Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Toward Secure And Inclusive Educational Metaverse: Insights For African Countries, Nkosikhona T. Msweli

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

The rapid growth of immersive learning platforms has introduced critical identity security challenges. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of over 200 publications (2005–2025) on AI and security issues in virtual educational environments, using Scopus as the primary source. Findings reveal a surge in research after 2022, with China, the U.S., and India as leading contributors, while African representation remains limited. Key concerns include cross-platform vulnerabilities, deepfake threats, and challenges in implementing blockchain-based identity verification. The study also highlights algorithmic bias and ethical issues in identity authentication, emphasizing the need for inclusive, transparent AI systems. The paper provides insights to …

Efficacy Of Fintech Solutions In Advancing Financial Inclusion For The Underserved In South Africa: A Systematic Literature Review, Tebogo S. Legodi, Adheesh Budree

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Financial inclusion in South Africa is a critical mechanism for addressing systemic poverty, unemployment, and inequality. Fintech solutions have increasingly been positioned as key enablers of expanded access to financial services, particularly among underserved populations. However, there remains a lack of literature that evaluates the efficacy, rather than merely the impact, of these technologies. This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of 21 peer-reviewed articles, policy documents, and industry reports to examine how Fintech advances financial inclusion in South Africa. The literature is synthesised into four thematic categories: Financial Inclusion (Concepts and Metrics); Fintech in South Africa and Global …

Coping With Misinformation In Ghanaian Online Communities: A Grounded Theory Approach, Alfred Dela Nyadroh, Karen Magnus-George, Joseph Budu

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Online communities fulfil our innate desire for connection in an increasingly connected world. While offering benefits, they also present disadvantages, attracting significant scholarly attention—especially as their use surged during pandemic-related isolation. Key unresolved questions remain regarding these platforms.

This paper identifies and analyses prevalent misinformation types within online communities, examines how communities create or contribute to its spread, and explores their strategies for mitigating it. Using a grounded theory approach and semi-structured questionnaires, the study reveals that common misinformation forms include misconceptions, fake news, fraud, rumours, and cyberbullying. Crucially, online communities propagate misinformation primarily by sharing unverified content. To combat …

Your Attention Is For Sale, Sam Nova

Emerging Writers

There has been an undeniable trend of shortening attention span length within the last decade. The shift has made many people anxious to point fingers at potential factors which may be partial causes. Despite the common claims that the change is inadvertently caused by technology, shorter content online, or any other unintentional factor; the change is engineered and intentional. There is profit to be made for big social media companies from the purposeful shortening of attention spans amongst the public. Through harmful design philosophy which puts profit over public health, social media companies have designed their platforms to be addictive …

Fostering Cyber Defense: Investigating Effective Methods To Enhance Cybersecurity Awareness, Dmitri H. Morris

Emerging Writers

In the current rapidly evolving digital era, the importance of cybersecurity has become paramount, with millions of records stolen daily and the cost of cybercrime reaching trillions of dollars annually. While the importance of cybersecurity is increasing, many individuals continue to implement poor cybersecurity practices, such as utilizing weak password construction strategies, opening phishing attachments, and handling data irresponsibly. These practices place individuals and the entities that employ them at risk, highlighting a critical need for greater cybersecurity awareness. Addressing this need requires effective strategies to increase awareness and alter individual behaviors. This paper provides a thorough examination of two …

Integrating Humanities Into Cybersecurity Education: Enhancing Ethical, Historical, And Sociopolitical Understanding In Technical Training, Joseph Frusci

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The increasing complexity of cybersecurity challenges necessitates a holistic educational approach that integrates both technical skills and humanistic perspectives. This article examines the importance of infusing humanities disciplines such as history, ethics, political science, sociology, law, and anthropology—into cybersecurity education. Through a pilot course developed for Staten Island Technical High School, aligned with the New York State K-12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards, students were introduced to an interdisciplinary curriculum that combined technical cybersecurity training with historical analysis, ethical reasoning, and sociopolitical context. The results of pre- and post-course assessments demonstrated significant improvements in critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and …

