Business Commons^™

Mhealth: A Mediating Tool For Community Health Workers’ Transformation In Armed Conflict Zones, Nakama David, Samuel C. Avemaria Utulu, Jennifer Tyndall

The African Journal of Information Systems

Communities affected by armed conflict are striving to provide access to effective healthcare services in countries like Nigeria, where there exists a fragile healthcare system with an acute deficit of manpower and resources. This fragility has a negative impact on child health service delivery. mHealth is considered an excellent platform for enhancing/transforming the activities of community health workers (CHWs) in the delivery of effective health services. This paper aims to explore how mHealth implementation mediates and transforms the activities of CHWs in an armed conflict setting using activity theory as a lens. An interpretive research methodology was used, and the …

The Role Of African Proverbs In Advancing Information Systems Research, Tiko Iyamu

The African Journal of Information Systems

Despite the richness of African proverbs, they have been muted in information systems (IS) research. This explicitly contributes to the lag in developing information systems and technology solutions for African people by African researchers in African terms. It is on this basis that two related objectives were formulated: (1) to examine the role which African proverbs can play in further advancing IS research, and (2) to understand how the concept can be employed to indigenize IS research. Qualitative data were collected from different sources, and the dimension of social change from structuration theory was employed to examine the role African …

Government Workspace Digitalization And Socioeconomic Development Outcomes In Ghana, Winfred Ofoe Larkotey, John Effah, Richard Boateng

The African Journal of Information Systems

The study sought to understand how the structurational environment shapes socioeconomic outcomes of government workspace digitalization in Ghana based on a qualitative, interpretive case study and the structurational model of technology as a theoretical lens. The findings show how the availability of electronic transactions law, government borrowing, and extendable system design can positively influence socioeconomic outcomes of government workspace digitalization. However, use of multiple system development environments, bureaucracy, a within-country digital divide, and a persistent physical signature and letterhead culture can negatively influence the socioeconomic development goals of government workspace digitalization.

Realist Evaluation Of The Early-Stage Implementation Of A Smartphone-Based Disease Surveillance Project In Two Armed-Conflict Communities In Nigeria, Bashir M. Mustapha, Samuel C. Avemaria Utulu

The African Journal of Information Systems

We investigate the early-stage implementation of a smartphone-based acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance project in communities experiencing armed conflicts in Nigeria. We aim to expose factors influencing the early-stage implementation of smartphone-based AFP surveillance in two rural communities experiencing armed conflicts in Northern Nigeria. Thus, exploring “what works, for whom and under what contextual conditions?” in the early-stage implementation of a smartphone-based AFP surveillance project, given the involvement of multiple stakeholders. We adopted stakeholder theory as a lens to guide the study. We adopted a qualitative case study method, realist philosophy, semi-structured interview, participatory observation, and thematic data analysis. The …

Emotional Analysis Of Learning Cybersecurity With Games Using Iot, Maria Valero, Md Jobair Hossain, Shahriar Sobhan

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The constant rise of cyber-attacks poses an increasing demand for more qualified people with cybersecurity knowledge. Games have emerged as a well-fitted technology to engage users in learning processes. In this paper, we analyze the emotional parameters of people while learning cybersecurity through computer games. The data are gathered using a non-invasive Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) to study the signals directly from the users’ brains. We analyze six performance metrics (engagement, focus, excitement, stress, relaxation, and interest) of 12 users while playing computer games to measure the effectiveness of the games to attract the attention of the participants. Results show participants …

Resilience Vs. Prevention. Which Is The Better Cybersecurity Practice?, Frank Katz

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Students in multiple cohorts of our 3000 level Fundamentals of Information Systems Security course were given a discussion question where they had to either agree or disagree with the premise that given all the constant threats to our systems, we should dedicate more of our efforts to quickly repairing the damage of an attack rather than dedicate more of our time and energies to preventing such attacks. They were required to give their reasoning and provide sources to back up their analysis of his comment.

