Colourism is a form of discrimination where dark-skinned people of colour are perceived and treated less favourably than lighter-skinned people of the same ethnic group or racial classification. Much of the scholarly literature on colourism is focused on the experiences of African-Americans in the United States, but there is also substantial literature examining colourism’s impacts for Americans of Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian ancestry, and for people of colour in the Caribbean, Latin America, the UK, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and parts of Africa. To date, there has not been significant scholarly focus on the phenomenon as it manifests in Kenya. This study sought to address that research gap by: (1) exploring the extent to which colourism is an issue of concern among Kenyan users of the social media platform Twitter; and (2) identifying the main colourism themes present in posts in the Kenyan Twitter ecosystem. The research entailed mining Kenyan Twitter data for nine and a half months in 2022, which resulted in the documentation of 7,726 unique posts on elements of colourism, as posted from 5,094 unique Twitter user accounts. Using inductive frame analysis, three predominant thematic categories were identified across the posts: (1) colourism perceptions; (2) colourism experiences; and (3) colourism influence. The frame analysis also uncovered sub-themes in each of these three broad categories. It was found that most of the Kenyan Twitter users who tweeted on matters of colourism during the period studied both acknowledged the existence of colourism’s manifestations and at the same time rejected the manifestations, advocating for a future free from such discrimination.
{"title":"Framings of colourism among Kenyan Twitter users","authors":"Caroline Kiarie, Nicola-Jane Jones","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i32.16429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i32.16429","url":null,"abstract":"Colourism is a form of discrimination where dark-skinned people of colour are perceived and treated less favourably than lighter-skinned people of the same ethnic group or racial classification. Much of the scholarly literature on colourism is focused on the experiences of African-Americans in the United States, but there is also substantial literature examining colourism’s impacts for Americans of Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian ancestry, and for people of colour in the Caribbean, Latin America, the UK, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and parts of Africa. To date, there has not been significant scholarly focus on the phenomenon as it manifests in Kenya. This study sought to address that research gap by: (1) exploring the extent to which colourism is an issue of concern among Kenyan users of the social media platform Twitter; and (2) identifying the main colourism themes present in posts in the Kenyan Twitter ecosystem. The research entailed mining Kenyan Twitter data for nine and a half months in 2022, which resulted in the documentation of 7,726 unique posts on elements of colourism, as posted from 5,094 unique Twitter user accounts. Using inductive frame analysis, three predominant thematic categories were identified across the posts: (1) colourism perceptions; (2) colourism experiences; and (3) colourism influence. The frame analysis also uncovered sub-themes in each of these three broad categories. It was found that most of the Kenyan Twitter users who tweeted on matters of colourism during the period studied both acknowledged the existence of colourism’s manifestations and at the same time rejected the manifestations, advocating for a future free from such discrimination.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"19 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138951974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study explored the lessons that were learnt about online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic in five private high schools in a suburb of Pretoria. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with 15 schoolteachers (three from each school), in which they were asked about their experiences with, and perceptions of, the online teaching that they and their schools provided during the periods in 2020 when in-person schooling was prohibited in South Africa due to the pandemic. Thematic analysis of the interview data produced two categories of factors that affected the ability of teachers to successfully offer online-only teaching and learning: infrastructural factors and human capital factors. Drawing on the teachers’ inputs in these thematic areas, four lessons learnt were determined, as follows: ensure reliable power supply in support of internet connectivity; allow teacher internet connectivity on a bring your own device (BYOD) basis; ensure practical and up-to-date teacher skills in online teaching; and harness the power of peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing.
