ICT Infrastructure Development Research Articles

Factors Affecting the Online Learning Outcomes of Higher Educational Institutions in Nepal

Purpose: This study primarily aims to examine and evaluate the factors affecting the outcomes of online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic period among university students in Nepal. Similarly, this study investigated management students’ perception of online management courses and explored the presence of factors that help to generate online learning outcomes in management courses and devise an online learning outcomes model.
 Methodology: Using a survey research design, the study applied a cross-sectional study in three out of eight universities that taught management courses. A purposive sampling method was applied to select the respondent students. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to establish internal consistency and evidence of validity. To assess the responses to online classes, a multivariate linear regression analysis was used.
 Findings: Digital pedagogy, learning environment, ICT knowledge, COVID-19 context, ICT-friendly University and curriculum, and outcomes were identified as the factors from exploratory factor analysis. The overall students’ perceptions of the online management course had high reliability with Cronbarch’s alpha of 0.941. However, only three factors; digital pedagogy, learning environment, and ICT friendliness of university and curriculum were found to be significant as per the regression analysis.
 Originality/value: This study contributes to the management of higher educational institutions and the model can be used in future research. The findings will support on quality improvement of the online teaching mode.
 Implications: Nepalese universities have to work on the development of ICT infrastructure and courses should be redesigned with ICT features in mind for effective online learning. Furthermore, Nepalese higher educational institutions should step forward for institutional transformation, especially by following an ICT-friendly curriculum and structure with a gradual introduction of digital pedagogy in its regular courses.

Using Internet Access for Service Continuity amid the Covid-19 Pandemic in the North West Provincial Public Libraries of South Africa

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the many ICT infrastructural challenges entrenched in community libraries. This study determined how public libraries in the North West Province of South Africa could use internet access to continue the provision of information services to clients amid the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. This was guided by key research objectives, namely to ascertain the status of internet access in North West provincial public libraries; determine the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown on services in North West provincial public libraries; and identify ways to use technology for service continuity in these libraries. The study adopted a quantitative research approach and employed a survey design. A questionnaire was used to collect data from a purposive sample of 15 public libraries in the North West Province. This sample was derived from a population of 123 community libraries falling under the provincial Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation. The findings revealed that there was a lack of funding to develop and support the ICT infrastructure in community libraries. It was further revealed that most of the province’s community libraries did not have access to the internet due to expired contracts with internet service providers (ISPs). Furthermore, the study revealed a lack of business continuity planning in community libraries. The study recommended that the province provide funding to community libraries for the development and maintenance of ICT infrastructure. The development of a central point in the province to manage internet access to community libraries was further recommended. It was further recommended that community libraries develop business continuity plans in consultation with stakeholders.

Suspending Contact without Stopping Learning: Technological Response of the South African Higher Education to the COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges

The COVID-19 Pandemic is an emergency that requires higher education administrators to design responses that mitigate the challenges of saving lives, simultaneously saving their academic years through non-disruption of educational programs. This study aims to examine how one university and one TVET college in South Africa responded to the teaching and learning challenges imposed by COVID-19 during the 2021-2021 academic cycle. The study followed an exploratory sequential mixed-method approach, viewed through the lens of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. The methodology involved gathering quantitative data using a survey questionnaire, conducting a qualitative inquiry through interviews, followed by a comparative analysis of how the university and TVET college use the technology to mitigate the COVID-19 challenges. Analysis performed using SPSS Version 27 software and thematic content analysis brought out descriptive data regarding coping mechanisms of the two institutions. Results revealed that the university was ready for a migration to online and remote pedagogy, and a TVET college was still struggling to adjust to the requirements of the digitally driven pedagogy, despite both being under the same higher education system in the country. Wide gaps in accessibility to resources, digital efficacy levels, and supportive ICT infrastructure exist between the two institutions. These findings should provide insight to higher education administrators and policy makers on the need for appropriate interventions that support effective technological adaptations and implementation of remote teaching and learning across all higher education institutions, to fit them in the digitally driven educational environments of the COVID-19 era and beyond. The study recommends digital upskilling of the TVET staff, establishment of partnerships with Internet service providers and reviewing funding models for higher education ICT infrastructure development. This study contributes to the existing literature on higher education administration by identifying challenges hampering TVET institutions’ progress toward technologically driven teaching and learning environments of the 21st century and beyond. Keywords : COVID-19 pandemic, digital infrastructure, information, communication. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.60.25

Infrastructure and EU Regional Convergence: What Policy Implications Does Non-Linearity Bring?

