Modern ICTs Research Articles

CABI's innovative use of technology, data, and knowledge transfer to reduce crop losses in the developing world

AbstractCABI is a not‐for‐profit, knowledge‐based organization with a mission to improve livelihoods by solving problems in agriculture and the environment. It aims to achieve impact at scale by combining modern ICTs with knowledge management skills and the ability to bridge the gap between research and the practical application of scientific knowledge. The global Plantwise program, led by CABI, aims to reduce crop losses by focusing on improving plant health information services throughout the developing world, where up to 80% of the world's food is produced. Its aim is to “lose less and feed more” by providing appropriate, authoritative, and practical information to farmers through a network of face‐to‐face plant clinics, backed up by a vast Knowledge Bank of factsheets, distribution maps, images, and pest management toolkits. Introducing simple Android tablets into the Plantwise plant clinics, backed up by mobile phone advisory services, has built capacity in farmer communities, increased the speed with which new pests and diseases can be identified and improved the quality of the diagnoses and advice provided by the Plant Doctors. As the Plantwise network grows, the data collected and held in the Knowledge Bank can be analyzed and combined with other sources to provide new insights and tools to address the challenges of increasing productivity and adapting to climate change. As a partner in the GODAN initiative, CABI is also collaborating with other data providers to seek solutions to the world's agricultural challenges and to build the digital skills needed to drive the data revolution.

English

The purpose of this research is to reveal the determinants of information seeking behavior of the Abergelle woreda smallholder farmers. In this information era, smallholder farmers’ information seeking behavior shows difference due to many reasons: change with their geographical location, economic, demographic, psychological and institutional factors. Till now, to the best of the author’s knowledge, no study has been done on the topic in the study area, therefore, identifying the research on determinants of information seeking behaviour underline its importance. From the 19 rural kebeles of the wereda, 5 were randomly selected. The sample size was specified based on simplified Yamane (1967) formula and 152 household head were selected by using simple random sampling technique proportion to their population size from the randomly selected five sampled kebeles. The primary data were collected through household survey and secondary data were collected by reviewing published and unpublished materials. The level of respondents information seeking behavior of farmers were analyzed by using mean and standard deviation and the determinants of information seeking behavior identified by ordered logit regression model. Information seeking behavior of farmers’ was determined positively and significant by radio, mobile, extension contact, participating in any training, social participation, distance from the nearest market and farmers’ perception. In conclusion, farmers’ information seeking behavior was determined by: ICT ownership, extension contact, participating in training, social participation and perception. The study recommended that, to create awareness on the importance of information in enhancing rural livelihood, dissemination of information through trusted channels information sources is highly needed,  strengthening the existing agricultural training offering practices and extending the training on how to seek information on modern information source further needed and strengthening extension contact through individual extension contact using home and farm visit should supported by modern ICTs.   Key words: Determinants, information seeking behavior, ordered ordinal logistic regression logit, smallholder farmers, Tigray, Ethiopia.

Exploring the factors influencing employees' satisfaction toward e-tax systems

Governments across the world embraced the revolution in modern ICTs, where they are progressively investing into e-tax systems. The major factor influencing the success of such systems is level of employees' satisfaction toward using e-tax systems. The majority of research reported an evaluation of E-Tax systems from taxpayers' perspectives. This study evaluated Jordanian Electronic Tax System from employees' perspective. Using a quantitative approach, employees' responses were gathered regarding their satisfaction with the system. A sample of 47 employees was utilised and an instrument of 29 items was used in this study. Results indicated that perceived ease of use, IT background, incentives, and social influence are major predictors of employees' satisfaction. Perceived usefulness was not significant in this relation. Discussion, conclusion and future work are stated at the end of this work.

Impact Civil Conflicts, Information Quality, System Quality and Service Quality on the Net Benefits of M-government: An Empirical Study of Farmers\' Southern Region of Iraq

