ICT Service Providers Research Articles

Multidimensional design‐reality gaps in ICT in education projects in the Samoan aidscape

AbstractMotivationDuring the last decades, Samoa has received much aid to improve the use of information, communication, and technology (ICT) in education. However, the inequality gap in digital education between the global North and South remains wide, including in Samoa. This warrants further study of ICT in education projects in recipient countries.PurposeThis study examines the gap between ICT project design and the reality lived by schoolteachers in Samoa.Methods and approachEmpirical data were collected primarily through informal conversations with current and former teachers and ICT service providers. Their stories supported direct observation of ICT in schools garnered through working as a lecturer at an academic institution in Samoa.I use the concept of aidscape, which reflects the multidimensional nature of aid landscape, to explore the reality gaps across dimensions of the daily life of teachers and examines how these gaps are interrelated at multiple levels.FindingsThe reality of teachers shows interlinking challenges to the use of ICT in schools; challenges of accessing equipment, school culture, user perception, high staff turnover, and labour emigration. Enhancing the use of ICT by teachers requires material, technical, financial, sociocultural, and emotional support simultaneously from various aid actors who operate on different scales.Other challenges, including the high cost of technology and devices, the lack of funding for long‐term projects, the lack of ICT experts in the country and poor connectivity, also contribute to the less than satisfactory results of some ICT in education.Policy implicationsThe way forward lies in better co‐ordination among donors and more effective collaboration between different ministries of the recipient government to develop a combined project team dedicated to ICT in education. This team could work to unravel interconnected issues and tackle challenges one by one to find feasible solutions at the grassroots level, which could then be incorporated into viable national policies.

An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Weather Information Dissemination among Farmers and Policy Makers

The changing environment, climate, and the increasing manifestation of disasters, has generated an increased demand for accurate and timely weather information. This information is provided by the National meteorological authorities (NMAs) through different dissemination channels e.g., using radios, Televisions, emails among others. The use of ICTs to provide weather information is recently gaining popularity. A study was conducted in three countries, namely Nigeria, Uganda, and South Sudan to assess the efficiency of an ICT tool, known as “Weather Information Dissemination System”. The study involved 254 participants (Uganda: 71; South Sudan: 133; and Nigeria: 50). The collected primary data were first quality controlled and organized thematically for detailed analysis. Descriptive statistics was used to provide quantitative analysis as well as content scrutinized for qualitative analysis. The results showed that there is a need for timely weather information to plan farming activities such as planting and application of fertilizers and pesticides as well as to manage flood and drought by the water sector and disaster management. Results further showed that the majority of the respondents have access to the technology needed to access weather and climate information. The respondents who received weather information from NMAs noted that the forecast was good. However, they further noted that there is more room for improvement especially with making the forecasts location-specific, ensuring mobile access is adequate in all regions, provision of weather information by SMS (in countries where this service is currently unavailable) and improved timing of the weather information. Finally, uncertainty about the accuracy of weather information and the weather information not meeting specific needs are key barriers to people’s willingness to pay for it (Uganda: 33.3%; South Sudan: 46.1%; and Nigeria: 33.3%). Improved collaborations between the NMAs, ICT service providers, policymakers and farmers will facilitate an effective approach to weather information access and dissemination. Innovative sensitization approaches through the media houses will enable better understanding of weather products and utilization, and access to enabling ICTs would increase access to weather forecasts

Successes and lessons from a trial of the three-way university-enterprise cooperation program on data science and big data processing technology in China

Work integrated learning (WIL), most in the form of co-operative (co-op) partnerships or workplace placements/internships, has been incorporated into many undergraduate programs in universities around the world. In this express report, we share a recent trial of a new WIL model for a bachelor's IT degree in data science and big data processing technology experimented at our University (Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, IMAU) in China. This new model involves three entities, an institution as IMAU (Part A), an industry-certification training agency (Part B), and a cloud computing enterprise (Part C). Our experiment was initiated in September 2018 with the first intake of about 120 undergraduate students and completed in July 2022 over four years of full-time study. The initial results show that the three-way WIL initiative produced more than 60 employment-ready and industry-certified professionals for ICT enterprises and service providers specialized in data science and big data processing technology. The industry-standard certification training and the four-month industry placement in a top 500 ICT enterprise in the world significantly improved both the hands-on skills required by the ICT industry and the employment opportunities for the graduates.

