Advanced Information And Communication Technologies Research Articles

A conceptual framework to identify spatial implications of new ways of learning in higher education

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the spatial implications of new learning theories and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in higher education.Design/methodology/approach– Based on a review of the literature, a theoretical framework has been developed that visualises the spatial implications of developments in higher education. To further explore spatial configurations that support changes in education, a comparative floor plan analysis was carried out at four Dutch institutes of higher education.Findings– The findings show that the traditional classroom space is progressively being replaced by a variety of learning settings to support contemporary learning activities.Practical implications– The research findings contribute to a better understanding of the alignment of learning space to the evolving needs that come from new ways of learning, supported by advanced ICT, and can be used to support space planning in higher education.Originality/value– This paper builds upon findings from different disciplines: Facilities Management and Corporate Real Estate Management (suitability of floor plans) and Theory of Education (the pedagogical approaches and pedagogical assumptions those floor plans convey).

Information and Communication Technology Development and the Effect on E-Waste Management in India

The rapid growth and the advancement of technology has led to the huge amount of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipments being discarded leading to Waste Electrical, Electronics and Equipment (WEEE). The need for the management of WEEE has come in pretext where the ICT equipment have started getting dumped in most of the offices and the houses. The perception of advancement of the ICT leading to the WEEE can also be utilised as a powerful tool for reduction of WEEE at the source in the WEEE life cycle. Advancement in ICT like miniaturisation, use of environmental friendly materials, etc., can solve to a greater extent of the menace. The reduced waste thus generated needs to be handled and recycled properly by an integrated ICT and technology support. Effective collection and recycling of the WEEE can lead to reduction of WEEE. WEEE legislative rules in India reduce the setup of proper channel of WEEE recycling. An integrated ICT and technology is required for the proper guidelines and spread of awareness to handle the ICT equipments to bring the recycling industry to a sustainable stand. The survey of WEEE data when analysed by QFD shows a requirement of use of the ICT in spreading the awareness in the WEEE segregation and collection, which will be helpful for the stakeholders for proper implementation of the sustainable WEEE business framework and for the spreading of awareness to the people for proper WEEE disposal. In the paper an integrated ICT and technological strategy has been proposed for the WEEE system support sustenance and its remediation.

Integrated ICT System to Increase Physical Activity in Schools: Agent-Oriented Modeling Approach

During the past two decades the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has fundamentally changed the routines and practices of nearly all aspects of life, sometimes, creating undesired side-effects such as decreased physical activity, obesity, overweight and sedentary behaviour for school-age children. In this case teachers and parents often regard ICT systems (“computers”) as a growing danger for adolescents’ health.The authors aim to discover how integration of advanced and appropriate ICT systems can help to increase physical activity in schools. Thus authors complement to one-sided general public opinion and propose specific positive outcomes of integration of effective ICT systems for increased physical activity, improved teaching and learning environment, higher overall quality and accessibility of education and learning motivation. In this research authors take an agent-oriented modelling approach, as opposed to the more commonly used object-oriented view. “Agents” are defined as the humans and man-made components of a system. The specific agent-oriented model is presented at three levels of abstraction corresponding to a motivation layer, a design layer, and an implementation layer. The research paper also examines the outcomes and evidence of practical implementation of the proposed agent-oriented model during an experiment conducted in the Northeast Latgale region in Latvia from 2012 until 2014.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT): Components, Dimensions, and its Correlates

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has been identified as one of the crucial factors that affect teaching effectiveness and student learning worldwide. UNESCO, many international organizations, and many governments emphasized the importance of ICT and try to incorporate ICT into education systems. This study examined self-assessed computer competency in thirteen ICT areas from two samples, e.g., the United States and Mexico. Reliability tests were conducted, and rank analysis was done among them. By using factor analysis, these thirteen areas were grouped into three categories: ICT ICT skills; and skills and attitudes towards ICT. Subjects showed the highest scores in basic ICT skills, which include knowledge of computer systems, use of the operating system, search internet and communication and networking. The multimedia skills and attitudes towards ICT demonstrated the second highest scores. Advanced ICT skills that include image processing, use of database, technological platforms, and web 2.0 tools was found to have the lowest competency scores among subjects. Multivariate analysis was also conducted and found that age and gender are two significant factors to predict ICT competency, and age was found to have a non-linear relationship on advanced ICT skills.