Evaluation the Information System (IS) from the perspective of the net benefits of IS usage under unstable environment in developing countries, such as Iraq, is critical. For this purpose, this study aims to investigate mG success in the Iraqi context, where literature on this field of research is lacking. Today, ICTs promote development across many dimensions not only serving as one of the main resources for promoting products and services and for delivering and broadcasting information but also in connecting organizations and communities together in terms of better interaction and better communicational possibilities. Therefore, several governments have attempted to establish IS projects by exploiting modern ICTs. The Iraqi government has recently sought to harness these technologies to provide quality service for their citizens. Mobile technologies significantly increased among the Iraqi citizens, especially after 2003. ITU (International Telecommunication Union) (2013) reported mobile subscribers rates are forecast to a rise from 75% in 2013 to 95 by 2015 in Iraq. The reported noted that by 2013 Iraq is the highest mobile penetration rate amongst 34 countries. Despite the increase of the services offered by the government, few citizens have participated, according to a recent survey of the UN. Moreover, providing mobile Government (mG) services alone did not guarantee success of mG without releasing the benefits of using mG services, especially in rural areas. Net benefits are considered a critical phenomenon for the success of any IS and mG is not far from this issue. Quantitative data were collected from Iraqi citizens. Structural equation modeling was used this study to validate the findings. Results show that information, service quality and civil conflicts affect net benefits through use of mG, whereas use of mG affect net benefits of mG services. The results imply that service providers need to deliver quality information and quality service to facilitate the users’ post-adoption usage of mG services.

Challenging the International Criminal Justice Template: Failures in the Use of International Criminal Law as a Transitional Justice Mechanism

This paper challenges international criminal tribunals’ capacity to perform the socially constitute work of transitional justice. It introduces a three-part prototype, the international criminal justice template to describe the core socially constitutive competencies imagined for ICTs, demonstrating the emergence of this template from the Nuremberg tribunal and its application through modern ICTs. Highlighting paradigmatic ICT jurisprudence, the paper shows how the template is unrealizable under current ICT practice due to accountability deficits which stem from international criminal law’s foundational legitimation in natural law, rather than political liberalism, and calls, in its conclusion, for a revision of ICT institutional accountability structures.

Jostling for Clientele in the Wake of a Dollarized Economy in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of the Banking Sector in Masvingo Urban

This paper explores the various strategies that banks in Masvingo are using to lure new clients. It is argued in this paper that the hyper – inflationary environment prior to dollarization of the economy had led to a booming business for most banks engaging in illicit activities like money burning. However, adoption of the dollarization of the economy culminated into a partial decomposition and at worst death of some banks as they struggled to adjust to a new economic dispensation. Findings in this study highlight that banks are embroiled in a subtle scramble for clientele as they try to capitalize on the resuscitated client confidence in the banking sector. It emerged that banks have resorted to provision of lucrative loan deal, use of modern ICTs and engaging in various corporate social responsibility activities to improve their corporate image so as to lure new clients. This study was purely qualitative in nature and adopted a triangulation of data soliciting techniques that included unstructured interviews, Focus group discussions, secondary sources and key informant interviews.

Cloud technologies in architectural education

Informatization of architectural design, in particular the increasing use of specialized CAD and software for static and dynamic visualization of architectural and design projects by architects in their activities requires adequate comprehensive modernization of all components of the methodological system for training future architects at university, which in turn determines the introduction of appropriate changes to the paradigm of higher architectural education.The implementation of modern Information Technologies for Architectural Design into the training process of future architects in university has actualized a number of problematic issues among which the most difficult ones are the necessity of modern computers and software, the need for continuous technical service of hardware, network and software, the appropriate level of professional competence of the teaching staff. These problematic issues require considerable financial resources and are mainly related to the use of traditional methods of teaching higher-education disciplines in the teaching process. At the same time, modern ICTs make it possible to abandon established methodologies to a certain extent and reduce the cost of the software and hardware support for the teaching process. Pedagogical innovation is based on the latest "cloud computing" technology and makes it possible to successfully overcome the above-mentioned difficulties in engaging students in mastering modern network technologies.

Exploring the potential of electronic commerce tools in South African SME tourism service providers

The World Wide Web, together with other ICT enabling technologies, offers a platform for organizations to arrange their business processes, address their marketplaces, and partner with other enterprises. This paper reports on the diffusion and adoption of electronic commerce tools by small and medium enterprise (SME) tourism service providers in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. In order to achieve the stated aim, the following research questions were addressed: What types of e-commerce tools have been adopted in the SMEs? What were the reasons for the adoption of e-commerce? What benefits do e-commerce tools provide to SMEs? What are the barriers that SMEs face with the adoption of e-commerce? What are the e-commerce training needs of SMEs service providers? Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations framework was found to be useful as the study sought to examine the diffusion and use of modern ICTs by SME tourism service providers. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design in which a systematic sampling technique is used. The data was analysed by using descriptive statistics. The results demonstrated that a variety of e-commerce tools have been adopted in the SMEs studied. E-commerce tools are also very effective in reaching new customers, increasing sales and improving marketing. It is therefore important that SMEs have access to relevant e-commerce tools in order to enjoy and reap the benefits of ICTs. SMEs should ensure that they offer their staff adequate varieties and levels of ICT competence.

