ICT Services Research Articles

Paving the way for sustainable environment in BRICS through technological innovation, sustainable energy, and financial development: heterogenous analyses

ABSTRACT The pervasive issue of global warming has propelled the continued empirical efforts by policymakers and research pundits geared towards finding sustainable solutions to salvaging the ecosystem. Consequently, this study evaluates the heterogenous impacts of technological innovation, sustainable energy, and financial development on environmental sustainability captured by CO2 emissions, methane emissions, and nitrous oxide emissions in the BRICS countries from 1995 to 2020. The study employs second-generation estimators comprising quantile regression (QR), augmented mean (AMG), common correlation effect group mean (CCEMG), and cross-sectional ARDL (CS-ARDL). The main findings show that among the indicators of technological innovation, high technology exports, ICT goods exports, and ICT services exports drive sustainable environment in the long run whereas environmental-related technology promotes both in the short run and long run. The moderating impacts of sustainable energy are evident through wind energy, solar energy, and hydrogen technology. Conversely, financial development measured by broad money and domestic credits to private sector hinders environmental sustainability. More so, the covariates entailing economic growth, population growth, poverty, and trade openness escalate the stock of pollutants. The empirical regularity of the main estimators is supported by outcomes of QR across the low, middle, and upper quantiles. On the policy front, the study recommends promoting initiatives that drive technology and renewable energy to enhance the sustainability of the BRICS’ environment.

Effects of Information Communication Technology and Customer Service on Customers’ Satisfaction: A Study of the Courier and Parcel Industry in Nigeria

The study investigates the effects of information communication technology and customer service on customers’ satisfaction in the courier and parcel industry in Nigeria. Correlation design was used to investigate the relationship between the independent variables ICT and customer service and the dependent variable customer satisfaction. Questionnaire was administered conveniently to sample 220 customers of the courier and parcel industry in Nigeria, and data analysis carried out using SPSS version 21. The study revealed a significant relationship between ICT and customer satisfaction in the courier and parcel industry in Nigeria. Also, the study found a positive relationship between customer service and customer satisfaction in the courier and parcel industry of Nigeria. Practical implication for service managers and direction for future studies are presented.

Co-determination meets the digital economy: works councils in the German ICT services industry

L’Allemagne est un pays connu pour son système dual de relations industrielles, combinant négociations collectives sectorielles et conseils d’entreprise forts et indépendants au niveau de l’entreprise et du lieu de travail. Cet article analyse l’évolution du rôle des conseils d’entreprise sous l’angle de l’évolution du secteur des services des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC), qui est en pleine croissance. Longtemps, ce secteur était divisé entre les fournisseurs de télécommunications historiques, avec des salariés fortement syndiqués et organisés, et les nouvelles entreprises internationales de services informatiques, où la présence syndicale était faible ou inexistante. Toutefois, ces dernières années, les conseils de ces segments ont joué un rôle de plus en plus actif et en réseau dans l’élaboration de stratégies de réorganisation du travail liées à la numérisation et à l’adoption de technologies fondées sur l’intelligence artificielle (IA). Les auteurs analysent les outils utilisés par les conseils d’entreprise dans ces négociations, notamment les droits de consultation, d’information, de codécision et de veto, les règles de protection des données et la loi de modernisation des conseils d’entreprise de 2021, qui prévoit des droits spécifiques en matière d’information et de consultation sur l’IA. L’article souligne le rôle des conseils dans trois domaines principaux : façonner le lieu de travail numérique de manière durable, garantir l’utilisation éthique et équitable de l’IA et des algorithmes au travail, et promouvoir des méthodes de travail agiles. Il conclut par une discussion sur les avantages de l’expression des travailleurs à la fois pour les travailleurs et les entreprises, ainsi que sur les défis liés à l’extension de ces avantages à l’ensemble d’un secteur qui manque d’une approche globale et cohérente.

