Mario Marais

Mario Marais
Independent Consultant · Innovation in the use of Technology in Education

PhD (Informatics), MSc (Physical Chemistry), MTh (Systematic Theology)

About

73
Publications
238,720
Reads
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546
Citations
Additional affiliations
July 1983 - November 2022
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa
Position
  • Principal Researcher
Education
February 2010 - April 2017
University of Pretoria
Field of study
  • Informatics
January 1998 - November 2001
University of South Africa
Field of study
  • Systematic Theology
January 1978 - September 1983
Nelson Mandela University
Field of study
  • Physical Chemistry

Publications

Publications (73)
Preprint
Sustainability is a systems concept, and ICT4D plays a vital role in a sustainable earth, as well as in sustainable communities. The concept of resilience is introduced since rapid change can push a system into another, possibly undesirable state. Resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance. ICTs play a key role in the decoupling o...
Chapter
The world we live in is ever-changing, and if housingHousing is to remain relevant in providing for the needs of consumers, it is essential that the housingHousing sector remains adaptable. Adequately adapting to and adopting technological advancements is the best way to ensure that housingHousing remains relevant. New technologies need to be explo...
Chapter
Housing looks and functions differently in different households, societies, locations, and economies; these factors greatly influence the technologies applied to housingHousing. One cannot expect a millionaire's house to have the same function as a low-income citizen’s house, yet both need to benefit from the innovationsInnovations and developments...
Chapter
This chapter examines the context in which housingHousing is viewed in ZimbabweZimbabwe. This is vital in providing a localised understanding of Zimbabwe’s housingHousing, which thus enables the establishment of localised solutions. The initial focus is on ZimbabweZimbabwe’s housingHousing timeline, exploring what housingHousing looked like in pre-...
Chapter
Housing is a critical resource that has been on the top of government agendas worldwide. The increasing focus on housingHousing results from multiple factors, including globalization and urbanization, which have increased the need for adequate housingHousing among global citizens. Meeting this growing housingHousing demand is not always easy, as se...
Chapter
This chapter focuses on the housing delivery and management process in light of different typologies of technology that can be applied at various stages of the housing development process. The key issue for the chapter is the conceptualization of housing as a process. Five stages in the housing delivery process guide the chapter, viz. preparation,...
Chapter
Full-text available
This chapter concludes the debates and discussions in this book, A Housing and Technology Nexus for Zimbabwe. The discussion in the chapter focuses on the way forward regarding policy formulation and implementation to guide housing development, and the introduction of technology in such. Case studies are provided, showing the best practices that ha...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
This paper tells the story of an Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) project and a research approach. The research used a novel definition of sustainable development that emerged from South American development philosophies. The concept of Social Capital (SC) is central to this definition and SC was used to study the su...
Preprint
Full-text available
A number of studies in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) focus on projects' sustainability and resilience. Over the years, scholars have identified many elements to enable achievement of these goals. Nevertheless, barriers to achieving them are still a common reality in the field. In this paper, we propose that spec...
Conference Paper
A number of studies in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) focus on projects’ sustainability and resilience. Over the years, scholars have identified many elements to enable achievement of these goals. Nevertheless, barriers to achieving them are still a common reality in the field. In this paper, we propose that spec...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
A number of studies in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) focus on projects' sustainability and resilience. Over the years, scholars have identified many elements to enable achievement of these goals. Nevertheless, barriers to achieving them are still a common reality in the field. In this paper, we propose that spec...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The Modernisation Case Study at Kolomela Mine develops a deeper understanding of the key people-related factors that affect the success or failure of modernisation initiatives. The project was conducted concurrently with the project Three Case Studies on Historical Modernisation Effects and Management Measures. These projects examined people- relat...
Article
Full-text available
The literature on information and communication technology comprises numerous studies on the role of mobile technologies in developing communities, including examples of innovative mobile applications which improve literacy and access to healthcare, banking and agricultural services. There is a growing understanding that sustainable development req...
Article
Full-text available