This paper will describe and explain the concept of cyber resiliency. It will then evaluate …

Warshipping: Hacking The Mailroom, Jackson Szwast, Bryson Payne

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Everyone knows what package shipping is, but not everyone knows what warshipping is. Corporate mailrooms are rarely considered as part of the cybersecurity attack surface of most organizations, but they offer physical access to millions of uninspected packages daily. UPS shipped 5.5 billion items last year, with their daily average being 21.9 million items and operating through 1,800 locations in 2020. FedEx shipped 6.5 million packages daily and operates 2,150 locations. The United States Postal Service delivered 143 billion pieces of mail in 2019. Increasingly the world’s consumers are relying on e-commerce, and during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, package deliveries …

Towards Assessing Password Workarounds And Perceived Risk To Data Breaches For Organizational Cybersecurity Risk Management Taxonomy, Michael J. Rooney, Yair Levy, Wei Li, Ajoy Kumar

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Cybersecurity involves a broad range of techniques, including cyber-physical, managerial, and technical, while authentication provides a layer of protection for Information Systems (IS) against data breaches. The recent COVID-19 pandemic brought a tsunami of data breach incidents worldwide. Authentication serves as a mechanism for IS against unauthorized access utilizing various defense techniques, with the most popular and frequently used technique being passwords. However, the dramatic increase of user accounts over the past few decades has exposed the realization that technological measures alone cannot ensure high level of IS security; this leaves the end-users holding a critical role in protecting their …

Analyzing Robotics Software Vulnerabilities, Hossain Shahriar, Md Jobair Hossain Faruk, Shahriar Sobhan, Mohammad Nazim

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Robots are widely used in our day-to-day life in various domains. For example, eldercare robots, such as CareO-Bots [1]are used to perform household tasks and provide mobility assistance [2]. Amazon uses manufacturing robots to accomplish manufacturing labor activities, such as welding and assembling equipment [2]. According to the International Data Corporation, spending on robotics is expected to reach USD 241.4 billion by the end of 2023 [4].

However, malicious users can exploit security vulnerabilities in hardware and software components of robotics systems to conduct security attacks and cause malfunction, i.e., deviate robots from their expected behaviors. Security attacks on robots …

A Taxonomy Of Cyberattacks Against Critical Infrastructure, Miloslava Plachkinova, Ace Vo

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The current study proposes a taxonomy to organize existing knowledge on cybercrimes against critical infrastructure such as power plants, water treatment facilities, dams, and nuclear facilities. Routine Activity Theory is used to inform a three-dimensional taxonomy with the following dimensions: hacker motivation (likely offender), cyber, physical, and cyber-physical components of any cyber-physical system (suitable target), and security (capable guardian). The focus of the study is to develop and evaluate the classification tool using Design Science Research (DSR) methodology. Publicly available data was used to evaluate the utility and usability of the proposed artifact by exploring three possible scenarios – Stuxnet, …

Knowledge Sharing In The Higher Education Environment Of Developing Economies – The Case Of Eritrea, Samuel Tewelde Yigzaw, Ilkka Jormanainen, Markku Tukiainen

The African Journal of Information Systems

This paper explores the prevailing higher education environment in Eritrea as a case study, with the aim of identifying factors influencing knowledge sharing and collaboration in the community both within and across the institutions. The research is based on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with seven respondents: leaders and senior academicians representing all six higher education institutions (HEIs) in Eritrea. It investigates the environment from the socio-technical systems perspective with a holistic view of the institutional system rather than sub-systems. The results show that the HEIs have considerable levels of underutilized technology tools available in the community, and institutional guidelines …

Meta-Analysis Of Factors Influencing Student Acceptance Of Massive Open Online Courses For Open Distance Learning, Cecilia Temilola Olugbara, Moeketsi Letseka, Ropo Ebenezer Ogunsakin, Oludayo Olufolorunsho Olugbara