Structural Source of the Trap of ICT Advancement – Lessons from World ICT Top Leaders

In light of the significant consequence of the trap of dramatic advancement of information and communication technology (ICT) in the global economy, both nations and firms that have been compelling their productivity decline. This resulted in great stagnation of ICT advanced economies and therefore its structural sources were analyzed. Based on an empirical analysis tracing, the trend in marginal productivity of ICT and its subsequent prices among the top ICT leaders in the world over the last two decades correlating with the effects of ICT, two faces of ICT advancement were identified. On one side, advancement of ICT contributes to its prices increase by new functionality development, its dramatic advancement particularly centered by internet results in the decline of its prices through freebies, easy copying, and standardization. It was demonstrated that the success of ICT leaders could largely be attributed to the way in which the two faces of ICT advancement were managed by maximizing the positive face of ICT advancement. This is done by means of the effective utilization of external resources in innovation while minimizing the negative face by outsourcing price decreasing factors. All of the aforementioned points can be invaluable lessons for global sustainability in both ICT advanced and growing economies in the midst of the advancement of ICT. The significance of innovation-consumption co-emergence for harnessing the vigor of counterparts is discussed.

Planning for sustainable development in the emerging information societies

Purpose – This research work aims to investigate the recent status of the information and communication technology (ICT) services industry in Iran. It proposes a systemic applicable approach at policymaking level and appropriate strategic planning steps to enlighten developing countries toward achieving their target objectives of an information society. Design/methodology/approach – Largely based on existing literature and usage statistics in ICT services, global technology trends and results from a survey to obtain consistent and up-to-date information about current issues of ICT services in the public and private sectors in Iran. Findings – This study elaborates on all issues, points and best practices relevant to the ICT services industry in Iran which is addressed by recommending some documented policies. Research limitations/implications – Majority of the experts who attended the workshop and responded to the questionnaire were service consumers rather than service providers. Practical implications – This paper discusses some of the implications for the development of this ICT services strategy and provides policy recommendations. Social implications – To enhance the information society with the most advanced ICT services for accelerating human development. Originality/value – This study provides a government refining process policy to address the common gaps in the ICT services industry in these developing countries and emphasizes a formidable policy foundation before implementing and monitoring of the Flagship ICT projects.