The South Africa Connect national broadband policy of 2013 aims to ensure that the country achieves universal internet access by 2030, thereby fostering digital skills development. This study investigates one dimension of the South Africa Connect policy objectives, by considering rural teachers' adoption of information and communication technologie...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The purpose of this paper is provide evidence of how the selected teachers at 24 schools in 7 provinces in South Africa reacted to questions pertaining to the extent of their prior training, attitudes towards technology, perceived self-confidence in integrating ICTs and finally using ICTs on a daily basis. The project is known as the Information C...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The purpose of this paper is to indicate what aspects should be considered when developing a definition of community resilience for the South African context, with a special focus on using ICT in rural educational contexts. The aspects will be constituted by applying a scoping literature review ranging from 2014-2018 and examine the extent, range a...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Many ICT4E projects fail once the implementation team withdraws. Although there are multiple reasons for this, the problem often lies with integration of the project into the day-today institutional arrangements of the education system. This puts pressure on the school environment, since schools are unable to sustain the change introduced without s...
Article
Full-text available
Research involving the use of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) inhabits an interdisciplinary space characterized by various philosophies, aspirations, realities and priorities. This diversity in the ICT4D research area complicates knowledge sharing between stakeholders in the field, which may inhibit the dialog betwe...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The community dynamics revolve around shared interests, norms, and identities. The sustainable exchange of resources for development is only possible if the members of the community are connected and the collaboration opportunities and practices are well-understood. This work in progress paper proposes social mapping as an innovative way of making...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The high failure rate of development interventions is well known. An approach to sustainable interventions is defined, based on a systems perspective that focuses on the ability of a system to integrate an intervention. The design of an intervention requires an understanding of the current state of the system from the perspective of being able to r...
Article
Full-text available
This paper contains a qualitative analysis of selected excerpts from the managerial communication records of the Cofimvaba e-textbook project. This project is conducted in the Eastern Cape, a province of South Africa. The component managers of the project use Whatsapp, a popular social media platform to engage in managerial communication. The resea...
Article
Full-text available
Development projects aim to make a difference in communities. Funders often require that the intervention needs to last, or that it needs to effect change that will last, over an extended period of time. In short, a sustainable difference needs to be made and this is an important measure of success. However, there are inherent drivers in the combin...
Chapter
Full-text available
Sustainability is a systems concept, and ICT4D plays a vital role in a sustainable earth, as well as in sustainable communities. The concept of resilience is introduced since rapid change can push a system into another, possibly undesirable, state. Resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance. ICTs play a key role in the decoupling...
Chapter
Full-text available
This chapter discusses the concept of sustainability. It outlines the rationale behind a decision-making focus on sustainability, and describes the portfolio of models that was defined through a decision analysis process. The technology selection and total cost of ownership models, as applied to this project, are described in more detail. Finally,...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Abstract: This paper describes essential, real-world activities and processes needed to develop and deploy people-centred networks enabled with innovative technologies that in turn produce " essential knowledge economy functions in service of systemic and holistic rural innovation " based on some of the authors " own and multiple other documented d...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Abstract: This paper describes essential, real-world activities and processes needed to develop and deploy people-centred networks enabled with innovative technologies that in turn produce " essential knowledge economy functions in service of systemic and holistic rural innovation " based on some of the authors " own and multiple other documented d...
Article
Full-text available
A unique Participatory Entrepreneurship Development (PED) project was implemented in an informal settlement (Zandspruit) in South Africa. The purpose of the project was to stimulate, among local members of the community, the establishment of innovative, needs-based ICT-related businesses. Training was offered in participatory methods, the process o...
Article
Full-text available
This paper contains a report on the uses, expectations and gratifications experienced by the users of Digital Doorways. The researchers adopted a grounded theory approach in their analysis of 200 narratives collected from the users. The stories and the comments in the narratives were categorized according to the macro domain to which they pertained...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The Digital Doorway is a computerized machine that was implemented in areas populated by disadvantaged communities throughout South Africa to promote computer literacy within these communities. Understanding the progress and satisfaction of users of the digital doorway is highly significant in capturing important facts that can be used to further i...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Horizon Scanning is a Futures methodology that aims to identify weak signals in the environment, and use these to inform strategic planning. Horizon Scanning is a people-driven process, which may or may not include the use of expert opinion. The outcome is inevitably influenced by the world view and priorities of the scanners. A number or organizat...