The Effectiveness of Online Distance Learning (ODL) Approach in University: A Respond of Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved one of the most devastating health crises of the 21st century. Due to this reason, many educational institutions were closed in order to save lives. This action can cause interruption in educational activities. Due to this issue, Online Distance Learning (ODL) have grown in popularity and is seen as an alternative method in higher educational setting. We are now moving towards a new normal life practices due to this global health crisis. Adapting to this new normal, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) continue their teaching and learning activities using Online Distance Learning (ODL) approach starting from 13 April 2020 until now. This research paper is conducted to conceptually propose the effective strategy to conduct online distance learning (ODL) in UiTM through the perspective of ODL interaction, motivation, students’ performance and ICT and technology support system. This is due to the concern that going digital effectively requires substantial coordination by management and support from ICT service providers. Thus in order to develop ODL effectively, we must see our readiness to use an effective ODL approach as well as needs for robust curriculum pedagogical and methods. Educators must also know the students condition such as their motivation and ability to have good internet connection so that ODL can allows students to access lessons and interact with educators.

ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN FISH FARMING IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

The potentials of ICTs in fish farming has not been fully harnessed by farmers in Nigeria. This study assessed farmers’ awareness of the use of ICTs in fish farming, determined level of use, identified the determinants of use, and the constraints to the use of ICTs in fish farming. A two-stage random sampling technique was applied to select 133 respondents on whom a questionnaire was administered. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Multiple Regression Analysis and the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. Respondents’ level of awareness of the use of ICTs in fish farming was high (71.4%), but use was low (48.3%). The major constraint to the use of ICTs was the high cost of internet subscription (M = 3.53). At p < 0.001, number of ponds (β = 0.095), cosmopoliteness (β = 0.271), household size (β = 0.159) and fre­quency of extension contact (β = 0.078) determined the use of ICTs. Also, awareness of ICTs had a significant relationship with its use (r = 0.339, p < 0.01). The study concluded that the level of use of ICTs in fish farming in the state was low in spite of a high level of awareness. It recommends among others, the regulation of the activities of ICT service providers in the country for quality service at reduced prices.

The Influence of Tacit knowledge on Competitive Advantage: Learning from ICT Service Providers in Nairobi

The strategic management scholarly landscape is replete with conceptual literature on resource- and knowledge-based theories that single out tacit knowledge as an important driver of competitive advantage. This is not matched by empirical studies that have explicitly tested these ideas. This study contributes towards filling this gap. The study followed positivist and post-positivist critical realism philosophical orientations, using a cross-sectional survey design approach. The population for the study was the ICT content service providers licensed by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK). Out of the target population of 197 ICT content service providers, 135 firms provided valid responses to the survey. The study affirmed the importance of tacit knowledge as a resource that contributes to the competitiveness of a firm relative to its peers. This is an additional building block in strategic management theories that show the importance of continuous enhancement of the productive knowledge of individuals in an organization in increasing the competiveness of the organization.

Case Study of Agile Security Engineering

Security concerns are increasingly guiding both the design and processes of software-intensive product development. In certain environments, the development of the product requires special security arrangements for development processes, product release, maintenance and hosting, and specific security-oriented processes and governance. Integrating the security engineering processes into agile development methods can have the effect of mitigating the agile methods' intended benefits. This article describes a case of a large ICT service provider building a secure identity management system for a sizable government agency. The project was a subject to strict security regulations due to the end product's critical role. The project was a multi-team, multi-site, standard-regulated security engineering and development work executed following the Scrum framework. The study reports the difficulties in combining security engineering with agile development, provides propositions to enhance Scrum for security engineering activities. Also, an evaluation of the effects of the security work on project cost presented.

A Framework and Improvements of the Korea Cloud Services Certification System.

Cloud computing service is an evolving paradigm that affects a large part of the ICT industry and provides new opportunities for ICT service providers such as the deployment of new business models and the realization of economies of scale by increasing efficiency of resource utilization. However, despite benefits of cloud services, there are some obstacles to adopt such as lack of assessing and comparing the service quality of cloud services regarding availability, security, and reliability. In order to adopt the successful cloud service and activate it, it is necessary to establish the cloud service certification system to ensure service quality and performance of cloud services. This paper proposes a framework and improvements of the Korea certification system of cloud service. In order to develop it, the critical issues related to service quality, performance, and certification of cloud service are identified and the systematic framework for the certification system of cloud services and service provider domains are developed. Improvements of the developed Korea certification system of cloud services are also proposed.

ICT service providers strategies and customer migration

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how ICT service providers’ strategies affect customer migration. Design/methodology/approach – Using a simulation approach and the agent-based model, this research explores how an incremental technology affects customer migration and changes the market structure. Findings – The authors found that a strategy of disruptive technology innovation not only helps a follower company increase its market share, but it also completely disrupts the market. Originality/value – This study investigates customer migration patterns in the saturated mobile telecommunication market based on service providers’ strategies.

