Writing retreat

Six members of the project team retreated to Foxwood House during January to spend three days writing conference and journal papers based on the research that was carried out in 2014. In tranquil surroundings, and fortified by the excellent food, we worked on four papers for publication during 2015.

Paper presented at the African Cyber Citizenship Conference

Professor Backhouse attended the African Cyber Citizenship Conference (ACCC2014) held in Port Elizabeth on the 5^th and 6^th November. 

She presented a paper written jointly with Prof Cohen, examining the ways in which information systems researchers define Smart Cities and how African cities are interpreting these definitions. The paper is titled "What is a Smart City for information systems research in Africa? Review protocol and initial results."

The African Cyber Citizenship Conference is a multi-disciplinary conference that brings together researchers in philosophy, psychology, information systems, law and other disciplines to debate issues related to “Cyberspace and its impact on society”. 

The conference proceedings are available from the conference web site.

A copy of the paper is available here:

Backhouse J and Cohen J (2014). What is a Smart City forinformation systems research in Africa? Review protocol and initial results. Proceedings of the African Cyber CitizenshipConference 2014, 5-6 November, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Stakeholder Workshop, October

Prof Cohen introduces the project

On the 8^th October the project hosted a workshop with stakeholders to report on our research for 2014 and get input into our agenda for 2015. The workshop was attended by representatives from the City of Johannesburg Group ICT and Information Management, City of Johannesburg Library and Information Services, Joburg Water, and the Gauteng City Regional Observatory, among others.  

Information Systems Honours students Candice Visser, Jason van Staden and Omar Ally presented their research results. Professor Backhouse presented research into how smart cities are being defined by researchers and by cities in Africa.

There was lively discussion of the student’s research results which included analyses of what residents view as important to them as well as their views of the city’s performance in these areas. This analysis makes it possible to identify areas where the city needs to prioritize service improvements, because they are really important to residents. It also makes it possible to identify areas in which the city is performing really well, but are perhaps areas that residents do not really value. This kind of research makes it possible to better target the use of resources. 

Delegates listen attentively as Ms Mpendulo of the City of Johannesburg
Library and Information Services makes a point

Stakeholders at the workshop gave input into areas that need further exploration and made generous offers of assistance in accessing information for ongoing research. 

Students present at Postgraduate Conference

Jason van Staden presents his research

Omar Ally listens to the presentations

Honours students on the Information Systems for Smart Cities in Africa project, Omar Ally, Jason van Staden and Candice Visser had the opportunity to present their research findings at the 3^rd Annual School of Economic and Business Sciences Postgraduate Conference on September 19, 2014. 

Jason van Staden presented the findings from his research that looked at the factors that influence City of Johannesburg residents intention to use local e-government. Candice Visser presented the findings from her research titled "Towards a Smart City: An importance-performance analysis of resident's service needs". Omar Ally's research looked at the service needs of young people living in Braamfontein.  

The presentations were well received and generated a lot of interest from fellow students and staff who had questions about the data collection process, the opportunity for new research, the comparisons with smart cities from across the globe, the impact websites can make on service delivery, and the city’s current  state in terms of meeting residents’ needs.

The annual Postgraduate Conference brings together over 250 postgraduate students from the School to present their research to their peers. This year's conference was held at the Protea, Parktonian Hotel in Braamfontein. 

Bursary for full-time Master’s study

The Information Systems for Smart Cities in Africa research project is offering a bursary for a student to complete a full-time Master of Commerce by research in Information Systems during 2015 and 2016.

 

More information about the research project can be found on this site. In 2014 the project has examined conceptions of Smart Cities by information systems researchers, the approaches being taken by different African cities to Smart Cities agendas and the demand for information-enabled services in the City of Johannesburg. In 2015 we will explore the types of information, potential sources, and the ways in which information might be packaged into services to meet the needs of residents. We will examine service catalogues created in previous studies and adapt them to the local context. We will also examine how South African cities have connected demand to services to understand approaches and how effective they have been, as well as how information services have been implemented and are used.

 

The bursary is valued at (South African rand) R40 000 per annum and can be used towards fees and living expenses. The research project will also cover expenses incurred in conducting the research. The successful student will be provided with shared office space and the tools needed to complete the research. In return they will be expected to take responsibility for aspects of running of the research project and to participate in seminars and departmental activities. More information about postgraduate studies at the University of the Witwatersrand can be found at http://www.wits.ac.za/prospective/postgraduate.

