Crowdsourcing using web technologies accesses the potential of a large network of people who respond to an 'open call'. Successful commercial implementations of crowdsourcing have succeeded in mobilising a large number of participants and leveraging these 'crowds' as a source of ideas, and for problem solving (Geiger et al., 2011, Howe, 2006). While governments perceive citizens as being apathetic when it comes to political participation, the citizen perspective is that their participation is "spectator politics where ordinary people have mostly become endorcees of pre-designed planning programmes" (Williams, 2006, p. 197). Part of the reason for the lack of participation could be due to the increasing complexity of governing and the absence of alternative, more inclusive methods of participation. Brabham (2009) has advocated for the use of crowdsourcing in the public sector as a possible means of increasing public participation, and for governments to access citizens as a source of ideas and solutions. However within e-Government there is a lack of knowledge regarding the implementation of crowdsourcing platforms (Koch & Brunswicker, 2011). The main research questions addressed in this study is: Which crowdsourcing factors are applicable and appropriate for government crowdsourcing implementations, so that citizens would be motivated to participate in such initiatives? As crowdsourcing lacks a theoretical and conceptual foundation (Pedersen et al., 2013, Geiger et al., 2011) a conceptual model for government crowdsourcing implementations is developed and tested. The model uses Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to examine citizen motivation and the influence of incentives or rewards on participation. The model also addresses system factors such as task clarity and types, management, and feedback. The model also includes effort, performance expectancy, as well as behavioural intention from Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT).

Bibliography: leaves 107-109. / The focus of this research is on change to systems, with systems being defined as a logical grouping of specific elements in the organisation which work collectively to achieve a common intent. A system can be computerised or manual, a computerised system is generally referred to as an Information System(IS). The research is thus further refined to observe change with respect to information systems. Change to an information system, within an organisation, can range from being relatively minor to catastrophic depending on the event or trigger which caused the change.

Includes bibliographical references. / The business to consumer (B2C) aspect of electronic commerce (e-commerce) is the most visible business use of the Internet. There is a need to identify and understand the relationships between the antecedents of successful B2C e-commerce, and determine a valid measure of the success of an online retail system. Factors that influence Information Systems (IS) Success have been discussed frequently in the academic literature; however significant developments into e-commerce success have been more gradual and are long overdue. This thesis reports on research conducted into e-commerce success. Existing IS success and e-commerce success models and concepts are reviewed and evaluated, gaps in the existing literature are identified, and a new comprehensive conceptual model is formulated. 180 respondents, reflective of the prevalent e-commerce customer profile in South Africa, were questioned on each of the factors identified as being a component of ecommerce success. The data collected was used to empirically test the comprehensive conceptual model and refinements made to improve the statistical fit of the model, were also tested using the data. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed to examine the validity of the measurement instrument and various Goodness-of-Fit indexes were calculated for each of the models. Structural Equation Modeling was then used to analyze the causal relationships between factors in the models. In the process eighteen different hypotheses were statistically tested. The models were compared and inferences were drawn from the results. Demographic data was evaluated against findings from previous e-commerce studies conducted in South Africa, and trends in usage and the most popular ecommerce retails sites were identified.

Bibliography: leaves 94-99. / This dissertation examines ICTs and their role in development. It explores a single case study of a rural Multi-Purpose Community Centre in South Africa in an attempt to gain a richer understanding of the issues surrounding the implementation of such centres. The study is socio-technical in nature and is based on a framework composed of interpretivism, hermeneutics and the actor-network theory. Key issues explored include: the affect of ICTs on the emergence of a local champion; the struggle of creating active participants in a project of this nature; and the usefulness of replication models in guiding implementations.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-151).

