Deployment Of Information And Communication Technology Research Articles

The Role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Delivering Higher Education – A Case of Bangladesh

At present a new era has evolved in the education sector by means of ICTS. Different ICTs are now set to become instrumental to help expand access to education, strengthen the relevance of education to the increasingly digital workplace, and raise educational quality by, among others, helping make teaching and learning into an engaging, active process connected to real life. The application and exposure to and deployment of ICTs fundamentally change the way education is conceived and delivered to students. ICTs are enablers that optimize student-centered pedagogical methods. Due to its easy accessibility this means of education has become very popular all over the world. Distance education has got a thrust after the evolution of ICT-based education system. This paper intends to give an idea about ICT-based higher education all over the globe and its applicability in Bangladesh. Finally, it analyses the responses from different user groups to query about the current status of the ICT-based higher education system Bangladesh.

Uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Agriculture and Rural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa:

This paper presents a framework of the evolution of information and communication technology (ICT) applications in agriculture and rural development based on comparative experiences of South Africa and Kenya. The framework posits that full deployment of ICT in agriculture and rural development will be a culmination of several phases of changes that starts with e-government policy design, development and implementation. The paper argues that ICT use in agriculture and rural development is a powerful instrument for improving agricultural and rural development and standards of living throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. However, success in greater application of ICT in agriculture will require addressing impediments to adoption and diffusion. Such impediments include the lack of awareness, low literacy, infrastructure deficiencies (e.g. lack of electricity to charge electronic gadgets), language and cultural barriers in ICT usage, the low e-inclusivity and the need to cater for the special needs of some users. The paper reviews successful applications of ICT in agriculture and urges greater use of ICT-based interventions in agriculture as a vehicle for spurring rural development in Africa. Request access from your librarian to read this article's full text.

Uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Agriculture and Rural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper presents a framework of the evolution of information and communication technology (ICT) applications in agriculture and rural development based on comparative experiences of South Africa and Kenya. The framework posits that full deployment of ICT in agriculture and rural development will be a culmination of several phases of changes that starts with e-government policy design, development and implementation. The paper argues that ICT use in agriculture and rural development is a powerful instrument for improving agricultural and rural development and standards of living throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. However, success in greater application of ICT in agriculture will require addressing impediments to adoption and diffusion. Such impediments include the lack of awareness, low literacy, infrastructure deficiencies (e.g. lack of electricity to charge electronic gadgets), language and cultural barriers in ICT usage, the low e-inclusivity and the need to cater for the special needs of some users. The paper reviews successful applications of ICT in agriculture and urges greater use of ICT-based interventions in agriculture as a vehicle for spurring rural development in Africa.

The relationship between business characteristics and ICT deployment in the rural tourism sector. The case of Spain

AbstractThe deployment of information and communication technologies (ICT) is crucial for the competitiveness of rural tourism businesses. It is therefore important to know the relation between a firm's characteristics and ICT deployment. This study makes two hierarchical segmentations to predict the behaviour of these firms when deploying the Web and e‐mail. This work determines which characteristics are related to ICT deployment. Activity and category are the two characteristics that most effectively predict a firm's behaviour, whereas location and size are less effective. These results have implications for entrepreneurial behaviour and for public agents working in rural tourism. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The value of extended networks: Social capital in an ICT intervention in rural Peru

This interpretive case study discusses the implications of an information and communication technology (ICT) intervention in a remote village located in the northern Peruvian Andes. An integrated sensitizing framework, bringing together human capital, social capital, and institution theories in the presence of ICT, is used for this exploratory research. Using grounded theory method as a vehicle for the analysis of the stories of two villagers, this article describes how the ICT deployment enabled two people to act as key connectors between their village and the outside world. The paper then discusses implications of these individual stories for the actual and potential consequences of ICT interventions in rural areas in developing countries. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

How the Development of ICTs Affects ICTs for Development

Historically, capitalism has been characterised by socio-spatial unevenness, and information capitalism is no exception. To that extent, it is relevant to ask who is served by ‘development’ projects in the information age? In the context of information and communication technology (ICT) deployments in development projects in particular, it is critical to ask: ICTs for whom? This article argues that the development of standards is an important factor in influencing who benefits from ICTs. While standards can deliver long-run aggregate benefits, the extent of benefits will depend on the trade-offs that standardisation entails. Since standards draw boundaries between those who conform and those who do not, there is a trade-off between aggregate benefits and the creation of individual winners and losers. There is another trade-off, between a narrow focus required for rationalising processes, and the need to retain wider context and diversity. In other words, the outcomes of the deployment of ICTs for development are shaped by these trade-offs and reflect the social contestation over the choice of standards.