 

Interested applicants should have a good honours degree in information systems with solid research experience. Please apply online (https://www.wits.ac.za/applications/portal/index) for entry into the MCom degree and also send a complete CV and a letter motivating your selection to the project to Professor Judy Backhouse (judy.backhouse@wits.ac.za). Applications for the bursary close on the 10^th October 2014. You can contact Professor Backhouse by e-mail or on +27 11 717 8161 for more information.

Paper Accepted to ACCC2014 Conference

Professors Judy Backhouse and Jason Cohen have had a paper accepted for the African Cyber Citizenship Conference 2014 (http://accc2014.nmmu.ac.za/) which will be held from the 5^th to the 7^th November this year in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

 

The paper, entitled “What is a Smart City for information systems research in Africa? Review protocol and initial results” presents the initial findings of a systematic literature review of research into information systems for Smart Cities. In particular the paper analyses the ways in which a Smart City is defined by information systems researchers and investigates the possibility of a consensus definition. It also interrogates the smart city efforts of five African cities (Cairo, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi) to understand the relevance of the definitions used by researchers to practitioners.

Students' Honours Projects

The three honours students, Omar Ally, Jason van Staden and Candice Visser have recently completed their research proposals. They have presented their topics and received feedback from a panel.  The research which they will be conducting this year is summarised below.    
 

Omar Ally: 

My research topic is ‘Smart Cities from the Perspective of Braamfontein Youth: Results from an Importance-Performance Analysis’.  The younger subgroup is being targeted for a few reasons.  Braamfontein is home to many colleges and student residencies and as such has a large population of the district which is young.  The young locals will be able to give innovative perspectives on what a smart city should comprise given their day-to-day interaction with the area. 

Africa has its own background, history and culture. Consequently, to simply copy the successful implementation of another city may not be as successful in this context.  As an ever improving district with many change initiatives already under way, Braamfontein would be a good place to start.

In other smart city implementations, the characteristics of the smart city is determined by a group such as the government or an organisation that is at the helm of the smart city initiative.  The factors of the smart city that is developed by these groups are thrust on to the citizens and the city itself without regard as to whether the citizens actually want all of those factors to constitute the smart city.  The citizens also have little to no say in the addition of factors that they think may have been overlooked by the group or that they really would like to see in their city.

 The purpose of this research is to carry out an empirical survey of young adults through the application of an importance-performance analysis to determine the most important factors of a smart city from the perspective of these young adults in Braamfontein.  Young adults are defined as people between the ages of 18 – 35.

Jason van Staden:
 

My research topic aims to uncover important influential factors in determining a City of Johannesburg resident’s intention to use the city website. The website platform for interaction with the government is a key enabler of a smart city, as literature suggests many aspects of a ‘smart city’ can be facilitated, if not achieved through ‘smart interactions’ between the government and its residents. This ‘smart interaction’ can be conveniently achieved through the city’s website. There is however a problem that appears from literature: that the adoption and inherently the usage of government websites are quite low. This is primarily where my research comes in, as it aims to uncover potential reasons for this, by testing certain factors to see if they prove influential in describing a resident’s intention to use the City of Johannesburg’s website. The factors will be tested by surveying residents within the City of Johannesburg region.

My research will be able to provide valuable insight into key factors that determine a resident’s intention to use the City of Johannesburg’s website. This insight can then be translated into practice, as government authorities will have a starting point for deciding on what to focus website design and functionality, as well as emphasize market campaigns on the influential factors uncovered. This will then, potentially, increase adoption and help the city become smarter.     
 

Candice Visser:

I will be doing an importance – performance analysis on resident satisfaction. A large scale survey will be used to solicit responses from City of Johannesburg (COJ) residents.

The study will focus on current City of Johannesburg services provided within the dimensions of a smart city. The dimensions of a smart city identified from literature are Transport and Mobility, Participation in Governance of the City, Health and Safety, Habitat and Utilities, Entertainment/ Leisure, and Information and Communication Technologies. The intention of the study is to identify the service areas with the strongest correlation to satisfaction for residents, which would then indicate the smart city service needs of residents. The high priority service areas will hence be identified based on its importance to residents.

By uncovering the smart city needs of residents, this study will offer assistance to the City of Johannesburg by exploring relevant smart city initiatives as it relates to the South African context.