Organizational, Technical and Behavioral Factors Associated with Malaria Routine Data Reporting among Health Workers in Selected Health Facilities in Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya

Purpose: Malaria remains to be among the primary causes of sickness, infirmity and cases of deaths and has continued to negatively affect health and socio-economic progress in the country. Rapid reporting of malaria cases could avert prospective epidemics which would lead to a high proportion of sickness and deaths. The study, therefore, sought to assess the determinants of malaria routine data reporting among health workers in selected health facilities in Trans-Nzoia County. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the organizational, technical, and behavioral aspects that influence the reporting of malaria routine data among health workers. The sample size was 123 health facilities that were selected randomly based on their strata. Research tools that were utilized were structured questionnaires, focused group discussion, and key informant interview guide. Chi-square (χ2) was used to test the hypothesis with a p ≤ 0.05 being considered significant. Findings: The findings on socio-demographic characteristics indicated that majority of the research participants were females 76(62.6%), had college education 85(69.1%) and 81 (65.9%) had worked in the health facility for 5 to 10 years. Most 76(61.8%) of the health facilities were Level 3 (Health Centres). There was significant relationship between level of health facility and malaria routine data reporting at (χ2 =9.999, df=3, p-value = 0.019). Other organizational factors that had significant association with malaria routine data reporting (p< 0.001) include inadequate budget, low staffing, poor ICT infrastructure and complex data management procedures. In terms of technical aspects, limited training on technologies had significant relationship with malaria routine data reporting (p< 0.001). Regarding behavioral aspects, identified factors include lack of incentives and inadequate resources. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The outcomes of the study provide proof for support, tactical organization, and collaboration in the health sector in Trans-Nzoia County as well as to the other developmental agencies working in the field of malaria control. The study recommends that the county government of Trans-Nzoia should provide adequate funds and ICT infrastructure to boost malaria routine data reporting. The county department of health with support from the national government through Division of National Malaria Program (DNMP )should consistently conduct in-service training, support supervision and data quality audits.

Development Trends of Digital Infrastructure

The goal of this chapter is to analyze the main trends in the development of information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and to discuss ICT strategies for decision-making in the 21st century. The chapter begins with a discussion of the development of the internet and its impact on civilization and human society. Next, the chapter considers the development of smartphone applications as well as other technologies used for personal communication. After this, developments in hardware and machine software platforms are considered. The chapter concludes by analyzing three trends: developments in computer architecture, developments in computer design, and developments in IT design.

THRESHOLD EFFECT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE ON TOURISM SECTOR DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM TOP 10 AFRICAN DESTINATIONS

Tourism has become an information-intensive business that heavily relies on ICT to provide information and conduct transactions for consumers of touristic products and services. Thus, ICT infrastructure would play a major role in the development of the tourism sector. This paper aims to investigate the threshold effect of ICT infrastructure on tourism sector development in top10 African tourism destinations including ; Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda. To do so, a double panel threshold regression model utilized over the period 2004 to 2017. The empirical results revealed a new perspective that there is a double-threshold effect of ICT infrastructure on the development of tourism sector, indicating a non-linear effect of ICT infrastructure on the development of tourism sector in top 10 African tourism destinations. More specifically, the empirical results reveal that ICT infrastructure weakly and positively derives the number of intentional tourism arrivals and international tourist receipts when the level of ICT infrastructure is less or equal to the first threshold, while it strongly and positively derives the number of intentional tourism arrivals and international tourist when the level of ICT infrastructure is less or equal to the first and second thresholds. Thus, this paper provides important implications for policy makers, in that maximizing the benefits from information technology in developing tourism sector can be achieved when its level between certain critical threshold values.

Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading in Microgrids and Local Energy Systems

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading is an innovative approach for managing increasing numbers of Distributed Energy Resources in microgrids or local energy systems. In P2P energy trading, prosumers and consumers directly trade and exchange power and energy with each other. The development of P2P energy trading is described in five key aspects, that is, market design, trading platforms, power and ICT infrastructure, regulation and policy, and from a social science perspective. A general multiagent framework is established to simulate the behaviour of and interaction between multiple entities in P2P energy trading. A general evaluation index hierarchy is proposed to assess various P2P energy trading mechanisms. Finally, a residential community that is set in the context of Great Britain is studied using multiagent simulation and hierarchical evaluation methods. Both the technical and economic benefits of P2P energy trading are demonstrated.

ROLE OF ICT IN E-COMMERCE BUSINESS EMERGING

Role of ICT in E-Commerce Business developing are inseparable terms as the e-commerce industry is absolutely dependent on ICT and e-commerce for its operations and intensification. E-commerce is referred to as application of ICT in business and E- commerce. ICT is term which involves usage of computers, including hardware, software, application and networks used to communicate, store and cover the requisite information. The concept of e–Business has been evolving since a number of years and is causative to the economic growth of several developing economies. The approaching for the growth of e-commerce in the developing countries is very high but ICT being the precondition, lack of ICT infrastructure hampers the rate of its growth. The growth of e- commerce is primarily dependent upon the boost in ICT infrastructure. The Smart mobile phone market and Internet diffusion has proved to be a catalyst for growth of ecommerce industry. This paper focus to discuss the role of ICT and ecommerce its services in driving ecommerce industry in developing countries like India and the shift from e-commerce to commerce in large scale in the near future.