장애인 웹 접근성 향상방안 연구

최신 정보통신기술의 발달에 힘입어 우리의 삶은 매우 빠르게 변하고 있으며 삶 자체의 스타일도 크게 영향을 받고 있다. 현대 지식정보화 사회에서 장애인들도 진보한 정보통신기술의 혜택을 누릴 수 있는 권리가 있다. 하지만, 정보격차라는 장벽이 존재하여 장애인들이 정보통신기술로 세상과 소통하는 데 어려움이 있다. 이러한 관점에서, 정보격차를 줄여서 장애인들로 하여금 정보통신기술의 혜택을 누릴 수 있도록 해야 한다. 최근에 장애인과 비장애인 사이에 정보격차를 줄이기 위한 다양한 연구가 진행되고 있다. 정보격차를 줄이기 위한 다양한 시도들 중에서, 웹 접근성의 향상이 가장 큰 관심사이다. 이것은 웹이 다양한 정보통신기술 도구들 중에서 아직까지 가장 널리 쓰이는 대표적인 도구이기 때문이다. 본 논문의 목적은 장애인들을 위한 웹 접근성 향상을 위한 실제적인 가이드라인을 제안하는 것이다. 본 논문에서 제안하는 개선방안은 기존의 웹 접근성 향상 방안에 기초를 두고 있으며 장애인들에 더 적합하게 수정하고 개선한 방안들이다. 본 논문에서 제안하는 웹 접근성 향상방안은 다음과 같은 원리를 가지고 있다. 첫째, 입력을 확인한 후 전송하게 한다. 둘째, 즉각적인 응답요구를 금지한다. 셋째, 필요하면 내용을 저장하거나 기록할 수 있어야 한다. 넷째, 물리적인 움직임을 최소화한다. 다섯째, 다양한 상호작용 기능을 제공한다. Owing to recent advanced techniques in information and communication technology(ICT), our daily life has been changing very quickly and our life style has also been affected greatly. In the current knowledge and information society, the disabled can have a right to enjoy benefits of advanced ICT technologies. However, there is a barrier called digital divide so that the disabled have some difficulties to communicate to the world with ICT technologies. In this sense, our job is to close digital divide and let the disabled enjoy benefits of ICT technologies. Recently there have been some research works to close digital divide between the disabled and the non-disabled. Among various attempts to close digital divide, improving web accessibility for the disabled is the biggest concern since web is a still representative tool among ICT tools. The purpose of this paper is to propose some practical guidelines for improving web accessibility for the disabled. The proposed improvement guidelines are developed based on the existing web accessibility guidelines and are upgraded for more adaptable to the disabled. Our principles are based on the following philosophy. First, any input transmission must be more confirmed. Second, prevent any instant request. Third, allow the disabled to record or store the contents if necessary. Fourth, reduce physical movement for the disabled. Fifth, provide more interaction tools for the disabled.

Towards a structured approach for evaluating the ICT contribution to development

Undoubtedly Information and communication Technologies (ICT) contribute to development; however there is a need to know how and the extent to which development occurs. Moreover the evaluation of the ICT contribution to development has been challenged from theoretical, ethical and methodological angles. This paper addresses some of these challenges by proposing a model that enables systematic evaluation of the ICT contribution to development. The proposed model is conceptually motivated by Amartya Sen’s capability approach that defines development as freedom. Development is a process that involves the provision of opportunities (capabilities) from an ICT resource, as well as actually exploiting the opportunities to realize development benefits. The conversion of resources to opportunities and opportunities to development benefits is facilitated or inhibited by various contextual factors. Development from the capability perspective is both peoplecentered and multidimensional. This requires consideration of both instrumental effectiveness and intrinsic importance. Consequently five evaluation dimensions concerning social and economic development are proposed; namely research and education opportunities, healthcare, economic facilities, political freedoms and psychological wellbeing. ICT4D evaluation indicators are suggested for each dimension and a Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) structured evaluation process is proposed to guide the evaluation. The application of a structured evaluation approach is illustrated through the example of an online learning environment at a University in a developing country. Future research is underway to further apply and validate the model in practice.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/icter.v7i1.7152International Journal on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), 2013;v.7(1); p.1-15

A Study on Development of Quality Standards of Educational Smart Contents

With advances in smart and ICT(information and communication technology) technologies, our life style has been changing dramatically. Now everybody can enjoy the benefits of such technologies in every aspect of his/her daily life. Currently more and more people are trying to have smart devices such as smart phones and tablet PCs so that smart devices become the bare necessities. New smart technologies have created a new concept called smart learning in education area. As educational smart contents become popular, we need quality standards for the contents. Those standards are essential for evaluating the smart contents and suggesting guidance for future smart contents production. Although there are some standards for the existing e-learning environments, to our best knowledge, there are no standards for educational smart contents in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to develop quality standards for educational smart contents. The proposed quality standards are based on the existing quality standards in e-learning environments and include some characteristics of smart learning. For development of quality standards, wide experts group from academy and industry are selected and surveyed. Their responses are analyzed based on thorough statistical analysis so that final quality standards for educational smart contents are developed.