The Use Of Social Media For Organisational Learning: A Systematic Review Of Literature, Harry Moongela, Marie Hattingh

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Social media (categorised as Web 2.0 platforms) has been reported to significantly impact and improve organisational learning (OL), but there seems to be a lack of systematic literature reviews (SLR) covering the use of social media to facilitate OL. Thus, this article conducted a SLR for both social media and OL by presenting the significant concepts, models and frameworks from literature. A total number of 48 articles were found for the analysis method and the findings reveal important concepts such as types of OL, levels of OL and frameworks incorporating both social media and OL. The results also show that …

Factors Influencing Remote Working For Facilitators In Under Resourced Universities, Anelisa Tyutyu, Salah Kabanda, Guidance Mthwazi

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Remote working has been widely implemented in industry. In higher education, a gap exists in understanding how it has been implemented, particularly in under resourced universities. The purpose of this study was to explain the factors that influence remote working experiences of higher education facilitators (HEFs) in under resourced higher education institutions (HEIs). With the use of South African HEIs that are classified as historically disadvantaged, the study explained how remote working has been implemented and experienced and identified strategies that were shown to work in under resourced universities. A deductive approach to theory and an interpretivist research philosophy were …

Experiences Of African Women In Stem Careers: A Systematic Literature Review., Kaluwa Siwale, Gwamaka Mwalemba, Ulrike Rivett

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

The discourse on women's underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) mainly centres on the global north, leaving a gap in understanding the perspectives of African women in STEM. To address this, a systematic literature review was conducted to explore African women's experiences in STEM careers and education. After applying inclusion and criteria, 18 published articles were analysed. 8 key issues emerge: work environment, education system, work-life balance, gender-based stereotypes, racial bias, sexual harassment, inadequate support/mentorship, and self-imposed limits. These themes intertwine, with some aspects influencing others. Grasping the complexities and interactions of these factors provides insights into challenges …

Anonymity And Gender Effects On Online Trolling And Cybervictimization, Gang Lee, Annalyssia Soonah

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the anonymity of the internet and gender differences in online trolling and cybervictimization. A sample of 151 college students attending a southeastern university completed a survey to assess their internet activities and online trolling and cybervictimization. Multivariate analyses of logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression were used to analyze online trolling and cybervictimization. The results indicated that the anonymity measure was not a significant predictor of online trolling and cybervictimization. Female students were less likely than male students to engage in online trolling, but there was no gender …

Alpha Phi-Shing Fraternity: Phishing Assessment In A Higher Education Institution, Marco Casagrande, Mauro Conti, Monica Fedeli, Eleonora Losiouk

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Phishing is a common social engineering attack aimed to steal personal information. Universities attract phishing attacks because: 1) they store employees and students sensitive data, 2) they save confidential documents, 3) their infrastructures often lack security. In this paper, we showcase a phishing assessment at the University of Redacted aimed to identify the people, and the features of such people, that are more susceptible to phishing attacks. We delivered phishing emails to 1.508 subjects in three separate batches, collecting a clickrate equal to 30%, 11% and 13%, respectively. We considered several features (i.e., age, gender, role, working/studying field, email template) …

Factors Affecting Compliance With The National Cybersecurity Policy By Smmes In South Africa, Caitlyn Murphy, Chimwemwe Queen Mtegha, Wallace Chigona, Teofelus Tonateni Tuyeni

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Technological advancements enable Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) to increase business value and gain a competitive advantage. However, despite the myriad benefits of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), they have ushered in cyber threats. Cyberattacks have become more prevalent, especially in developing countries. As a result, most SMMEs in developing countries face challenges securing their digital environment. Governments worldwide have developed a National Cybersecurity Policy to protect their citizens, businesses and critical information infrastructure from cyberattacks. However, compliance with cybersecurity policy remains a challenge in many developing countries, especially among SMMEs. The study investigated the factors affecting compliance with …