Czech national e-infrastructure services for HEP

Czech national e-infrastructure services for HEP

Assessing ICT and e-government service through UDC in Bangladesh: rural dwellers' economic benefits

Assessing ICT and e-government service through UDC in Bangladesh: rural dwellers' economic benefits

Factors Influencing Utilization of ICT Facilities in Teaching and Learning of Agricultural Sciences. (A Case Study of Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania)

This study investigated the factors influencing utilization of ICT facilities in teaching and learning of agricultural sciences at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania. A descriptive survey design was adopted in this study; and a mixed research approach was employed whereby, a questionnaire with a reliability of 0.83 and interview schedule checklist were used for data collection. Data were collected from the College of Agriculture (CoA) at SUA involving a sample population of 65 instructors, 4 Heads of Department and the Head of ICT services who were all purposively selected. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, content analysis and binary logistic model. The findings revealed that institutional factors such as the availability and accessibility of ICT facilities, and technical support influence instructors toward using ICTs in teaching and learning processes. The findings also revealed that, personal factors such as instructors’ positive attitude, sex, age and teaching experience play significant roles in influencing ICT utilization at the university. The study findings also point out that inadequacy of ICT facilities, slow internet connectivity, unreliable power supply, inadequate ICT infrastructures, lack of in-service training, problems of handling large classes, inadequacy of ICT manpower/ technical support, and lack administrative support i.e. provision of funds as challenges that deter instructors from utilizing ICTs. Among other things, it was recommended that, the university should strive to address the existing challenges by at least ensuring alternative source of power is installed, ensuring regular training of instructors is organized and adequate ICT infrastructures are available at the university.

ՀՀ ՏՀՏ ոլորտի արտահանման հաղթարշավը/ EXPORT TRIUMPH OF ARMENIA'S ICT SECTOR

The paper analyzes the rate of growth of the ICT sector in the Republic of Armenia, its structure and share in total exports, both in terms of goods and services. The export growth of ICT services during the studied period exceeded the growth rate of the total export of the RA. The lion's share of ICT sector exports belongs to services, and among them, computer services. Moreover, in the last 10 years, there has been a structural shift in the export of ICT services, the share of telecommunications has decreased from around one-third to one percent in 2022, while the share of computer services has increased even further.

Impact of ICT Sector Research and De velopment Expenditure on the Market Capitalization in the US, the EU and China

Purpose: Due to the growing global role of enterprises from the information and communication technology sector from the leading regions of the USA, EU and China in the industry, the author’s research goal was to try to identify factors influencing the value of listed enterprises understood as its stock exchange capitalization. For the purpose, research was carried out on the impact of a group of twenty-six variables on the company’s market capitalization, among which the most important conclusions concern the impact of seven variables, i.e. revenues, research and development expenses, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), total equity, total assets, total revenues and dividend rate. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used research methods in the form of a random effects model and a fixed effects model, and then used the Hausmann test to verify which of the models is better suited to establishing the relationship between the selected independent variables and the dependent variable in the form of the stock market capitalization of companies from the ICT sector. Findings: It was found that the impact of equity or the level of revenues on market capitalization is much smaller than in the case of research and development expenses and that the issue of depreciation of assets is an important factor in the market valuation of enterprises from the ICT sector. Additionally, the level of assets and equity has, although limited, impact on the market valuation of the company, regardless of the region in which an entity operates. Revenues are important from a regionalization perspective – company’s market capitalization is the largest in the case of the ICT services subsector in China. There is no similar relationship among manufacturers of ICT devices operating in all three regions. Research limitations/Implications: Due to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic slowdown are important factors affecting the ICT sector, further research on the value of ICT enterprises should take the aspects into account.

Study on Availability, Accessibility and Problems Associated with Use of ICTs among Rural Women of Assam, India

This study analyse the availability as well as accessibility and problems associated with use of ICTs among rural women from the state of Assam and similarly Jorhat and Nagaon districts of Assam, India was selected for the present study including a total number of 400 respondents who were selected as considering the Simple Random sampling method. The findings revealed that majority of the farmers are having mobile phones as well as television and radio. Further ranking method was used to identify the problems faced by the respondent with use of ICTs. Among the various problems faced by the respondents while using the ICTs, “Lack of confidence while using ICTs” has been given ranked I (0.96), followed by “High cost of ICT Services”, assigned ranked II (0.91) and “Irregularity in power supply”, was ranked III (0.89). To provide benefits to the women farmers by using the ICTs and to reduce the gender imbalances from the society rural women’s access towards ICTs and the constraints associated while use of ICT by the rural need to be studied. Hence the present study has been undertaken to address some of these areas. Thus as a whole the main purpose of this study examines the extent of rural women’s availability, accessibility and constraints associated while use of ICTs by rural women.