Institutional Sources of Resilience in Global ICT Leaders - Harness the Vigor of Emerging Power

In light of the significant impacts on global economy both nations and firms witnessed a dramatic advancement of information and communication technology (ICT). There was particularly bi-polarization between ICT advanced and growing economies compelling a vicious cycle between ICT advancement and its productivity decline in these economies. The institutional sources of resilience were analyzed. On the basis of an empirical analysis comparing technopreneurial performance in world top 500 ICT firms by market value, sales and profit over the last decade, resilient firms maintaining world top 100 position by all three values over the whole period were identified. Institutional sources enabling resilient firms maintain leading position can largely be attributed to co-evolutionary acclimatization ability, which harnesses the vigor of emerging power of counterparts both in home countries and in advanced countries as well as growing economies in a co-evolutional way. Such ability maximizes synergy between efficiency and resilience in their technopreneurial management. Contrasting business model in global ICT firms with and without resilience structure suggests the sources of emerging trap due to ICT advancement and endorsed the significance of co-evolutionary acclimatization. This suggests the significance of institutional co-evolution between ICT advanced and growing economies that enables both economies to harness the vigor of partners for global sustainability.

Information and communication technologies as drivers of growth: experience from selected small-scale businesses in rural southwest Nigeria

The pervasiveness of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) from cell phones to low cost videos, digital cameras, television, internet and laptops to mention just a few has transformed the lives of many especially the rural folks. Recent advances in ICTs have resulted in expanding existing jobs and creating new opportunities some of which were unimaginable only a few decades ago. The result has been significant worldwide and especially in developing countries like Nigeria where over three-quarter of her inhabitants rely on small-scale non-farm businesses and agriculture as means of livelihood. ICTs have therefore become an indispensable tool in fighting poverty and actualizing pro-poor growth. The result presented here relied on data collected from a random sample of 350 small-scale business owners in Southwest Nigeria. Analysis of respondents� socioeconomic characteristics revealed average age to be 44 years. Respondents� distribution by educational status showed that only about one-quarter were educated up to tertiary level with about 43% having no formal education. Occupational distribution of respondents showed farming as the highest employer of labour providing livelihood for over 67% of those interviewed. Analysis of available ICTs facilities revealed mobile phones, internet, television, radio, video cameras, digital cameras and cam-coders as the most widely used. Results further indicated cost reduction, ease of marketing and a quantum leap in the incomes of small-scale business owners as outcomes of ICTs penetration in the study area. Ranking of livelihood activities showed that small-scale businesses like trading, carpentry, brick-laying, barbing/hair-dressing, okada riding, carhiring, video clubbing, and vulcanizing as the most patronized. It is therefore suggested that effort should be intensified at building capacity of respondents through education. This is because education enhances adoption of new technologies and earning potentials of people. Improvement in the existing state of infrastructures should be made a policy priority to enhance accessibility to and affordability of ICTs.

ICT and work–family balance: context of Indian software services

While advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have diminished the constraint of location, created new outsourced models and show a promise of employee flexibility, it is not very clear how implementation of ICT affects the work–family balance for employees working in these new industries. In this conceptual paper, we explore the effect of ICT on employees in the context of the software services industry in India. We unpack the role of characteristics of service interaction in determining whether the use of ICT leads to improved or deterioration in work–family balance by investigating factors such as frequency and duration of interaction, and the temporal and cultural distance between the service provider employees and client. We argue that while the ICT media, geographical and temporal distance may enhance the need for longer customer interaction and work time, employee autonomy can potentially help harness the flexibility of the ICT advances to mitigate the detrimental impact on employee work–family balance and well-being.

Web based Targeted Advertising: A Study based on Patent Information

Over the past two decades, rapid developments in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) have resulted in an increased reach and use of internet by the general public. Building on these advances, a rapid development of e-commerce has taken place which has resulted in the emergence of Internet as an important medium for advertising. Through a variety of technological advances, the Internet has allowed advertisers to address a targeted audience which in general was beyond the reach of traditional media. The Internet thus offers opportunities for advertisers to present advertisements to a captive audience based on various criteria. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) on the other hand, help protect technologies via various means. The advancements made in field of information technology coupled with business methods can be protected by patents.Patent rights prevent others from practicing (making, using or selling) a claimed invention in a particular territory for a limited time during the life of the patent. Patents often are the first and many a times, the only source in which technology is revealed. Thus patents can act as important techno-legal documents, containing various different kinds of information related to technology and/or its advancements. In the present study, patents are used as source of information to understand how advancements in ICTs has influenced business and more particularly how the ICT is being used for internet based targeted advertising.

