ICT Sector Research Articles

Review of Blockchain Technology on Data Security and Privacy: Recommendations for Advancing Tanzania's ICT Sector

The rapid growth of the ICT sector has led to increased global data exchange and innovation opportunities. The increased use of technology has brought about concerns regarding data security and privacy which triggered a rising interest in blockchain technology as a potential solution to security challenges. This research endeavours to comprehensively examine the influence of blockchain on data security and privacy inside and outside Tanzanian, filling the gap that exists. The blended approach was used to analyse blockchain's effects while focusing on ethical considerations. The review emphasizes the benefits of blockchain in enhancing data security, trust, and transparency, along with its various applications. The research highlights blockchain technology's potential to offer robust data protection and improve transparency while identifying the challenges that must be addressed for successful implementation. The study investigates the role of blockchain in securing information systems in global and Tanzanian settings, focusing on sectors such as healthcare, banking, education, and land registration. The study emphasises the significant potential of blockchain technology to impact various industries in Tanzania profoundly. It offers valuable insights for professionals, policymakers, and researchers, highlighting the need to investigate how blockchain can be applied explicitly within different sectors. Additionally, it suggests practical strategies for seamlessly integrating this technology, considering the unique challenges the Tanzanian ICT sector encounters.

Digital Skills’ Impact on the Use of Digital Learning Tools

Innovations and developments in the ICT sector drive significant changes in how higher education institutions (HEIs) execute their teaching and learning processes. HEIs have always succeeded in the implementation of ICT tools for the facilitation of the process of teaching and learning. However, they have faced many challenges related to using these tools. Various tools have been introduced, not only for teaching and learning but also for socialisation. These tools include social media tools that are used to achieve different activities in response to the demands of society. Social media, however, is more utilised than digital learning tools, causing major concerns because users appear more interested in social media tools to perform academic activities than in digital learning tools. Students entering the university spaces are often comfortable using their phones but less comfortable using laptops or PCs. These, however, are the primary devices used in digital classrooms at institutions of higher learning. The basic ability to use them is crucial in succeeding in today’s digitised e-learning classrooms. This study investigates the impact digital literacy could have on using digital learning tools in HEIs. The study employed quantitative research methods using a survey developed and distributed to university alums to assess their digital skills upon entering their studies and how this impacted their learning experience. The participants were recruited from two public universities and one private university in the Eastern Cape. The purpose of the study was to formulate a checklist, based on the analysis of the data collected, that will inform the digital literacy factors impacting the use of digital learning in HEIs. While the study acknowledges that different students have different learning needs, it was still possible to create a solution through the suggested checklist consisting of eight (8) interventions developed to guide universities in improving the use of digital learning tools in their institutions.

Impact of New Technology in Increasing Cyber Crime in Rwanda

The ICT sector in Rwanda has grown rapidly in recent years, with access to information and communication technologies available to the government, private sector, communities, and international organizations. The rate of the population mobile users was 76.6% in March 2018 according to the report published by Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA). Also in March 2018, the number of mobile money transactions was 692.5 billion Rwandan francs. Due to this information provided, above we decided to carry out research of assessing the impact of technology in increasing cybercrime in Rwanda and set measures that can be used to avoid cybercrime.

Big data policy and urban tourism development: a catalyst or a hindrance?

ABSTRACT The advent of the digital era has prompted leading nations to devise strategic digital plans, seeking an edge in the escalating international rivalry. China’s Big Data policy has garnered significant attention as an exemplar of transitional economies. This research uses urban panel data from China to examine the impact of Big Data policy on urban tourism development. The results indicate that in its initial stages of implementation, Big Data policy appears to stifle urban tourism development. This can primarily be attributed to the biased interventions of the policy, which incited competition and resource predation from the ICT sector upon the tourism-related industries, engendering a crowding-out effect. However, this inhibitory influence is attenuated in cities with a stronger economic foundation, higher innovation capabilities, and more advanced service sectors. Our analysis offers pivotal insights and references for nations and regions fervently pursuing digital transformation via policy interventions.