One of the priority areas of the EU is infrastructure development. Over 2021–2027, it is planned to allocate more than 116 billion EUR of support from EU structural funds to transport and ICT infrastructure. For investments to promote the growth of lagging regions and reduce regional disparities, investments must be efficiently allocated. Considering limitations of previous studies, this study aims to provide recommendations for policymakers regarding infrastructure investment allocation after assessing the non-linear relationships between transport and ICT infrastructure development and convergence of EU MS NUTS2 regions. The general specification for estimations is based on the neoclassical conditional beta-convergence model. Additionally, a non-linear specification with interactions is developed to estimate the effect of infrastructure development on convergence. We used Generalized Methods of Movement estimator for the robustness check to reduce possible endogeneity bias. Estimations indicated that a non-linear relationship between infrastructure development and convergence is present. We have found strong evidence of the diminishing marginal effect of infrastructure development on convergence and have identified a tipping point after which infrastructure development slows down convergence, i.e., convergence is still present but at a slower rate. The study results made it possible to present several essential recommendations to policymakers that would increase the effectiveness of investments in infrastructure. Investments should be distributed according to smaller regional units, i.e., NUTS 2 level. The optimal level of infrastructure development that ensures convergence of regions for each type of infrastructure has to be established to ensure that the investments are not too intense and to generate the maximum potential outcomes.

INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE FRAMEWORK OF PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS: EVIDENCE OF EU MEMBER STATES AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL

Infrastructure development is seen as an essential tool for boosting economic growth. Infrastructure is funded under various programs to contribute to economic growth, and reduce regional disparities. Evaluations of the results achieved have to be carried out to develop efficient infrastructure development and investment allocation policy. This is highlighted in both the reports of policymakers and scientific publications. The main limitation of these studies is that they focus on assessing the return on infrastructure development at the national level, leaving the question of what outcomes were achieved at the regional level. This article aims to evaluate the economic outcomes of transport and ICT infrastructure development at the NUTS 2 regional level in the EU-28 countries, using 2000–2019 data. The research is based on the neoclassical production function complementing it with an infrastructure indicator. Based on previous research, it is hypothesized that economic outcomes may depend on the institutional environment of the region. Consequently, the research model specification is supplemented by government quality as a possible moderator. Research findings suggest just motorway and internet infrastructure are significantly positively related to production outcomes. Estimations show higher government quality and less corruption are related to the bigger production output of the infrastructure input.

Evaluating low-carbon economic peer effects of green finance and ICT for sustainable development: a Chinese perspective.

With the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement, ADB's involvement should not be ignored. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and ADB have teamed up to provide climate change financing for developing countries. Included in this is climate protection finance, the financing method that offers cash to assist the region in achieving ecological responsibility. Using a systematic framework, the researchers in this study examined the rationale for building a cohort result of green management in China in the new phase of the country's development. As part of a multiplicative framework, the long-term correlation between variables is quantified using the dynamic common correlated effect (D-CCE) and interactive fixed effect. According to the findings, renewable energy and green financing are good environmental indicators. Environmental degradation is negatively affected by green governance. Some people are concerned about how to dispose of ICT, yet on the other side, ICT can help cut carbon emissions with new clean technologies. Moreover, the findings show that urbanization and per capita income increase carbon emissions. The results suggest that Chinese officials need to support reducing carbon emissions through the development of ICT infrastructure, green financing, and renewable energy.

