Universities of developing countries are faced with increased dropout rate from computing degrees due to the high failure rate of introductory programing courses. In this paper, we apply a grounded theory approach to investigate why student's fail introductory programming courses in a Nigeria University. A qualitative method of data collection was adopted to examine the students' views about the factors that contribute to student's failure in introductory programming courses. The findings identified lack of intrinsic motivation, lack of future expectation, anxiety, peer influences, and poor lecturer skills and behavior as the challenges resulting in a high failure rate in introductory programming courses. The study contributes to the research on computer education in developing countries by proposing a model to understand the factors that affect IS student learning process when undertaking introductory programming courses. We conclude with some recommendations following recommendations that could help students to overcome the challenges in learning computer programming.

The paper explores the misuse of information systems for corrupt practices in the Nigerian public sector as a phenomenon under study. Routine Activity theory, Model of Emergent IT Use, and Normalization theory were used as lenses. Danermark et al.'s six stage framework with a single case-study was adopted as the critical realist methodology. The anti-corruption and regulatory agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria, is the case in focus. Semi-structured interviews, archival documents and press media were used as data sources. By analyzing the data, we identified motivated offender, suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian as the entities/factors that characterized the phenomenon. Political clientelism patronage, socialization, embeddedness of corrupt routine into IT artifacts and rationalization were identified as causal mechanisms with culture as the enabling conditions. Dysfunctional structures of the Nigerian public sector were also identified as structures that breed the mechanisms. The study findings contribute to theory, practice, and the methodology of critical realism.

National and economic benefits of mobile phone use in developing countries has been a well-articulated research domain over an extended period. This can be attributed to the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones and their increased penetration in developing nations. However, the potential benefits of mobile phones for empowerment and well-being of people with disability (PWD) has been ignored. This paper focuses on the well-being of the physically challenged in Nigeria and how mobile phones can be employed to empower them. The link between ICT and human development has been well researched, but minimal research has attempted to link ICT, mobile phone and disability using the Capability Approach as a theoretical lens. The critical realist ethnographic study approach is employed in this study to show how mobile phones can be used to empower and impact on the well-being of the physically challenged. Data were collected from the Adamawa skill acquisition center for persons with disability, Nigeria. It is argued that mobile phones have the capabilities to empower and impact on the well-being of the physically challenged. Thus, the findings illustrate that mobile phones play significant roles in the well-being and empowerment of the physically challenged.

Most published research on Information Systems (IS) education in developing countries have focused on curriculum design, transfer and implementation issues. Research focusing on the evaluation of these programs and concrete analysis in terms of their long-term developmental impact have been limited. In this paper, Amartya Sen's capability approach served as a theoretical lens for assessing the effectiveness of internship programs for IS students and their contributions to human development. We use the key elements of the capability approach to focus on the developmental impact. We based our evaluation on IS students industrial work scheme in Nigeria. Our analysis shows that, even though the scheme has been designed to further the development of student, the lack of conversion factors makes the program contextually problematic. The study concludes with some recommendations for policy makers advancing an agenda for the improvement of IS education and internships programs for students in tertiary institutions.

Offshoring of IT-enabled services to developing countries will continue to dominate the offshoring sector. Companies are constantly on the lookout for locations where they can provide services at a low cost. This has made developing countries to take advantage of this opportunity to create value propositions for companies in developed countries leading to economic development. This paper describes the South Africa's BPO industry in order to explore the current opportunities and potential challenges the industry offers. The role of government support, quality infrastructure, prevalence of HIV/AIDS and inflexibility in labor laws are found to feature significantly within the South African context. The paper contributes to literature on outsourcing in developing countries which has elaborated how African Countries can serve as attractive location for offshoring BPO. This study concludes by providing implications for policy and practice.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">This paper will present an attempt for addressing the high rate of under-representation of minority students and teachers in Information Technology (IT) in low income localities. It appears that these communities have been left behind during the economic boom of the dot.com experienced by the rest of the western world and the nation. The paper will discuss on strategies to alleviate the disparity between the &lsquo;haves&rsquo; and &lsquo;have not&rsquo; in information technology training, skills, and economic opportunity that can be availed through use of e-commerce and, generally, seeking information through the Internet. Our proposal is to train teachers and students in such communities to make difference in their lives and by mentoring the teachers and hopefully the knowledge passed to the teachers will reach their students in junior and high schools.</span></span></p>