Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries最新文献

At the beginning of 2020, the world came to a stand-still when governments across the globe decided to enter states of ‘emergency’ or ‘disaster’ over the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The responses to the pandemic included stringent movement restrictions and hygiene advice preventing face-to-face interactions. As a result, many activities, including schooling, working, and shopping were moved online, drastically increasing exposure to cyber threats and risks. It is unclear if and how the rapid increase in internet use corresponded to an improvement in cybersecurity mindset development in countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This paper explores the effect of the increase in digital technology usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the relationship between cybersecurity awareness-raising initiatives and the development of higher levels of cybersecurity mindset in Botswana, Lesotho, and Malawi. These three countries have a similar cybersecurity footprint and an average cybersecurity capacity level for the region. The research applies a comparative multiple case study approach relying on a thematic review of the literature and related documents, supported by in-depth interviews with purposefully selected key informants from the three selected SADC countries. Findings suggest that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness-raising programs have gained some momentum in our selected countries, but the cybersecurity mindset has not improved. That was attributed to low frequency and poor quality of campaigns added to the lack of training, education and lived experience. The paper highlights the need to increase the frequency and improve the quality of programmes, for greater impact on the development of local cybersecurity mindsets.

In the safety 4.0 era, occupational health and safety (OHS) related data has become one of the most valuable assets for organizations. Risk Management in the OHS field is a data-driven process. However, geospatial data has not been fully considered and few works have used visualization for decision-making purposes. Our research was conducted using a design science research methodology. It is a methodology for creating and evaluating IT artifacts to solve identified organizational problems. We used Wang's safety intelligence framework and the recommendations of the ISO 45001 model from extant literature to inform the Design. While creating our artifact, we chose to make an inventory of occupational risk prevention practices in Algeria. A qualitative study using interviews with experts in the field consolidated the requirements for such a system. The key findings from the analysis of collected data state that the development of safety data-driven decision-making requires top management support and involvement, which is in line with previous studies. A second concern is the availability of spatial data. The designed artifact is an approach called spatial data integration and visualization approach for occupational health and safety management systems (SDIVA-OHSMS). SDIVA-OHSMS provides a practical approach for organizations in charge of OHS services to implement OHS data-driven decision-making solutions highlighting spatial and semantic dimensions. The evaluation was performed through a representative case study within the Algerian electricity and gas company (Sonelgaz), employing expert opinion and software implementation. As a result, experts concluded that such systems could provide a more comprehensive and accurate view of occupational health issues and guide further prevention policies.

This study assessed the quality and challenges of health data before and after the implementation of the Hospital Information System (HIS) for the fistula program at the Comprehensive Community-based Rehabilitation Hospital in Tanzania. This was a mixed methods study. Data were collected at baseline and end-line (before and after the implementation of the HIS) study using quantitative Data Quality Assessment (DQA) checklists and individual interviews. At the baseline, the DQA checklists were assessed using files registered from 2017 to May 2019. At the end-line, the DQA checklists used data for a patient registered at the established HIS from June 2019 to December 2020. Interviews with clinical and non-clinical staff were conducted at both baseline and end-line studies. The study found that data quality improved after the implementation of the HIS. At baseline, data completeness declined from 85% in 2017 to 44.9% in 2019 while accuracy declined from 44% in 2017 to 31% in 2019. At the end-line, data completeness and accuracy were >80% and 100% annually respectively. Data preciseness increased from 0% at baseline to 100% at the end-line. Both data completeness and accuracy had inconsistent tend over months, although preciseness could not be evaluated at baseline as no breakdown of indicators was reported. The major challenges related to data quality included language barrier, incompleteness of data, incorrect data entry, use of both manual and electronic systems, as well as unreliable electricity and network. In general, the HIS had improved rates of data quality in terms of completeness, accuracy, and preciseness of data as compared to the manual system. Policy-makers and hospital administrators should ensure that the HIS are integrated into national hospital information systems, build staff capacity, ensure reliable sources of electrical power, and regular training on data collection.

