Revisiting an information infrastructure for development: exploring the cost of information in Pacific Island development

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been associated with development programmes for many decades. A theme of Lamberton\u27s commentary on such initiatives focuses on the lack of attention given to information as a key factor in the development process. His writing reiterated a number of arguments that he saw as being fundamental to the application of an information perspective to development issues. With a focus on agricultural development policy in the Pacific region, the paper uses a number of propositions that are suggested by Lamberton to analyse contemporary development initiatives in Pacific Island agriculture. These propositions focus attention on information costs that can influence the transfer of information and development of knowledge. Document analysis of selected published sources from a Pacific Island development programme are reviewed to illustrate the significance of information costs for development processes. The paper addresses the contention between traditional authority and knowledge and its significance for development

The Investigation of E-Marketplace Adoption by Small Medium Enterprises Using Individual-Technology- Organization-Environment (ITOE) Framework: A Case Study in Yogyakarta Province Indonesia

Background: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia have been encouraged by the Indonesian government to adopt e-marketplace platforms. However, the rate of e-marketplace adoption is shown to be low. In an effort to address the underlying issues this paper reports on the application of a modified form of the Technology-Environment-Organization framework that includes attributes of individual SME owner-managers. The application of the Individual- Technology-Organization-Environment (ITOE) framework is considered necessary given the overwhelming number of micro-SMEs that have one owner-manager and employ less than ten employees. The study takes a case study approach by studying e-marketplace adoption of SMEs in the province of Yogyakarta, a major city of Indonesia. Method: Using a survey instrument, data were collected using randomized sampling from SMEs in Yogyakarta and analyzed using the partial least squares method. Results: The results confirm the validity of the ITOE framework to this study context. The results also indicate that the Individual construct positively affects the organization construct in predicting e-marketplace adoption. The suitability of the ITOE framework for further application to other locations in Indonesia when investigating e-marketplace adoption by SMEs is validated. Conclusion: This study validates use of the ITOE framework in investigating e- marketplace adoption by SMEs in Indonesia. The ITOE framework can be operationalized for e-marketplace adoption, particularly when the research context has relevant factors to the individual context namely, where a predominance of micro-SMEs exists. Future research is to conduct a full-scale study of e- marketplace adoption in Indonesia

Community technology centres: A proposed framework for sustainability

The effectiveness of Community Technology Centres (CTCs) in meeting many of the challenges presented by the digital divide invites a closer scrutiny of factors that contribute to their sustainability. The success of CTCs appears to be related to the way in which these initiatives are able to respond to the multifaceted nature of the digital divide problem. However, more systematic approaches are required to enable the identification of common factors that contribute to sustainability in different contexts. The paper responds to this challenge by initially reviewing recent contributions on the digital divide debate. From a more refined understanding of what constitutes the digital divide the paper extends Kling\u27s [6] two-part portrayal of the digital divide into a framework that captures both technical and social factors that contribute to sustainability of CTCs. The purpose of this proposed framework is to enable further research into the sustainability of CTCs for indigenous people of Australi

In want of information: a case study of engineers in the South Pacific

This paper is primarily concerned with information networks and their significance to the development of technological knowledge in Pacific Island engineers. Essentially, the paper addresses a research agenda outlined by Cooper, who argues that studies of innovation in industrialised countries have relevance to technological capability development in developing countries. More specifically, the paper picks up on the theme of \u27technological knowledge development as a communication process\u27 where studies reveal the contribution that communication linkages within and between organisations make towards the development of this form of knowledge. Using Macdonald\u27s \u27information perspective\u27 as an analytical tool, the paper identifies a number of organisational-related factors which constrain the access that these engineers have to problem-solving information. The paper argues that the organisation, and the social milieu in which it interacts, is influential in determining access to problem-solving information. This analysis provides support for Cooper\u27s arguments and points to a broader set of challenges than is often accepted in development commentaries: that is, of information being widely available and easy to transport by communication technologies

Book Review - Internet success: a study of open-source software commons, by Charles M. Schweik and Robert C. English

In a historical sense, open source software (OSS) development is a relatively new activity that generates interest from software developers and students of innovation alike. The text by Charles M. Schweik and Robert C. English, titled Internet Success: A Study of Open-Source Software Commons and published by MIT Press, is therefore timely because it seeks to bring understanding developed through rigorous research to a topic dominated by, as one reviewer puts it, \u27hacker folklore\u27 (book sleeve). The reason why the authors have chosen to focus on success is perhaps obvious to those seeking to better manage OSS projects. However, the emphasis on success will act as a dog whistle to those who see failure as perhaps just as instructive to the understanding of OSS

Cloud Computing and E-commerce Adoption in Indonesia: Mind the Gaps

This study examines the e-commerce road map of Indonesia with its implementation and project plan to promote national development in Indonesia. The objective is to compare the eight aspects of the road map to academic literature that focuses on rural development strategy from the perspective of cloud computing and e-commerce adoption. The paper identifies areas of similarity and gaps in the road map to enable future research to best promote rural area development in Indonesia and reduce the digital divide

Review of cybersecurity frameworks: context and shared concepts

In an effort to develop strong cyber resilience, international organisations, academic institutions, corporations and countries have been actively working to develop cybersecurity frameworks (CSFs). Such efforts emphasize various perspectives depending on the organisation\u27s intention, while their contents involve the same concept. The aim of this paper is to incorporate the many varied perspectives on CSFs and gather them into a concise view by contrasting different intentions and distilling shared concepts. To do so, this study uses the document analysis method alongside two cycles of coding (descriptive coding and pattern coding) to excerpt 12 extant CSFs. The various intentions can be cascaded with respect to four areas: 1) the promoted action, 2) the driver, 3) the framework milieu and 4) the audience. The frameworks can also be examined according to three common concepts: 1) shared actions, 2) cyber pillars and 3) the framework life cycle. A total of seven shared actions are distilled from the frameworks, while the human, organisational, infrastructure, technology and law and regulation pillar are the most frequently discussed excerpts from the CSFs. Moreover, there are three processes for securing cyberspace: profiling, delivering and assuring. The shared concepts presented in this paper may also be useful for developing a general model of a CSF