SMIM–A Cloud-Based Approach for the Digitisation of Smart Meter Installation Processes

A mass smart meter roll-out represents a vast challenge concerning the performing of the corresponding installation processes. Starting from the hypothesis that meter operators would be able to successfully implement a mass smart meter roll-out in Germany under the current conditions, we show that a determined lack of process support by information and communication technology (ICT) indicates that the thesis has to be rejected. In this context, we introduce the Smart Meter Installation Management (SMIM) as a cloud-based approach for improving the capability of smart meter installation processes by use of advanced ICT. The following German- specific results refer to conducted field observations and workshops and will now be presented to the international community. 

Linking Data and Converging Systems for Smarter Urban Services: Two Cases of U-City Service in Korea

To overcome many difficulties in sustaining the satisfying quality of life for a large population1, urban spaces are evolving toward more efficient spaces by combination with ICTs (information and communication technologies) and raising the possibility to provide improved urban services which can enrich the quality of life of the citizen. In many cities over the world, a good number of public and private services in transportation, environment, urban safety from crime or disaster, health and other fields are designed and implemented with IT infrastructure. In spite of the expectation of cost-effective urban services based on the linkage between data and systems, obstructions in administrative and technical domains have made it difficult to be implemented. In this study, two advanced ICTs based urban services, which were developed by linkage and convergence of urban information and systems of Korea were introduced and analysed. The structural design of system convergence and data sharing scheme of Carbon Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) in Sejong City uses UIS (Urban Information System for local authorities), GIS data and other data provided by the public agencies, such as Korea Meteorological Administration for the monitoring and analysing the characteristics of the energy consumption of household2. Another system, Urban Integrated CCTV Control System (ICCS) in Anyang City, shows integrated CCTV networks for crime prevention, traffic control and public facility management to provide extended urban services, such as disaster prevention, police investigation and others. Qualitative and Quantitative effects analyses with technical and policy directions were suggested for the development and improvement of future urban services for a liveable city.

A mathematical model for the optimal operation of the University of Genoa Smart Polygeneration Microgrid: Evaluation of technical, economic and environmental performance indicators

The continuous spread of DER (Distributed Energy Resource) systems and CHCP (Combined Heat, Cooling and Power) technologies around the world highlights critical issues concerning the management strategies of such complex energy infrastructures. The concept of SG (Smart Grid) could be the solution to these problems even if nowadays there are not so many ongoing research and development applications that demonstrate the effective economic and environmental benefits consequent to exploiting smart grid technologies. Therefore, it is essential to develop, both in civil and industrial applications, smart grid/microgrid test-bed facilities where the synergy of new equipment, advanced management systems and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) can determine advantages in terms of operational cost reduction, primary energy saving and CO2 emission decrease.The present paper describes the main components of the SPM (Smart Polygeneration Microgrid) of the Genoa University located at the Savona Campus. The paper is focused on a mathematical model developed to optimally manage the SPM in order to minimize daily operational costs. The optimal results are reported also pointing the attention on CO2 emission reduction and primary energy saving consequent to the optimal operation of the SPM in comparison with the current reference scenario not based on the distributed generation.

