Mathias Hatakka

Örebro University | oru · Centre for Empirical Research on Information Systems (CERIS)

The field of ICT4D has witnessed a crisis of its core assumptions in terms of usability of ICTs within development, as well as the meaning of "development" itself. Such a pars destruens (deconstructing the main assumptions of the field) should in our view be accompanied with a pars construens which embraces antifascism, an element of liberation mov...

Some 35 years after the United Nations published its Brundtland report [Brundtland Commission. (Citation1987). Our common future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, Geneva, UN-Dokument A/42/427. Retrieved December 24, 2022, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf] on the man...

ICT4D researchers have since the inception of the field engaged in analyzing its emerging contours, as well as continuously pursued critical self-examination to support academic growth. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the outcome of the efforts of pushing a relatively young field forward, by analyzing the field’s level of...

In this paper we propose a framework to explain the possibilities of ICT in ICT4D. The PAR (Possibility, Action, Result) framework is based on the theoretical concepts of IS artifacts, affordances, and the capability approach, and is further refined by findings from an eGovernment project in Indonesia aiming to develop a digital platform to facilit...

In this paper we present the results of a comparison on students’ perception of group workshops that traditionally have been conducted on campus, but due to the covid-19 pandemic had to be conducted online. The workshops studied in this paper are learning activities where students in groups of 4-5 collaborate to solve programming problems without t...

Two theories, often presented as bifurcated, dominate attempts to understand corruption in the social sciences: collective action and principal-agent. Both theories seek to explain when and why corruption happens, as well as how it can be addressed. With the ICT4D field often criticized for being under-theorized, the following study explores which...

In this paper, we explore how the combination of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and self‐organised study circles improves rural communities' ability to enhance their economic opportunities. We present the case study of an adult study‐circle project in the Kwale County of Kenya with the objective of providing rural communities with...

In this paper, we suggest a framework to better explain the relation between ICT and development. The framework combines two theories: The Capability Approach and Affordances. The capability approach defines development as freedom of choice; and the affordances explains the relational aspects of people and technology. These two theories complement...

Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer from endemic corruption, which disrupts development efforts. Although ICTs is no magic wand, several studies indicate that ICT can serve as an important tool for combatting corruption by increasing transparency, and enable citizens to hold public officials accountable. Anti-corruption efforts are however...

Background: While setting international standards for midwifery education has attracted considerable global attention, the education and training of midwifery educators has been relatively neglected, particularly in low-resource settings where capacity building is crucial. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the expectations of midwife...

Objective The aim of this study is to explore midwifery educators’ expected outcomes in the net-based master's programme, the programmes’ realised outcomes and the reported difference regarding the increased choices for the graduates and the effect on their agency. Design In this case study, we focused on a net-based master's programme in sexual a...

While many theories have guided research Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), we are yet to construct a clear and coherent narrative that would help us answer the question of how ICT fosters development in underdeveloped communities. In this paper, we argue that one of the main reasons for this is that our holistic un...

Learning analytics can improve learning practice by transforming the ways we support learning processes. This study is based on the analysis of 252 papers on learning analytics in higher education published between 2012 and 2018. The main research question is: What is the current scientific knowledge about the application of learning analytics in h...

ICT4D research is faced with the challenge of rapidly changing technologies and increasingly complex social dynamics and development processes. We argue that ICT4D research requires a more acute sense of where our research is situated within a broader picture of development, e.g. with a better understanding of development processes, their ideologic...

Despite agreement amongst donors, business and political leaders concerning the negative effects of corruption, levels have not fallen in East Africa. The continued high levels of corruption, reassert the need for a better understanding if mobile phones, if prolific enough, can be an effective tool against corruption. Through a literature review of...

To record the variation of perceptions of midwifery faculty in terms of the possibilities and challenges related to the completion of their first online master's level programme in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Somaliland. The informants included in this phenomenongraphical focus group study were those well-educated professional wome...

Understanding the role of ICT for development is at the core of ICT4D research. However, prevailing research in this field most often focuses on access or readiness of a technology, or on the outcomes of the technology use. Less attention has been paid to understand the mechanism of the technology use that leads to the outcomes. The question of why...

Understanding the role of ICT for development is at the core of ICT4D research. However, prevailing research in this field most often focuses on access or readiness of a technology, or on the outcomes of the technology use. Less attention has been paid to understand the mechanism of the technology use that leads to the outcomes. The question of why...

Research in ICT4D is a constant search to answer the question of how ICT fosters development in underdeveloped communities. While many theories have guided research, we are yet to develop a cumulative body of knowledge to answer this question. In this paper, we argue that the elusive link between ICT and development needs to be grounded in three gr...