Value co-creation and external consultancy knowledge for public innovation in Europe

This paper proposes a framework for explaining the collaboration between co-creation and LAB design methodologies with KIBS (Knowledge Intensive Business Services), which include ICT services, when public services were immerse in an innovative process at government units within six EU-20 countries in the Co-VAL H2020 survey (Spain, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom). The proposed channels of interaction of user´s at the centre methodologies and KIBS is based upon the new public government paradigms and the public service dominant logic. The model examines the propositions of these paradigms, as to how co-creation processes are embedded in the interaction of KIBS and final customers, by deriving the channels through which those consultancies contribute to fostering innovation in various government units across the EU-20 (1875 public units of work surveyed), particularly in relation to improving public business-related services. The study first utilizes unilateral equations to estimate the overall effects of all the covariates and, in a second step, utilizes systems of equation models to derivate the interaction of users at the centre methodologies on KIBS and, consequently, the indirect effects that these processes have on the innovation processes of the public units of work that contracted those business services. Results conclude that value co-creation is embedded on KIBS with the decisive influence of inputs provided by final customers of the innovative processes as the public dominant service logic states. The analysis is based on the Co-VAL EU 2020 Survey, testing the causal effects that KIBS consultancies have on public innovation processes, especially those related to business services or business organizations, with a focus on the reinforcement of co-creation, LAB design, and co-production methodologies. To our knowledge this study is the first to estimate those indirect influences of user´s at the centre methodologies on public innovation processes that contract KIBS to generate positive dynamics improvements of public services.

Międzysektorowe powiązania produkcyjne Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej z Chinami po wprowadzeniu Cyfrowego Jedwabnego Szlaku

Cross-sectoral production links of Central and Eastern Europe with China after the introduction of the Digital Silk Road China increasingly marks its presence in the global economy through services that enrich traditional manufacturing (servitization of manufacturing). In this article, the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region is analysed in the context of this phenomenon. Because of the ongoing development of the relevant economies, only advanced services were examined, equating these with ICT services. The aim of the article is to assess the share of Chinese ICT services in the industrial production of CEE, in particular in the computer, electronic, and electrical equipment industry after the introduction of the Chinese Digital Silk Road. The study confirms that China is increasingly enriching CEE manufacturing with its services; however, the intensity differs depending on the economy considered.

Utilization Of Information Communication Technology By Library And Information Science Undergraduate Students In University Of Calabar, Calabar Nigeria

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the utilization of Information Communication Technology by library and information science undergraduate students in University of Calabar, Nigeria. To achieve this purpose, three research questions were generated to direct the study. Literature review was done according to the variables under study. Survey research design was used for the study. A sample of two hundred and forty-six (246) undergraduate students were selected for the study using accidental sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was titled: “Utilization of Information Communication Technology Questionnaire (UICTQ)”. The reliability of the instrument was established through test retest method. Sample percentage was the statistical analysis techniques adopted to test the research questions under study. The results of the analysis revealed that consistencies in ICT, reasons for using ICT and availability of infrastructure significantly influence utilization of ICT by undergraduate students of LIS. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among others that government in conjunction with the school administrators should run a free and compulsory ICT services in order to provide practical and functional knowledge to students in tertiary institutions.
 
 

Export and import statistics on e-commerce in computer services: classification and evaluation challenges

The specific domain of e-commerce within computer services has been insufficiently explored as a distinct area of scholarly inquiry. It is typically subsumed under the broader umbrella of ICT services, a classification that complicates accurate statistical market assessments. Present static accounting methodologies provide only a roundabout means for estimating the scope of international trade activities within the computer service sector. This study engages in a comprehensive analysis of the nuances involved in accounting for the export and import of computer services. It examines the global practices of data gathering for statistical purposes, confronts classification dilemmas, and addresses the complexities of identifying the service delivery location and mode. The culmination of this analysis is a set of proposed enhancements to statistical accounting methods. For the sake of international comparisons, it is advisable to equate the cross-border e-commerce of computer services with the exportation of services through the first mode of cross-border supply, which constitutes approximately 75% of all exported computer services. The adoption of more granular tracking methodologies for cross-border transactions necessitates the creation of a standardized ontology at the international level. The urgency of establishing a definitive conceptual framework and performing a thorough market analysis for e-commerce is underscored by the need to fine-tune policy support measures, evaluate the export potential of emerging markets, propose exemptions for e-commerce from traditional trade regulations, implement fair taxation policies, avert discrimination in determining the tax base, promote statistical coherence, and sustain a consistent stance during international negotiations and disputes resolution.

