Browsing by Author "Katunga, Natasha"

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    Communicating for development using social media: A case study of e-inclusion intermediaries in under-resourced communities
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Katunga, Natasha; Njenga, James; Van Audenhove, Leo
    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.
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    Communicating for development using social media: A case study of e-inclusion intermediaries in under-resourced communities
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Katunga, Natasha; Njenga, James; Van Audenhove, Leo
    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.
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    Understanding the role of e-skills in the utilisation of electronic small business development support services
    (2013) Katunga, Natasha; Mitrovic, Zoran; Van Audenhove, Leo
    The Internet is now facilitating the provision of an increasing number of services. Thus, technology has become a more integrated part of people‟s daily routine. Some of these technologies include electronic communication, online banking, and shopping as well as electronic learning - to name but a few. However, for various reasons, such as limited formal education (which is a key promoter of reading and writing skills), access and skills, not everyone has an equal opportunity to benefit from the use of these technologies. The unequal distribution of opportunities of such nature is often broadly referred to as the digital divide. That is the gap between those who have access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and those who do not. One noted challenge that influences the use of ICT consists of socioeconomic conditions, which together elicit high levels of poverty. An identified strategy for uplifting these areas was (and still is) entrepreneurship, notably small businesses. These small businesses however, generally have very short and mostly unsuccessful lives. As a result the government at all levels (national, provincial and local) has endeavoured to provide support to these businesses. Some of this support is provided through mediums, such as the Internet (here named “electronic support”) to assist these small businesses. This support, which comes from government, is however, not being fully utilised by the intended beneficiaries. Thus, the small businesses are not benefiting from the support provided. Consequently, many are still experiencing a short and unsuccessful existence. This research thus analyses the small businesses in areas of the greater Cape Town, which are characterised by high levels of poverty and unemployment. Previous studies in these areas have reported the lack of ICT related skills, also known as electronic skills (e-skills), as one of the reasons for the low uptake of electronic support (e-support). This e-support is provided by various levels of government through selected agencies (service providers). In essence, this study is aimed at investigating the influence of e-skills in the access and use of the provided e-support by owners of small businesses. Considering that the lack of adequate e-skills has been identified as influencing the use of e-support, the study also aims to identify the e-skills needed to fully utilise the provided e-support. The approach to this investigation included a review of pertinent literature and devising a conceptual model. This model was then tested in the empirical setting of this study. This setting included: (i) Providers of e-support (various specialised government agencies) and (ii) the intended beneficiaries of this esupport, i.e. small businesses in the previously disadvantaged areas (PDAs) of the greater Cape Town. Through the use of case study methodology and face to face interviews, it was found that many small business owners were not able to appropriately use the provided e-support. This was due to their lack of e-skills, which resulted in their inability to use ICT. Additionally, some were unaware of the existence of the e-support or the service providers. During the review of pertinent literature done as part of the study, an e-skills framework was designed. The framework identified the e-skills considered necessary in order for small business owners to effectively utilise the provided e-support and other technologies. The e-skills framework suggested by this study could be used as a tool to assist: (i) The providers of e-support to understand the usage of their services and enable (ii) a more informed understanding of the need for appropriate e-skills among small business owners, in relation to their use of the provided e-support. Additionally, (iii) small business owners should be in a better position to recognise the benefits of using technology, especially the Internet. The contribution of this study is seen as twofold. Firstly, it should assist the providers and users of e-support. This is done by addressing the practical side of the provision and usage of these services. Secondly, the study contributes an informative e-skills framework related to the effective use of esupport. This study also furthers academic knowledge in the area of the investigation, and suggests further directions for research. Considering, the limited small business sample (only participants from three PDAs), the generalisation of this study is limited. This limitation does not however, influence the validity of this research, or the credibility of the findings.
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    Using social media to support community development: A case study of e-inclusion intermediaries in underprivileged communities of South Africa
    (IEEE, 2019) Katunga, Natasha; Njenga, James; Craffert, Leona
    For many marginalized community members e-inclusion intermediaries (e-IIs) are the only accessible and affordable option to access computers and the Internet, yet their use of the provided ICTs is low. This is due to a lack of awareness about e-IIs and ICTs benefits. To create awareness and promote the use of ICTs by community members e-IIs need more effective communication strategies that share information. Social media can be effective in this regard, yet many e-IIs do not utilize their potential. This paper presents findings of a qualitative study that investigated how selected e-IIs in South Africa communicate using social media. The study found that social media can facilitate communication for development by enabling low-cost, participatory communication approaches that build networks to share information, resources and create awareness. Social media are however only effective if they are appropriate for the target audience and used strategically to achieve clear communication objectives.