Use of ICT in Provision of Information to Rural Women for Sustainable Development©

Information and Communication Technologies are critical tools in disseminating of information for Socio-Economic Development. Every person globally strives to have access to this vital information. However most women in rural areas have limited access to this information. This study therefore was set to find out how ICTs could be used to empower rural women of Keiyo South Constituency, Elgeiyo/Marakwet County through provision of information for sustainable Development. The objectives of the study were to; assess the information needs for rural women; find out how use of ICT could influence socio-economic status of rural women and challenges in accessing this information for sustainable Development. The study was informed by Harris Info-Mobilization theory. The study adopted a qualitative research design. The target population was 3070 women in Keiyo South. Stratified sampling was used to divide the constituency into divisions and locations and purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to obtain 141 respondents. Data was collected using semi-structured interview schedules supplemented by document review and observation and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that the rural women of Keiyo South has limited access to ICT Technology and infrastructure, which has affected negatively on their socio-economic and political status. Access to information was mainly through informal sources such as friends and neighbors; they need education and training to provide them with knowledge and skills for accessing ICT information, which can help them to attain sustainable Development. The study concluded that use of ICT has helped to reduce poverty through economic empowerment and has enabled the rural women to obtain new life skills. In addition, ICT has enabled them to participate in political election online. With relevant ICT infrastructure and policies in place, ICT could be used to improve the socio-economic status of rural women for sustainable development in Keiyo South. The study recommended that the County government of Elgeyo/Marakwet should empower rural women economically by providing them with information through ICT and by enacting policies that support development of ICT infrastructure and projects for rural women. Through these projects, the rural women could be trained to gain the knowledge and skills for searching and retrieving information through ICT. This knowledge could help them develop socio- Economic strategies for sustainable Development.

The influence of risks on the outturn cost of ICT infrastructure network projects

Purpose The internet of things (IoT) is becoming an increasingly inescapable part of society. IoT paradigm cannot function without the networking infrastructure. High-speed data networks are essential to enable the IoT future. Thus, the purpose of this study is on the identification of risks that influence the development, installation and operation of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure network project cost outcomes. So far, there has been little attention has been paid to risks problems in these types of IoT enabling projects. Design/methodology/approach This research follows a quantitative analysis approach. Data for this study were collected by a survey from 209 professionals. Multiple regression analysis was used to model the relationship between risks and outturn cost of infrastructure needed to enable the operation of IoT technologies. Findings The main risk factors that were identified were planning and development, people and management, operations, technology and hardware. Research limitations/implications This research has expanded the existing literature by documenting and clustering ICT infrastructure network project risks into themes, and has developed a scale (risk statements) for measuring such risks. Further, the research has advanced the understanding by identifying the most likely risks that will contribute to the overrun of these projects. Originality/value This research establishes a reliable regression method for the assessment of the risks that influence the development, installation and operation of ICT infrastructure network projects outturn cost. No other research has measured or studied the risks in this type of project.

The use of Information and Communication Technology in Teaching and Learning within Higher Education Sector of a Small Island Developing State: The Case of the Maldives

<p>This study sought to a) discover the specific factors that influence Information and Communications Technology (ICT) use in higher education teaching and learning in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as the Maldives; b) determine how ICT can be used within higher education in SIDS; c) develop a framework / model for ICT adoption in higher education in teaching and learning of SIDS; and d) use UNESCO’s continuum model of ICT development and the TOEG framework to ground these factors to produce a practical roadmap. The Maldives was chosen as a representative case for SIDS in this research. The Maldives consists of 1,192 coral islands with 198 inhabited islands. Due to its small population densities spread over remote islands, distribution of higher education access has been a major impediment in the Maldives, calling for the use of ICT. This research utilised an interpretive paradigm with qualitative research methods (interviews; focus group discussions; qualitative survey and document reviewing). The case research methodology provided a variety of perspectives; enabled multiple data collection techniques; and examined technology integration within a technology rich environment. The research participants were students, teachers, senior academic managers, education and information technology consultants / experts in the Maldives. The findings revealed the specific factors that affect the ICT adoption within higher education teaching and learning in the context of the Maldives. An Extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) of ICT use in higher education in SIDS was developed using TAM theory, Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory and a TOEG (Technology-Organisational-Environment-Geography) framework. The technology context examined government support for Information Technology, ICT support for teachers, ICT Infrastructure, underutilisation of ICT resources, perception of benefits from the present ICT infrastructure and ICT policies. The organisational context included finance, centralisation, human resources, top management support, ICT confidence among teachers, and research. The environmental context contained social issues (drugs and overcrowding) and cultural issues (gender disparity, cultural homogeneity among students and teachers and no culture of using ICT in academic learning, and a spoon-feeding pedagogical tradition). Finally the geography context identified issues associated with geography, transportation and the digital divide between remote islands. These factors impede the adoption of ICT in the higher education sector in SIDS such as the Maldives. A practical roadmap was formulated by utilising the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) continuum model of ICT development and the TOEG framework to recommend four broad stages in terms of adoption and use of ICT in higher education. This study contributes to existing knowledge by providing a clear understanding of the present role of ICT as well as information on how ICT can be used in higher education in SIDS such as the Maldives. This research is important to gain a wider understanding of the future directions for adoption of ICT within higher education in SIDS. The research will fill critical gaps in the current research, expand the coverage of relatively neglected research areas in SIDS, contribute to practitioners and the academic community, and stimulate further debate.</p>