Evaluation of Trainee Teachers' Satisfaction in Using Online Learning Tools in the Era of COVID-19 in Gbewaa College of Education

The COVID-19 outbreak caused a paradigm shift in our educational system. To halt the spread of the pandemic, all educational institutions were closed down. As a result, tertiary institutions, including Colleges of Education, were forced to use online teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate trainee teachers' level of satisfaction with the use of online tools in teaching and learning, with Gbewaa College of Education serving as a case study. A quantitative descriptive online survey questionnaire was used to collect data. A convenient sampling technique was used to select three hundred and twenty-seven (327) trainee teachers from a population of six hundred and forty-five (645) for the study. The data was collected using the MikeCRM online web survey application. The findings revealed that largely, trainee teachers were dissatisfied with the quality and accessibility of the available online learning tools used by their tutors. Many trainee teachers were unfamiliar with how to use some of the online teaching and learning tools. From the findings, there is the need for proper training on the use of online learning tools as well as the development of a robust ICT infrastructure to ensure easy accessibility and quality online teaching and learning in this new normal of the COVID-19 era.

Use of Social Media in Marketing Library Resources and Services

This study has investigated the use of social media in marketing library resources and services at MUHAS and SUA. A mixed research approach was used to process, collect and analyse data in the study. While some library staff and all users were conveniently selected, key informants were purposively selected. The data were mainly collected through survey methods. The qualitative data collected were subjected to content analysis while quantitative data were analysed using SPSS. The study’s findings suggest that Facebook is the effectively used platform by both the studied libraries in the marketing of library services and resources due to its popularity and convenience. The other effectively used media is WhatsApp, although this was noted only at MUHAS. However, notwithstanding this, the media’s usage to market library resources and services has been found generally ineffective. This has been attributed to different challenges such as lack of a written policy for social media usage, unreliable internet connectivity, low promotion, content obsoleteness, and inadequate computer facilities. The study recommends that social media policies should be formulated, investment in ICT infrastructure development should be made, and promotion of social media usage among information users should be done.

The role of ICT during COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria

ICT has played a significant role through social media platforms and other information media in providing accurate information and curbing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across Nigeria. The response to COVID-19 has reduced face-to-face contact and as a result communication via social media has increased. This study draws on information gathered during the process of mapping and discussion to present analysis and make recommendations about priority issues related to the use of ICTs in curbing the menace of Covid-19. ICT tools are used to facilitate communication, processing, and transmission of information and sharing of knowledge by electronic means among healthcare providers either through telephones, computers, electronic-based media such as digital text and audio-video recording, or the Internet. This paper aims to highlight the significance of ICT tools used during and after the pandemic. Therefore, the government should take necessary initiatives to deploy and technological development of ICT infrastructures or digital interventions followed by financial support and other basic amenities to combat the pandemic spread of COVID-19. This concludes that the importance of ICT tools during the pandemic cannot be overemphasize with a way out to information dissemination on updated cases regarding COVID-19 provided by Nigeria Centre for Diseases and Control (NCDC).

Use of ICT in Provision of Information to Rural Women for Sustainable Development©

Information and Communication Technologies are critical tools in disseminating of information for Socio-Economic Development. Every person globally strives to have access to this vital information. However most women in rural areas have limited access to this information. This study therefore was set to find out how ICTs could be used to empower rural women of Keiyo South Constituency, Elgeiyo/Marakwet County through provision of information for sustainable Development. The objectives of the study were to; assess the information needs for rural women; find out how use of ICT could influence socio-economic status of rural women and challenges in accessing this information for sustainable Development. The study was informed by Harris Info-Mobilization theory. The study adopted a qualitative research design. The target population was 3070 women in Keiyo South. Stratified sampling was used to divide the constituency into divisions and locations and purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to obtain 141 respondents. Data was collected using semi-structured interview schedules supplemented by document review and observation and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that the rural women of Keiyo South has limited access to ICT Technology and infrastructure, which has affected negatively on their socio-economic and political status. Access to information was mainly through informal sources such as friends and neighbors; they need education and training to provide them with knowledge and skills for accessing ICT information, which can help them to attain sustainable Development. The study concluded that use of ICT has helped to reduce poverty through economic empowerment and has enabled the rural women to obtain new life skills. In addition, ICT has enabled them to participate in political election online. With relevant ICT infrastructure and policies in place, ICT could be used to improve the socio-economic status of rural women for sustainable development in Keiyo South. The study recommended that the County government of Elgeyo/Marakwet should empower rural women economically by providing them with information through ICT and by enacting policies that support development of ICT infrastructure and projects for rural women. Through these projects, the rural women could be trained to gain the knowledge and skills for searching and retrieving information through ICT. This knowledge could help them develop socio- Economic strategies for sustainable Development.

