Cloud Computing Adoption in the South African Public Sector

Scholars have touted a variety of benefits for adopting cloud computing solutions in the public sector. However, the  adoption of cloud computing has been low in the South African (SA) government context. This study investigates the factors influencing cloud computing adoption within the SA public sector. The study adopted a case study approach. The research was informed by the Technological Organisational Environmental (TOE) and the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theoretical frameworks to understand the trajectory of cloud computing adoption. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with respondents from government departments. Additionally, secondary data from government Information Technology (IT) policies and strategic documents was analysed. The results highlighted that the enablers that are critical for cloud adoption include cloud computing policy, skills, IT infrastructure and financial support. The barriers that are hindering cloud adoption are related to security risks, network connection, cloud computing policy, costs and budget availability, among others. The identified benefits that may be realised through cloud adoption include enhanced service improvement, cost savings, high system availability, green IT, centralised and shared services and accessibility. The study proposes several guiding principles for cloud computing adoption in the public sector

Exploring the use of mobile phones for public participation in the Buffalo City metropolitan municipality

This study investigated the factors that influence the intention of citizens to use their mobile phones to increase their participation in local government. It examined whether gender and age can be used to moderate the effect of these factors. The research was conducted in Buffalo City, a municipality in South Africa. The research used a questionnaire survey to collect quantitative data and semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data. Data was collected from people aged between 18 and 55 who have no access to fixed-line Internet at home but are instead primarily accessing the Internet via their mobile phones. The study found that the acceptance of mobile phones as a means for public participation is largely a matter of designing mobile participation solutions that support and enhance the performance of citizens. Citizens are fairly accustomed to mobile technology, and this increases the likelihood that they would willingly adopt mobile participation solutions if they offer tangible gains when compared to current methods. Older citizens would require support in familiarizing with the new technology, while all citizens place the availability of reliable organizational and technical infrastructure as an important predictor of their intention to use. The influence of friends and family members was an important factor in citizens’ intention to use. Gender did not have any significant effects on the factors that affect intention to use. Age was a significant moderator with younger citizens requiring quick and convenient ways to interact with government while older people looked for more efficient ways of reaching government which should in turn lead to improved quality in services delivered.http://online.agris.czam2017Informatic

Cloud computing adoption in the South African public sector

Scholars have touted a variety of benefits for adopting cloud computing solutions in the public sector. However, the adoption of cloud computing has been low in the South African (SA) government context. This study investigates the factors influencing cloud computing adoption within the SA public sector. The study adopted a case study approach. The research was informed by the Technological Organisational Environmental (TOE) and the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theoretical frameworks to understand the trajectory of cloud computing adoption. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with respondents from government departments. Additionally, secondary data from government Information Technology (IT) policies and strategic documents was analysed. The results highlighted that the enablers that are critical for cloud adoption include cloud computing policy, skills, IT infrastructure and financial support. The barriers that are hindering cloud adoption are related to security risks, network connection, cloud computing policy, costs and budget availability, among others. The identified benefits that may be realised through cloud adoption include enhanced service improvement, cost savings, high system availability, green IT, centralised and shared services and accessibility. The study proposes several guiding principles for cloud computing adoption in the public sector.http://section.iaesonline.com/index.php/IJEEIInformaticsSDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructur

Digital Re-imagination Colloquium 2018: Preparing South Africa for a Digital Future through e-Skills

The theme of the 2018 colloquium, "Digital Re-imagination: Preparing South Africa for a Digital Future through e-Skills" sought to establish an innovative research network through providing a platform for government, academia, industry, education and civil society to share research, data and trends that will contribute to refining the mandate to develop the necessary e-skills capacity of South Africa With the dawn of every new age, the nature of work and our relationships change. The impact of these changes to the digital economy affect entire systems of production, management, and governance. For example, government is currently designed as linear and mechanistic yet the digital economy is made up of adaptive systems. William Gibson has famously been quoted for the phrase: "The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed." Given the extant amount of data available today, it is now possible to predict (within some margins of error) how people will behave in certain situations. Data is increasingly becoming better structured and easy to access. The question is, are we ready for the future? Are we ready to harness the opportunities that the digital economy has brought? Can the digital economy make a better South Africa for all? Technology today is able to perform exponentially better than we can; how then can we create new industries and new forms of governance? It is critical to re-think how systems are being implemented. Creativity and innovation is big business in the digital economy. Creativity and innovation moves contributions to beyond the individual and the group - to societal, disciplinary, national and global level. The prevalent economic paradigm of a winner who takes it all means that the lower income earners are increasingly more dissatisfied. One of the symptoms of any illness is pain. Pain can be seen in our society in the form of unemployment, poverty and the dissatisfaction with the status quo. The challenges in our society cry out for change - a new way of thinking about employment, wealth creation and governance. What are the real opportunities that the digital economy presents to the people of South Africa? Real opportunities are those which are not only available substantively, but are also achievable by the people for who they are created. The opportunities presented by the digital economy can only become real if we e-skill people to take advantage of those opportunities. Countries in the East have been able to adapt technologies without giving up the cultural values they hold dear. While the challenges we face in South Africa may be seen as a problem, they also present an opportunity to make a difference with Digital Skills. It is no longer enough to have a skill; technology, talent and insight are becoming critical as well. The colloquium received 13 submissions. These submissions include four full papers, one concept note and eight abstracts. The submissions were all blind peer reviewed by at least two reviewers. None of the authors nor editors were involved in reviewing their own submissions.ICT4D Flagship, University of South Africa National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA)School of Computin

