Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / South Africa is committed to accelerating the roll-out of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support development at all levels. E-inclusion intermediaries (e-IIs) are used in the country to bridge the digital divide and to create equal opportunities for citizens to benefit from using ICTs. E-IIs are established mainly in under-resourced communities by private, public and third-sector organisations to provide physical access to ICT services for free or at a very low cost. The aim of e-IIs is to make ICT services affordable for and accessible to marginalised and poor community members, who can use the ICT to support community development. The debate is ongoing regarding the contribution of e-IIs towards community development due to, in part, the lack of quantifiable evidence to support the impact that the e-IIs have on development in the communities. Furthermore, despite the existence of e-IIs in communities, there still are community members who do not use the e-IIs. This has been attributed to the lack of awareness of the e-IIs and the services they provide. This lack of awareness is often blamed on the ineffective communication strategies of e-IIs. E-IIs are accused of relying heavily on traditional communication channels and conventional mass media, which do not share information and create awareness effectively in the communities. The increased uptake of modern technologies, such as the Internet and mobile devices, in South Africa has created new opportunities to communicate with community members to share information and create awareness. Social media, for instance, which are mostly accessed through mobile devices, have made communication more accessible and inexpensive for community members with limited skills and resources. Social media have also become popular among development actors in their attempt to direct policy, create awareness and garner community members’ support for development interventions. Arguably, e-IIs could also benefit from using social media, which have become popular in some communities, to communicate with community members in order to create awareness of the e-IIs, the services they provide and the benefits of using ICTs to support community development. The investigation undertaken in this study was twofold. Firstly, the quick-scan analysis method was used to analyse fifty e-IIs. Using this method it was possible to explore the services that are provided by e-IIs as well as how e-IIs communicate with community members and other development actors. Secondly, using six in-depth case studies this study further investigated how e-IIs’ services support community development and how the e-IIs communicate for development, paying special attention to their use of social media.

Thesis (MTech(Information Technology)) --Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / Due to the legacy of apartheid South Africa is facing developmental discrepancies with inequalities between the advantaged few in the more urban areas and the disadvantaged majority in the rural areas. With quality education being key, not only to the success of an individual but of a country’s development, efforts have been made to ensure equal access for all. ICT is seen as a key enabler to this end. The study investigated the status of ICT deployment and its integration into curricula in schools. The objective was to understand the factors affecting the efforts to achieve successful implementation of ICT integration into schools in underdeveloped areas, to understand the challenges that exist and ultimately, to inform solutions. A qualitative study was conducted, using a case study method. A purposive sampling method was used to select population elements; educators and school coordinators of ICT programs in Western Cape schools (i.e. Kulani Secondary, Sithembele Matiso Secondary, Macassar Secondary and Marvin Park Primary). To gain an understanding of the status quo, literature was explored and semi-structured interviews were conducted with ICT coordinators and educators within the 4 sampled schools. Activity theory was used to provide an analytical framework for the study. Through this framework the aims and objectives of the study were conceptualized and summarized to form a graphical representation of the phenomena under study. In spite of efforts to ensure universal access to ICT, the findings indicate that the status of ICT deployment and its integration into school curricula is far from favourable in underdeveloped schools.