Inter-Agency Delivery System

This paper examines the effect of inter-agency delivery systems on the agility of public sector organizations and ease of doing business. The empirical focus is the Nigerian public sector, in relation to the implications of the recent Executive Order regarding how Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) should operate towards improving the ease of doing business .The study finds that poor inter-organizational linkages in terms of Information and Communication Technology, ICT, and poor interagency collaborative structures constitute serious challenges to the realization of organizational agility and ease of doing business. The paper suggests further investment in establishing a comprehensive government database accessible by various government agencies and enhancing social networking among public agencies through strong ICT and e-governance infrastructure development. By implication, the study reveals that the use of Executive Orders to address fundamental economic and administrative challenges appears perfunctory and superficial without strong ICT support.

Analytical review of issues of creation of the agro-digital cooperation platform as an economic mechanism for sustainable development of agricultural production

The article proposes a program to create a digital platform for cooperation and regulation of agricultural production. It is substantiated that the digitalization of the agricultural sector takes place simultaneously in three environments: real (offline) environment, virtual (online) environment, institutional environment. It was revealed that priority projects to ensure sustainable development of agricultural production based on digital technologies ensure the improvement of the regulatory environment, based on the principle of the primacy of sustainable development and digital processes, products and services, the development of ICT infrastructure that meets modern requirements and capabilities, and the provision of an accessible digital education for the population of rural areas and their access to digital technologies, the formation of an agro-digital platform as the core of a nationwide digital business ecosystem.

A multiplier of e-consumption: The study of the developing economy

In 2020, private consumption in Thailand grew slowly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and e-commerce has grown rapidly (Macroeconomic Strategy and Planning Division, Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council of Thailand, 2020). The objectives of this study are to examine the proportion of e-consumption and private sector consumption in Thailand and to understand the multiplier effects affecting e consumption in Thailand. The internet users who have shopped and sold as merchants through online platforms across Thailand have been utilised online for this survey. The findings show that most goods and services were purchased offline, except for clothes, shoes and personal items, and communication. In contrast, goods and services for entertainment and travelling had the highest percentage of online purchases. The results of the study model show the significance of education and saving to e-consumption. Hence, the multiplier of e-consumption in this study equals 1.21. Since private consumption had a higher significance for the Thailand economy over total public consumption, it is, therefore, recommended that ICT infrastructure development should be prioritized for ease of e-consumption. Moreover, human skills need to be improved and e-retail should be encouraged

SOME DETERMINANTS AND MECHANICS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES: THE ROLE OF ICT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, TAXATION AND OTHER MACROECONOMIC VARIABLES

This study examines key factors in the economic growth of middle-income countries over the period 1970–2017. The variables considered are ICT infrastructure development, taxation revenue, government expenditure, gross capital formation, foreign direct investment, and inflation. This study considers interlinkages between the macroeconomic variables noted above. The purpose of this study is to determine: (1) if there is causality between the variables and (2) the direction of any causality. Using a panel vector error-correction model, we find both short-run and long-run relationships between the variables. In each specification, we find that ICT infrastructure development, taxation revenue and the four macroeconomic variables all stimulate economic growth in the long run. This suggests that policymakers should curate an integrated and holistic policy framework pertaining to taxation, ICT infrastructure development and other macroeconomic policies to create a vibrant national economic ecosystem that would ensure the sustained economic growth of middle-income countries.