Article
Full-text available
The application of the Living Lab (LL) approach to social-technical innovation to the Digital Doorway Initiative in the informal settlement of Zandspruit near Johannesburg is outlined in the context of the initiative’s evolution from an educational project to a broader community innovation initiative. The relationship between different stakeholders...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
South Africa has approximately 26500 primary and secondary schools, of which at least 17000 are in remote rural villages. None of these rural schools have any form of Internet connectivity. The same rural villages may have one health facility for every 20 schools and very few other public or community service centres. This paper presents a model th...
Article
Full-text available
In this work we look at the collaboration projects between COFISA Y SAFIPA, which were set up by the department of external affairs in Finland between 2006 and 2010 in cooperation with South Africa. COFISCA’s objective was to help increase the effectiveness of the national innovation system, contribute to the growing economy and in turn, help tackl...
Article
Full-text available
The sustainability of ICT for Development (ICT4D) initiatives remains an enduring concern, and projects typically have a high rate of failure. ICT4D is in flux and the trends are analysed to show how sustainability issues have changed from requirements for external support via governments or funding agencies to self-sufficiency (mainly) based on ec...
Article
Full-text available
The purpose of this paper is to indicate how Outcome Mapping (OM) can be used as a methodology to monitor and evaluate a specific developmental informatics project currently under way in the Meraka Institute. OM was applied in the Broadband for All (BB4All) wireless mesh network project which focuses on the provision of broadband to selected citize...
Article
Full-text available
The importance of logistics and supply chain management for the South African economy was re-emphasised by the findings of the CSIR’s third annual State of Logistics Survey. To meet current and future demands, the research agenda for logistics needs to be wider than the traditional (mainstream) focus. System inefficiencies as well as specific non-t...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Abstract : Members of the Meraka Institute of the CSIR have been active in ICT for Development (ICT4D) activities in South Africa and Africa over the last ten years or more. An overview of the lessons learned in the areas of Community Wireless Networks, eHealth and the incubation of community based service enterprises, is provided and the reasons...
Article
Full-text available
Connectivity to the Information Society does not imply inclusion. Active members of the Information Society (IS) do not just own technology and a connection to the world wide web, they know how to use the technology and inform and express themselves through it. It is therefore not enough just to provide the technology, individuals also need to be a...
Article
Full-text available
Tourism has been identified as one of the priority sectors in the South African Government's Micro-Economic Reform Strategy (MERS) of 2002 and continues to be one of the sectors that has shown substantial growth in terms of job creation and its contribution to GDP. The South African tourism industry is however characterised by a predominance of SMM...
Article
Full-text available
This contribution presents the results of a pilot project on ICT usage by South African SMMEs in the tourism industry. The Electronic Business Survey (EBS) methodology which was tested for applicability in a developing country, in this case South Africa, uses qualitative indicators and quantitative estimations to measure the impacts of e-business p...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
This contribution presents the results of a pilot project on ICT usage by South African SMMEs in the tourism industry. The Electronic Business Survey (EBS) methodology, which was tested for applicability in a developing country, in this case South Africa, uses qualitative indicators and quantitative estimations to measure the impacts of e-business...
Article
Full-text available
This paper compares a number of theoretical models of decision-making with the way in which senior managers make decisions in practice. Six prominent decision-makers were interviewed about their own decision-making style, as well as their use of decision support technology. Significant variation was found in personal decision-making styles. However...
Article
Full-text available
The Al composition of AlGaAs has been determined by four methods: high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), reflection high‐energy electron diffraction (RHEED), photoluminescence (PL), and double‐crystal x‐ray diffraction (DCXRD). HRTEM is direct and the most accurate method because it does not involve any formula or extrapolation....
Article
Near intrinsic free carrier concentrations are required in (HgCd)Te material used in photoconductive detector applications. For this reason it is important to be able to determine quantitatively unintentional dopants in as-grown material. SIMS was used in this study to determine the effectiveness of zone refining of starting materials as well as to...
Article
In order to use (HgCd)Te for photoconductive detector applications, material with a near-intrinsic free carrier concentration and therefore few residual impurities is required. Material with a high carrier concentration has been found to contain relatively large amounts of chlorine and there is a correlation between the Cl concentration and the car...
Article
Intensities of X-ray photoelectron transitions from the As 3d level are theoretically analysed taking into account many-electron interactions. The latter interactions profoundly affect the relative intensities of the transitions as well as binding energies. Implications for the surface structure of GaAs are then discussed and in particular we show...