Government ICT Purchasing and Accessibility

The topic of Government ICT purchasing may seem far removed from the interests of people with disabilities and, as a consequence, its significance as a vehicle for equality for people with disabilities is not widely recognised. The connection between Government ICT purchasing and equality hinges on the benefits that the widespread availability of affordable and accessible information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide to people with disabilities. Accessible ICTs are defined in this paper as: information and communications technologies (ICTs) that enable people with disabilities to use functions provided by computer hardware and software on an equal basis with others (EU, 2011a). In general, increasing the availability of accessible ICTs is considered a positive step in removing barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating equitably in society (Waddell, 2009). Government purchasing, usually called public procurement, refers to the financial processes that governments engage in to purchase goods and services, mainly from the private sector, to enable it to carry out its various functions (McCrudden, 2007, pp. 2-3). The primary aim for including accessibility criteria in ICT public procurement is to provide more equitable access to ICT office equipment such as phones and computer systems for public servants with disabilities. However, it can have flow-on effects for increased ICT accessibility to the broader community. For the most part, the purchase of accessible ICT products is still not an explicit requirement for government instrumentalities at the federal or state level in Australia. As a consequence, there is a clear need for a consumer-oriented plan to work with governments to ensure that accessibility requirements in ICT government purchasing is placed firmly on the agenda. The paper reports on a study conducted by the authors that explores the connection between public procurement of accessible ICTs and improving outcomes for people with disabilities. By investigating the variety of approaches to ICT accessibility throughout the OECD the report makes recommendations that are designed to increase the availability of accessible ICTs in Australia through public procurement. In addition to the final report, an Advocacy Toolkit was provided for use by disability organisations in their advocacy work

Accessible communications: tapping the potential in public ICT procurement policy

Australia has a history of early adoption for all things digital. While information and communications technologies continue to advance in ever-shortening development cycles, advances in technologies that are usable and accessible by people with disabilities struggle to keep up. This University of Wollongong research project, funded by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), explores how government procurement policy can have positive implications for many consumers with disability; providing greater access to the digital economy of the 21st Century. ACCAN is pleased to be associated with this research; it is an area that our members identified early on as being key in the improvement of access and participation in technology for Australians with disability. In 2009, ACCAN\u27s Gov 2.0 Roundtable highlighted public procurement of accessible ICT as being the cornerstone of social inclusion in the Government\u27s Gov 2.0 strategy. This research project provides part of the evidence base that has been lacking in the policy arena; delivering the foundation and resource for strategic change in public procurement across all levels of government. While much of the research utilises international examples of government best practice, there is no better demonstration of the power the public purse wields in its market influence than our own Government\u27s provision of the \u27talking\u27 set-top box. As Australia began switching from analog to digital only television in 2010, many Australians who are blind or vision-impaired were no longer able to independently operate their television. On-screen menus, program guides and increasing numbers of channels require visual navigation. The solution to this inaccessibility is digital televisions or digital set-top boxes with audio-enabled navigation. While \u27talking\u27 set-top boxes were available in overseas markets, Australian manufacturers were reluctant to introduce these products in Australia. In a market without usable and accessible digital set-top boxes, a significant number of Australians were at risk of being left without access to our foremost medium for news, information and entertainment as we switched to digital broadcasting. The Australian Government\u27s Digital Switchover Taskforce oversees the transition from analog to digital broadcasting. To ensure that vulnerable households have the assistance they need, the Household Assistance Scheme (HAS) provides a range of services including set-top boxes to eligible households. In order to provide equity of access to all eligible households the HAS, in 2011, commissioned a trial of \u27talking\u27 set-top boxes for eligible Australians who are blind or vision-impaired. The HAS trial required Australian manufacturers to provide these talking set-top boxes as part of their contract. As a result of the trial\u27s success all eligible HAS participants who are blind or vision-impaired will receive these fully accessible \u27talking\u27 set-top boxes. The roll-on effect of this Government funded initiative is that two Australian manufacturers of digital set-top boxes now offer commercially available \u27talking\u27 set-top boxes in the wider Australian market. This case study re-emphasises the importance of this research report and related Advocacy Toolkit. Both identify the vital role public procurement of accessible ICT can play in the expanding availability of accessible devices. Accessible ICT increases employment opportunities

The architecture of an effective software application for managing enterprise projects

This paper presents the architecture of an effective software application for managing enterprise projects. Viewing the execution of an enterprise project as a highly complex system in which many delicate trade-offs among completion time, cost, safety, and quality are required, the architecture has been designed based on the fact that any action in one part of such a project can highly impact its other parts. Highlighting the complexity of the system, and the way computational intelligence should be employed in making these trade-offs are the base of the presented architecture. The architecture is also based on the fact that developing a software application for appropriate managing of such trade-offs is not a trivial task, and a robust application for this purpose should be involved with an array of sophisticated optimization techniques. A multi-agent system (MAS), as a software application composed of multiple interacting modules, has been used as the main component of architecture. In this multi-agent system, modules interact with environment on-line, and resolve various resource conflicts which are complex and hard-to-resolve on daily basis. Based on the proposed architecture, the paper also provides a template software application in which an array of optimization techniques show how the necessary trade-offs can be made. The template is the result of the integration of several highly sophisticated recent procedures for single and multimode resource-constrained projects scheduling problems