Deciphering drivers of using ICT among academia of agricultural sciences

Across the globe, investment in ICT to improve teaching and learning in educational institutions have been initiated by Governments. Despite all these investments on ICT infrastructure, equipment and professional development to improve education in many countries, ICT adoption and integration in teaching and learning have so far been limited. This paper investigates the factors influencing the usage of ICT tools among academia of agricultural sciences in north eastern hill states of India which is landlocked and poorly connected with the outside world. ICT can play a crucial role in overcoming its geographical exclusion and help in developing its human resource globally competitive. Slow internet speed and poor ICT infrastructure were reported as principal factors that severely affect the usage of ICT tools among the academia of agricultural sciences in north eastern hill states of India. Level of competency of teachers on ICT is also identified as a barrier. A few key measures to overcome these impediments and for facilitating greater usage of ICT in education are suggested. The findings of this study would be of practical importance to the academic administrators and civil society organizations whose aim is to provide quality higher education by integrating costeffective capabilities of ICT in teaching and learning.

The impact of ICT on Financial Sector Policy Reforms in Post-Financial crisis era in Ghana:

Ghana, like most other developing countries, is not isolated from the global financial crisis through the impact of such a crisis on economies. This paper examines the financial sector reforms and its effect on the Ghanaian economy, within the developing country context in general and in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in particular. The paper seeks to enhance the understanding of relevant policy measures and reflects on what else could be done. The article further studies the effect of change in the institutional environment on bank governance practices primarily to improve the industry’s supervision and regulation, related to the post-crisis exit strategies. This paper discusses the development of ICT infrastructure and application as a basis for the main dimension of Ghana’s digital transformation in financial services. This paper is, therefore, motivated by the lack of empirical studies that examines how the impact of the banking reforms play a substantial role in promoting innovative digital payment systems to replace cash transactions. From the perspective of institutional theory, the study looked at why (and how) a number of policy measures have a significant impact on the financial performance of banks? And how the applications of e-finance in ICT and financial practices, provides several benefits within the banking sector improve the sector’s image and leads to a broader, faster and more efficient market? The application of Koppenjan and Groenewegen (2005) ‘s four-layer model ‘levels of institutional analysis’ perspective seems to be the most useful starting point, which provides the basis for an improved understanding of revealing the inefficient delivery of Ghanaian banking industry in the past. A combination of a review of secondary and empirical data, interviewed used in the analysis. Findings indicate that the financial and banking sector reforms help the industry advance digital banking culture and impact on the general expansion of the financial and the infusion of financial inclusion in Ghana. These conclusions would be particularly useful in a similar picture in other developing countries, as well as by the bank authorities to create their future policy. It also joins the debate on the impact of the banking reform, a key turning point towards better regulation to refine crisis prevention and resolution mechanisms.

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTEGRATION OF ICT INFRASTRUCTURE WITH OTHER INFRASTRUCTURAL OBJECTS

In the face of the need to reduce digital gaps, the most important thing is enabling broadband Internet users, whose increase leads to an increase in GDP. Broadband coverage remains low in many countries, as investment in ICT infrastructure development is expensive and time consuming. The cost of building fibre optic cable lines can be optimized using the infrastructure of other industries, such as transportation, energy and others, through co-deployment and sharing. The purpose of this work is to determine the effectiveness of integrating the ICT infrastructure with road transport and electricity infrastructure by identifying the main factors and parameters for determining the appropriate co-deployment and the model of this process’s synergetic effect. The paper identifies the main factors (technical, geographical, socio-economic) and the parameters for determining the co-deployment of ICT infrastructure with road transport and electricity, as well as the principles of infrastructure assessment in the context of the proposed parameters. The model of emergence of synergetic effect of economic, social and technical and technological character from co-deployment of infrastructures of all involved spheres is presented. Consequently, the co-deployment of ICT infrastructure with transport and electricity infrastructure will close existing digital gaps and develop the digital economy, and will increase the profitability of all sectors of the economy, and in particular the life-sustaining sector.