The African Journal of Information Systems

This study aimed to apply the meta-analysis methodology to systematically synthesize results of primary studies to discover the main significant factors influencing student acceptance of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for open distance learning (ODL). An abundance of studies on MOOCs exists, but there is a lack of meta-analysis research on student acceptance of MOOCs, which is a novel contribution of the current study. The meta-analysis methodology was applied to investigate effect sizes, statistical heterogeneity, and publication bias across 36 primary studies involving 14233 participating students. The study findings show satisfaction to be the main significant factor influencing student acceptance …

Exploring The Correlation Between Information And Communication Technology Maturity And Value Of Listed Companies In The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Victor Akinbola Olutayo, Godspower Osaretin Ekuobase

The African Journal of Information Systems

A fundamental issue within the Nigerian economy that has resulted in information and communication technology (ICT) mis-planning is the uncertainty surrounding how ICT value relates to ICT maturity. In response, the value-added intellectual coefficient model has been used to measure the value of ICT across sectors in the Nigerian stock exchange while their ICT maturity has been measured using the ICT maturity model for small-and-medium scale enterprises. The result has shown that the Nigerian economy is web based in ICT maturity with an index of about 0.67. The ICT value index has been estimated to be about 5.65, an indication …

Evolving Information Security Governance Practices From Evolving Technologies: Focus On Covid-19 Lockdowns, Cosmas Ngwenya, Kennedy Njenga

The African Journal of Information Systems

This paper contemporizes evolving information security (IS) governance practices during the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) in South Africa. Using post-structuralism as a lens, we offer distinct insights regarding how information systems and technologies are evolving and the impact they present to the governance of IS systems during intermittent lockdowns. An online self-administered questionnaire was designed and distributed using Google forms to elicit data around evolution. A link was emailed to 160 respondents fitting pre-defined criteria. Data was exported to a statistical analysis software for analysis. Our results present an important relationship between technology evolutions and IS threats and that changes in …

Crafting Electronic Medical Record Ontology For Interoperability, Esingbemi Princewill Ebietomere, Ukeme Nse, Betty Ukhuegbe Ekuobase, Godspower Osaretin Ekuobase

The African Journal of Information Systems

Clinical information system (CIS) whose core component is the electronic medical record (EMR), is critical to efficient health care delivery. However, patient mobility and CIS heterogeneity have strengthened the interoperability problem of EMRs. Although ontology is a panacea to this problem, creating interoperable EMR ontology is still esoteric. This paper explicates how an interoperable EMR ontology was crafted for a tertiary health facility in Nigeria. The ontology named EMRONT was created using the Noy and McGuiness’ methodology and Protégé. EMRONT has been evaluated for quality using competency questions and OntoQA and subsequently refined for interoperability by manual mapping to both …

Factors That Influence The Acceptance And Use Of Formative Feedback In An Online Undergraduate Module, Jameson Goto, Jacqueline Batchelor, Geoffrey Lautenbach

The African Journal of Information Systems

The focus of the study was to determine the factors that influence the acceptance and use of online feedback in an undergraduate module using the modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2). The participants were third-year pre-service teachers in the Bachelor of Education degree who were taking a fully online Teaching Studies module, in addition to their specialist subject areas at one of the universities in South Africa. A survey instrument was developed from the original UTAUT2 instrument and modified where appropriate, to fit the formative feedback context. Exploratory factor analysis was used to validate the instrument. …

Developing An Ai-Powered Chatbot To Support The Administration Of Middle And High School Cybersecurity Camps, Jonathan He, Chunsheng Xin

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Throughout the Internet, many chatbots have been deployed by various organizations to answer questions asked by customers. In recent years, we have been running cybersecurity summer camps for youth. Due to COVID-19, our in-person camp has been changed to virtual camps. As a result, we decided to develop a chatbot to reduce the number of emails, phone calls, as well as the human burden for answering the same or similar questions again and again based on questions we received from previous camps. This paper introduces our practical experience to implement an AI-powered chatbot for middle and high school cybersecurity camps …