Older people’s health-related ICT-use in Sweden

Purpose The aim of this study was to describe the degree to which information and communication technology (ICT) was utilised by older people for health information and communication with health services during a one-year period in Sweden. Methods The participants(n=154) were aged 55 and over (mean 71.9, 52% women) and had been randomly selected from a population register. The participants responded to a survey with a set of questions about their general usage of ICT appliances, as well as their usage of different ICT tools to retrieve health information and to communicate with the health services. Results The results showed that, in contrast to a rather frequent general ICT usage, the most common way to communicate with healthcare services was by personal contacts or by a landline telephone. A mobile phone was used by 24% of such communications, SMS messagesby 11%, websites, chat forums or blogs by 4%, and audio and video communication by2%. Self-reported overweight problems, general use of mobile phone, and general use of Internet were significantly and independently associated with having experience of using mobile phones or more advanced ICT appliances in contacts with the health services. Conclusion The low health-related ICT usage found in this study may be understood as a low degree of implementation of ICT in contact with health services, but the relatively high experience of general ICT usage indicates a potential for a wider use in the future in Sweden.

Visual Art Education Teachers’ Continuance Intention to Integrate ICT: A Model Development

Abstract Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration has been a topic of discussion among scholars for over thirty years. Since it was first introduced, ICT has been increasingly being integrated at every level of educational system. As a subject that emphasizes creativity, innovation and critical thinking, Visual Art Education (VAE) teachers were urged to taking full advantage of ICT. The potential of ICT in promoting real world experiences through simulation, manipulation and creative expression should be applied, as these valuable approaches of teaching and learning arts have never been highlighted before in conventional arts classrooms. However, the success of ICT integration depends largely on factors that will eventually increase teachers’ intention to continue using it. Based on that understanding, this study synthesized the Technology Adoption Model (TAM), the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and the Expectation- Confirmation Model (ECM) in explaining and predicting the VAE teachers’ intentions to continue using ICT in arts classrooms. A sample of 296 VAE teachers in Selangor, a state in Malaysia, took part in this study. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is used in testing the research hypotheses and validating the proposed model of the study. Results from the study demonstrate that teachers’ perceived ease of use has the most significant direct effect on their continuance intention. A significant effect was also found in the relationship between teachers’ perceived usefulness and social influences. Overall, these main factors explained 21.3 percent of VAE teachers’ continuance intention to integrate ICT in arts classrooms. On the basis of these findings, the implications for theory development, practices and policymaking are discussed in this paper.

Student and Faculty Perceptions of ICT Use in Undergraduate Agriculture Courses

Students and faculty in a land-grant college of agriculture were surveyed to determine their perceptions of current and future Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use in undergraduate agricul- ture courses. There was a large, positive relationship (r = .83) between student and faculty perceptions of the extent to which 40 specific ICT tasks were required in undergraduate courses. Students and faculty ranked the same five ICT tasks (receive email, send email, search the Internet, submit assignments as email attachments, and use Blackboard© to acquire course information) as being the most frequently re- quired. Students and faculty agreed that all database tasks and many of the intermediate to advanced spreadsheet, word processing, graphics, Internet, and miscellaneous tasks were seldom required in un- dergraduate agriculture courses. While a majority of students and faculty indicated that future ICT use should be maintained at the current level in each of seven broad ICT areas, there were significant (p < .05) differences between faculty plans and student recommendations for future use of the Internet, data- bases, computer graphics, and specialized applications. Students were undecided to moderately positive about their course-related ICT experiences. These results indicate a need to better integrate intermediate and advanced ICT tasks into undergraduate courses.

Nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Setting the Stage for a Post-2015 Take-off

The MDGs have provided opportunities for addressing undernutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa. The link between addressing undernutrition and human capital development has been a key message. The African Union (AU) now realises the unique role nutrition plays in Africa's development. The AU's NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) and CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme) have incorporated nutrition in their programmes. Additionally, 30 October is now commemorated as Africa Food and Nutrition Day. Through the SUN Movement, many African countries have committed to address undernutrition. Moving forward, the momentum for nutrition must be sustained. Commitments made must be reflected in increased resources and effective programmes. Africa must take advantage of ICT (information and communication technology); strengthen democratic structures and empower women to maximise their contribution to development; create safety nets for the vulnerable; and close the inequity gap. Civil society must remind governments of their commitments. Sub‐Saharan Africa must take advantage of this favourable environment and put the continent on an accelerated course of action.