Antecedents of use of e-health services in Central Eastern Europe: a qualitative comparative analysis

BackgroundThe objective of this paper is to identify the key conditions that positively affect the use of e-health services in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. CEE countries after the political and economic transformation in 1989/90 implemented slightly different national health care models. The research question of the study is: how do the various institutional conditions at the national level affect the use of e-health services in CEE countries?MethodsThe e-health description was derived from papers indexed in Web of Science and Scopus. The data for computation were collected from the 2015 global survey by the WHO Global Observatory for eHealth. We used a narrative literature review in order to identify key terms associated to e-health and conditions for the implementation of e-health services. The search terms were “e-health” and “*” where * was particular thematic section of e-health according to WHO GOeH. The inclusion criterion was relevance of the paper to e-health and searched phase. Eligibility criteria for countries for being described as CEE countries: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Croatia (we omitted Slovakia from the analysis because this country was not covered by the WHO Survey). We applied qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to analyse the necessary order of conditions. The dependent variable of the study is the national rate of use of e-health services.ResultsQCA shows that legal medical jurisdiction, teleprogramme and electronic health records supplemented by adequate training constitute critical conditions to achieve success in e-health implementation.ConclusionsWe conclude that the more formalised a framework for e-health service delivery is, the more likely it will be used. Therefore formalisation fosters the diffusion, dissemination and implementation of e-health solutions in this area. Formalisation must be accompanied by tailored training for health care professionals and patients. Our analyses are related only to the paths of e-health implementation in CEE countries thus consequently the findings and conclusions cannot be directly applied to other countries. The limitations of this study are related the absence of a broader context of e-health development, including the development of ICT infrastructure and ICT literacy.

Providing Community-Based Effective e-Health Services in Bangladesh: An Analysis on Sylhet Sadar Upazila

E-Health is the new component of e-governance which can give cost-effective, efficient, less time-consuming services and a key strategy to meet people health related needs by using different electronic devices. The aim of this study is to identify the effectiveness of e-health services provided by community clinics situated in Sylhet sadar upazila and also discover the major challenges faced by community clinics to provide e-health services. In order to explain and exploring the effectiveness of e-health services provided by Community Clinics social survey method has been used in this study. E-health initiative through community clinics are creating a great opportunity for the rural backward people to access primary treatment and helping them to connect with specialized doctors using electronic devices. For these purpose laptops, modems and others electronic devices are provided in every community clinic but the majority of service providers said the standards of these are not satisfactory. Service receivers (68.00%) said there has a limited access to consult with specialized doctors in their CC’s means telemedicine facilities are not available. Inadequate ICT infrastructure, insufficient training program and other instruments create difficulty in terms of ensuring safe and effective health services in rural area. The government should provide sufficient training facility for the service providers, ensure sound development of ICT infrastructures and arrange different program to inform the public about the available facilities of community clinics can create a more effectual system of health care service delivery.

Kesiapan Daerah Menuju Jawa Barat Smart Province

The West Java Provincial Government initiated West Java Smart Province (JSP), which began with Jabar Cyber Province. In its development, the concept of smart province developed at the provincial level, and it was interpreted at the regional level so that there were views from regions related to JSP. Therefore, it is necessary to look at other perspectives of the smart province from the local perspective as an enrichment for the province to obtain a comprehensive description of JSP implementation from the local government’s side and how the readiness of the region towards JSP. This study uses a qualitative approach, with three critical aspects of concern in smart province, namely: governance, infrastructure, and ICT services/applications in each region. This readiness was described descriptively from data and information through interviews with informants in six areas. The results of the analysis provide an overview of the readiness of each region in West Java towards JSP. The readiness of Banjar City, Garut Regency, and Purwakarta Regency are the change from manual to digital, and development of ICT infrastructure and service, although it is still partial. Meanwhile, Bogor City, Cimahi City, and Cirebon Regency readiness is a developed ICT-based service even though development between services are doing separately, but data sharing has been carried out.