There exists isolated work that focuses on context, resilience, and sustainability of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D). However, research on how the three concepts inform and influence one another to better meet the development goals and priorities is limited. More research is required to enhance our holistic understanding of ICT4D interventions in terms of the approaches applied to investigate context, resilience, and sustainability from socio-technical perspectives. This research explores the link among the triple concepts to fill the above void, drawing from qualitative data collected from multiple but networked stakeholders at a local agriculture extension information service. Data is processed in a way to understand: the context of the local development practices and stakeholders, the gaps in the design of information systems applied to support local development practices, and how local communities remain resilient in their information exchange practices. Building on the existing knowledge of context, resilience, and sustainability in ICT4D the research shows how the context of the local development practices inform resilience and in turn how resilience enables the continued operation of the local development practices (context), and how context and resilience lead to sustainable ICT4D interventions. The research contributes to theory by showing how the social and technical resources distributed in the social system and the stakeholders' networks can be unlocked to conceptualize the links between the triple concepts. It informs practitioners on how they can develop a holistic understanding of the socio-technical contexts of local developments and the socio-technical factors to design resilient ICT4D that will lead to sustainable digital interventions.

The article investigates the Geographical variations in the outreach of information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion and its effects on rural development across 341 Community Development (CD) blocks of West Bengal. The study is based on secondary data. Secondary data has been collected from Districts Statistical Handbook, Primary Census Abstract, District Census Handbook, and Socio-Economic and Caste Census. The principal component analysis technique has been used for ICT diffusion index calculation. ArcMap 10.1 has been used for Mapmaking to understand the spatial intensity of the ICT index. The study finds that West Bengal falls within the least zone (0.07–0.18) of ICT diffusion in India due to multi-dimensional socio-economic factors. Only 35 CD blocks out of 341 are located in the high ICT diffusion zone (0.49–0.79) in West Bengal, which is 6.87 percent area to the total area. The study concluded that the higher the ICT diffusion higher is the rural development in West Bengal. The study recommends that the government invest more money in ICT in rural development.

The article aims to identify the stage of development of Fintech in the Balkan countries given the existence of numerous influencing factors Fintech is present in the Balkan countries, with a landscape colorfully generated by the different factors as the involvement of public authorities, the EU membership of only a few countries, the level of financial and digital education of the population. In order to highlight the variables influencing Fintech and financial inclusion in selected countries, specific indicators were used—internet usage and the share of bank assets in GDP, and several indicators regarding individuals performance, that is, online shopping, paid bills via internet, accessed a bank account online, paid utility bills using a mobile phone, made or received digital payments, account ownership and debit card ownership. The sample consists of all eight Balkan countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Romania. For testing the hypothesis in the analysis are used: descriptives, ANOVA, cluster analysis and principal components analysis. The results demonstrated that Balkan countries are not homogenous regarding Fintech and financial inclusion, the differences being generated both by the public policies in the financial field but also by IT development and by the population openness for using the new financial services and products. For these reasons, the authors identified economic policy measures that can be applied to increase financial inclusion in these countries given the facilities offered by Fintech and the digitization of financial products.

Telemedicine comprises different health services held at a distance and is a promising practice for inclusive health care. However, there is still no consensus in the literature about the factors that influence the acceptance and dissemination of these practices. Thus, this study analyzes the factors that influence the acceptance of telemedicine, more specifically, of teleconsultations, by physicians, and seeks to understand how institutional factors act to disseminate or prevent their acceptance. An exploratory and qualitative study was carried out in Brazil, through interviews with physicians from different specialties and documents analyzes. We analyzed documents from public hearings on the regulation of telemedicine, and reports, discussions, and videos about teleconsultations. We conducted two coding cycles of data and we identified 12 factors influencing the acceptance of telemedicine/teleconsultations. Seven of these factors had previously been identified in the literature, namely: Regulatory Factors, Level of Instruction and Preparation of Users, Resistance to Change, Technological Infrastructure, Value Perception, Organizational Characteristics, and Financial Support. Five other acceptance factors emerged from our empirical data: Corporatism, Possibilities by Medical Specialization, In-Person Physical Examination, Commoditization of Telemedicine, and Previous Doctor–Patient Relationship. Based on Institutional Theory, we associated all the acceptance factors identified to the three institutional pillars, as in the study by Scott in 2014: Regulative, Normative, and Cultural Cognitive, also identifying main themes to which these factors are related, in each one of the three institutional pillars, respectively: regulation, structure, and lack of knowledge.