The Electronic Journal of
Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC)
Note.
The original journal website
(http://www.ejisdc.org/ojs2/index.php/ejisdc/index) is no longer available. As
an interim measure, the current site (http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/staff/isrobert/ejisdc.htm)
is being used to host EJISDC. We expect to make a full transition to a new
publishing platform later this year. For all issues concerning the journal,
please contact the editor at rd@ejisdc.org.
Current Issue and Archive
Focus and Scope
The
Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC)
strives to become the foremost international forum for practitioners, teachers,
researchers and policy makers to share their knowledge and experience in the
design, development, implementation, management and evaluation of information systems
in developing countries.
EJISDC
focuses on the digital divide. Our aim is to situate contemporary trends in
ICTs within a fully global context. Outside of North America, Western Europe,
Australasia and Japan, diverse societies are making sense of technological
advances in ways unique to their cultures and histories. ICT investments can
and do contribute to improved quality of life, even where priorities for
investments in information systems compete with the provision of the basic
necessities of life such as decent housing, clean water and primary healthcare.
ICT investments are able to leverage the values of assets in developing
countries in much the same way as they do in developed countries, sometimes to
a far greater extent because of the lower starting point and lower costs.
In the last
17 years, we have published hundreds of articles from countries as far
dispersed as China, Tanzania, the Solomon Islands, Namibia and Nepal. Many of
the authors work in these, and other developing, countries, as too do many of
the readers. EJISDC is recognised by organisations such as the UN and its
publications are often cited.
We support
and encourage the submission of research papers that focus on novel IS-related
innovations, imagined, created and co-created within and for the developing
context by the people on the ground. This requires a shift away from the
techno-centric approach to innovation and a closer examination of the work
undertaken by local communities to improve their daily lives.
We do not
publish purely technical papers or papers that have no developing country
context. The fact that the authors are based in a developing country is
insufficient. All papers must explicitly reference one or more contexts that
pertain to developing countries.
Further, we
discourage authors from submitting papers that merely test well-worn theories
developed in the Western context. We note that many authors take a
well-established theory (such as TAM, UTAUT, ISSM, TPB) and unreflexively
collect data from a developing country in order to test if the theory/model
also applies in that context. These authors typically do not try to situate the
theory/model in the new context at all - few or no local contextual details are
provided and we learn very little about the local context at all. All research
articles should be contextually detailed and specific. Where possible, we hope
that authors will identify local contextual or cultural factors that influence
the adoption/use of technology. We are not interested in intentions to use
technology - we are interested in actual behaviour, ideally over some period of
time, and with a commensurate level of contextual detail.
We appreciate
that the use of IS for education is an important activity in developing
countries. However, there are many existing journals in the computer-supported
education space. Submissions in this domain must be clearly situated in a
developing country context and must explicitly make a contribution to knowledge
beyond what we know already. This requires careful research motivation and
identification of a research question that challenges current practices.
Unreflexive studies of how one specific technology is used in the classroom
will not be entertained.
Publication Policy,
Frequency and Open Access
EJISDC intends to reach its audience in a manner which is consistent
with its mission. It will be published electronically, as the title suggests.
There are no subscription fees. Research contributions will be sought, and they
will be reviewed and refereed by renowned scholars, but EJISDC is not a journal
for academics merely to showcase their research skills to each other. The
editors will seek contributions from practitioners, managers, policy makers and
writers with a story to tell. We are convinced that there is an abundance of
useful knowledge regarding the use of ICTs in developing countries which has
not been tapped and which can be usefully and easily shared electronically
among interested individuals in the developing world. Existing forums are not doing
the job. The Journal will focus on information technologies and practices
relevant in the context concerned rather than on any accepted norms that might
be prevalent in developed countries. In acknowledging that the digital divide
is not defined by national borders alone, EJISDC is also interested in issues
surrounding information systems among less privileged indigenous communities
within otherwise developed countries. Examples are Native Americans, the
aboriginal populations of Australia and the Maoris of New Zealand.
We aim to publish 4-6 times a year, depending on the
availability of completed articles and special issues. Papers are normally
assigned to the next available issue. The number of articles per issue ranges
from 6-8.