Bibliography: leaves 104-109. / It is widely acknowledged that the information Systems (IS) industry suffers from a high failure rate with regards to IS development projects. Much of the effort to improve IS project performance has been focussed on technological issues. However, there is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that the nature of the problems facing the teams that are assigned to these projects is more sociological than technological. As the adoption and utilisation of teams becomes more prolific in the IS industry, it is becoming increasingly important to develop team composition methods that take the compatibility of team members into consideration. Many IS team member selection strategies are based primarily on the traditionally measurable skills of individuals. Yet, selecting a team in which the members have the appropriate skills does not guarantee that the individuals in the team will combine to form an effective and cohesive unit. Several team effectiveness models relating to sociological constructs have been developed in past research. These identify variables that have been predicted to influence the effectiveness of various types of teams. This research proposes a model that demonstrates the extent to which certain variables that have been identified in the literature influence the effectiveness of IS project teams. Through this assessment, it is possible to isolate the variables that have a significant impact on IS team effectiveness, thereby highlighting some of the sociological issues that should be considered when selecting team members. The relationships in the model were tested through a questionnaire that was distributed amongst 33 Information Systems project teams. Individuals in 4 of the teams submitted incomplete responses, thereby yielding a final sample of 29 teams comprising 163 individuals. Where possible, all questions were based on previously validated instruments. Initial construct validity was improved by removing 2 items from the questionnaire. Certain constructs were broken into 2 dimensions, yielding a set of constructs with reasonably high validity. All construct measures in the instrument were shown to be statistically reliable. It was found that certain variables did have a significant impact on the effectiveness of IS project teams. The predicted relationships that were supported were those between skill heterogeneity and IS team effectiveness, and between team role balance and IS team effectiveness. It was shown that individuals are more likely to combine to form an effective team if they are diverse in terms of their skills and abilities. The members should also fulfil team roles that combine to provide the team with a team role profile that is balanced. The levels of cohesion within the teams mediated the relationship between skill heterogeneity and IS team effectiveness. A strong correlation between cohesion and IS team effectiveness was demonstrated. One of the relationships in the research model that was not supported was that between background heterogeneity and IS team effectiveness. it was initially predicted that teams in which members displayed a diverse set of backgrounds, expertise, and experience would be more effective than those that did not. The diversity levels of these characteristics within IS project teams were shown to have no influence on the effectiveness of the teams. Past research in which the impact of background heterogeneity on team effectiveness has been examined has also yielded mixed results. It is recommended that future research examine this relationship more closely as an increasingly migrant global work force will ensure that this issue wilt be one of the key issues facing IS management in the future. It is also suggested that research into the area of IS team composition variables be specific to both the type of IS project being undertaken, and the lifecycle stage in which the project is operating.

The benefit of group-learning to enhance the sharing of knowledge among students in group projects is increasingly preferred over traditional methods. However, there are still many challenges facing students learning in groups. These include: lack of leadership, time and scheduling of workload, free riding, individual and social barriers, lack of team development, lack of social interaction, lack of motivation, inadequate rewards, skills and attitude problems or social loafing. The integration of the mobile context and technologies in group-learning can assist in minimizing some of these barriers. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are believed to transform teaching and learning processes through the facilitation of communication and interaction among teachers and learners. Researchers have also found that tacit knowledge has much greater importance to industry and academia. For instance, it allows individuals to achieve goals they personally value. It can be used to measure or predict job performance and those possessing it have been found to manage themselves and others better. This research investigates the extent to which students share tacit knowledge using the mobile phone in group projects, and examines if they achieve better performance with this technology.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / Although real-time Business Intelligence (BI) environments overcome the setbacks of traditional BI, and offer a host of value adding benefits to organizations, their implementation has said to be hampered due to their technological complexities, and has required changes to the business environment, as well as the high costs required to put them in place. In addition, the justification of IT investments still remains a common problem as they provide many intangible benefits which are incompatible with traditional (financial) IT benefits measurement models. For this reason, the research set out to investigate and understand the technological components and organizational changes surrounding real-time BI in order to shed light on these issues. This study also aimed to further the understanding of how real-time BI can be justified as a prudent investment...

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / The primary purpose of this research is to identify the roles of the project sponsor that impacts information technology (IT) project success. Recent emphasis has been placed on the importance of top management support, more specifically, on the individual that typically provides the direction and funding, the project sponsor. Furthermore, although most project management bodies of knowledge recognise the importance of the role of project sponsor in achieving project success, and while it is evident that cognition of the significance of the project sponsor role in the research literature is increasing in both the project management and general literature, sparse research exists specifying exactly what behaviours constitute the role of an effective sponsor in ultimately delivering a successful project.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-103). / Mobile banking (m-banking) is an innovative technology application, which has made available different value-added applications in both commercial and business processes. South Africa and Nigeria are reported to have high mobile applications usage in Africa, one of which is m-banking. This study identifies the factors that influence the user acceptance of m-banking in both countries. The aim of this research is to examine the relative differences/similarities of m-banking in South Africa and Nigeria. Several studies on the acceptance of m-banking have produced various results across different countries. This can be accredited to the dissimilar socio-cultural composition of such countries. The user acceptance of m-banking in a country is determined by distinct characteristic factors which are unique to that country. This research takes on a positivistic epistemology. This is an exploratory and deductive study which explains the factors that influence the acceptance of m-banking in two African countries by the use of a conceptual model.This study employed quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis processes. A crosssectional survey was conducted.. A total of 451 valid questionnaires were collected and analysed using Statistica 9 - analytic research software. The interviews were analysed using selective coding techniques. In this study, several factors such as cost, trust, satisfaction, social factors, utility expectancy (usefulness) and effort expectancy (ease of use) were identified from literature, and a conceptual model was formulated to test hypotheses generated from previous related studies. The dimensions of national culture – power, distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and individualism were also integrated into the model. The result showed that SMS alert for account transactions is the most used m-banking service in both countries. The hypothesised relationships were validated by using regression tests, supported with responses from the interviewees. It was found that culture has an indirect effect on the user acceptance of m-banking. Security risk was the major disadvantageous factor while ubiquity and immediacy were the most advantageous factor. Additional factors such as awareness, convenience and literacy level were also revealed to influence the acceptance of m-banking in both countries.