{"title":"Infrastructure, human capital, and online teaching during COVID-19 disruptions: Teachers’ experiences at five South African private schools","authors":"Baldreck Chipangura","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i32.15934","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i32.15934","url":null,"abstract":"This study explored the lessons that were learnt about online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic in five private high schools in a suburb of Pretoria. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with 15 schoolteachers (three from each school), in which they were asked about their experiences with, and perceptions of, the online teaching that they and their schools provided during the periods in 2020 when in-person schooling was prohibited in South Africa due to the pandemic. Thematic analysis of the interview data produced two categories of factors that affected the ability of teachers to successfully offer online-only teaching and learning: infrastructural factors and human capital factors. Drawing on the teachers’ inputs in these thematic areas, four lessons learnt were determined, as follows: ensure reliable power supply in support of internet connectivity; allow teacher internet connectivity on a bring your own device (BYOD) basis; ensure practical and up-to-date teacher skills in online teaching; and harness the power of peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"58 50","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138949216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
After extensive advocacy and lobbying by the media, human rights campaigners, and civil society organisations (CSOs), Ghana’s Right to Information (RTI) Act (Act 989) became law in 2019 and went into effect in January 2020. The Act sets out the procedures for access to information held by Ghanaian public institutions, with oversight by the Right to Information Commission (RTIC). The purpose of this study was to explore the dynamics of initial implementation of the law, in the years 2020-22, and to identify potential obstacles to optimal execution during that initial period. The core research data was collected via semi-structured interviews, between April and August 2022, with 10 individuals possessing deep knowledge of the Act and its implementation dynamics. This interview data was qualitatively analysed, through the lenses of the principal–agent conceptual model and the objectives of the Act, in order to determine the key themes emerging from the data. It was found that realisation of the Act’s objectives was being hampered to some extent by a lack of public awareness, and to a more substantial extent by bureaucratic blockages resulting from a mix of entrenched administrative culture and a lack of knowledge of the requirements of the Act. Based on these findings, the author recommends improved public education by the RTIC in cooperation with CSOs; strong RTIC engagement with public institutions to ensure a sufficient number of fully trained information officers (IOs); continued CSO cooperation with the Ministry of Information towards ensuring optimal implementation of the Act; CSO monitoring of the work of the RTIC; and CSO support for information access applications by journalists and other civil society actors.
{"title":"Ghana’s Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2019: Exploration of its implementation dynamics","authors":"T. D. Adjin-Tettey","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i32.16223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i32.16223","url":null,"abstract":"After extensive advocacy and lobbying by the media, human rights campaigners, and civil society organisations (CSOs), Ghana’s Right to Information (RTI) Act (Act 989) became law in 2019 and went into effect in January 2020. The Act sets out the procedures for access to information held by Ghanaian public institutions, with oversight by the Right to Information Commission (RTIC). The purpose of this study was to explore the dynamics of initial implementation of the law, in the years 2020-22, and to identify potential obstacles to optimal execution during that initial period. The core research data was collected via semi-structured interviews, between April and August 2022, with 10 individuals possessing deep knowledge of the Act and its implementation dynamics. This interview data was qualitatively analysed, through the lenses of the principal–agent conceptual model and the objectives of the Act, in order to determine the key themes emerging from the data. It was found that realisation of the Act’s objectives was being hampered to some extent by a lack of public awareness, and to a more substantial extent by bureaucratic blockages resulting from a mix of entrenched administrative culture and a lack of knowledge of the requirements of the Act. Based on these findings, the author recommends improved public education by the RTIC in cooperation with CSOs; strong RTIC engagement with public institutions to ensure a sufficient number of fully trained information officers (IOs); continued CSO cooperation with the Ministry of Information towards ensuring optimal implementation of the Act; CSO monitoring of the work of the RTIC; and CSO support for information access applications by journalists and other civil society actors.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"32 20","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138950160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Using South African state-owned enterprise (SOE) Transnet as a case study, this article explores the factors that influence the cybersecurity risks that are posed to infrastructure, with implications for markets and society, by advanced computational systems. We studied the legislation and corporate governance decisions leading up to the July 2021 breach of Transnet’s IT network, a high-profile event with potential cascading consequences. We also examined the evolution, since the country’s transition to democracy, of the South African government’s approach to fostering a developmental state. The findings illustrate that cybersecurity policy needs to be a core dimension of contemporary South African socioeconomic development policy, necessitating a central role for the developmental state in creating trusted marketplaces and procuring suitable security software systems. The findings also underscore the reality that a failure to act against increasing cyber-threats constitutes a substantial risk to the functioning of the South African market. Based on the findings, this article argues for a close examination of how the cybersecurity performance of South African SOEs can be improved. While focused on South Africa, the findings are relevant to other countries seeking to integrate robust cybersecurity measures into their national logistical and infrastructural sectors.
