developing economies: A case of University of Eastern Africa

Whereas a number of institutions of higher learning have embraced Information Systems (IS), many of such institutions in developing countries are still grappling with heavy manual processes and majority of these services do not effectively meet the intended purposes. Moreover, the adopted IS by such institutions in developing countries more often have failed to effectively meet the unique individual needs of these institutions. The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of use and application of Online Registration System on user satisfaction at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton in Kenya. A total of 289 respondents out of 1047 were sampled. A two stage sampling method was used whereby stage one involved stratified sampling in which case respondents were stratified into students and lecturers at stage two, simple random sampling method was used to ensure that each eligible member in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. The findings from this study revealed that even though most users were satisfied with the services offered by Online Registration System, a deeper consideration of the dimensions of quality services needed to be improved and that involves support staff training, user communication and provision of prompt services

Quality assessment of information systems in SMEs: A study of Eldoret town, Kenya

The use of Information Systems (IS) of acceptable quality has been viewed to be vital for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations. Many SMEs in developing countries are beginning to embrace the use of IS to help improve their competitiveness. This venture, however, has not yielded the much anticipated benefits for many of these SMEs. For this reason, a number SMEs in developing countries have ended up dissatisfied with their IS investments. A considerable percentage IS solutions used within the SMEs in developing countries are inefficient and ineffective in helping meet the unique needs of the SMEs. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study into the quality of IS used within SMEs in Eldoret town, situated in Kenya. The study employs a qualitative research methodology with multiple case studies of seven SMEs. The results of the study indicate that the SMEs that participated in the study use IS solutions that were of unacceptable quality. The study further identifies factors that are responsible for this poor quality of IS and recommends actions that can be taken to improve the quality of IS within the SMEs

2019 IEEE Africon

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that affect the security behavior of Kenyan UniversityStudents. Using Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and Theory and Planned Behavior (TPB) as the theoretical base, data was collected from 125 Kenyan university students through an online survey. Data Analysis was carried out using structural equational modeling (SEM) in SmartPLS 3.2. The analysis showed that among PMT constructs, only self-efficacy played a significant role towards intention to take security measures, whereas, the attitude was the only construct TPB which had a meaningful relation with behavioral intention. Lastly, out of three constructs depicting social influence, only social support had a significant relationship with the behavioral intention. Constructs such as perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, response cost, response efficacy, subjective and descriptive norms did not show a significant relationship with the security intention of the students.  </p

Impact of ICT used within SMEs in Eldoret, Kenya.

A number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries are slowly but steadily beginning to embrace the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). With such proliferation it is critical that the much anticipated positive impacts from such investments are realized. This has, however, not been true for many SMEs in developing countries, largely because a number of ICT solutions used within the SMEs do not adequately address their unique needs. As a result, many have ended up frustrated with their ICT investments. Our objective in this study was to build a snapshot on the impact of ICT used in SMEs in Eldoret, Kenya. Findings from this study reveal low positive impact of ICT on the SMEs. In the study, we identify factors that are responsible for the low impact of ICT on the SMEs and recommend actions that can be taken to ensure the adopted ICT brings positive change to the SMEs. Impact of ICT used within SMEs in Eldoret, Kenya - ResearchGate. Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/272795296_Impact_of_ICT_used_within_SMEs_in_Eldoret_Kenya [accessed Oct 14, 2015]

Absorptive Capacity and Information Technology Adoption Strategies: A Study of SMEs in Kenya

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries continue to be challenged by their information technology (IT) adoption process, which is often characterized by a number of deficiencies. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of absorptive capacity (AC) in SMEs’ performance, as well as establish the correlation between SMEs’ AC and their IT adoption process. The findings of this study, obtained by measuring different dimensions of AC using Jimenez-Barrionuevo, Garcia-Morales, and Molina’s scale of 18 items, suggest that AC plays a critical role in the performance of SMEs in Kenya and that SMEs with strong AC employed the use of more superior IT adoption processes than did their counterparts with low levels of AC. The researchers submit that, if exploited, AC has the potential to improve the IT adoption strategies of SMEs in Kenya and those of other developing countries that operate within similar environments