This journal provides open access to all of its content on the
principle that making research freely available to the public supports a
greater global exchange of knowledge. Such access is associated with increased
readership and increased citation of an author's work.
Researchers and practitioners are
invited to submit their manuscripts to the editors for publication in EJISDC.
Authors are reminded of our
guidelines which state that "authors are cautioned that they should not
submit their manuscripts to multiple (more than one) publication outlets in
parallel (including conferences, journals, etc.)." In this respect, EJISDC
operates in the same way as most other reputable journals. It means that
authors should send their manuscript to only one journal and not to another one
until they have received a response from the first. Moreover, once your
manuscript has been accepted for publication by a journal, you should not
submit it to another one without formally withdrawing it from the first before
it is actually published. With most journals now having an online presence, it
is very easy to detect instances where authors have previously published their
work and when they try to do this their academic reputation will suffer.
All research papers are subjected to
a regular peer-review process that is handled by a senior editor. The Journal
will focus on information technologies, systems and practices relevant in the
context concerned rather than on any accepted norms that might be prevalent in
developed countries. In acknowledging that the digital divide is not defined by
national borders alone, EJISDC is also interested in issues surrounding
information systems among less privileged indigenous communities within
otherwise developed countries. Examples are Native Americans, the aboriginal
populations of Australia and the Maoris of New Zealand. Authors should ensure
that their work is presented clearly, cogently and completely. Manuscripts that
are poorly presented may be rejected without review. Authors are encouraged to
obtain comments from their colleagues before they submit an article to the
journal, particularly with regard to readability of the subject matter.
Furtherore, authors should be careful to position their work in such a way that
it is interesting for the broad community of people interested in the
application of information technologies in developing countries. Papers that
present results from a very narrow domain of information, especially
exclusively technical topics, and that provide few or no implications for the
broader community are unlikely to be accepted. Normal paper length is around
8000-10,000 words. Very short papers are unlikely to be complete and will be
rejected. Excessively long papers will subject to careful scrutiny - and
authors can expect to be asked to reduce the length. If necessary, you may
choose to split a paper into two - but each paper must stand alone as a
complete paper. Authors should explain in a covering letter why they believe
their submission is appropriate for the journal, and how it will be valuable
reading for the journal's readers. They should also indicate if they wish a
paper to be given a regular review or a light review. The default option is a
light review.
For a complete guide to formatting
of the paper please see the following link: http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/staff/isrobert/ejisdc/ejisdc-format.docx
Authors are cautioned that they
should ensure that they conform to conventional standards of style and
authorship, specifically with respect to the citing of material in other
sources. All such citations must be indicated by the use of quotation marks and
reference information - author, year, and page numbers where appropriate, with
a corresponding item in a list of references. Manuscripts that fail to
attribute material correctly, or are otherwise deemed guilty of plagiarism,
will be rejected.
Note: all submissions are
pre-reviewed by a senior editor to determine if the manuscript is of interest
to and relevant for the journal.
Topics of interest are as wide and
diverse as the audience that we address. However, certain issues relating to
ICTs in developing countries sit at the forefront of system planning and
development activities and contributions relating to these are especially sought as it
believed that they will have an immediate interest among a wide audience. Such
topics are:
Internet Usage * Diffusing access * ISP Management Issues *
Maximising the use of limited resources * Adapting technologies to local
conditions * Internet policies and regulations * National and regional level
Internet policies IT in Development Practice * Technology transfer *
Sustainability * Measuring the social value of IT * Telecentre impacts * IT
spending-benefit relationships * Societal impacts of IT implementation * Coping
with resistance to change * IT Policy Making * Policy making processes for IT
in the developing world * IT to support policy decision making * National
policy analyses and comparisons * Role of the government * Government - private
sector cooperation and competition * IT implementation success/failure factors
* Rural Applications of IT * Telecommunications in rural & remote
communities * Supporting rural economies * Developing and managing telecentres
* Health care delivery * IT support for rural commerce * eGovernance for rural
communities * Organisational capacity building * Cross-cultural analyses of IT
applications * Cultural adaptation to IT * Cultural barriers to IT diffusion *
Research Practice in IT in Development * Theory building for IT in development
* Bibliographic analyses of IT issues in development * Research relevance and
impact *
Manuscripts are invited covering research, case studies or
commentaries on the above topics, or an any other topic considered relevant to
the Journal's theme.