Semantic Web and its role in facilitating ICT data sharing for the circular economy: An ontology survey

The environmental pressure, CO2 emissions (including embodied energy) and delivery risks of our digital infrastructures are increasing. The exponentially growing digitisation of services that drive the transition from industry 4.0 to industry 5.0 has resulted in a rising materials demand for ICT hardware manufacturing. ICT devices such as laptops and data servers are being used on average for 3 and 4–5 years respectively (van Driel (2020)), while research shows that they should last 7 years before replacement (Journal of Cleaner Production 69 (2014), 10–16). A solution is to transition from a linear to a circular economy (CE), through which materials that were previously disposed of as waste are re-entered back into product life-cycles through processes such as reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, repurposing. However, the adoption of the CE in the ICT sector is currently limited due to the lack of tools that support knowledge exchange between sustainability, ICT and technology experts in a standardised manner and the limited data availability, accessibility and interoperability needed to build such tools. Further, the already existing knowledge of the domain is fragmented into silos and the lack of a common terminology restricts its interoperability and usability. These also lead to transparency and responsibility issues along the supply chain. For many years now, the Semantic Web has been known to provide solutions to such issues in the form of ontologies. Several ontologies for the ICT, materials and CE domains have been build and successfully utilised to support processes such as predictive maintenance. However, there is a lack of a systematic analysis of the existing ontologies in these domains. Motivated by this, we present a literature survey and analysis of, but not limited to, existing ontologies for ICT devices such as laptops, materials and the CE. In addition, we discuss the need for findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR) data in the CE, different factors such as data privacy and security that affect this and the role of ontologies.

СУЧАСНІ ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ РОЗВИТКУ СЕКТОРА ІКТ В УКРАЇНІ

The article emphasizes the priority role of the ICT sector in building a highly developed and competitive national economy. Attention was drawn to the ability of the ICT sector to improve the country's adaptation to globalization and neo-industrial challenges. The role of the ICT sector in the course of our country overcoming hybrid risks and threats and challenges of a full-scale military invasion and subsequent post-war recovery is increasing. An economic and statistical analysis of the number of enterprises (business entities) by type of economic activity «Information and telecommunications» in Ukraine in 2010-2022 was carried out and their absolute growth, growth rate, absolute value of 1% of growth, average annual value, average annual absolute growth and growth rate. It was established that during the analyzed period, the number of subjects of this type of economic activity increased by 5.3 times, while the annual increase was 20 units or 14.9%. If in 2010 there were 55.9 thousand business entities in the field of information and telecommunications, then in 2022 their number was 295.9 thousand units. The shares of enterprises (business entities) by the type of economic activity «Information and telecommunications» in the total number of enterprises (business entities) in Ukraine in 2010-2022 were calculated. It was concluded that the share of entities of this type of economic activity in the total the number of enterprises in Ukraine is constantly increasing and in 2022 was equal to 4.5%, which is by 1% more compared to 2010. It was emphasized that in order to increase the intensity of the development of the ICT sector, it is necessary to change the state’s approach to ensuring the digitalization of the economy and the development of the information society, while providing support, guarantees, broad opportunities for businesses to realize their own economic interests.

Accelerating corporate innovation ecosystems: The exprivia business incubator case study

Large enterprises and start-ups collaborate to adopt Open Innovation (OI) strategies and to develop digital technologies. In this setting, Business Incubators (BI), which connect large firms and startups, are now vital to the Corporate Open Innovation Ecosystem (COIE). A single case study method was adopted for the multinational company Exprivia, operating in the ICT sector. The results show how Exprivia created a COIE through an innovative BI pilot project to operationalize OI and promote knowledge collaboration between companies, universities, and start-ups. Strategic implications for large organizations involves defining OI strategies based on Corporate BIs to sustain growth and profitability.