MAKING AND MANAGING ELECTRONIC CHILDREN: E-assessment in child welfare

‘Every Child Matters’ (ECM) is a government response to longstanding concerns about child welfare and protection. A key feature is the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve information sharing and inter-professional communication. One of the proposals requires the establishment of an index, ContactPoint, which is a database containing information on all children in their area, to be used by child welfare professionals to indicate their involvement with a child and, where there is ‘cause for concern’, to facilitate joint action. Whilst these proposals for harnessing ICTs within child welfare are a central part of the government's modernization strategy, plans for the Index have been heavily criticized for its panoptic potential to invade privacy and override professional discretion and judgement. This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study funded by the ESRC e-Society Programme. Drawing on data collected in one ‘Trailblazer’ local authority area during the pilot phase, it describes the introduction of a local child index and the ways in which professionals and the technologies are drawn together within the local child welfare network. For the Index to achieve its original purpose of improving information sharing and inter-professional communication it must be ‘used’ by child welfare practitioners. But establishing the Index as a friend to the child welfare professional is not a straightforward process. The research suggests this is dependent on a set of relations that are being constantly negotiated and accomplished in everyday practice. It is clear the deployment of ICTs in professional practice is highly contingent upon local policy implementation, the local arrangement of services and the everyday practices of busy and sceptical practitioners.

Managing the innovative deployment of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Global Service Organisations

We examine the specific challenges for successfully deploying Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Global Service Organisations (GSOs). In light of the growing importance of services worldwide, we review current practices of ICT deployment in service provision. We discuss the overwhelming efficiency orientation of ICT deployment and identify its consumer implications and the challenge for the co creation logic underlying services. We then discuss the need for a more customer-centric orientation, argue for an integrative approach to designing, deploying, and managing ICT in GSOs, and discuss the managerial aspects of implementing and employing such an approach. We identify a wide range of relevant research needs across a number of established business and management domains and disciplines.

Integration of information and communication technology

PurposeAlthough the deployment of information and communication technology (ICT) in the construction industry is widespread recent research indicates that the surrounding contextual issues hinder its successful application in many project settings. This paper aims to develop a framework for the analysis of organisational culture in respect of ICT implementation across an organisation in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachAn re‐analysis of critical success factors (CSF) for ICT integration, identified through data from a Delphi study of industry experts and a questionnaire survey of ICT users, using Martin's three‐perspective framework applying both the functional and non‐functional approaches to cultural analysis was conducted.FindingsThe research revealed the theoretical dimensions and properties of organisational culture that influence CSFs for ICT integration in construction projects teams. This paper concludes by highlighting the influence of the organisation's culture, manifested though the nature and extent of shared understanding, on the likely success of ICT implementation.Originality/valueThe deployment of ICT without appropriate consideration of contextual issues, in particular, organisational culture, will be likely to generate disappointing results. The framework presented in this paper provides a rigorous foundation for consideration of such issues.

Managing the Innovative Deployment of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Global Service Organisations