本文以南非国有企业 Transnet 为案例，探讨了影响网络安全风险的因素，这些风险由先进的计算系统对基础设施造成，并对市场和社会产生影响。我们研究了导致 2021 年 7 月 Transnet IT 网络被入侵的立法和公司治理决策，这是一个具有潜在连带后果的高调事件。我们还研究了自南非向民主过渡以来，南非政府促进发展型国家的方法的演变。研究结果表明，网络安全政策必须成为当代南非社会经济发展政策的核心内容，这就要求发展型国家在创建可信市场和采购合适的安全软件系统方面发挥核心作用。研究结果还强调了这样一个现实：如果不采取行动应对日益严重的网络威胁，南非市场的运作就会面临巨大风险。根据研究结果，本文认为应仔细研究如何提高南非国有企业的网络安全绩效。虽然研究重点是南非，但研究结果对其他寻求将强有力的网络安全措施纳入本国物流和基础设施部门的国家也有借鉴意义。
{"title":"The centrality of cybersecurity to socioeconomic development policy: A case study of cyber-vulnerability at South Africa’s Transnet","authors":"Scott Timcke, Mark Gaffley, Andrew Rens","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i32.16949","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i32.16949","url":null,"abstract":"Using South African state-owned enterprise (SOE) Transnet as a case study, this article explores the factors that influence the cybersecurity risks that are posed to infrastructure, with implications for markets and society, by advanced computational systems. We studied the legislation and corporate governance decisions leading up to the July 2021 breach of Transnet’s IT network, a high-profile event with potential cascading consequences. We also examined the evolution, since the country’s transition to democracy, of the South African government’s approach to fostering a developmental state. The findings illustrate that cybersecurity policy needs to be a core dimension of contemporary South African socioeconomic development policy, necessitating a central role for the developmental state in creating trusted marketplaces and procuring suitable security software systems. The findings also underscore the reality that a failure to act against increasing cyber-threats constitutes a substantial risk to the functioning of the South African market. Based on the findings, this article argues for a close examination of how the cybersecurity performance of South African SOEs can be improved. While focused on South Africa, the findings are relevant to other countries seeking to integrate robust cybersecurity measures into their national logistical and infrastructural sectors.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"29 18","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138948206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study explores how competition authorities in three jurisdictions—South Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom—have responded to proposed corporate mergers and acquisitions involving online intermediation platforms that provide automobile marketplaces. The article examines the notified (and ultimately prohibited) MIH eCommerce Holdings acquisition of WeBuyCars in South Africa; the notified (and authorised) Gumtree acquisition of Cox Media in Australia; and, in the UK, the notified (and authorised) eBay acquisition of Motors.co.uk. The author evaluates the competition considerations that came to the fore in each of these three cases and, based on these determinations, the competition authorities’ decisions. The article then highlights some of the complexities that digital online intermediation platforms pose for competition authorities, and some of the possible ways in which the complexities can be managed.
{"title":"Mergers and acquisitions between online automobile-marketplace platforms: Responses by competition authorities in South Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom","authors":"Megan Friday","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i32.16018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i32.16018","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores how competition authorities in three jurisdictions—South Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom—have responded to proposed corporate mergers and acquisitions involving online intermediation platforms that provide automobile marketplaces. The article examines the notified (and ultimately prohibited) MIH eCommerce Holdings acquisition of WeBuyCars in South Africa; the notified (and authorised) Gumtree acquisition of Cox Media in Australia; and, in the UK, the notified (and authorised) eBay acquisition of Motors.co.uk. The author evaluates the competition considerations that came to the fore in each of these three cases and, based on these determinations, the competition authorities’ decisions. The article then highlights some of the complexities that digital online intermediation platforms pose for competition authorities, and some of the possible ways in which the complexities can be managed.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"47 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138950071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study explores the complexities of competition regulation in Zimbabwe’s mobile money sector—through an analysis of EcoCash’s market position and practices, and the regulatory steps taken in response. The study is grounded in the competition complaint made in 2014 by Zimbabwean banks against EcoCash to the Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC), wherein EcoCash was alleged to have initially refused to share its unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) infrastructure with banks; and then later to have granted access only on discriminatory terms. The research assessed the market structure and market power in the Zimbabwe mobile money sector; the regulatory challenges that these market features pose; the market power and conduct of EcoCash; and the effectiveness of the measures taken by regulators to address the competition concerns raised in relation to EcoCash. The findings indicated that, in spite of regulatory attempts to dilute its power in the market, EcoCash was, at the time of the core data collection in 2021–22, still in a dominant position in Zimbabwe’s mobile money market.