Secure Coding In Five Steps, Mini Zeng, Feng Zhu

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Software vulnerabilities have become a severe cybersecurity issue. There are numerous resources of industry best practices available, but it is still challenging to effectively teach secure coding practices. The resources are not designed for classroom usage because the amount of information is overwhelming for students. There are efforts in academia to introduce secure coding components into computer science curriculum, but a big gap between industry best practices and workforce skills still exists. Unlike many existing efforts, we focus on both the big picture of secure coding and hands-on projects. To achieve these two goals, we present five learning steps that …

Observations, Evaluations, And Recommendations For Deterlab From An Educational Perspective, Ahmed Ibrahim, Vitaly Ford

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

DETERLab is a cluster environment that provides a set of virtual machines that can be used by researchers and teachers to run cybersecurity experiments and competitions, and where it is possible to deploy different network configurations to research attack and defense mechanisms in the cyber world. While we were working to develop a pathway for producing more usable and effective cybersecurity educational resources by investigating and examining several projects, we examined DETERLab as a prospective platform to use in the classroom. Throughout our experimentation, we faced challenges that we decided to document in order to help other educators use the …

Contingency Planning Amidst A Pandemic, Natalie C. Belford

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Proper prior planning prevents pitifully poor performance: The purpose of this research is to address mitigation approaches - disaster recovery, contingency planning, and business continuity planning - and their benefits as they relate to university operations during a worldwide pandemic predicated by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The most relevant approach pertaining to the University’s needs and its response to the coronavirus pandemic will be determined and evaluated in detail.

An Exploratory Study Of Mode Efficacy In Cybersecurity Training, Michael D. Workman

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Cybersecurity capabilities in organizations and governmental agencies continue to lag behind the threats. Given the current environment, these entities have placed renewed emphasis on cybersecurity education. However, education appears to lack its full potential in most settings. Few empirical studies have systematically tested the efficacy of various training methods and modes, and those that have been conducted have yielded inconsistent findings. Recent literature on the use of gamified simulations have suggested that they may improve cybersecurity behaviors. Similarly, live activities such as hackathons and capture the flag events have been surmised to augment learning and capabilities. We conducted an exploratory …

Mobile Phones And Social Inclusion Of Women In Africa: A Nigerian Perspective, Naima Hafiz Abubakar, Muhammadou M. O. Kah

The African Journal of Information Systems

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly being recognised as vital tools with regards to the social inclusion of women. Specifically, we investigate the effect of mobile phone use on the social inclusion of women in Nigeria. Our study focuses on what these women are able to achieve with their mobile phones and the implication of these achievements on their ability to effectively participate in the society. We draw on a qualitative ethnographic study of resettled northern women in the southern city of Lagos to understand how mobile phone use contributes to their social inclusion. From our analysis, we derive …

A Framework For Accessing Patient Big Data: Ant View Of A South African Health Facility, Sibulela Mgudlwa, Tiko Iyamu

The African Journal of Information Systems

This study was undertaken to develop a framework that can be used to guide analysis when translating and transforming big data into a more purposeful resource for healthcare service delivery in South Africa. It is intended to assist in addressing some of the challenges encountered by healthcare facilities. Qualitative data were collected, with a focus on the types of interactions that happen between actors when accessing and using patients’ big data for healthcare services. Actor-network theory (ANT) was applied as a lens in the analysis of the data, to examine the relationships between actors when accessing and using big data …

Examining The Factors Influencing The Achievement Of It-Business Alignment In A Developing Economy: Evidence From Ghanaian Public Universities, Dickson Ofosu, Acheampong Owusu, Richard Boateng

The African Journal of Information Systems

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively assess the state of information technology (IT) business alignment among Ghanaian universities and to identify factors that influence the achievement of four key dimensions of the concept. Studies show that factors influencing the achievement of the concept remain underexplored and research coverage for both developing economies and the higher education sector trails behind other sectors and developed economies. A two-round online Delphi technique was employed to elicit responses from personnel in IT leadership positions using Schlosser et al. (2012) alignment dimensions model as a lens. Findings suggest that IT investment is often …

Predictors Of Successful Adoption Of Technology Supported Learning In Universities In Uganda: A Students’ Perspective, Esther Namirembe, Michael Eddie Kyobe Prof.

