scholarly journals Factors Related to Information and Communication Technologies Adoption in Small Businesses in Colombia

Author(s):  
Julian Duran ◽  
Rubén Castillo

Abstract This study is an analysis of how a set of factors influenced the decision to adopt information and communication technologies (ICTs) in small businesses in Colombia; for this purpose, a logistic modeling is applied wherein the explained variable represents the companies’ decision to adopt ICTs. The main explanatory elements include the demographic aspects of the owner, the company characteristics, and the legal practice of the company and its social capital. Data from the Microbusiness Survey 2019 conducted by the National Administrative Department of Statistics of Colombia were employed. The study results noted that personal aspects such as the age and gender of the owner have an impact on the adoption of ICTs. Moreover, computer equipment is critical in these small businesses, thereby making a policy of subsidizing the acquisition of these devices relevant. In addition, business formality and social capital ties have a positive influence on the use of ICTs.

Author(s):  
Yolanda Rodríguez-Castro ◽  
Rosana Martínez-Román ◽  
Patricia Alonso-Ruido ◽  
Alba Adá-Lameiras ◽  
María Victoria Carrera-Fernández

Background: Within the context of the widespread use of technologies by adolescents, the objectives of this study were to identify the perpetrators of intimate partner cyberstalking (IPCS) in adolescents; to analyze the relationship between IPCS and gender, age, sexting behaviors, pornography consumption, and ambivalent sexism; and to investigate the influence of the study variables as predictors of IPCS and determine their moderating role. Methods: Participants were 993 Spanish students of Secondary Education, 535 girls and 458 boys with mean age 15.75 (SD = 1.47). Of the total sample, 70.3% (n = 696) had or had had a partner. Results: Boys perform more sexting, consume more pornographic content, and have more hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes than girls. However, girls perpetrate more IPCS than boys. The results of the hierarchical multiple regression indicate that hostile sexism is a predictor of IPCS, as well as the combined effect of Gender × Pornography and Benevolent Sexism × Sexting. Conclusions: it is essential to implement sexual affective education programs in schools in which Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are incorporated so that boys and girls can experience their relationships, both offline and online, in an egalitarian and violence-free way.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justina Namukombo

Zambia’s 2012 report on the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO +20) identifies existing opportunities on the country’s transitioning to green economy. The RIO +20 conference of 2012 has resulted in new momentum in addressing problems of sustainable development. However, this article argues that there are practical challenges that require paying attention to, especially those involving women. The article addressed one key question: To what extent can women participate in the transitioning process to green economy in Zambia and what opportunities and challenges exists? The study used document analysis to answer the above question. National policy documents were reviewed to understand interventions on environmental management. Whilst going through the documents, the study used gender analysis frameworks (education, skills, roles in family and society, access to infrastructure) to bring out qualitative and quantitative information on women. Using suggested green economy interventions in the literature as benchmark, qualitative analysis was used to project possible participation of women in green economy activities and possible challenges to be faced. The study found that participation of women will be limited despite existing opportunities because of challenges of access to information and communication technology infrastructures, low educational levels and skills and financial constraints. As Zambia undergoes a transitioning process, these limitations should be addressed in planned green economy policies and interventions to maximise benefits.Keywords: Green economy; Gender; Policies; Strategies; ICT; Zambia


2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 183-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yilmaz Esmer

AbstractIt is frequently asserted that the ongoing process that is commonly referred to as globalization should bring about wide-spread changes in values. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the unparalleled increases in the flow of capital, goods, services and information coupled with the revolutionary developments in information and communication technologies should result in a convergence of values.This paper is attempt to assess the direction and the magnitude of value change between 1981, when the first WVS/EVS surveys were conducted, and 2001, the last year for which data are available. Data from some 20 countries are analyzed to follow possible changes in values. Furthermore, the paper offers a test of the convergence hypothesis by examining the standard deviations and the coefficients of variation of a wide-ranging list of values.The conclusion is that cultural value change has been rather limited during this period at least for this sample of countries. Among the dimensions studied, marriage, family and gender relations seem to be the area of most significant change. On the other hand, we have found almost no evidence for even a slow convergence of values.


