Information Development

The digital divide between countries is a critical phenomenon separating the countries that ‘have’ (mostly developed countries) from the countries that ‘have not’ (mostly developing countries). It places developing countries in a disadvantaged position economically, politically, and socially that in turns affects the life and social well-being of the citizens. Current understanding of the digital divide is limited by usage of secondary data, which prompts scholars to call for more theoretically-based empirical research. Since the key to reducing the digital divide is to increase people’s access to ICT, this study developed and empirically tested a 3-tier ICT access model to determine the effect on ICT development of intention to participate in online activities among citizens in developed and developing countries. The model was founded on three existing research frameworks. In addition, this study theoretically clarified the relationship between four types of ICT access and how they contribute to intention to participate online. Survey data of university students from Korea and Cambodia was collected. The results confirm the effect of ICT development on citizens’ intention and isolate key factors that impact the two countries differently. Technological access was found to impact extrinsic motivational access and skills access. Social access influenced extrinsic and intrinsic motivational access and skills access. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Information has been seen as a fundamental human right. Everybody in the world of today is supposed to have access to information to carry on with daily life activities. Prisoners as well have the right to information to be utilized while in prison as well as after imprisonment. This paper delved into the information needs and information seeking behavior of prisoners in the prisons of five states in Southeast Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to find out the various areas the prisoners need information, any available library and information services in place and the extent to which the information needs of these prisoners are being met. Three research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A multiple-choice questionnaire was used to collect data from prison workers while Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was used to get information from the prisoners. Data was analyzed quantitatively using frequencies and mean scores while the data from the FGD was analyzed descriptively and qualitatively in line with the research questions. The two null hypotheses were tested using chi-square test at 0.5 level of significance. Results showed that there was no significant difference between the mean responses of prison workers from different states on the areas the prisoners need information and on the level of satisfaction of the information needs of the prisoners. Major findings showed that the prisoners have a good number of information needs ranging from educational, legal, vocational, spiritual, to recreational and financial information needs which are not provided for adequately through library and other information providers.

Many countries in the Eastern and Southern African Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA) have embraced electronic government as a matter of priority. This is a programme where government business is conducted through use of different information communication technologies. Unfortunately, many members of the organization, including Zimbabwe, do not have archival legislation that specifically caters for the creation, use, maintenance and disposal of electronic records. This has resulted in records management practitioners resorting to a hit or miss approach when managing electronic records. This paper highlights the inadequacies of the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ) Act (1986) as well as the challenges facing records management practitioners in as far as the management of electronic records is concerned. The survey research method was used to collect data specifically on inadequacies of the NAZ Act and challenges faced by information practitioners in using the act to deal with the creation, use, maintenance and disposal of electronic records.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are very popular systems for information management in the global business environment. We investigate which of five levels of ERP integration contribute to a global or local ERP implementation strategy. The five levels of ERP integration are: system-specification, system-user, island of technology, organizational, and socio-organizational integration. We conducted an empirical study in the United States that included 102 ERP professionals from two user groups, global ERP system users and local ERP system users. We discovered that system-specification and organizational integration significantly influence the implementation of local ERP systems while system-specification and socio-organizational integration significantly influence global ERP service implementation. The model explains 44 percent and 52 percent respectively of ERP adoptions within the two groups.