Financial inclusion of the elderly : exploring the role of mobile banking adoption

The extant literature highlights that mobile banking offers various benefits for consumers. However, there is only a limited number of studies that investigate mobile banking adoption by the elderly. This study investigates the factors influencing the adoption of mobile banking by the elderly in a developing country context. The authors explore the enablers, barriers and perceptions of the elderly towards mobile banking adoption. Data were collected through interviews and focus group sessions with respondents from KwaZulu Natal Province in South Africa. The study relies on the Actor-Network Theory as a lens through which to understand the interrelated factors that influence the elderly’s perception and adoption of mobile banking. The results reveal a low adoption of mobile banking by the elderly. In addition, it was evident that the barriers that influence the adoption of mobile banking by the elderly include a lack of information and understanding, security and trust issues, demographic factors, language, the complexity of mobile banking applications, and resistance to change. The identified important enablers towards the adoption of mobile banking include convenience, unlimited access, cost-effectiveness. The study proposes a mobile banking adoption model for the elderly and highlights the interrelated technical and non-technical factors influencing mobile banking adoption. Additionally, it offers design guiding principles aligned to the elderly’s needs and perceptions of mobile banking.https://aip.vse.czpm2021Informatic

Enabling social sustainability of e-participation through mobile technology

The social sustainability of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) projects such as e-government in developing nations remains a vexing issue. Particularly pertinent to the concept of e-government is that of electronic participation (e-participation) of citizens in services offered over an e-government platform, yet studies claim that such initiatives exacerbate the social exclusion problem. Globally, and specifically in Africa, the ineffective participation of citizens is marked by waning confidence in service delivery capabilities of political institutions, yet e-government is considered as one of the reform instrument for the attainment of good governance. Governments and pressure groups in many countries are realizing that these trends are problematic and are seeking to broaden and deepen citizen participation in governance, notably through the use of mobile technologies that continues to play a vital role in the trajectory of ICT development in Africa. This study advances the prominent role that mobile technology will play in anchoring e-participation strategies and policies to improve the social sustainability of ICT4D projects geared toward improving governance. The paper presents the results of cluster analysis of a survey aimed at assessing the accessibility, attitudes and the skills necessary for embedding mobile technology as part of an e-participation strategy.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/titd202016-10-31hb2016Informatic

Data science education – a scoping review

AIM/PURPOSE : This study aimed to evaluate the extant research on data science education (DSE) to identify the existing gaps, opportunities, and challenges, and make recommendations for current and future DSE. BACKGROUND : There has been an increase in the number of data science programs especially because of the increased appreciation of data as a multidisciplinary strategic re-source. This has resulted in a greater need for skills in data science to extract meaningful insights from data. However, the data science programs are not enough to meet the demand for data science skills. While there is growth in data science programs, they appear more as a rebranding of existing engineering, computer science, mathematics, and statistics programs. METHODOLOGY : A scoping review was adopted for the period 2010–2021 using six scholarly multidisciplinary databases: Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and the AIS Basket of eight journals. The study was narrowed down to 91 research articles and adopted a classification coding framework and correlation analysis for analysis. CONTRIBUTION : We theoretically contribute to the growing body of knowledge about the need to scale up data science through multidisciplinary pedagogies and disciplines as the demand grows. This paves the way for future research to understand which programs can provide current and future data scientists the skills and competencies relevant to societal needs. FINDINGS : The key results revealed the limited emphasis on DSE, especially in non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines. In addition, the results identified the need to find a suitable pedagogy or a set of pedagogies existing framework to guide the design and development of DSE at various education levels, leading to sometimes inadequate programs. The study also noted the importance of various stakeholders who can contribute towards DSE and thus create opportunities in the DSE ecosystem. Most of the research studies reviewed were case studies that presented more STEM programs as compared to non-STEM. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS : We recommend CRoss Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) as a framework to adopt collaborative pedagogies to teach data science. This research implies that it is important for academia, policymakers, and data science content developers to work closely with organizations to understand their needs. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESEARCHERS : We recommend future research into programs that can provide current and future data scientists the skills and competencies relevant to societal needs and how interdisciplinarity within these programs can be integrated. IMPACT ON SOCIETY : Data science expertise is essential for tackling societal issues and generating beneficial effects. The main problem is that data is diverse and always changing, necessitating ongoing (up)skilling. Academic institutions must therefore stay current with new advances, changing data, and organizational requirements. Industry experts might share views based on their practical knowledge. The DSE ecosystem can be shaped by collaborating with numerous stakeholders and being aware of each stakeholder’s function in order to advance data science inter-nationally. FUTURE RESEARCH : The study found that there are a number of research opportunities that can be explored to improve the implementation of DSE, for instance, how can CRISP-DM be integrated into collaborative pedagogies to provide a fully comprehensive data science curriculum?https://www.informingscience.org/Journals/JITEResearch/Overviewam2024InformaticsSDG-04:Quality Educatio