Submissions & Copyright:
As an interim measure, submissions to EJISDC may
be made via rd@ejisdc.org.
However, a cover letter must be supplied and in the cover letter, the author(s)
must indicate what kind of paper they are submitting: Research, Practitioner,
Discussion, Commentary, Book Review
Authors must also confirm in their cover letter
that the following statements are true:
·
The submission
has not been previously published nor is it before another journal for
consideration; or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor.
·
The
submission file is in Microsoft Word doc (or docx) format. Please do not submit
pdf, rtf, txt or LaTeX files.
·
The paper is
formatted according to the guidelines specified at: http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/staff/isrobert/ejisdc-format.docx
·
Indicate your
preference on whether you want this paper to be subjected to review by editors
only or by a panel of reviewers. The default is review by editors only.
·
The authors
confirm that all previously published material that is included in this paper
is appropriately cited - with the use of quotation marks where appropriate, and
complete reference details. Plagiarism (unattributed copying of material from
other sources, whether books, journals, conference papers, other monographs or
any web pages) is explicitly forbidden. Authors who include plagiarised content
are liable to have their submission rejected without further consideration. In
case of doubt, please contact the editor at rd@ejisdc.org.
·
The authors
ensure that the manuscript has been proofread and where necessary copyedited so
as to ensure that the English standard is as good as possible. A manuscript
that has many grammatical and spelling mistakes, or is otherwise impossible to
read, will be rejected without review.
Authors
must also agree to the terms of our copyright notice, viz.: An author submitting a paper agrees to license EJISDC to
publish the paper if and when the manuscript is accepted. Papers published in
EJISDC are protected by copyright, which is retained by the authors. Authors
control translation and reproduction rights to their works published in EJISDC.
Permission of the author must be secured if a paper originally published in
EJISDC is being considered for reprinting or translation. Authors are expected
to ensure that any reprinting or translation contains a reference or pointer to
the original paper published in EJISDC. Authors submitting papers to EJISDC do
so with the understanding that with Internet publishing authors and publishers
do not always have the means to prevent unauthorized copying or editing of
copyrighted works. Downloads of papers in EJISDC are permitted for personal and
educational use only. Commercial use requires explicit permission from the
Editor in Chief. EJISDC has made arrangements with Proquest and Scopus to have
published articles available for indexing.
Announcements:
ICT4AD. The 3rd ICT4AD Conference will
be held in Yaounde, Cameroon, in June 2018. Details here: http://www.icit4ad.cm
Call for Papers: Critical Realism and ICT4D. This is a call for papers for a forthcoming special
section on “Critical
Realism and ICT4D” in the Electronic Journal of Information Systems in
Developing Countries.
Scopus Journal citation impact score: The EJISDC is ranked 155 out of 225 journals in Scopus in the field of Information Systems. https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100201977
Google Scholar Profile for EJISDC: https://scholar.google.co.za/citations?user=RPYgvGoAAAAJ&hl=en (Thanks to Prof
Filistéa Naudé from the University of South Africa)
ICT4D Journal Rankings: https://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/ict4d-journal-ranking-table/
People
The Editors in Chief are: Robert Davison (isrobert@cityu.edu.hk) and Roger W Harris (roger.harris@rogharris.org)
Senior Editors are:
Arlene Bailey
Julian Bass
Wallace Chigona
Bo Goransson
G Harindranath
Ahmed Imran
Luiz Joia
Sim Lau
Petter Nielsen
Johan Saebo
Oystein Saebo
Gamila Shoib
Maureen Tanner
Fathul Wahid
Graham Winley
We never sell or give away any private
data of individuals. The only data we keep is what you give us - names, logins,
passwords, email addresses - when you register. All private data is kept
confidential. However, once a paper is published, it will appear on the website
and author details (names, instititions, email addresses) will be visible to
readers.
Last
Updated July 6th, 2017