This paper presents the theoretical underpinnings and measures employed in the assessment of knowledge quality. It aims to identify a conceptual and operational measure of knowledge quality within the context of an e-learning environment. The review is conducted in two phases. First, the conceptual and operational measures of knowledge quality are explained based on the epistemic concept of the essence of knowledge and the knowledge hierarchy structure. Next, a detailed analysis of the dimensions measuring data quality (DQ), information quality (IQ), and knowledge quality (KQ) in 33 studies ranging from research on information systems (IS), to knowledge and information management, e-learning, and data warehouses is presented. Minimal biased methods were used to acquire the literature for this review. The findings reveal that there is an evident lack of research in measuring KQ based on a definite conceptual understanding of the hierarchical structure of knowledge. Furthermore, researchers’ repeated use of the DQ and IQ dimensions to measure KQ has failed to develop a reliable KQ measure. Subsequently, an operational view of KQ is proposed with six distinct dimensions: Adaptable, Applicable, Expandable, True, Innovative, and Justified. This proposed KQ model that is based on the hierarchical structure of knowledge; it identifies the dimensions distinct to the KQ construct. It may be useful for the conceptualization and measure of KQ in various information environments, including e-learning and IS. The proposed model provides a more explicit way to conceptualize and measure the KQ construct by acknowledging that it is an extension of the IQ construct but with distinct and unique dimensions.

This is a report and evaluation of a project specifically intended to enhance mid-career librarians’ understanding of the research process, to encourage their willingness and ability to support research in their own libraries and to motivate them to participate in the knowledge production enterprise in their own institutions. Outcomes of the project were viewed through the lens of change theory to see whether any demonstrable changes had been effected. The programme was conducted with 25 participants in July 2012 and focused on the research landscape and scholarly communication in South Africa, and on an understanding of the challenges inherent in the world of the researcher. The skills sets required of research librarians were identified, and opportunities were provided for participants to participate in some of them. Participants’ feedback was requested after each presentation and an online exit survey was completed in participants own time shortly after the programme. Further evaluations were conducted six and 15 months after the intervention and the results are discussed. From the findings it was possible to conclude that a project such as this could produce some evidence of actual knowledge production as well as enhance collaboration between librarians and researchers.

Note: An earlier, shorter report of this project reflecting the first phase of the study was presented at the 34^th Annual IATUL (International Association of Technological University Libraries) Conference in Cape Town in 2013.

From the government’s position in which communication and relationships with its citizens are crucial, as social media grows in popularity, questions regarding how it is being used to communicate with citizens become important. Thus, governments should effectively utilize social media while considering the significant diversity of characteristics and risks that are inherent in social media, alongside reflecting on the potential for practical use as a channel for government service provision and communication. In particular, understanding a citizen’s perceived value of a government service through social media and social media’s media synchronicity under the characteristics of government services could provide significant insights into the government’s social media use. Also, it is meaningful to understand how attractiveness in e-government, which is the primary communication channel for G2C, affects citizen satisfaction of the government service provided with social media. We investigated the role of social media as a communication channel for enhancing citizen patronage behavior in government social media services and the effect of social media on their satisfaction depending on the perceived value using a structural equation. This study emphasizes the importance of appropriate understanding of the media characteristics of social media in order to increase citizen satisfaction with government social media services.

This study investigated the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in public libraries at Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM). In line with the principles of Batho Pele (People First), libraries in Ekurhuleni started adopting ICTs such as computers and their Internet-based facilities, photocopiers, printers, laminators, DVDs, CDs, CD-ROMs and faxes in order to improve their services to users. Despite the adoption of ICTs, there is neither a record nor existence of strong evidence on the extent to which these facilities are used. The study targeted all public libraries in Ekurhuleni and, within the libraries themselves, library users were surveyed (using questionnaires). The major findings suggest that, although ICTs in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) libraries are well utilized, poor ICT facilities, access time limit, an insufficient number of ICT facilities in these libraries and restrictive library policies made it difficult for users to maximize the full benefits offered by ICT applications. The study revealed that the lack of ICT knowledge and skills, among other things, have the potential to discourage people from maximizing the full benefits offered by ICT in public libraries, hence the need for user ICT training in public libraries. The public libraries in Ekurhuleni should address these problems in order to provide services in a manner that meets and sometimes exceed the public’s expectations in line with Batho Pele principles. This article contributes to the understanding of the use, access and perception of ICTs in public libraries in the Ekurhuleni Municipality of South Africa. It also contributes knowledge to the library and information services profession on the value of ICTs in public libraries.