The Advent of Open Source Democracy and Wikipolitics: Challenges, Threats, and Opportunities for Democratic Discourse

It has been claimed that the Web 2.0, the open source movement, and the emerging mode of peer production have inaugurated a new era of debate about openness, participation, and cooperation as bedrocks for rebuilding the civilizations of the modern world. By way of introducing the concept of wikipolitics, this paper examines whether, and if so how, politics and democracies can benefit from this emerging participatory spirit and modern ICTs, and to document possible dangers of such a shift in the democratic process

Microinnovations in Human-Technology Interaction

It has been claimed that the Web 2.0, the open source movement, and the emerging mode of peer production have inaugurated a new era of debate about openness, participation, and cooperation as bedrocks for rebuilding the civilizations of the modern world. By way of introducing the concept of wikipolitics, this paper examines whether, and if so how, politics and democracies can benefit from this emerging participatory spirit and modern ICTs, and to document possible dangers of such a shift in the democratic process

New Trends in Content Creation: Changing Responsibilities for Librarians

This paper addresses the changes in the role of librarians as information intermediaries due to the introduction of new forms of digital content brought about by modern information and communication technologies. The main focus is on the way in which these changes have affected the moral responsibilities of librarians. Six content trends are identified in support of this claim. These are: the growth in volume; amount of noise; sharing of content and information participation; personal space; collaboration and naive use. The ethical challenges of these six trends are discussed. Because of the unpredictability and uncontrollability of contemporary digital content, a case is made that the traditional model of retrospective responsibility, according to which responsibility is assigned based on causality, should be supplemented with a positive prospective model of responsibility according to which librarians also need to look ‘forward’ anticipating possible harmful impacts of modern ICTs. It is also argued, based on the open and interactive nature of new forms of content, that there should be a form of shared and distributed responsibility, which should include not only librarians, but also Internet service providers, library users, and software designers.

A disaster information and monitoring system utilizing earth observation

Purpose – This paper aims to present disaster information and a monitoring system in order to utilize earth observation data in the operative process of early warning, mitigation and management of natural disasters. The system is aimed at integrating earth observation data analysis with modern ICTs including GIS, grid, mobile communication and web technology to support disaster monitoring and to share disaster information during a crisis.Design/methodology/approach – The system development concerned outlining an operative disaster monitoring and management process. The process was derived from actual practices, suggestions and needs of different user groups involved in disaster management. After investigating state‐of‐the‐art ICTs and reviewing the existing tools and databases, a suitable system architecture was designed and a prototype system was implemented, adapting to a proven software development process.Findings – The prototype system implementation demonstrated how satellite‐based data can be used ...

DART: a new missile in Australia's e‐research strategy

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the evolution of a new e‐research paradigm and to outline key projects and developments in Europe, North America, Canada and Australia. The article also provides a detailed summary of the Dataset Acquisition, Accessibility and Annotation e‐Research Technology (DART) project.Design/methodology/approachA review of relevant government reports, documents and general literature was conducted.FindingsProjects currently being conducted in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia are part of an international movement that aims to use modern ICTs to enhance e‐research. The DART project is a significant part of this movement as it has adopted a “whole process” approach to e‐research, and provides a platform for the examination of the technical, legal and policy issues that arise in the new e‐research environment.Originality/valueProvides an overview of current projects that concern the development of e‐research, with a particular focus on Australian research and the DART project.

Agency and Space: the political impact of information technologies in the Gulf Arab states

Recent political reforms in the Gulf Arab countries have been variously understood as regime survival strategies, correlates of economic globalisation, and even the end result of US pressure to democratise. This paper examines the possible role played by the introduction of modern information and communication technologies (icts) in stimulating political liberalisation in the Gulf Arab states. Rather than attempting to quantify their democratising impact, this paper utilises the concept of agency, examining how the range of agents of ict production and diffusion in the region have sought to influence the actual impact upon political space. It concludes that modern icts have demonstrated the potential to expand the existing public sphere, and to create new opportunities for liberal political activity. However, the particular configuration of agency in the countries in question has meant that the state and its allies have retained a significant degree of control over the extent and nature of the political space, a process in which local society may have in some instances collaborated. Thus, while the introduction and diffusion of new icts may have contributed to the pressures which led to some of the political reforms in evidence in the Gulf Arab states, one cannot argue that they amount, at least as yet, to a sustained and effective attack on illiberal political structures. The first part of this paper surveys the existing body of literature in an effort to devise a framework for the subsequent study of two principal contemporary icts (satellite television and the internet) in the Gulf Arab states.