Author(s):  
Serkan Gürsoy ◽  
Murat Yücelen

This chapter deals with the evolution of communities of practice by considering two key components which facilitate knowledge sharing: Organizational Learning and Social Capital. Dualities and intersections between the building blocks of these two components are investigated by discussing organizational learning in its explorative and exploitative forms, while considering social capital in its bridging and bonding forms. As a critical contemporary step of evolution, information and communication technologies are also elaborated in order to examine the impact of constant and instant tools on these facilitators of knowledge sharing. The study aims to derive proxies among these components of organizational learning and social capital in order to design an integrated framework that reflects the nature of online communities of practice.


Author(s):  
Anne Wiggins

Although motivating electronic business (e-business) adoption and implemention by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is endorsed by policies and initiatives introduced by the European Union (EU), a number of challenges arise as the result of a limited conceptual understanding of the relationship between SMEs and information and communication technologies (ICTs). Relatively little is known about how SMEs respond to the opportunities provided by ICTs, and even less is known about why and how small businesses use ICTs (Dixon, Thompson, & McAllister, 2002). In the first section of this critical review of the academic and government bodies of literature related to EU SMEs, e-business and policy initiatives and definitions of SMEs are explained, the unique characteristics of SMEs and entrepreneurial characteristics are outlined, and the case is made that there is a clear need for more comprehensive research on SMEs in the European Union. The second section concentrates on e-business. Many of the factors that compel organisations to adopt and implement innovation are pertinent to the adoption and implementation of e-business. These have hitherto largely been treated as separate bodies of literature, however. In this section, the benefits of e-business are explored, the factors that motivate or act as barriers to e-business adoption and implemention are outlined, and the organisational and management attributes that would seem to ensure the success of the innovation of adopting and implementing e-business are discussed. The third and penultimate section explores EU policy initiatives relevant to SMEs and to the promotion of e-business. The most wide-ranging and prominent initiatives directed at SMEs are examined here. The final section of the paper concludes with suggestions for further research.


Author(s):  
Ricardo Gomez ◽  
Kemly Camacho

Libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés offer opportunities for wider public access to information and communication technologies (ICT). This paper presents findings of a global exploratory study on the landscape public access venues in 25 countries around the world. The goal of the project was to better understand the users of public access venues and their needs, this being one of several papers that result from the global study. This paper identifies profiles of the users of the different types of venues with respect to age, income, education and gender. While findings are not new, their value lies in the compelling evidence drawn from 25 countries and across different types of public access venues, which has never been done before. Results highlight the importance of strengthening public access venues in non-urban settings and to strengthen programs that reach out to underserved populations. The authors also point to special challenges faced by libraries and telecenters given the immense growth of cybercafés as public access venues in most of the countries studied.


Author(s):  
T. N. Litvinova

Introduction. The article gives an assessment of the e-government development in Russia from 2008 to 2018. E-government contributes to the development of the state’s information infrastructure, improves the effciency of public service delivery to the society and attracts the public to participate in the process of developing and adopting government decisions. The article presents a comparative analysis of the development of the electronic government of Russia with other countries. The key issues of improving e-government in Russia are identifed on the basis of the UN e-government development index. This indicator allows assessing whether the state is ready to provide electronic public services to citizens and what are its opportunities for using information and communication technologies in providing these services.Materials and methods. Electronic government has become the subject of a wide range of disciplines, including political communication and sociology. Currently, scientists are paying increasing attention to the intersection of technological factors, equipment and culture in the adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT), e-government research has begun to demonstrate some diversifcation. Russian scientists mostly focus on the statistic data of implementation of egovernment and consequences for governance and society. This investigation is based on following methods: 1) content-analysis of offcial documents of the Russian Federation concerning e-government; 2) declarations and interviews of offcial authorities; 3) monitoring of mass media; 3) international and national statistics data analysis.Study results. Russia has relatively good indicators of e-government development in the world (according to UN e-Government Development Index), and the introduction of e-government is quite fast. But, in comparison with the leading countries, Russia still lags far behind in many respects because of: huge territory; low level of distribution of electronic services; low activity of mobile communication; weak dynamics of the increase in the number of Internet users; lack of the necessary law regulatory framework; low computer literacy of many government offcials.


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