Assessment of short-term supply disruption impacts for the Swiss mobility, energy and ICT sectors – Application of the SPOTTER approach

In this paper, supply disruption impacts along supply chains within the Swiss mobility, energy and ICT sectors are assessed in the short-term (i.e. the next 5 years) using the recently developed SPOTTER approach with the objective to identify hotspots and technologies associated with comparably low supply risks. SPOTTER has been chosen because, compared to other approaches, it is the only one that allows for an assessment along the full supply chain and it is integrated into the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework. To decrease the respective data acquisition efforts for the here-performed supply risk analysis of entire sectors, in a first step, material/product flows that are most influential for an assessment with SPOTTER are identified and considered for the calculation of related impact scores. Our study analyzes critical material and product flows between trade partner countries along relevant supply chains. It thus identifies new hotspots and adds relevant country-specific information to current knowledge. In particular, the identified hotspots refer to volatile prices of solar panels, interrupted trade of oil and gas from Russia, Nigeria and Niger as well as disrupted imports of electronic devices from China. Suggestions for mitigation strategies comprise hedging and/or diversifying the supply chains. Other identified hotspots refer to the critical supply of cobalt and natural graphite along battery supply chains, which could for example be addressed by supporting and/or incentivizing the construction of a circular economy. A third category of identified hotspots indicates risks related to the trade of hafnium and nuclear power plant equipment that could be mitigated by shifting to less risky energy technologies. Our comparisons of overall impacts between relevant technologies suggest higher supply risks for conventional cars, solar panels and Chinese laptops compared to battery electric cars, wind turbines and German laptops. In these comparisons, more details regarding disruptions along full product and fuel supply chains are considered than in current studies.

Effectiveness of Aklan Information and Communications Technology Council in the new normal

This study was anchored on the Republic Act No. 10844, the Department of Information and Communications Technology Act of 2015, assessing the effectiveness of the Aklan Information and Communications Technology Council in the new normal. The respondents of the study were members of the Aklan Information and Communications Technology Council from the different sectors such as academe, provincial government of Aklan employees, national government agencies, private business owners and stakeholders. The descriptive research design was employed using a researcher-formulated questionnaire-checklist. The study found that the Aklan Information and Communications Technology Council, characterized by a young, educated workforce, demonstrates positive consensus on program effectiveness and initiatives but faces challenges such as power issues and organizational shortcomings, as indicated by demographic analysis, project evaluation, and statistical correlation. This study was conducted from August 2023 to December 2023, and was limited only to the items in the instrument, giving emphasis on demographic profile of respondents in the effectiveness of Aklan ICT Council in the new normal, extent of the effectiveness of Aklan Information and Communications Technology Council in the new normal and problems encountered by Aklan Information and Communications Technology Council in the new normal. The study results recommend that the council should refine its strategies, focusing on resolving specific problems such as power rate concerns and organizational structure issues. Sustaining efforts such as the Visayas ICT Cluster Organization Conference and support for entrepreneurship will further strengthen the council's impact in addressing the challenges in the ICT sector.

ICT Development Index and Its Role in the FDI - Growth Nexus: Evidence from G-20 Economies

The collective GDP of the G20 nations constitutes over 80% of the global GDP, making them pivotal recipients of significant economic investments in various forms including foreign direct investments. This study delves into the dynamic interplay of ICT development and foreign direct investment (FDI) and GDP nexus among the G20 economies. A comprehensive index is constructed using PCA to gauge ICT development across economies. The study further examines the relationships among FDI, ICT development, and GDP using panel data spanning from 2000 to 2019. The study finds that in the absence of interaction, FDI alone does not exhibit a statistically significant impact on GDP. However, considering the interaction between FDI and ICT, a nuanced pattern emerges. The study discerns that the influence of FDI on GDP is contingent upon the maturity of a country's ICT sector. This suggests the need for policymakers to adopt a more focused approach, tailoring strategies to leverage the interdependence of FDI and ICT for optimal economic growth.

On emergent mobile phone-based social engineering cyberattacks in developing countries: The case of the Zambian ICT sector

The number of registered SIM cards and active mobile phone subscribers in Zambia in 2020 surpassed the population of the country. This development and the integration of mobile phone systems with financial payment systems has not come without a cost. Cyberattackers, using various social engineering techniques have jumped onto the bandwagon to defraud unsuspecting users. Considering the aforesaid, this paper presents a high-order analytical approach towards mobile phone-based social engineering cyberattacks (phishing, SMishing, and vishing) in Zambia which seek to defraud benign victims. This paper presents a baseline study to reiterate the problem at hand. The research used a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data, and adopted a hybrid descriptive research design. Furthermore, an attack model and an evaluation framework were devised to ascertain the most prevalent types of mobile phone-based cyberattacks. Based on logistic regression analysis, the findings indicate that the most prevalent type of mobile phone-based social engineering cyberattack in Zambia is SMishing. Based on the results and observed insights, recommendations to mitigate these emergent social engineering cyberattacks were suggested. This research serves as a valuable baseline for understanding and addressing the growing challenges posed by mobile phone-based cyberattacks in Zambia's evolving technological landscape.