Transdisciplinary teaching practices for data science education : a comprehensive framework for integrating disciplines

Teaching data science programmes poses challenges for instructors due to the transdisciplinarity of the field and the diverse backgrounds and skill levels of students. Effective data science education requires a comprehensive approach that incorporates theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and industry relevance. However, it is difficult to find appropriate teaching strategies and tools that successfully integrate all these elements into the classroom. Consequently, there is a need to identify and develop effective pedagogical methods, instructional resources, and technological solutions that enable instructors to deliver well-rounded data science education that caters to the diverse needs of students and prepares them for real-world data-driven challenges. Knowing which technology is appropriate to use in conjunction with a particular teaching pedagogy to deliver a particular piece of learning material to diverse students is crucial. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how the TPACK (technological pedagogical content knowledge) influences data science teaching practices. To achieve this, the study surveyed 26 data science instructors to assess their confidence in the seven TPACK constructs. The findings of the study showed a low representation of women in data science education. The findings also showed a balanced knowledge between pedagogy and technological content, indicating that instructors can contribute to a comprehensive and engaging learning environment that supports student success in data science education. Despite this positive finding being established, it was not clear which technological teaching and learning tools instructors are familiar with. To this end, future studies are recommended in this area. The results further showed that model evaluation is not taught at undergraduate level. Therefore, the study recommends continuous professional development for data science instructors to effectively contribute towards training current and future data scientists. This is necessary since technologies, data, and data science tools and techniques evolve. Furthermore, the study recommends research be conducted on the type of data science framework required to guide instructors in terms of curriculum design, pedagogies, and technological tools. Research that informs policy is also necessary to support efforts directed at data literacy, especially to support personnel involved in human capacity development in data science. Lastly, within the scope of data science, interdisciplinary collaboration at national and international levels is recommended so that instructors can stay updated with advancements in subject matter, technology, and pedagogy.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/social-sciences-and-humanities-openam2024InformaticsSDG-04:Quality Educatio

Missed opportunities for introducing transformational government : assessing the contentious e-toll project in South Africa

PURPOSE : The purpose of this paper is to trace the trajectory of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, an electronic tolling (e-tolling) programme based in South Africa, to argue for the importance of taking advantage of similar public project opportunities to introduce the concept of Transformational Government (t-government). DESIGN / METHODLOGY / APPROACH : The research uses an interpretive perspective and utilizes actor–network theory (ANT) to identify the roles and interests of the various stakeholders within the project and assess how each stakeholder could have better influenced the project’s sustainability using a t-government approach. FINDINGS : The findings suggest that in the midst of waning global actor interest, and strong local displeasure about specific public projects, public participation offers an ideal opportunity to introduce the notion of t-government, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to transform government for citizen benefits. The research allowed the authors to posit that public participation projects are solid and indispensable avenues for introducing t-government. Part of this claim is hinged on the view that the specific e-toll project carries a visible ICT artefact, which has embodied its own patterns of use characterized by various viewpoints, values, opinions and rhetoric. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : The paper elevates the importance of t-government as a means to bring about practical transformation in government using public projects. The paper suggestshowgovernments can use public participatory approaches to assimilate a new way of working in government. ORIGINALITY / VALUE This paper contributes to research on the emerging discourse on t-government. The paper also highlights the utility of ANT as a tool for understanding the dynamic public sector ICT programmes, their associated complexities and unintended consequences.http://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/tghb2016Informatic

Digital Skills Colloquium 2020: Enhancing Human Capacity for Digital Transformation

The theme for the Digital Skills 2020 Colloquium and Postgraduate Symposium was “Enhancing Human Capacity for Digital Transformation: It is about people”. It is widely accepted that current digital changes that are sweeping through the world are significantly altering the environment in which every organisation, including government, is operating. The scale and scope of the change is what makes all the difference. The way in which organisations respond to these environmental changes will determine their survival. The nature of a digitally transformed organisation cannot be foretold as every organisation will respond according to their local and global environment. There are, however, some uncomfortable realities; manufacturing jobs will not be reinstated, and even if they did, the manufacturing industries are necessarily more capital and not labour intensive (Stiglitz, 2017). Globally, we are experiencing rising unemployment and income inequality as well as increased demand for high skilled labour (Glenn, Florescu & Project, 2019). Accordingly, the Colloquium sought to explore the role played by digital skills in our rapidly transforming realities. The event attracted full academic research papers, case studies, research work that still in progress and practitioner reports and models that portray the NEMISA collaborative ethos involving government, industry and other sectors. Some plenary sessions and guest speakers shared insights on topics such as emerging technologies, blockchain, machine learning, gamification in education, application of 3D printing, upscaling of ICT for development programmes and citizen online safety.School of Computin