Assessing South African ICT4D research outputs: a journal review

Turpin, Marita

doi:10.18489/sacj.v30i1.541

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…However, various studies have been conducted around SMMEs in South Africa, precluding the township context [9][10][11][12][13]. Reference [14] agreed that literature on small businesses focuses on other SMME contexts as a whole, while far less research has focused on the township SMME context.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Livelihoods of Township Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises towards Growth and Development

Bvuma

Marnewick

2020

Sustainability

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In South Africa, small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) have been recognized as the critical driving force to alleviate some economic challenges that the country faces. The challenges, such as the alleviation of poverty and the unemployment rate, can be addressed by policies that encourage SMME developments and sustainability. The historical background of SMMEs in South Africa has left them operating in various locations, such as cities and townships. There is a growing concern of the lack of information and communications technology (ICT) adoption by SMMEs, in particular those operating in townships. The aim of this study was to develop an ICT adoption framework using the sustainability livelihood framework (SLF) to encourage ICT adoption and improve the livelihood of township SMMEs. This study used the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) to explore the broader socio-economic contents of the township SMMEs on human, social, financial, and physical and natural resource-based assets that enable the poor to enhance their capabilities and reduce their vulnerabilities. This study deployed a qualitative exploratory research. A sample of 21 SMME owners/managers operating in Soweto was used, and data were collected using in-depth interviews and observations. The study revealed township SMMEs are complex and dynamic and need various interventions in order for them to be sustainable. The SLF for township SMMEs can be used as a guideline for SMME owners/managers and policy makers when formulating ICT adoption policy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Livelihoods of Township Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises towards Growth and Development

Bvuma

Marnewick

2020

Sustainability

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“…Given the nature of the database search, it may also be indicative of a move towards more interdisciplinary work with computing playing a key bridging role to many other related disciplines. As was the case with Brown and Tanner (2008), Kotzé andVan Der Merwe (2009), andTurpin (2018), the output of South African computing research is characterised by marked institutional differences. Specifically, for the outputs considered in this investigation, UP, UCT, UJ, and UKZN account for a majority of South African computing research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…As with previous reviews of South African computing research, institutional differences were found, with UCT accounting for the largest proportion of ICT4D output in these three journals, followed by UP, Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), and Rhodes University (RU). To categorise publications Turpin (2018) developed her own classification system, identifying three research themes accounting for 73% of articles -method (impact assessment and monitoring & evaluation), access (connectivity and telecentres), and general business and SMEs. Additionally, the researcher investigated collaboration patterns, finding that of the 58 articles considered, only five (8.62%) were single-author papers, 28 (48.28%) were authored by researchers from the same institution, seven (12.07%) were authored by researchers from different South African institutions, and 18 (31.03%) were authored by researchers with at least one international affiliation among them.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a more recent study, also considering ICT4D research, van Biljon and Naude (2018) investigated the collaboration patterns among researchers in this domain in South Africa. In the same manner as Turpin (2018), these researchers analysed collaboration patterns as indicated by publications in a basket of top ICT4D journals. While the same journals as the former study were used, a different time period for this analysis was adopted (2003 to 2016).…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Computing is broadly recognised in accordance with the proposed constitution of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists (SAICSIT) to include: Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology and Software Engineering. While scientometric 1 investigations of specific aspects of South African computing research have been conducted (e.g., Brown & Tanner, 2008;Kotzé & Van Der Merwe, 2009;Sanders & Alexander, 2015;Turpin, 2018), no comprehensive investigation broadly considering the landscape of South African computing research has been conducted. Supporting the value of such investigations, specifically referring to Information Systems (IS) as an academic discipline, Lowry, Romans and Curtis (2004, p. 1) affirm that "where and how we publish are fundamental aspects of the identity of the IS field-reflecting our value systems, paradigms, cultural practices, reward systems, political hierarchy, and aspirations".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Computing Research in South Africa: A Scientometric Investigation

Parry

2019

SACJ

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Limited attention has been afforded to mapping the ‘landscape’ of South African computing research. Prior studies have considered singular sub-disciplines, publications, or publication types. Given the growing prominence of computing disciplines, it is necessary to identify the patterns of research production, publication, collaboration, and impact of South African computing research. This study presents a scientometric investigation in this regard. Through the analysis of data accessed from the Scopus citation enhanced bibliographic database, the investigation presents findings in relation to annual research production, institutional differences in outputs, topics, collaboration, and citation impact. While characterised by institutional differences, over the period considered, South African computing research output has increased at a greater rate than that of South African research at large. Additionally, despite accounting for a greater proportion of all outputs, conference papers account for a smaller proportion of citations relative to journal articles or book chapters. Corresponding to previous investigations, there exists a tendency towards applied computing topics in contrast to more theoretical topics. Finally, the collaboration network was shown to be particularly de-centralised with many researchers clustered around institutions. The findings are of interest to all researchers conducting computing or related research in South Africa.

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Novice researchers' perspectives on affordances in ICT4D research collaboration

Mwapwele

Biljon

2021

E J Info Sys Dev Countries

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Collaboration is fundamental to progress in the field of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) research where interdisciplinary teams are involved in the requirements elicitation, design, implementation and evaluation of context-sensitive digital solutions. Research collaboration harbors the potential for knowledge exchange, improving research impact and human development; it is often a requirement in grant applications for funding. Despite the known benefits and incentives, there is evidence that research collaborations between African countries are lacking compared to those with and between other geographic regions. Furthermore, research collaboration has been studied as a variable but theorisation of the concept is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to theorize research collaboration as an object with affordances based on the perspective of novice researchers (master's, doctoral and postdoctoral students) in South Africa. The data capturing from a survey and focus groups with ICT4D novice researchers from different universities in South Africa produced 39 responses to be captured, transcribed and analyzed with Atlas.ti 8 using thematic analysis. The main contribution is the theorisation of research collaboration as an object with properties and then an investigation of the affordances offered to novice researchers together with the facilitating conditions and conversion factors influencing the actualisation of those affordances. The practical contribution is the insight gained into the perspectives of novice researchers as representatives of the future generation of research collaborators.

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Assessing South African ICT4D research outputs: a journal review

Cited by 10 publications

References 29 publications

Sustainable Livelihoods of Township Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises towards Growth and Development

Sustainable Livelihoods of Township Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises towards Growth and Development

Computing Research in South Africa: A Scientometric Investigation

Novice researchers' perspectives on affordances in ICT4D research collaboration

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