{"title":"Complexities of competition regulation in Zimbabwe’s mobile money sector","authors":"Siphiwe Ncube","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i32.15958","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i32.15958","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores the complexities of competition regulation in Zimbabwe’s mobile money sector—through an analysis of EcoCash’s market position and practices, and the regulatory steps taken in response. The study is grounded in the competition complaint made in 2014 by Zimbabwean banks against EcoCash to the Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC), wherein EcoCash was alleged to have initially refused to share its unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) infrastructure with banks; and then later to have granted access only on discriminatory terms. The research assessed the market structure and market power in the Zimbabwe mobile money sector; the regulatory challenges that these market features pose; the market power and conduct of EcoCash; and the effectiveness of the measures taken by regulators to address the competition concerns raised in relation to EcoCash. The findings indicated that, in spite of regulatory attempts to dilute its power in the market, EcoCash was, at the time of the core data collection in 2021–22, still in a dominant position in Zimbabwe’s mobile money market.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"20 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139166207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article reports on a study examining the factors influencing post-hackathon project continuation in a company with presence in several African countries. The research was conducted as a case study, and focused on hackathon events held by the company between 2018 and 2020. The study identified three core factors that influenced the potential for project continuation after the corporate hackathons: (1) availability of financing; (2) team skills fit and diversity; and (3) degree of project integration into company operations. Where one or more of these elements was insufficiently present, then project continuation became less likely—and the likelihood of project discontinuation increased. The findings are of potential utility to corporate hackathon organisers seeking to increase the levels of project continuation—and, by, extension, return on investment—from their companies’ hackathon projects.
{"title":"Factors influencing post-hackathon project continuation in an African corporate setting","authors":"Zanele Ratsoga, Mpho Primus","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i31.15564","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i31.15564","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports on a study examining the factors influencing post-hackathon project continuation in a company with presence in several African countries. The research was conducted as a case study, and focused on hackathon events held by the company between 2018 and 2020. The study identified three core factors that influenced the potential for project continuation after the corporate hackathons: (1) availability of financing; (2) team skills fit and diversity; and (3) degree of project integration into company operations. Where one or more of these elements was insufficiently present, then project continuation became less likely—and the likelihood of project discontinuation increased. The findings are of potential utility to corporate hackathon organisers seeking to increase the levels of project continuation—and, by, extension, return on investment—from their companies’ hackathon projects.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"105 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131755350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study explores how university-educated Nigerians living in two urban centres engaged with, and made choices about whether to share or not share, “fake news” on COVID-19 in 2020.The research adopted a qualitative approach by conducting focus group interviews with participants, all university graduates aged 25 or older, sampled from Lagos and Umuahia—two major metropolitan cities in Nigeria. Participants’ sense-making practices with regard to fake news on COVID-19 were varied. One core finding was that social media virality was typically seen as being synonymous with fake news due to the dramatic, exaggerated, and sometimes illogical nature of such information. Many participants demonstrated a high level of literacy in spotting fake news. Among those who said that they sometimes shared fake news on COVID-19, one motivation was to warn of the dangers of fake news by making it clear, while sharing, that the information was false. Other participants said that they shared news without being certain of its veracity, because of a general concern about the virus, and some participants shared news if it was at least partially true, provided that the news aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of COVID-19. However, some participants deliberately shared fake news on COVID-19 and did so because of a financial motivation. Those who sought to avoid sharing fake news on COVID-19 did so to avoid causing harm. The study provides insights into the reception of, and practices in engaging with, health-related fake news within a university-educated Nigerian demographic.