Despite the transformational impacts of the Internet on society and commerce, surveys have shown a sizable portion of non-Internet users reporting that they have no need for the Internet. Literature often explains Internet non-use as a result of lack of skills and/or informed decision to reject the Internet. This paper raises an alternative explanation: nonusers may report no need for the Internet because they are not fully aware of the Internet’s information and transaction benefits. Our survey data from rural Guangdong, China suggest that nonusers are comparatively under-informed about the Internet’s utilitarian benefits (such as aiding work and learning). Alternative explanations for the reported lack of need for the Internet are examined and policy implications are also discussed.

Records management models play a significant role in the provision of records management services in organizations. However, many governmental bodies design records management programmes without taking into consideration the models appropriate for implementation. This study investigated records management models adopted by the public sector in South Africa, with a view to developing a model that can be customized by governmental bodies in the implementation of records management. Quantitative data was collected through questionnaires distributed electronically to records management practitioners in governmental bodies. The study revealed that governmental bodies in South Africa apply general records management principles without customizing them or addressing the challenges they are facing. It is argued that, because each organization is unique in its make-up, culture, goals and management style, effective records management cannot be obtained by copying other organizations’ records management programmes. The study proposes a model that governmental bodies can customize in the implementation of records management.

This paper reports on the Mobile Healthcare Information For All By 2015 (mHIFA) initiative led by the Health Information For All 2015 (HIFA2015) 2012-2015 Challenge Working Group. It discusses the preliminary findings of a scoping exercise to identify global current, completed and planned projects that use mobile phones to provide healthcare information, particularly maternal, child and first-aid, in low- and middle-income countries, that appear to be aligned to the mHIFA Goal. Despite a plethora of mHealth projects on a wide range of mHealth topics, only nine projects were closely related to the mHealthcare Goal. Findings of the scoping exercise were made available on the HIFA2015 Discussion Forums to instigate feedback from key healthcare and telecom stakeholders. An assessment tool was created to help telecom providers and potential providers to assess relevance to the mHIFA Goal.

This article discusses knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on a survey of empirical and theoretical literature the article addresses the following research questions: What organizational learning activities take place in public sector organizations? What strategies are public sector organizations using to capture and retain knowledge? What ICT infrastructure is available in public sector organizations for knowledge capturing and sharing? What challenges face public sector organizations in sub-Saharan Africa in capturing and retaining knowledge? What is the current status of knowledge retention in the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa? The results reveal that public sector organizations are using various strategies such as codification, personalization, training, education, workshops, seminars, storytelling, mentoring and apprenticeship to capture and retain knowledge. The ICT infrastructure available for capturing and retaining knowledge in the public sector includes institutional repositories, emails, global networks databases, portals, accounting and financial systems, human resource systems, knowledge route-maps knowledge networks and discussions forums. The challenges for managing knowledge assets in public sector organizations include limited understanding of KM benefits; shortage of skill; lack of incentives or rewards to share knowledge; lack of appropriate technology; limited commitment from senior management, lack of appropriate models to learn from and brain drain. The implementation of e-government initiatives across the continent was starting to institutionalize and promote knowledge management strategies in public sector organizations. The results from this article provide a foundation for knowledge management policy formulation to enhance efficiency and service delivery in public agencies.

This paper aims to identify studies concerning online purchase behavior research published after 2000 in the main management information systems (MIS) and electronic commerce journals. These are categorized as studies of website use and online purchase behavior respectively. The review presents a holistic picture of the domain for online consumer behavior. The paper provides an insight into the field of electronic commerce and online consumer behavior with further discussions on theoretical and practical implication of these studies.

Information diffusion through social network sites is a new and important context that has received scant attention in extant research. This study developed a Facebook application to uncover the influence of network density and transmitter activity on the information diffusion process. The results showed that network density is positively related to transmitter activity on social network sites. In addition, transmitter activity partially mediated the effect of network density on the extent of information viewed and retransmitted. That is, transmitter activity can affect the information diffusion process, and the activity effect is plausible and should become stronger as social networks become denser. The findings of this study provide useful implications, not only for theory in the social network, but also useful references and suggestions to marketing practitioners.