Knowledge creation, knowledge impact and knowledge diffusion: how do they connect with higher education?

Knowledge-based economy causes changes in the higher education system: university graduates must have the ability to constantly learn and improve their skills, generate and disseminate new knowledge, form and multiply the knowledge capital of business. This paper aims to investigate a pairwise interconnection between higher education indicators and sets of parameters characterizing knowledge creation, impact, and diffusion. The following higher education indicators are used: expenditure on education, tertiary enrollment, graduates in science and engineering, tertiary inbound mobility, researcher, gross expenditure on R&D, top 3 global corporate R&D investors, top 3QS university ranking. Knowledge creation indicators are patents by origin, PCT patents by origin, utility models by origin, scientific and technical articles, citable documents, H-index. Knowledge impact is characterized through labor productivity growth, new businesses, software spending, ISO 9001 quality certificates, high-tech manufacturing. Knowledge diffusion parameters include intellectual property receipts, production and export complexity, high-tech exports, ICT services exports. The information base of the study is the data of the Global Innovation Index Report from the World Intellectual Property Organization for 40 European countries (selected depending on the availability of statistics) for 2022, research method – Canonical Correlation Analysis. The strongest positive correlation was found between higher education indicators and knowledge creation parameters. The second position takes connection between higher education indicators and knowledge diffusion parameters, the third – between higher education indicators and knowledge impact indicators. Among the higher education indicators, the most significant were gross expenditure on R&D, top 3 global corporate R&D investors, top 3 QS university ranking.

Role of Public Libraries in Bridging the Digital Divide

The study investigated the role of public libraries in bridging the digital divide in the Kerala State Central library (KSCL), Thiruvananthapuram. The study employed a descriptive survey method using a structured questionnaire distributed among library users. The study discussed the use of ICT and internet services in the library, the purpose of using the internet, digital services, e-governance services, e-resources provided by the library and factors that cause the digital divide. The findings revealed that the majority of the users are not aware of ICT (47.0%) and internet services (39.4%) provided by the library. The users preferred photocopy (43.2%) and OPAC (31.8%) services. The library users are accessing the internet for education, reading news, and employment purposes, and mostly use computers (52.2%) to access e-journals and e-books provided by the library. M-governance (12.8%) and E-district (12.0%), were the most frequently used e-governance information services provided by the library. The users opined the primary factors that causes digital divide are lack of ICT skills and illiteracy. Non-Parametric test showed that significant difference between the purpose of internet usage and the place of living, as well as the factors driving the digital divide. Public library services are essential for common people to overcome the digital gap and the library can bring new technologies to reduce the digital gap of public users and can assist them in getting education, employment, and government services. The respondents suggested that the library should conduct user awareness program about emerging technologies and orientation for users to familiarize the services provided by the library.

Energy consumption and innovation-environmental degradation nexus in BRICS countries: new evidence from NARDL approach using carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions.

The BRICS nations-Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-have grown significantly in importance over the past few decades, playing a vital role in the development and growth of the global economy. This expansion has not been without cost, either, since these countries' concern over environmental deterioration has risen sharply. Both researchers and decision-makers have focused a lot of attention on the connection between economic growth and ecological sustainability. By using nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach, the complex relationships were analyzed between important economic indicators-such as gross domestic product (GDP), ecological innovations (EI), energy consumption (ENC), institutional performance (IP), and trade openness (TOP)-and their effect on carbon emissions and nitrous oxide emissions in the BRICS countries from 1990 to 2021, this study seeks to contribute to this important dialog. Principal component analysis is formed for technological innovations and institutional performance using six (ICT service exports as a percentage of service exports, computer communications as a percentage of commercial service exports, fixed telephone subscriptions per 100 people, internet users as a percentage of the population, number of patent applications, and R&D expenditures as a percentage of GDP) and twelve (government stability, investment profile, socioeconomic conditions, internal conflict, external conflict, military in politics, control of corruption, religious tensions, ethnic tensions, law and order, bureaucracy quality, and democratic accountability) distinct indicators, respectively. The results of nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag estimation show that increase in economic growth would increase carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions. The positive and negative shocks in trade openness have positive and significant impact on carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions in BRICS countries. Furthermore, the positive shock energy consumptions have positive and significant effect on Brazil and India when carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions are used. However, EKC exists in BRICS countries when carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions are used. According to long-term estimation, energy consumption and technological innovations in the BRICS countries show a strong and adverse link with nitrous oxide and a favorable relationship with carbon dioxide emissions. In the long run, environmental indicators are seen to have a major and unfavorable impact in BRICS nations. Finally, it is proposed that BRICS nations can assure environmental sustainability if they support creative activities, enhance their institutions, and support free trade policies.

