Telemedicine (health-care delivery where physicians examine distant patients using telecommunications technologies) has been heralded as one of several possible solutions to some of the medical dilemmas that face many developing countries. In this study, we examine the current state of telemedicine in a developing country, India. Telemedicine has brought a plethora of benefits to the populace of India, especially those living in rural and remote areas (constituting about 70% of India's population). We discuss three Indian telemedicine implementation cases, consolidate lessons learned from the cases, and culminate with potential researchable critical success factors that account for the growth and modest successes of telemedicine in India.
Abstract. Using theories of technology acceptance and technology transfer, we identified factors affecting the use of mobile information and communication technology (mobile ICT) in the least developed countries (LDCs), specifically sub‐Saharan Africa. From a literature review, we developed a research model to describe factors that impact mobile ICT use and formulated a series of hypotheses about them. We then surveyed mobile ICT users in Kenya and Nigeria and created a structural model to examine our hypothesized relationships. Our findings indicate that access to mobile ICT, and cultural influences on mobile ICT diffusion, strongly influence individuals’ perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of mobile ICT. Individuals’ perceptions about the reliability of mobile ICT influence use of these technologies significantly. The results suggest that, although extensive ICT diffusion (high mobile ICT levels per capita) may be necessary for seeding commercial and economic initiatives that depend heavily on mobile ICT, such as m‐commerce, it may not be sufficient. Firms conducting business in sub‐Saharan Africa need to pay attention to the factors that explain individual mobile ICT use because these factors will most likely determine the optimal market segmentation, business development and customer service strategies for leveraging m‐commerce operations in that region. For government units, the understanding of such factors would also be beneficial in aiding economic planning and commerce.
Interoperability between applications is important and creates a bridge between and facilitates data exchange between eHealth applications. In this study, we assess the existing Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) for data exchange interoperability in Ethiopia with the view to proposing and developing a data exchange interoperability framework. We applied a qualitative research method to explore the status of e-Health applications (LIS and EMR) based on functional test done. Using a constructive method, a data exchange interoperability framework on eHealth applications was designed. NVivo-10 software was used for coding the interview and data analysis. The framework is tested by the developers and decision makers. The proposed and designed framework is encouraging for future change.
Due to the continuous emergence of new technology, more and more students want to use technology for learning. Digital technology has become part of students‟ life today, hence the term Digital Natives in reference to toda y‟s students. A pilot survey was carried out at Radboud University, Netherlands to determine the impact of video recorded lectures on the students learning process. We present the findings from the survey indicating that students benefitted from the videos. The results we present reveal that the videos are often used to prepare for exams, future classes, catch up with missed classes, among others. The students appreciate the immediate availability of the information on video, the fact that they are able to make the most of micro moments; and they believe they perform better with the recorded videos, among other benefits. The researchers also give some recommendations for introducing the video recorded lectures in Least Developing Countries (LDCs).
The digital divide between the West and Africa seems to be drawing closer for many northern and southern African countries in terms of information and communications technology.These countries are experiencing tremendous growth in use of computers, Internet connectivity, wireless communications and many other related technologies.However, the same is not true for Africa's Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that are still greatly behind other regions of the world in terms of the level of basic telecommunications infrastructure such as teledensity (number of main telephone lines for every one hundred inhabitants).While it is true that Africa's LDCs have some Internet presence, it seems to be limited only to the urban elite.These countries may therefore not be in the position to exploit most of the benefits the Internet can offer.This study suggests a sound teledensity infrastructure as the precursor to the diffusion of various information and communications technologies.Furthermore this study proposes a set of strategies that Africa's LDCs should consider as steps to improve growth of their teledensity.