Understanding the role of ICT in development is at the core of the ICT4D field. However, while most agree that ICT do contribute to development, the question of how is still not fully explored. In this research-in-progress, we propose a framework that combines two theoretical lenses, the choice framework (that is based on the capability approach) a...

Socratic questioning stresses the importance of questioning for learning. Flipped Classroom pedagogy generates a need for effective questions and tasks in order to promote active learning. This paper describes a project aimed at finding out how different kinds of questions and tasks support students' learning in a flipped classroom context. In this...

In this article, the authors explored how laptops used in 1:1 classrooms affect cooperation and collaboration practices. Based on an observational time study, the authors found that the most common activity in 1:1 classrooms is group work using the computer. They also found that, despite what the concept 1:1 alludes to about one student working wit...

In the field of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) ICT use in education is well studied. Education is often seen as a pre-requisite for development and ICTs are believed to aid in education, e.g. to make it more accessible and to increase its quality. In this paper we study the access and use of ICT in a study circle...

There is a debate about the advantages and disadvantages of using social media in education. Drawing on interviews and surveys with students and teachers in three Swedish schools, this study finds that students as well as teachers find much of the students' social media use distractive to learning. We investigate this by means of an interpretative...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate effects of students’ 1:1 laptop use from a capability perspective by investigating increases and decreases of students’ opportunities and choices. The paper investigates changes that have taken place and how these changes enable or restrict students to do and be what they desire. Design/methodology/...

Internet resources have been ascribed transformative powers in the development of educational organizations and students in developing regions. However, most development projects relating to Internet resources focus on publishing material without much analysis of the actual use. The question then is how we can go deeper in our analysis and study ac...

In this paper we present a framework to be used for evaluation of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) projects. The framework is based on Sen´s notion of development as freedom where human capabilities and functionings are seen as key aspects to development. Sen´s capability approach presents an alternative way of seein...

In this paper we present a framework to be used for evaluation of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) projects. The framework is based on Sen´s notion of development as freedom where human capabilities and functionings are seen as key aspects to development. Sen´s capability approach presents an alternative way of seein...

This paper describes the development of an open source Learning Object Repository (LOR), named eNOSHA (eLearning Neutral Object Storage with a Holistic Approach.), at University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC), Sri Lanka. The e-Learning Centre (eLC) at UCSC has been developing learning content for a nationwide e-Learning Bachelor of Informati...

This paper describes how distance educations in developing countries can enhance interactivity by means of information and communication technologies. It is argued that e-learning involves a shift in the educational structure from traditional transmission of knowledge to interactive creation of knowledge. Our case studies are two distance education...

This article discusses practices, opportunities, and challenges in local e-government project managemente-government project management by means of a case study involving interviews, document studies, and an element of action research, over eight months. The analysis against e-government success factors finds seven “critical issues”; political timi...

This paper describes the development of an open source Learning Object Repository (LOR), named eNOSHA (eLearning Neutral Object Storage with a Holistic Approach.), at University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC), Sri Lanka. The e-Learning Centre (eLC) at UCSC has been developing learning content for a nationwide e-learning bachelor of informati...

Open content has the potential to change the playing field when it comes to every individual's right to education. Development of new course content is both expensive and time consuming and open content can help educational organizations to deal with these problems by offering free-to-use educational resources. Despite the benefits of open content...

In this paper we study the content development process for an external bachelor degree in information technology (eBIT) at University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC) in Sri Lanka. The eBIT degree program was started in the year 2000 and has since 2004 been funded from both the European Union (EU) and from the Swedish International Development...

This article discusses practices, opportunities, and challenges in local e-government project management by means of a case study involving interviews, document studies, and an element of action research, over eight months. The analysis against e-government success factors finds seven “critical issues”; political timing, resource allocation, politi...

This study concerns the use of Internet resources for education delivery in Bangladesh. Usage of Internet and accessibility to computers in Bangladesh is very low and ICT supported distance education is only provided by one university which delivers the education via video, radio and mobile phones - no "traditional" elearning via Internet is given....

This paper investigates potential changes in requirements for “adminis-trative literacy” – knowledge and skills required from citizens – when manual services are replaced by electronic ones. Do requirements increase, decrease or change qualitatively? We compare manual and electronic versions of ten commonly used services. The needs for knowledge an...

The introduction of e-Learning opens new possibilities and new ways of delivering courses. Learning objects can be used and reused in educational contexts to educate students, employees, administrative officers and citizens. In later years Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) developed by Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) has more or l...

Free-to-use learning material, open content (OC), is ascribed the potential to change the playing field in regards to every individual's right to education. OC is, however, not much used in developing countries. The aim of this paper is to study how actors involved in content development affect reuse of OC. Actor-Network Theory (ANT) concepts are u...