A compass for sustainability? Semiconductors, rare earths and CSR: the case of onsemi

AbstractSemiconductors are a rampant ICT sector utilized in everyday life for electronic devices. This industry provides plentiful income to multinational corporations (MNCs) but has been put in the spotlight for its tremendous social, ecological, and political impact. The figures become dramatic in sub-Saharan Africa and developing countries, which have abundant resources but poor working conditions and abrupt environmental degradation. In this interplay, rare earths have become leading assets for companies and governments and are highly debated for their controversial nature; thereby, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental practices turn pivotal. This work aims to connect the bountiful industrial sector of semiconductors with rare earths governance and CSR. To this end, this inquiry critically scrutinizes these three assets, analyzing the case study of onsemi as a business case and launching selected strategic and policy perspectives. This paper reviews these three concepts and conducts a content analysis on onsemi CSR Report and Annual Sustainability Report. The literature review emphasizes the increasing importance of these three topics within the mineral economics and sustainability research. The company analyzed produced cogent reports but supplementary information is needed to better understand its results within the semiconductors and extractive industry. This may help determining key achievements and areas for improvements in the private sector for REE sustainability, CSR and environment, social and governance (ESG) results and disclosure. The availability and governance of rare earths will determine decisive sustainability directions of utmost priority for geopolitical equilibria. The undertaken corporate and institutional strategies will lean toward dramatically diverse scenarios.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Investment in Boosting South Africa’s Economic Growth: A Comparative Analysis across Different Administrations

South Africa’s economic growth has been slow since the 1980s due to inefficiencies in the manufacturing, mining and quarrying, ICT, electricity, gas, and water sectors. This article uses the theoretical framework and growth rates to identify key reasons for this slowdown. Key issues include inefficiencies within the gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and inadequate infrastructure, primarily due to government behavior. This article used secondary data to perform the desktop analysis. To promote economic growth, the South African government and allied stakeholders should consider increasing investments in public infrastructure and financing research and development. This article argues that economic growth is driven by government expenditure, easy access to financing, and technological advancements. To promote economic growth, a comprehensive approach is needed, including tax breaks, loan guarantees, and pro-business legislation.

Factors Associated with Employees’ Intention to Leave in ICT Sector in Iraq: A Factor Analysis

Factors Associated with Employees’ Intention to Leave in ICT Sector in Iraq: A Factor Analysis

Home City Norms in Foreign Equity Size and the Isomorphic Decision of Firms in the ICT Sector

Home City Norms in Foreign Equity Size and the Isomorphic Decision of Firms in the ICT Sector

Examining the impact of e-governance on organizational strategy execution in the Jordanian ICT industry

Businesses continue to navigate the challenges posed by the swift advancements in technology, especially in light of the rapidly speeding digital transformation and the ever-deeper integration of technology into governance practices. This shifting worldview could substantially change how strategic plans are actualized, compelling companies to retune for emerging tech models and management frameworks to stay competitive and fruitful. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of e-governance on facilitating the execution of organizational strategy within information and communication technology companies based in Jordan. Data were gathered through electronic questionnaires from 204 employees of Jordanian information and communication technology companies and analyzed using the SPSS program to test the hypotheses. Overall, based on correlation coefficients and regression analyses, the paper finds a significant effect of e-governance on strategy execution. To be more precise, e-participation, e-transparency, and e-accountability account for 23.4% of the variance in strategy execution. However, variations in the concept of e-participation account for 40%, e-transparency – 22%, and e-accountability – 23%. The findings recommend that ICT companies enhance their strategic governance practices when executing organizational strategies. This study contributes to understanding how e-governance can facilitate effective organizational strategy execution in the ICT sector in Jordan. Acknowledgment The authors are grateful to Middle East University, Amman, Jordan, for the financial support to cover this article’s publishing fee.

