UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
Call for Papers: IT in Sub-Saharan Africa, 06/01

Call for Papers: IT in Sub-Saharan Africa, 06/01

CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE TRACK

*** IT in Sub-Saharan Africa ***

of the Second Annual

GLOBAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT (GITM) WORLD CONFERENCE on June 10, 11,12, 2001 in Dallas, Texas, USA

http://gsmweb.udallas.edu/mraising/gitm2001Dallas/

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: November 15, 2000 (to be received by this date). Please submit directly to the Conference Chair: Prashant Palvia. For fast processing, we wish to have an all-electronic review process. Therefore, an electronic submission is strongly recommended (email: pcpalvia@uncg.edu). If not possible, please mail 4 copies to the following address and make sure it arrives by the deadline. In any case, include your email address along with the submission.

Prashant Palvia, ISOM Department

Bryan School of Business & Economics

University of North Carolina - Greensboro Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA

Email:pcpalvia@uncg.edu

Ph: 336-334-5666 Fax: 336-334-4083

http://www.uncg.edu/bae/people/palvia/

TRACK DESCRIPTION:

Throughout its history, Africa has been been seen basically as a source of raw materials and labour. Despite its long history of innovation, acceptance of change, and resourcefulness, the continent has been plagued by long-standing problems such as famines, wars, etc. Many, especially those in the post-industrial West, consider Africa as a recipient of aid rather than as a source of inspiration. Yet the African people have always emerged from these troubles and are proving resilient.

Many, especially in Africa, consider that information technology, if utilised and exploited intelligently and with sensitivity to culture and the environment, will enhance the development of all African nations, and will bring them in line with the developed nations of the world. While the problems facing African nations can be mainly related to the lack of human and technical skills and financial resources, there are clear lessons from other regions that these not constitute a permanent barrier to development. There is a need for collective effort that can partly be facilitated through research.

This second World GITM conference can help promote the use of IT as a means to social, economic, and political ends such as democracy, land distribution, and poverty alleviation in Africa. Papers in this stream that will deal with the African perspective should encourage useful debate about the similarities and differences among a variety of approaches. Sessions in this stream should cater for a strong mix of backgrounds, experiences, and cultures. The overall aim of this track would be to explore new ways of using information and information technology for decision-making in Africa countries and organisations. This will involve discussing the methodologies and tools used in designing and implementing information systems that identify successes (and failures) in information systems.

RECOMMENDED TOPICS

Papers (completed or in-progress: about 20 double spaced pages), extended abstracts (completed or in-progress research: about 4-6 pages), panel and workshop proposals (2-4 pages) dealing with (but not limited to) the following topics are invited. Please note the name of this track on the cover page.

Experience with e-commerce in Africa

African solutions to African challenges on the Internet New forms of e-facilitated marketing in Africa The approaches by organisations in Africa to IT investment and benefit identification

The use of IT to create and manage markets Measurement and facilitation of increased telecommunications and information systems access

The role of the African diaspora in the use of IT in Africa Internet access across Africa

Lessons from IT in developing African societies Information Technology and reconstruction and development programs in Africa

Specifically African approaches to IT development and adoption

Use of IT to promote democratic values and mechanisms Strategic alignment of IT in Africa

The global African organisation: various business models Software developed specifically for Africa and African uses The role of African governments and the use of IT E-Governance in Africa

Varieties of African IT experience

IT learning and Social technology

The role and success of IS management strategies in Africa African IT education

OTHER TRACKS: Please note that you may also submit to other Global IT tracks. Just note the name of the appropriate track on the cover (if no such track exists or you do not know the track name, simply state so on the cover page). In general, Global IT Management topics include (but are not limited to):

IT in various countries and regions (e.g., Europe, Asia, Africa, Arab countries, North America, South & Central America, Australia);Development, evaluation & management of Global Information Systems (GIS); Electronic commerce; Internet related issues; IT in multinational companies; Virtual and networked organisations; Cross-cultural issues; Impact of global IT on the organisation; Information Resources Management; Frameworks/models for global IS (GIS); Societal impacts of IT in developing countries; IT and Economic Development; IT Diffusion in developing countries; IT human resource issues; DSS/EIS/ES in international settings; Organisational & management structures for GIS; Transborder data flow issues; Electronic data interchange; Telecommunications; Distributed global databases and networks; Cultural and societal impacts; Comparative studies of nations; Applications and case studies (both research and educational).

JOURNAL PUBLICATION:

Papers recommended as high quality by the reviewers will be further considered for publication on an expedited basis in the Journal of Global Information Technology Management (JGITM) and the Journal of Information Technology Cases & Applications (JITCA).

IMPORTANT DATES:

Submission Deadline: November 15, 2000 (to be received by this date)

Notification of Acceptance: December 15, 2000 Final Submission Due: January 31, 2001

Early Registration Deadline: April 30, 2001 (at least one author must register)

Conference Dates: June 10, 11, 12, 2001

INQUIRIES:

For additional information, please contact the conference chair, program co-chairs or the track chairs.

Conference Chair: Prashant Palvia, University of North Carolina - Greensboro, USA. pcpalvia@uncg.edu

Local Chair: Mahesh S. Raisinghani, University of Dallas, mraising@gsm.udallas.ed

Program Co-Chairs:

Roger Harris, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia, roger@meranti.fit.unimas.my

Magid Igbaria, Clairmont Graduate University, USA, magid.igbaria@cgu.edu

Kalle Kangas, Turku School of Economics & Bus. Admn., Finland, Kalle.Kangas@tukkk.fi

Shailendra Palvia, Long Island University, USA, spalvia@liu.edu

Celia Romm, Central Queensland University, Australia, c.romm@cqu.edu.au

Barry Shore, University of New Hampshire, USA. bshore@christa.unh.ed

Peter Woolsey, The Euro-Baltic Software Alliance, UK, pawoolsey@aol.com

TRACK CHAIR:

Professor Paul Licker, Department of Information Systems, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701,South Africa. Email: plicker@commerce.uct.ac.za

http://www.commerce.uct.ac.za/InformationSystems



Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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