Global service organizations (GSOs), particularly those that utilize information and communication technology (ICT) at the customer interface, need to find ways of deploying these technologies that deliver both increased efficiency and manageability as well as appropriate support for the co-production of value with service customers. While ICT is already a core part of many traditional services like banking, insurance and travel, even more service organizations are becoming heavily reliant on ICT as the service sector is becoming host to the dominant users of ICT (Meyronin, 2004). Thus, attention to how ICT is deployed by and within service organizations is both timely and important. Evidence from service organizations indicates the persistent shortcomings in their abilities to deploy and exploit ICT successfully (e.g., Berkley & Gupta, 1994; Brady, Fellenz & Armstrong, 2007; Mick & Fournier, 1998). Moreover, in this paper we argue that the way in which ICT has mainly been deployed by GSOs creates fundamental challenges because typical ICT deployment in this sector fails to be successfully aligned with the demands of service customers. How can the ICT component of global services be delivered? What are the challenges for this from a management perspective? If global service organizations fully embrace a service logic (e.g., Vargo & Lusch, 2004a, b), what are the implications for the ICT currently in use in their service provision, and how can ICT most usefully be deployed with both business success and customer centric outcomes? To address these questions and challenges we consider how ICT can be a core part of global services operations yet simultaneously be responsive to differential customer needs and the subsequently customized delivery and interface management approaches in different markets. ICT deployment often fails to adequately take customer perspectives into account, and in turn disregards both the particular nature of value-creation in services (Bitner, Brown & Meuter, 2000) and the relevant management needs (Austin & Nolan, 2007). To summarize our argument, ICT deployment approaches of GSOs that do not directly reflect and support customer-centric co-production processes do more harm than good, and are likely to result in substantial competitive disadvantage. Internally, organizations need to find ways to integrate distinct perspectives on ICT deployment in order to maximize the potential that such technology use can bring to them as well as their service customers. To explore these matters our paper reviews the growth in services and the nature of ICT deployment in this sector. We identify the efficiency logic that typically drives ICT deployment in GSOs and contrast this with a more service-oriented logic that recognizes the importance of co-production and customer-centric value propositions in service provision. We trace the lack of alignment between the demands of service encounters and the nature of ICT deployment by GSOs both to typical technology assimilation patterns as well as to parochial, often functional perspectives and identify managerial and organizational requirements necessary to realign these issues in practice. We then present a range of research directions that can provide valuable input into the most appropriate ways of deploying and managing ICT in global service organizations.

Using ICT in primary schools: different perceptions by school heads and teachers in Hong Kong

Although, the benefits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in primary schools have been gradually recognised in the past decade, many researchers still hold different or sometimes opposing, views. This paper introduces the history of the educational use of ICT and some theories behind it. The views of people in the supporting and opposing camps will be discussed. A survey was administered to school heads and teachers in Hong Kong to explore their views on the aspects of ICT use. The survey found that teachers have a remarkably less optimistic view than do school heads on many issues. Policymakers should be aware of this perception gap and carefully reexamine any possible issues with ICT deployment. The rationale and method of this study are likely applicable to other educational systems around the world.

Technology enhancing learning: analysing uses of information and communication technologies by primary and secondary school pupils with learning frameworks

Successive national policy in England has striven to develop uses of information and communication technologies (ICT) to support teaching and learning, and has promoted the adoption of ICT in schools over a period of some 25 years (since the ‘Microcomputer in schools initiative’ of 1981). The current level of deployment of ICT in schools is high. Not only are current levels higher than ever before, but the diversity of forms of ICT have also increased. These high levels and wide diversity create challenges for teachers, in terms of understanding how to select appropriate uses of ICT to support learning most effectively in specific situations. A clear need is for teachers to know how each form of ICT supports precise aspects of learning, in each subject area, topic and activity. Teachers need to consider the forms of technological resources that are accessible, how these specifically work within learning environments in classroom (and other) settings, and how uses of resources match social, behavioural, emotional and cognitive needs of pupils. This article offers a perspective of the pedagogical needs of teachers, by considering a particular selection of learning technologies, how these are used within learning environments, and how it is possible to view their impact on pupil cognition. A set of starting frameworks, through which to analyse impact, is considered, and the findings from example sets of case studies indicate how uses of ICT have been focused by teachers, and where potential forms of impact have arisen. The findings indicate a need for more detailed data gathering, both to provide evidence that will offer a greater insight into specific aspects of learning that are supported when certain forms of ICT are used, and to give an indication of gaps in learning focus that might arise. From the results of the analyses presented, implications for policy, practice, evaluation and research are highlighted and discussed.