Services of Public Libraries in the Age of Technology: A Pakistani Perspective

The research evaluated public libraries in Pakistan concerning their ICT resources, services and use of various ICT tools in service delivery. The research was quantitative and relied on a survey to collect the necessary data. The study’s population was all the public libraries in the country that were run by any department or directorate. A census-based survey was done to get information from the whole population. The data was collected from the heads of the libraries through questionnaire, and then it was analyzed with the help of SPSS version 23. The public libraries were governed by various bodies, and variations were also found in the nomenclature of the libraries’ heads. Most libraries’ heads were LIS professionals; however, many were operated by non-professional employees. Most libraries offered services like circulation, reference, orientation, open shelf and photocopying facilities. It was also identified that most libraries did not offer some common services such as document reservation services, OPAC, indexing and abstracting services, interlibrary loans, SDI and audiovisual services, scanning and CD/DVD writing facilities. Since this is the first study of its kind, its findings could prove useful to the government of Pakistan in improving public library services. In addition, it will fill a gap in the literature and direct researchers to investigate other facets of public libraries.

The economics of EU industrial R&I revealed

Since its introduction in 2004, the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard (the Scoreboard) has annually compared companies, sectors and geographical areas to provide details of the situation of EU firms in the global R&D setting. The 2022 edition follows the New European Innovation Agenda, which was released in July 2022, a few months before the Scoreboard. Five key foci for the Agenda, which is focused on ‘Deep Tech Innovations’, are: Funding scale-ups; enabling innovation through experimentation spaces and public procurement; accelerating and strengthening innovation in European Innovation ecosystems across the EU and addressing the innovation divide; fostering, attracting and retaining talents; and improving policy making tools. Essentially, the Agenda is seeking to advance innovation, while the Scoreboard measures it, enabling progress to be monitored. Details on 2,500 companies feature in the Scoreboard, 361 of which are headquartered in the EU, accounting for 17.6 per cent of the total R&D investment. In 2021, they invested an impressive €192.8 billion in R&D, overcoming the challenges presented by the pandemic. .‘I am pleased to see the rebound of EU companies’ investment in research and development of 8.9 per cent after a drop last year of 2.2 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic,â–™ commented Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, in the Scoreboardâ–™s foreword. Four key sectors account for 77.8 per cent of total Scoreboard R&D: ICT producers, health industries, ICT services and automotive. EU Scoreboard companies were found to be the global leader in automotive R&D.

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.

Clean cooking technologies, information, and communication technology and the environment.

In recent years, researchers and politicians have become concerned about the ever-increasing energy consumption of ICT gadgets. Any effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should take the ICT industry's carbon emissions into account, given the widespread usage of ICT products across all economic sectors. Employing Driscoll-Kraay Panel Corrected Estimators for E7 economies from 2000 to 2020, we examine the direct impacts of ICT on ecology as well as the indirect implications through connections with the availability of clean fuel and technology for cooking and trade while also adjusting for population and renewable energy. From the empirical findings, it was observed that the two proxies of ICT services (i.e., internet-penetration and mobile-subscriptions) were negatively significantly connected with E7's (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and Turkey) carbon emissions. Similarly, access to clean fuel and technologies for cooking and renewable energy decreases emission levels within the E7 economies, while trade openness and population growth increase emission levels within the said economies. Moreover, the method of moment quantile regression used as a robustness check affirms the baseline technique. According to the findings, the E7 economies can safely boost internet usage and associated technologies to lower emissions. They may lessen their negative impact on the ecosystem by increasing the utilization of renewable energy and expanding access to clean fuel and cooking technologies.