Article
For some years now, reflectivity measurements have been used to characterize heavily doped semiconductors by either measuring the frequency and magnitude of the plasma reflectance minimum or by fitting the observed reflectance spectrum in the region of interest using a nonlinear least squares fitting technique. It has been our experience that while...
Article
An XPS study of the oxides formed on GaAs at ambient temperature and in ambient atmosphere is reported. Special attention has been paid to the interpretation of the Ga 3d and As 3d energy levels. By varying the angle between energy analysed electrons and the surface of the sample the depth distribution of the various oxides has been deduced. A mult...
Article
Full-text available
In this work we look at the collaboration projects between COFISA Y SAFIPA, which were set up by the department of external affairs in Finland between 2006 and 2010 in cooperation with South Africa. COFISCA’s objective was to help increase the effectiveness of the national innovation system, contribute to the growing economy and in turn, help tackl...
Article
Full-text available
The concept of sustainable development has increased in importance ever since the coming to prominence of environmental critiques of development in the 1980s. The very concept of sustainability has evolved as research on the dynamics of ecological systems challenged the dominance of the stable equilibrium view that underpinned the thinking about su...
Article
Full-text available
The focus of this paper is to indicate how skills can be enhanced in innovation through the application of the living lab methodology. When users are part of the creation of innovation in real-life contexts it can have a positive effect on the enhanced and developed of their skills. This methodology allows for the user to be an active participant i...
Article
Full-text available
The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was founded in 1945 and knowledge has always been a core asset of the organisation and is a direct determinant of the organisation’s relevance. Strategic management of innovation is seen as both a social and a key business process for converting knowledge into value. Current re...
Article
Full-text available
This article provides a brief overview of the current State of Logistics and government’s response in terms of the National Freight Logistics Strategy. It reviews focus areas in international and local logistics research that were used to inform the development of a framework within which research themes are identified. Such a locally relevant agen...
Article
Full-text available
Logistics was identified by the South African government in the Accelerated and Shared-Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGISA) as one of the six potential hurdles that may limit future growth in the country. Strategies were put in place to address this potential treat. The National Freight Logistics Strategy and the National Land Transport Strat...
Article
Full-text available
2007: Annual Conference of ORSSA The purpose of the project is to use systems methodologies developed in a science and engineering environment and to apply these towards a better understanding of the National Poverty Alleviation System. The aim of such a project is to establish a suitable framework for analysis and to enable stakeholders and decisi...
Article
Full-text available
TekkiKids is a part of the The Young Engineers of South Africa (YESA) programme which is an initiative aimed at increasing the pipeline for the generation of more scientists, engineers and technologists by creating the necessary interest and involvement of learners. The aim of the TekkiKids project is to research hands-on, experiential learning via...
Article
Full-text available
CSIR Research and Innovation Conference: 1st CSIR Biennial Conference, CSIR International Convention Centre Pretoria, 27-28 February 2006 This is a concept poster which examines the use of supply chain management in planning and managing large or data-intensive Geographic Information System (GIS) projects. Current management models in GIS are eithe...
Article
Full-text available
This survey highlights that South Africa's core structural problems are far worse than expected: Logistics cost represents a considerable percentage of the GDP (14.7% or R180bn). We spend more on transport than generally expected and much more than we should; The "normal" macro economic model is to transport long-distance corridor freight on rail,...
Article
Full-text available
In the first State of Logistics in 2004 the need for measurement and revitalisation of basic infrastructure in South Africa' dual economy was accentuated. The process of addressing these needs has started with the release of the National Freight Logistics Strategy, which delineates a comprehensive development framework, as well as Spoornet's growth...
Article
Full-text available
In this study, the focus is on the challenges of implementing logistics strategies in the macro-economic, industry and small business development contexts. The data contained in this survey represents the 2005 reporting year. The aim of the survey continues to be the provision of a comprehensive overview of the state of logistics in South Africa, i...
Article
Full-text available
Prato CIRN 2008 Community Informatics Conference: ICTs for Social Inclusion: What is the Reality? Members of the Meraka Institute of the CSIR have been active in ICT for Development (ICT4D) activities in South Africa and Africa over the last ten years or more. An overview of the lessons learned in the areas of Community Wireless Networks, eHealth a...
Article
Full-text available
10th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries: Assessing the Contribution of ICT to Development Goals, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 26-28 May 2009 The Multiple Perspectives Approach (MPA) of Mitroff and Linstone is presented here as a promising framework to analyse messy social systems in a developing wor...

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