Citizens’ participation in e-government services: A Comparative Study of Pakistan & Singapore

It is paramount for any e-government service providers to get involve their citizen digitally & provide better e-services platform such as cordial web portals with easy access around the clock, updated online information, better ICT infrastructure and considering them as most valued customers. However, there are many reasons behind fully adopting citizens’ participation in the developing nations like Pakistan. Thus, citizen’s participation can bring very fruitful results to control corruption, to judge government policies, to make better delivery of government services, cost saving by electronically, citizen empowerment, especially in decision-making and effective services in the accountability process in public and private sectors. The main purpose of this study is to find out the answers to the questions like. What are the current challenges faced by citizens while participating in e-government services in Pakistan? What the Government has done to promote citizen’s participation in e-government services in all over Pakistan? At the end, a number of recommendations & suggestions are present to the policy makers, ICT service providers, academicians and readers in order to tackle with the problems duly addressed in this comparative research study.

Factors Affecting Growth of Information Communication Technology Firms in Nairobi, Kenya

Entrepreneurship plays an important role in the socio-economic development of the country. Its significance can be seen in terms of contribution towards economic growth, employment creation, poverty reduction and development of an industrial base. Kenya is going through a paradigm shift from an industry based economy to a knowledge based economy anchored on ICT. The government has reiterated the development of ICT industry in the country given its strategic importance. These commitments manifest in the various policies and strategies that the government has put in place over time, aimed at the growth and expansion of ICT in the country. Despite the policy and strategy pronouncements, there are various constraints that are currently facing the growth and expansion of ICT in the country especially amongst ICT providers. This study sought to assess the factors that affect the growth of ICT firms in Kenya by focusing on the ICT providers in Nairobi. The Purpose of the study was to establish the factors affecting growth of ICT Firms in Nairobi. The study involved a case study of ICT firms in Nairobi. The target population constituted ICT service providers located in Nairobi. The study targeted 92 firms out of 304 registered ICT service providers in the CCK database. The sampling frame used was acquired from the CCK directory of licensed ICT providers 2012. Stratified random sampling technique was used based on categories of ICT service providers registered by CCK. Questionnaires were used to collect data from a sample of 92 ICT Firms. The respondents were owner/ managers and selected employees. The study findings indicate that access to markets significantly affects growth of ICT firms negatively or positively. Access to market information, The presence of a wide market for ICT products and services, ICT usage and penetration and presence of ICT-related services promote growth and expansion of ICT firms. Competition in the ICT sector inhibits growth of ICT firms. The study recommends the following: Pertaining access to markets; the government should undertake to make markets work. This can be achieved by promoting the number and competitiveness of ICT firms by reducing the cost of doing business and, generally, creating a more favourable environment for businesses to thrive while improving the quality of employment in the sector. The government should allocate at least 25 percent of its procurement requirements to the sector. The Government should encourage sub-contracting arrangements between large and medium firms, and the SMEs. Capacity building of SME Associations will further promote business linkages within the sector. The Government should restrict dumping of ICT products and facilitate marketing of SME products in both local and international markets.

Enterprise Software and Service Innovation: Standardization Versus Customization

This paper analyzes the relationship between service innovation and different types of enterprise software systems, i.e. standardized enterprise software designed to fit one certain business sector and enterprise software specifically customized for a single firm. Using firm-level data of a survey among ICT service providers and knowledge-intensive service providers in Germany, this is the first paper empirically analyzing whether both types of enterprise software foster innovation in the service sector. The analysis is based on a knowledge production function. The results reveal that there is no relationship between sector specific enterprise software and innovation activity while customized enterprise software is possibly related to the probability of service innovation. The results stay robust if former innovation activity and general openness to new technologies are controlled for.

Securing business operations in an SOA

AbstractIn order to achieve agility and shorter concept‐to‐market timescales for new products and services, ICT service providers and their corporate customers alike increasingly adopt a collection of technologies, concepts and capabilities which come under the banner of the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). The Service Oriented Infrastructure (SOI) approach complements SOA by enabling the optimal use of virtualised infrastructure services and resources via the network, and their integration in tailored solutions that meet customer needs and adapt to their growth pattern.In this paper we focus on the business and technological challenges relating to security and service dependability for SOI. In particular the paper studies challenges in the security areas of (i) identity federation, (ii) distributed usage and access management, (iii) context‐aware secure messaging, routing and transformation and (iv) SOA security governance. It gathers requirements and it proposes an architecture comprising design patterns and a governance framework that address these challenges. An example case‐study presents an implementation of the proposed architecture's SOI security capabilities aiming at the practical validation of the proposed architectural concepts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