Toward A Student-Ready Cybersecurity Program: Findings From A Survey Of Stem-Students, Lora Pitman, Brian K. Payne, Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, Lenora Thorbjornsen

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

As the number of available cybersecurity jobs continues to grow, colleges strive to offer to their cybersecurity students an environment which will make them sufficiently prepared to enter the workforce after graduation. This paper explores the academic and professional needs of STEM-students in various higher education institutions across Virginia and how cybersecurity programs can cater to these needs. It also seeks to propose an evidence-based approach for improving the existing cybersecurity programs so that they can become more inclusive and student-ready. A survey of 251 college students in four higher-education institutions in Virginia showed that while there are common patterns …

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.

Investigating Usage Of Social Media Platforms In South Africa, Adheesh Budree, Kaja Fietkiewicz, Elmar Lins

The African Journal of Information Systems

This study investigated the differences in usage of different social media platforms within the South African context, broken down by user characteristics, specifically gender and age, in addition to investigating the correlation between usage of differing social media platforms. This was carried out to determine which social media needs do the different population groups aim to fulfill when using different social media platforms. Based on the results, the study confirmed the existence of preferences between types of social media platforms and groups of social media platforms in South Africa, based on frequency of use by age group and gender. Social …

Mobile Bullying Among Rural South African Students: Examining The Applicability Of Existing Theories, Michael Eddie Kyobe Prof., Lucas Mimbi Dr, Phillimom Nembandona, Sive Mtshazi

The African Journal of Information Systems

Mobile bullying, which is one form of cyberbullying, is escalating in schools in South Africa. Research can contribute to better understanding of the nature of this aggression, and provide guidance in determining appropriate interventions and administration of justice. However, studies into cyberbullying tend to focus mainly on the urban environment. Rural South Africa involves a large percentage of mobile phone users and experiences in relatively different cultural and social-economic conditions. Lack of research on rural mobile bullying calls into question the applicability of existing theories of crime and cyberbullying to the rural context and their effectiveness in guiding legal and …

A Needs-Ictd Strategy Alignment Foundation For The Measurement Of Ictd Impact: Three Case Studies In South Africa, Gugulethu Q. Baduza, Caroline P. Khene

The African Journal of Information Systems

Access to ICTD projects has increased over the years; however, they have not significantly changed the lives of the targeted communities. This discrepancy relates to the gap that exists between the reality of the community, its needs and the ICTD strategy of the project. This research paper presents a Needs-ICTD strategy alignment framework to support the alignment of ICTD strategy, and the development and promotion of contextual needs of marginalized areas. The framework also contributes to the identification of preliminary impact indicators, which can support impact assessment. Through a multi-case study investigation of the Siyakhula Living Lab and the SAP …

What The 2000 U.S. Census Tells Us About The Kenyan Diaspora, Martin Mbaya, Paulsen Mrina, Michael J. Levin

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The 2000 U.S. Decennial Census produced profiles of Kenya-born and other Africa-born immigrants for the first time. These tabulations provide useful information about the counts and demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics of Kenyans living in the United States. This paper compares the characteristics of the East Africa born with the U.S. born, as well as with all U.S. Blacks. Overall, the data show a classic brain drain in the emigration from the East African community as people relocate and settle down in the United States. The East African diaspora represents a crucial cross section of Africa's top minds in …

Information Technology Acceptance In South Africa: An Investigation Of Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease Of Use, And Actual System Use Constructs, Udo Richard Averweg

The African Journal of Information Systems

Information technology (IT) acceptance studies pay much attention to issues of significance in assessing the contributions of variables explaining IT usage for decision-making in organizations. Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) states that Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) are the two factors that govern the adoption and use of information technology. Actual System Use (behavior) consists of the number of times of systems use. The author conducted a survey of 31 organizations in KwaZulu/Natal, a region in South Africa, which implemented an Executive Information System (EIS). A validated survey instrument was administered to an EIS stakeholder in …