The mediating role of government ICT use on the nexus between ICT access and public sector performance

PurposeThis study aims to explore how government ICT use influences the relationship between ICT access and public sector performance globally. Previous research has mainly focused on the impact of ICT access on private firms' performance, measured by profitability. Moreover, previous studies have mostly examined the effect of ICT access on firms' performance within a single country. This study fills a gap in the literature by investigating how government ICT use mediates the connection between ICT access and public sector performance on a global scale.Design/methodology/approachThe study develops and empirically validates a conceptual model based on the Technology, Organisation-Environment framework and archival data for 131 countries, using partial least squares-structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings from the study shows a significant relationship between ICT access and Government ICT use. Also, there was positive relationship between ICT access and Public Sector Performance. In addition, there exist a significant relationship between Government use of ICT and Public Sector Performance. Furthermore, the mediating role of government ICT use on the impact of ICT access on public sector performance was significant.Originality/valueThis study is unique in that it explores the relationship between ICT access, government ICT use and public sector performance on a global scale. By using archival sources, this research findings can easily be replicated and applied to a larger population. Additionally, using the TOE framework, this study demonstrates how technology (ICT access) and organisation (government ICT use) impact public sector performance globally.

Factors of Dynamics of ICT Services Exports: The Case of Kazakhstan

The paper examines the trends in Kazakhstan’s export of information and communication technology services, which is currently one of the priorities of the country’s economic development.Aim and Tasks. Determining the impact of government spending, foreign investment and other significant factors on exports of ICT services; assessing the extent of this impact.Methods. Evaluation of the impact on the dynamics of ICT services export on the basis of comparative and correlation analysis, comprehensive analysis of the industry development indicators in the context of its export orientation, assessment of the impact on ICT services export of the factor of migration of companies and specialists from Russia in 2022–2023 and the resulting growth in the number of ICT sector enterprises with foreign capital.Results. It has been revealed that the influence of traditional factors on the export of ICT services by Kazakhstan, including state budget expenditures, gross inflow of foreign investments, and FDI stock in industries producing these services, has been insignificant or absent over the past decade. The maximum impact on the export of ICT services was caused by an increase in the presence of companies in the industry with the participation of foreign, primarily Russian capital, which occurred in 2022–23.Conclusions. The development of foreign trade activities in sectors of the economy with low initial indicators of export orientation may be more strongly influenced by non-traditional sporadic factors, such as migration of businesses and specialists in the case of the ICT sector in Kazakhstan, whereas traditional factors of their development, including government fostering and foreign investment may not be effective enough.

Combining the management of natural resources with the management of environmental resources: Modeling the impact of high-tech and ICT service export

The sustainable development of nations highly depends on the management of natural resources and their environment. Based on the above, we can establish that there is a practical solution the incorporation of natural resources and environmental management in the export sector of high-tech and ICT services working for sustainable development. The high-tech and ICT sectors, using technology and new business models, can solve many issues in the natural resources and environmental sectors. This paper examines Combining the management of natural resources with the management of environmental resources in China from 1990 to 2022 in the light of renewable energy consumption and ICT service exports as control variables. This study reveals that renewable energy consumption is positively associated with the management of natural resources and ICT service exports are positively related to the management of environmental resources. The implications of these results are the necessity for the co-management of natural and environmental resources in China and the opportunities for leading technologies to improve environmental management practices. One of the greatest troubles that climate change has brought is the production of natural resources. Policymakers can integrate natural resource management with exports of high-tech and ICT services to develop novel solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change, including creating early warning systems, disaster management technologies, and climate-smart agriculture. Also, policymakers can make more informed decisions and enforce impactful policies to achieve sustainable development goals through modeling and simulation.

Equity in Bytes: An In-Depth Analysis of Gender Disparities in the ICT Sector Across Albania and Western Balkans Countries - Insights, Challenges, and Strategies for Promoting Inclusion and Empowerment

Equity in Bytes: An In-Depth Analysis of Gender Disparities in the ICT Sector Across Albania and Western Balkans Countries - Insights, Challenges, and Strategies for Promoting Inclusion and Empowerment