Using survey design, this study assessed customer satisfaction with mobile telecommunication services in Ibadan, a Nigerian municipality. A structured questionnaire, consisting of SERVQUAL dimensions of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibility, was used to collect data. Convenience sampling technique was used to select 431 mobile telecommunication users to measure their satisfaction level. Collected data were analyzed using frequency and percentage distribution and Logistic Regression was used to determine if there existed any relationship between the SERVQUAL dimensions and customers’ satisfaction. Findings revealed Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy to be significant in explaining customer satisfaction. The findings may further strengthen the position of the regulatory authorities in developing policies that will address customers’ satisfaction based on defined priorities. This study recommends that mobile operators should improve the quality of mobile services offered to customers in terms of responsiveness, assurance and empathy in order to achieve high level of customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

Knowledge sharing is a characteristic of successful organizations. This study examines the influence of knowledge sharing on organizational performance in the public sector. The institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework is utilized to examine how organizational type (government and non-government) moderates knowledge sharing in the public sector. One hundred and five representatives from organizations, departments, projects, and programs working in the food security and nutrition industry in Cambodia participated in this study. The study results show that information quality, organizational commitment, and top management support influence knowledge sharing within the public sector. Government organizations place a greater emphasis on information quality than non-government organizations. Non-government organizations exhibit greater knowledge sharing and better performance than government organizations. Additional findings that have implications for academics and public sector practitioners are discussed. The study suggests that organizations need to secure top management support and employee commitment to facilitate knowledge sharing and ultimately improve organizational performance.

To cope with the huge data flow in today’s uncertain economic environment, organizations have pervasively adopted business intelligence systems (BIS) to provide internal and external information to stakeholders of all working levels in their decision-making scenarios. However, the continued pervasive usage of BIS has become a practical challenge. The aim of this study is to build a model to explain the pervasive BIS user’s continued usage. Besides the original Bhattacherjee’s continued usage model and Limayem et al.‘s model, which considers the habit construct, this study also includes the ideas of empowerment through individual authorization and intrinsic task motivation in the pervasive BIS context. The model was empirically tested using data from 117 respondents in Taiwan, obtained in two rounds of questionnaires to explain the situation of voluntary pervasive continued usage of BIS. The results support the original model of continued pervasive BIS usage and can be used to interpret psychological empowerment as a second-order construct. This study also demonstrated that habit has a direct effect on BIS usage and that psychological empowerment is influenced by structural empowerment, and acts as a pure moderator between pervasive continued BIS intention and continued usage behavior.

The purpose of the paper is to examine how social media can be employed to assist in customer knowledge management in two multinational telecommunication companies operating in Ghana. The study employed case study and netnography as research design. Data was obtained from Twitter and Facebook fan pages of MTN Ghana and Vodafone Ghana. A social media supported Customer Knowledge Management framework was adapted as a conceptual lens. Data was thematically analysed. The findings show that MTN Ghana and Vodafone Ghana have employed social media to manage customer knowledge. The companies engage their customers on Facebook and Twitter to access their knowledge and provide the customers with knowledge about their products and services.

Rapid growth of online shopping activities in recent years has required careful identifications of key factors influencing consumers’ behaviors and attitudes toward online shopping. Identifying critical factors influencing online consumer behavior is very crucial for effective customer relationship management. It is very important that online sellers clearly understand critical factors influencing online customers’ shopping intention and take necessary actions accordingly. If identified and managed properly, those critical factors can provide competitive advantage to online sellers and also increase consumers’ satisfaction level and experiences with sellers’ website. This research investigated the attitudes toward online shopping of university students in Ankara, Turkey. Internet users’ interest, evaluation, trust, intention and concerns toward online shopping were assessed by conducting survey type research. Internet users’ concerns toward online shopping were assessed by considering financial issues, product quality issues, refund issues, product delivery issues, security issues and privacy issues. Findings of this study guide online retailers which factors to focus on in order to develop successful marketing strategies for online consumers.