ICT in History Education— Scotland and Europe

Advances in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in history teaching and an increase in the deployment of ICT for history teaching and learning have been reflected in all European countries, albeit with varying degrees of success. Developments in the university and school sectors are characterized by a growing integration of specific ICT facilities and tools. The growing importance of ICT in history teaching and learning has been fostered by national government investment and a variety of cross-Europe support initiatives; however, research indicates that its potential has yet to be fully realized. Research into the impact of ICT on teaching and learning in Scottish schools shows a similarly patchy picture to that in other European countries; however, the evaluation of a series of CD-ROMs confirms the arguments of history educators that effective history software must problematize the past, so helping pupils develop their research and thinking skills.

Integrated clinical information systems: an essential ressource - an opportunity for International cooperation

By computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care. The future of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in healthcare is citizen-oriented. The transition from the previous facility-centred approach turns into an unprecedented political challenge. In fact, it implies the simultaneous deployment of ICT in large communities and the integration of clinical, organizational and economic information. The analysis of the ongoing transition processes in the most reactive countries shows that it takes several years to go through the following unavoidable phases: (i) diffuse awareness that innovative ICT solutions can improve quality of care and optimize resources, (ii) debate to reach a common vision across stakeholders and production of a White Book, (iii) definition of a long-term roadmap with short-term milestones, (iv) creation of an eHealth agency to support the coordination of ICT professionals and the dissemination of know-how, (v) launch an acceleration program with significant (federal) financial resources. The close cooperation among jurisdictions within a country and the international cooperation – throughout all the phases of this process – can produce faster and more robust solutions, at minor cost.

Getting IT Right for E–Business

Emerging and developing technologies like information and communication technologies (ICT) offer great opportunities to organisations and individuals to derive the many benefits of conducting business electronically. The actual results of the deployment of ICT, however, have been mixed and there have been some high profile failures. It would appear, therefore, that there are associated risks and challenges to be faced. This paper draws on the wide experience of the author in helping organisations over many years to make effective use of ICT and reap many of the associated benefits while mitigating the risks. It will discuss some of the issues, dilemmas and pitfalls that are faced by management. Two case studies will be summarised to show how some of these issues were successfully addressed by a methodology and supporting framework developed by the author. The methodology is then described with the invitation to others seeking success to explore its potential within their own organisations.

An XML metadata approach to seamless project information exchange between heterogeneous platforms

A three year Esprit project – ProCure – is ultimately aiming to take a significant but achievable step forward in the application of available information and communication technology (ICT) to the large scale engineering (LSE) construction industry. The ProCure consortium consists of five industrial partners supported by four associated research and expert partners. The project combines leading expertise from three member states to support ICT deployment by three industrial collaborative groups, i.e. UK, Germany and Finland. The basis of the project is in the partners’ belief that sufficient ICT is now available to achieve deployment, with care, in real projects, with an acceptable risk of failure. This paper presents work undertaken within the project to investigate the various metadata standards that exist in order to define a minimum metadata set based on these standards for the implementation of two demonstrators for XML based automated document exchange between a simulation of a corporate document management system and a simulation of a collaborative construction project Web site.

Contextualising ICT benefits in an educational environment: the case of the DOC-WILS initiative

The programme of the DoC-WILs is an initiative of the Department of Communication in collaboration with Telkom, established through the Human Resources Fund to enable human resources development at historically disadvantaged learning institutions. The Telecommunications, 1996 (Act 103 of 1996) establishes a Human Resources Fund to promote the provision of adequately skilled human resources at all levels of the telecommunications sector in numbers sufficient for the telecommunications needs of the country. The Department of Communication Web Internet Laboratories (DoC-WILs) emphasise skills development through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in areas such as network management, creating Websites, use of e-mail and the World Wide Web, multimedia applications and Intranet development. It is, however, not known under what contextual circumstances this kind of ICT-usage will lead to interactive learning benefits and how the DoC-WILs should go about achieving them. This article therefore attempts to shed some light on the conditions under which ICT usage could impact on educational outcomes desired by the DoC-WILs and on how these DoC-WILs could best go about taking appropriate actions to improve the possibility of achieving desired interactive learning benefits. It is argued that the ability of the DoC-WILs to achieve desired benefits successfully is crucially dependent on contextual conditions, policies or processes that apply to the DoC-WILs or their users. This is in line with the social shaping of technology approach that local circumstances surrounding the deployment of ICTs in different sectors of society are more important in shaping the consequence of ICTs than technological variables.