EBusiness Policy Support Framework

SMEs are slower than large firms to adopt new ICT unless effective use of ICT and performing operations electronically (eBusiness) across all sectors of the economy can act as a driver to increase competitiveness. Potential SME benefits and firm and sector-specific strategies drive the adoption and use of ICT. Furthermore, sectors are increasingly global and dominated by large firms and the structure of their values chains and operations shape opportunities for SMEs. Principal reasons for non-adoption are lack of applicability and little incentive to change business models when returns are unclear. SMEs also face generic barriers to adoption including trust and transaction security and IPR concerns, and challenges in areas of management skills, technological capabilities, productivity and competitiveness. The issues for governments throughout the European Union (EU) are to foster appropriate business environments for eBusiness and ICT uptake, and target programs to overcome market failures to the extent that they are needed in particular areas (e.g. skill formation, specialized information). Governments have a range of SME eBusiness and internet use programs. However, commercial considerations and potential returns are the principal drivers of SME adoption and profitable use. The key drivers for enabling eBusiness development are commitment and support of industry associations, in particular in sectoral initiatives, synergies by having access to resources from other initiatives or organizations, competitive pressure and ease of participation. The key barriers slowing ICT adoption are competition among companies in the target group, Lack of awareness, often combined with mistrust regarding ICT and ICT service providers, costs, lack of internal ICT and management knowledge, Network infrastructure issues: access and interoperability, Legal uncertainties. The European Commission has identified 3 factors that make it difficult for SMEs, in particular, to engage more fully with ICT and develop sustainable business practices: 1) the relatively high costs associated with investments in ICT; 2) the lack of technical and managerial skills and; 3) reluctance on the part of SMEs to network with other enterprises. The proposed framework summarizes the main policy directions derived from the analysis and the key areas of eBusiness support - Business environment, Skills upgrading, Network infrastructure, Trust infrastructure, Digital products and information services, Intangible investments and assets, Information, Government on-line. Finally the paper maps proposed key eBusiness support areas around key dimensions of eBusiness (functional, sectoral, and regional/spatial) on three distinct levels (micro: the level of the firm, meso: the level of the region, and macro: national/international).

Dynamic management of ICT service infrastructures for energy efficiency optimization

Improving the energy efficiency of ICT service provisioning infrastructures presents many advantages, both from the corporate social responsibility and from the business competitiveness perspective. In this context, reducing data center energy consumption is one of the main tasks to focus on, since these facilities concentrate a great share of an ICT service provider's power demand in a small number of locations. The adoption of commercial energy-saving solutions, based on static configurations, introduces significant improvements, but considerable infrastructure underutilization levels remain. In order to allow ICT service providers to overcome the limitations found in existing energy efficiency tools, this paper describes an infrastructure management solution which dynamically adjusts the performance of the managed environment to match service demand, thus optimizing energy consumption. Additionally, the first validation experiences of the proposed management solution in the context of a telecom operator's service provisioning infrastructure are described.

Older Workers and the Adoption of New Technologies

For the first time data of German ICT and knowledge intensive service providers are used to analyze the relation between the age structure of the workforce and the probability of adopting new technologies. The results show that firms with a higher share of younger employees are more likely to adopt new technologies and the older the workforce the less likely is the adoption of new technologies. Furthermore the results exhibit that the age structure of the workforce should be accompanied by appropriate workplace organization. A part of the firms which enhanced teamwork or flattened their hierarchies are actually more likely to adopt new technologies and software when they have a higher share of older employees whereas they are less likely to introduce new technologies if they have a higher share of younger employees.

Mobility as an ICT enabler

This paper aims to explore the link between mobility, authentication, identity, entitlement and trust. Research into these generic enablers is consistent with the existing trend for convergence in its widest context, building from the converged connectivity aspects found in the next generation network common capability strategy. Awareness of when (and how) to successfully manipulate these links is not simply the cornerstone for becoming a successful ICT service provider but, more significantly, the ultimate differentiation for any service provision.

Policy-based model-driven engineering of pervasive services and the associated OSS

This paper presents our work towards a fully functioning platform for pervasive service engineering in an operational support services (OSS) context for an ICT service provider. The focus of the paper lies in a proof-of-concept for a novel means to develop and execute pervasive services, with simplicity and maintainability as prime drivers. The essence of this approach is the novel integration of the policy-based management (PBM) techniques and the model-driven architecture (MDA) techniques for specifying pervasive services and their behaviour, together with auto-generation of middleware implementation and policy enablement. The presence of policies provides pervasive services with the high flexibility and adaptability needed for dealing with changing environments and resource availabilities, while the introduction of MDA for defining pervasive service information models fundamentally solves the information modelling puzzle of current policy-based approaches. Additionally, MDA’s middleware-neutral feature benefits the smooth evolution of pervasive services as a piece of software artefact in the face of heterogeneous devices and platforms. A preliminary case study has demonstrated the practical feasibility and benefits of this approach. The case study revolves around an ICT service called TEANU — transparent enterprise access for nomadic user. The service provides a means for nomadic users to maintain a secure access to their enterprise network in the presence of multiple access network providers with different service level guarantees.