This paper investigates important factors in shaping attitudes toward knowledge sharing by email in e-learning, based on social influence theory and self determination theory. It tests how the personal goals moderate the relationships in the model. An empirical test of the proposed model using an online survey was conducted with a sample of undergraduate college students who use email for class assignments. All social influence factors significantly influenced attitudes toward knowledge sharing by email (R² 0.63) in the high personal goal group (186 participants), but social identity did not influence the attitude (R² 0.54) in the low personal goal group (225 participants). The results will help e-learning and information systems researchers and practitioners to more fully understand the roles of social influence factors in developing and designing e-learning systems.

This paper aimed to measure the value of knowledge resources and examine the factors influencing separate knowledge resource evaluation in R&D organizations. To accomplish these goals, a knowledge resource evaluation model was developed, using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods, based on the results of 160 respondents from several research institutions in China. A two-stage research framework was also proposed. The analytical results demonstrated that labor value, technology value and utilization value have positive and significant relationships with the value of knowledge resources. The study also measured the weights of the evaluation criteria, sub-criteria, and the score of the value of knowledge resources using the developed model. The findings will facilitate the sharing or transfer of knowledge resources among organizations more effectively and will help knowledge workers mobilize and manage their knowledge resources more effectively in their organizations.

The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual equation model to first, investigate the relationships among consumer interaction behaviour, trust as well as purchase intention, and secondly, demonstrate the indirect effect of consumer interaction behaviour on purchase intention through consumer psychology (cognitive trust and emotional trust). A questionnaire was distributed to 331 virtual community members from the nine most frequently used SNS websites in China. These members have had interactive experience. Data were analyzed by applying the partial least squares method (PLS). The results show that interactive behaviour in the SNS environment can be described in six dimensions: interaction frequency, interestingness, decentration, responsiveness, situationality and reciprocal swap. Except for responsiveness and situationality, the other four dimensions all have positive effects on purchase intention through cognitive trust and emotional trust significantly. Responsiveness and situationality have a positive effect on the purchase intention through cognitive trust significantly, but do not have significant influence on purchase intention through emotional trust. Based on these findings, companies that aim to develop SNS website marketing strategies should find ways to conduct effective marketing campaigns based on the characteristics of interaction behaviour to enhance members’ product trust.

Despite the huge potential benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) in collaborative use with transaction partners, many companies are reluctant to implement RFID with their partners and skeptical of its strategic value in inter-firm, supply chain networks. However, existing research is concentrated on the internal adoption and benefit measurement of RFID system, without careful consideration of the strategic value in an inter-organizational context at implementation stage. Hence, this study empirically identifies the reciprocal strategic value of RFID implementation in inter-firm, supply chain networks based on the resource-based theory and social capital theory. Additionally, mutual quality constructs of RFID system from an inter-organizational context are investigated as determinants of the strategic value. Empirical results have shown that supply chain visibility and agility are improved through high-level, shared information quality and inter-organizational system quality of RFID. Inter-organizational trust is enhanced by high-level, inter-organizational service quality and supply chain agility. Moreover, all strategic values of RFID (visibility, agility, and trust), when enhanced by RFID, have positive impacts on supply chain performance. This study expands the discussion scope of RFID to the implementation stage at the inter-firm level beyond the internal adoption level, improving the delay of RFID diffusion among transaction partners. Furthermore, the study describes strategic points that can be used to maximize the RFID value in supply chain networks.