Over the past two decades, both developed and developing countries have been investing a significant portion of their resources in the creation of an information infrastructure. However, speculation abounds regarding the efficacy of information infrastructure investments, especially when the opportunity cost for investing in information technology (IT) is measurably high among developing nations. This longitudinal study introduces and explores infrastructure development and service-sector growth as key metrics for IT investment success. It also traces the notional evidence of IT infrastructure development as mediating the causal relationship between information infrastructure investments and service-sector growth. Using data from low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries, the mediating and lagged impact of information infrastructure on service-sector growth reveals that information infrastructure development does play a significant role as a mediator. It points out that information infrastructure investments can be a misleading causal antecedent if countries fail to develop their infrastructure. It also provides evidence of a recursive relationship between infrastructure development and service-sector growth. An exploratory time-series analysis across different country categories suggests that information infrastructures must be properly developed to reconcile the paradox. In addition, exploratory tests reveal a distinct divergence between infrastructure investments and infrastructure development among different country tiers.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for designing sustainable telemedicine information systems in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. Primary data were collected from two hospitals in Uganda using a self‐administered questionnaire and an interview guide. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey data, while content analysis method was used to analyze interview responses. The framework was developed based on Hevner et al. 's design science framework. Findings The key requirements for designing sustainable telemedicine information systems in developing countries were identified as the need for speed, ease of use and affordability. Research limitations/implications This study was theoretical in nature. Although primary data were used, the researchers were unable to carry out a series of practical tests of this framework with prototype systems on a cross‐section of users. Practical implications Design and sustainability of telemedicine information systems is still a big challenge to most developing countries, despite its wide usage in the developed countries. While various telemedicine frameworks exist, not much has been done to adequately address the issue of design for sustainability. This paper proposes an appropriate framework that will guide telemedicine information systems designers on designing telemedicine systems that are sustainable in local conditions of developing countries. Originality/value The main contribution of this paper is in the area of information systems design for sustainability, from a developing country perspective. The paper also extends on the constructs of design science research theory and shows how they can be applied in information systems design and evaluation.
Researchers disagree on the impact of multimedia on perceived skill development. This research investigated whether intervening variables such as task-technology factors might explain the difference in the research findings. An experiment was conducted where thirty-nine students worked on a case study using both paper-based and multimedia-based technologies. An exploratory factor analysis design employing a structural equation model was utilized to analyze the data. The findings from this study suggest a strong indirect relationship between multimedia and perceived skill development with learning-driven constructs (challenging, learning interest, self-reported learning, and learned from others). The study concludes that it is critical to consider these factors in developing multimedia instructional materials.
With the dynamic and meteoric rise in teledensity diffusion across Sub Saharan Africa, one would expect a departure in the perceptions of stakeholders as they relate to the Bernt and Weiss framework that identifies organizational, financial, technological, and geographical factors as the key impediments to teledensity growth. The findings of this research show that there is disconnect between current happenings and perception of stakeholders. Specifically, there is no change in stakeholders’ perceptions with respect to the framework mentioned above. However, historical and recent teledensity data from Africa’s Least Developed Countries illustrate that the model is inconsistent with the emerging realities in these countries, and that it may be getting obsolete. This leads us to conjecture that in this new dispensation, there may be some emerging factors, issues, constraints, and opportunities that may be of greater importance to understanding telecommunications capabilities in these countries and the world at large.
Decline in the level of citizens’ participation due to disconnect between citizens and their
representatives has been identified as one of the prominent challenges facing most democratic societies in the
world today. E-democracy has been identified to have the potentials to reduce the contemporary
estrangement between the democratic actors by creating new forms of engagement, deliberation, and
collaboration in polity to make the democratic processes more inclusive and transparent. However, edemocracy
initiatives in many countries have had mixed success as most e-democracy implementations have
been unable to justify the essence of huge investments made into it. This research paper reviews existing edemocracy
development processes and agenda of nations among the top twenty countries in e-participation
implementation as rated in the UN Global E-Government Evaluation, 2010. The sample composed of secondary
data sourced from information system centric academic journals, book chapters, conference proceedings,
database of international development organisations (OECD, UN, EU) on e-democracy implementation reports
and database of research institutions and centres that focus on e-government and e-democracy
implementation. Findings revealed that most countries do not have well established framework and agenda
setting for e-democracy implementation, but only based their e-democracy implementation on one of the
objectives of their e-government implementation. As a result, policy content is largely missing in most edemocracy
strategies at both conceptual and implementation stage. This paper therefore, presents a guideline
for e-democracy agenda setting and discusses issues germane to establishing e-democracy agenda. It submits
that for a successful e-democracy implementation, the agenda-setting phase should capture the legal and
political processes of the country. In addition, e-democracy strategic vision, strategic aim and objectives,
strategic policy, mode of implementation and overseeing body should be well articulated in the agenda setting
phase of e-democracy implementation plan. The discussion will benefit both researchers, government and
practitioners on successful e-democracy implementation as basis for societal development.