{"title":"“If it is circulating widely on social media, then it is likely to be fake news”: Reception of, and motivations for sharing, COVID-19-related fake news among university-educated Nigerians","authors":"Chikezie E. Uzuegbunam, Chinedu Ononiwu","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i31.14518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i31.14518","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores how university-educated Nigerians living in two urban centres engaged with, and made choices about whether to share or not share, “fake news” on COVID-19 in 2020.The research adopted a qualitative approach by conducting focus group interviews with participants, all university graduates aged 25 or older, sampled from Lagos and Umuahia—two major metropolitan cities in Nigeria. Participants’ sense-making practices with regard to fake news on COVID-19 were varied. One core finding was that social media virality was typically seen as being synonymous with fake news due to the dramatic, exaggerated, and sometimes illogical nature of such information. Many participants demonstrated a high level of literacy in spotting fake news. Among those who said that they sometimes shared fake news on COVID-19, one motivation was to warn of the dangers of fake news by making it clear, while sharing, that the information was false. Other participants said that they shared news without being certain of its veracity, because of a general concern about the virus, and some participants shared news if it was at least partially true, provided that the news aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of COVID-19. However, some participants deliberately shared fake news on COVID-19 and did so because of a financial motivation. Those who sought to avoid sharing fake news on COVID-19 did so to avoid causing harm. The study provides insights into the reception of, and practices in engaging with, health-related fake news within a university-educated Nigerian demographic.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"87 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117274547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examined the quality of web-based online agricultural information relevant to the maize industry in Tanzania. Selected online sources were evaluated to assess the agricultural information available in terms of four dimensions of quality, namely: authority, completeness, timeliness, and understandability. The study identified a wide variety of web-based online information on maize production, including information on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and grain-handling. It was found that the information was of variable quality. Among the 39 online sites studied, several lacked contact information, had outdated content, and contained information that was missing some important details, and none provided weather information. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on online agricultural information in an African context where the agricultural sector is central to national economic development. The online agriculture information evaluation tool used in the study can potentially be of use, in its current form or adapted, to researchers beyond Tanzania.
{"title":"Evaluation of web-based online agricultural information relevant to Tanzanian maize producers","authors":"Ester Ernest Mnzava, Lorette Jacobs","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i31.15944","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i31.15944","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined the quality of web-based online agricultural information relevant to the maize industry in Tanzania. Selected online sources were evaluated to assess the agricultural information available in terms of four dimensions of quality, namely: authority, completeness, timeliness, and understandability. The study identified a wide variety of web-based online information on maize production, including information on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and grain-handling. It was found that the information was of variable quality. Among the 39 online sites studied, several lacked contact information, had outdated content, and contained information that was missing some important details, and none provided weather information. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on online agricultural information in an African context where the agricultural sector is central to national economic development. The online agriculture information evaluation tool used in the study can potentially be of use, in its current form or adapted, to researchers beyond Tanzania.","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122651935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article scrutinises the trajectory of China’s establishment of a digital state, rooted in a “whole-of-nation” system—or aptly termed (party–)state capitalism. The author illustrates the path of formulating and enforcing strategies to digitalise public services—including, importantly, the digital identity infrastructure—via institutional concentration that exemplifies both the positive and the exclusionary nature of social big data in streamlining administrative procedures. Two catalysts are spotlighted in China’s digital transformation: quasi-neoliberal market processes, and technology’s social change spillover effects. The author points to the fact that, since its inception, the contemporary Chinese state has created a cybernetic justification for “social governmentality”, as a means to redress potential informational imbalances in the process of ruling the state polity. For the Chinese administrative hierarchy, data provides the means to execute a top-down correctivist paradigm for steering societal conduct, a paradigm integrated into (but also to some extent in tension with) data- empowered state capitalism.
{"title":"China’s digital transformation: Data-empowered state capitalism and social governmentality","authors":"Wayne Wei Wang","doi":"10.23962/ajic.i31.16296","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23962/ajic.i31.16296","url":null,"abstract":"The article scrutinises the trajectory of China’s establishment of a digital state, rooted in a “whole-of-nation” system—or aptly termed (party–)state capitalism. The author illustrates the path of formulating and enforcing strategies to digitalise public services—including, importantly, the digital identity infrastructure—via institutional concentration that exemplifies both the positive and the exclusionary nature of social big data in streamlining administrative procedures. Two catalysts are spotlighted in China’s digital transformation: quasi-neoliberal market processes, and technology’s social change spillover effects. The author points to the fact that, since its inception, the contemporary Chinese state has created a cybernetic justification for “social governmentality”, as a means to redress potential informational imbalances in the process of ruling the state polity. For the Chinese administrative hierarchy, data provides the means to execute a top-down correctivist paradigm for steering societal conduct, a paradigm integrated into (but also to some extent in tension with) data- empowered state capitalism.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":409918,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)","volume":"97 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127198052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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