Despite its huge potential, the use of mobile technology for carrying out payment transactions and replicating monetary features, has only taken off in a limited number of countries. The fact that mobile payment services are not being provided on a worldwide scale, suggests that the reasons for the successful cases are not yet fully understood, and as a result, cannot be easily replicated. This paper seeks to fill this knowledge gap by providing a comprehensive scoping study, which seeks to map out the literature published between 2001 and 2011. An investigation has been carried out of a total of 94 peer-reviewed papers, with the aim of providing a comprehensive picture of the knowledge, production and dissemination about mobile payments. Furthermore, this study includes a detailed analysis of 12 primary case studies on existing mobile payment schemes, as well as a consultation exercise with stakeholders. The main contribution of this study is to provide a clear account of the knowledge that exists on mobile payments. As a result, it has been possible to detect serious gaps in this knowledge base (in geographical, methodological and conceptual areas) and show how future research can make improvements in the field.

In the media industry, in which public interest has been discussed, the importance of corporate social responsibility is magnified again. There is less literature on how to measure corporate social responsibility in the media industry. This study aims to develop an instrument to measure corporate social responsibility in the media industry. Using data from 253 experts in the communication area, this study verifies the proposed instrument. Results show that corporate social responsibility in the media consists of three major constructs, namely credibility, usefulness and fairness.

This study investigated the roles of demographic variables in the transmission and acquisition of traditional medical knowledge (TMK) in rural communities of South West Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted. Three communities from each of the six states in South West Nigeria were purposively selected. Snowball technique was used in selecting 228 Traditional Medical Practitioners (TMPs), while convenience sampling was used in selecting 529 traditional medicine apprentices. The structured questionnaire used focused on the demographic characteristics of the TMPs and their apprentices. Three key informant interviews and two focus group discussion sessions were also conducted in each state. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression and Chi square analysis, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Logistic regression analyses showed that years of experience (Exp(B) = 1.875) was a significant predictor of knowledge transmission by the TMPs. Apprentices’ marital status (Exp(B) = 2.250), expected length of apprenticeship (Exp(B) = 0.305) and completed length of apprenticeship (Exp(B) = 15.782) were significant predictors of TMK acquisition. Qualitative results also showed a relationship between age, sex, education and TMK transmission. Enhanced level of education improved transmission, while religion reportedly hindered acquisition. Improved access to basic and adult education and the need to stop gender discrimination is recommended to improve TMK transmission.

The purpose of this study was to explore the information literacy (IL) practices, methods and techniques being implemented in China’s university and research libraries. The study selected a concurrent mixed-methods research design. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews with professionals from 10 universities and research libraries in Beijing, China. Convenience sampling was used to collect data from the library professionals. The results show that university libraries are in far better positions than research libraries but that there is still a need for improvements. The findings indicate that IL training through library orientations and tours and introductory information skills are frequently and successfully being used in both types of libraries. For orientation, face-to-face delivery was used in 80 percent of university libraries and 60 percent of research libraries. IL programs were integrated into some subject units and available in 100 percent of the university libraries and 60 percent of the research libraries. University libraries performed better in implementing IL programs compared with the research institutes’ libraries. A number of gaps exist between university and research libraries in terms of information literacy practices. These gaps can be filled by overcoming barriers such as the absence of inactivity of professional library associations, the lack of government interest, the lack of faculty collaboration, and the failure to promote IL programs among the user community. In the light of this research, it is suggested that the Chinese government pay keen attention to formulating a national IL policy.

This qualitative study provides an overview of what we have learned so far about the information needs of Malaysian male juvenile offenders. This focus is important to consider when designing and delivering the best possible information services to this group. The study seeks to understand juvenile delinquents’ information needs in the prison environment, focusing on their educational needs; online information environment and with the use of electronic resources; their everyday life information seeking (ELIS) needs, in the use of personal sources and prison libraries; in the use of books and other reading materials, and for future life perspectives. Data were collected using unstructured interviews with 23 juveniles (13 to 21 years old) living in four correctional schools in Malaysia. The data analysis revealed a general theme of the purpose of information needs, the location, the information sources, preferred reading materials, preferred language and subjects read. Formal information channels such as the library may be perceived as ineffective by inmates, regardless of their types of information needs and its objective validity. The Internet and informal networks among inmates were the most preferred source of information. Delinquents in the initial stage of imprisonment had significantly greater need for information than those in the final stage. Current findings add to the limited literature the juvenile offenders’ information behavior and that of other youth.