The African Journal of Information Systems

This study identified the predictors of successful adoption of technology supported learning (TSL) among students in universities. Presumably, the perspective of the students in understanding this study is crucial because students are key users of TSL systems and are faced with challenges in the adoption of such systems in learning institutions. We argue in the present study that predictors can be identified using Gestalts approach given the complex interactions between the organizational and individual factors. The extent of interaction between the factors was accomplished using the clustering algorithm. Data was collected from 184 students from Makerere and Gulu universities. Six …

Challenges And Success Factors Of Scaled Agile Adoption – A South African Perspective, Lucas Khoza, Carl Marnewick

The African Journal of Information Systems

Agile methods and Agile scaling frameworks have become a solution for software-developing organizations striving to improve the success of software projects. Agile methods were developed for small projects, but due to their benefits, even large software-developing organizations have adopted them to scale their software projects. This quantitative study was undertaken to deepen the researchers’ understanding of the critical success factors and challenges of Scaled Agile from the South African perspective. A simple random sampling method was used. Data was collected with the use of an online structured questionnaire and the response rate was 70%. The results reveal that customer satisfaction …

Emergence And Constraints Of Enterprise Platform Silos For Online Interactions: A Case Study From Ghana Before And During Covid-19, John Effah

The African Journal of Information Systems

The purpose of this study is to understand the emergence and constraints of enterprise platform silos for online interactions at the organizational level. Information systems (IS) research has focused more on external platforms without silos. As a result, not much is known about internal platforms and silos at the organizational level and how they constrain online interactions, especially in the developing economic context of Africa. This study follows an interpretive, qualitative case study methodology and the encounter-episode process model to investigate the case of using enterprise platform silos in an organization in Ghana, before and during Covid-19. The findings show …

Intention To Adopt E-Commerce: A Comparative Review Across Developed And Developing Economies, Mousa Albashrawi

The African Journal of Information Systems

The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive literature review of online purchase intention and present a comparative case between developed and developing economies over a 20-year period to reveal insightful implications for academia and industry. Online purchase intention refers to the intended behavior of an individual to buy a product or service from an online store. Prior research has failed to present a review that compares an individual’s online purchase intention across developed and developing economies in order to disclose the largest and smallest influencing factors, theories, and models in e-commerce. Our sample consists of 97 relevant …

Opportunities For Reducing Expenses Through Digital Innovation: The Case Of An Insurance Company, Craig Paul Pillay, James Kariuki Njenga

The African Journal of Information Systems

Operational inefficiencies not only affect the quality of a company's offerings but also increase its overhead expenses. Insurance companies have some of the highest overhead costs, which often are transferred to customers as premiums for insurance products. While companies are adopting digital innovation to reduce expenses by optimizing their operational functions, not all companies are ready for the digital transformation journey, which risks their existence. The unreadiness exists despite evidence that digital innovation has many potential benefits to these companies. Nine participants from six business units, all with 133 employees, were interviewed for this study. This research uses a single, …

The Impact Of Ict Projects On Developing Economies: The Case Of People With Physical Disabilities In Nigeria, Abdulrashid Abubakar Iliya, Chidi Gerald Ononiwu, Muhammadou M.O Kah, Olumide Babatope Longe Prof

The African Journal of Information Systems

This study investigates the use of computers by People with Disabilities (PWDs) and whether it improves capability and human development in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on a case study’s findings and interviews with PWDs, we build on the Technology-Augment Capability Approach to show how computers as technical objects and caregivers as non-technical objects facilitate four key capabilities for PWDs, namely (1) Capability to education, (2) Capability to socio-economic activities, (3) Capability to social relations, (4) Informational capabilities and capability to employment. However, PWDs’ ability to convert the use of computers into capabilities is influenced by conversion factors, such as personal, social, …