Context-aware services such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and Location Based Services (LBS) can be used to acquire information and services at any time from anywhere in various contexts. It is critical to study how user perceptions and intentions are affected in different decision-making processes. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model and Expectation Confirmation Theory, this research examines a two-stage theoretical model of consumer adoption of context-aware services by studying an example of an intelligent tourist guide Xi-Hu-Tong (West Lake tour). We focus on the formation mechanisms of user decisions in the initial adoption stage, and on feedback and evaluation mechanisms in the post-adoption stage. According to our data analysis using structural equation modeling, we find that relative advantage, motivational needs, and personal situations have significant impacts on user initial adoption intention. Additionally, usage experience has a significant impact on expectation confirmation and satisfaction. Usage experience also influences user satisfaction, reinforcing the emergence of post-adoption behaviors such as continuous usage and recommendations. Together, these results illustrate the dynamic process that encourages consumers who begin as potential users to eventually become loyal users.

With the increasing popularity of the Internet, financial institutions are seeking ways to utilize this popular medium in an effort to keep up with the changing technological preferences of their customers through innovations like Internet banking services. In Uganda, however, the rate of Internet banking adoption has not risen as strongly as expected due to factors like lack of trust, security, poor perceptions on usefulness and ease of use of the system by the customers, lack of privacy over the Internet and poor attitude towards Internet banking, among others, which has led many to view Internet banking as a very risky undertaking. This study introduces perceived trustworthiness as one of the beliefs that may significantly influence Internet banking adoption and we examine its importance in determining customers’ attitude and behavioral intention towards using Internet banking as the purpose of the study. We conducted a survey by distributing questionnaires to customers of five highly competitive banks in Uganda and collected data from a total of 232 respondents. The results of the statistical analyses using structural equation modeling indicate that the relative importance of perceived trustworthiness of banks was statistically significant as it accounted for 47 percent of variance in predicting customers’ attitude towards Internet banking.

Both knowledge-based culture and knowledge management have emerged as prominent themes in business studies. Research on knowledge-based culture in knowledge management organizations is still in its infancy. This paper aims to identify the critical factors in knowledge-based culture, the knowledge process, and the relationship between the two by analyzing the relevant literature and the process of knowledge management implementation. The paper starts by describing knowledge-based culture and knowledge management and then systematically reviews the relevant research on knowledge, culture, and performance. We then present a model that integrates knowledge-based culture, knowledge process, and performance, synthesizing the relationships among their components through a structural equation model based on the AMOS statistical tool. We propose this model as an instrument for facilitating the development of strategic intent in implementing knowledge processes with a focus on cultural context in order to maximize learning and business performance.

South Korea is a world leader in human capital and research investment. However, compared to other countries with similar levels of resource input, Korea has relatively weaker output performance. This is a concern for the Korean government and the funding agencies that invest heavily in R&D activities. Since knowledge sharing among members influences the output performance within an R&D sector, this paper investigates the factors that affect the knowledge sharing intention and behavior among members of a national R&D center in Korea. A total of 286 members in the Biology Research Information Center participated in a survey. The results show that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations significantly influence the members’ intention to share knowledge. Cognitive and relational capital also exert significant effects on the members’ knowledge sharing intention. Structural capital, however, does not have any significant effect on intention. The members’ intention to share knowledge links significantly to their actual knowledge sharing behavior.

The information included in NGOs’ self-regulation mechanisms is crucial for fostering the good behavior and access to information of the sector. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of national self-regulation mechanisms developed in African countries versus initiatives of an international nature. The main findings show that both cases are characterized by initiatives with low levels of control (code of conduct and performance guide). Moreover, significant differences in the information they contain are identified. In this regard, national initiatives mainly present information that reinforces organizational management, while the international initiatives show a greater preference for stressing the need to improve the social mission. The demand for web disclosure is low in both cases with African self-regulations mainly calling for the reactive communication of information concerning organizational strategy. In contrast, international initiatives are more focused on promoting the proactive disclosure of information regarding the organization’s social responsibility and its commitment to improvement.

This study investigated a cultural portal measurement model as it relates to Korean user needs. With the conceptual framework that a Web portal is a complex Web service application that has the characteristics of both the information system and service agent, and additionally that users’ reactions to technology can have an impact on the service quality, a measurement model of cultural portal user needs was created by adapting data quality, service quality, and technology adoption models. The analyses indicated that the factor structure is the same regardless of users’ gender, educational background, role when using cultural portals, and experience with cultural portals. It was, however, found that the factor structure is not the same across age groups, providing evidence of generational differences and suggesting that additional efforts to create inclusive cultural portals are needed.

The history of Zimbabwe, like the rest of post-colonial Africa is replete with bias, prejudice, inaccuracies and misconceptions, since some of it was a product of colonialists who had their own interests to serve. Oral history has come as a great relief. With it, Zimbabwe can now have a balanced and more complete documentary heritage. However, the National Archives of Zimbabwe’s Oral History Unit faces a number of challenges, resulting in the Unit lacking national vibrancy and visibility. This empirical study made use of the descriptive survey method, where data were collected through questionnaires and observation. Content analysis of the Directors’ Reports and other secondary sources was also used. The study highlighted the centrality of oral history as a source of history and hypothesized that more resources need to be mobilized for the Oral History Unit to be more visible and more vibrant, for the nation to have a balanced and more complete record of the past.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how Guatemalans procure information on national and local matters. Using data from two nationally representative household surveys, probit models are estimated to identify mechanisms that activate information seeking behaviors among Guatemalans. Findings of the study reveal that Guatemalans primarily use communication media (e.g. television, radio and newspapers) to access information on national issues. In contrast, information procurement on local matters is primarily accessed through individuals’ social networks (e.g. family, neighbors and friends). The findings indicate that females, indigenous groups, citizens living in rural areas and poor individuals are less likely to be informed on both national and local matters, in comparison to other groups.

The purpose of this paper is to assess hotel websites as a marketing communication tool using Kent and Taylor’s (1998) dialogic principles. This study was executed qualitatively using content analysis of 42 hotel websites in Ghana. The results of the study show that hotels in Ghana are adequately utilising websites as a marketing communication tool. The findings further show a preponderant use of the principle of conservation of visitors and the dialogic loop principle by the sampled hotel websites. However, the majority of the sampled websites performed rather poorly on the return visit principle. The research contributes to the scarce literature on hospitality management in an emerging economy context.

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study on the awareness of users about privacy abuse when communicating and using the mobile Internet. The study researches the relationships and associations between the level of the telecommunications market development, the wealth of a country, user proficiency, the affordability of mobile technology, the level of user tolerance of state-implemented content censorship, and similar privacy threats. The results and findings were selected from a comprehensive body of data gathered from 10 countries which have a low record of respect for human rights. Most of the selected countries are Asian or African states. Differences between the tolerance levels of the various user communities are discussed in relation to the criteria which define the level of information society development and the user skill levels. For a better understanding of the wider issues a brief introduction explains the capacity of smartphones to protect a user’s privacy and the availability of circumvention tools against state initiated blocking.

Elections are indispensable for democracy, but their trustworthiness demands transparency and impartiality from governments, even more so for automated elections. This work presents common criticisms to e-voting systems, focusing on the Venezuelan case, where there have been around 15 elections of this kind in the last 17 years. The Venezuelan government calls it “the most perfect voting system in the world”, but its results have been questioned, studied and contested.