Use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support research work is becoming increasingly common. This study set out to establish how ICTs are being used to support collaborative research in Kenya, and identify factors within the ICT ecosystem that contribute to their adoption and use. A mixed methods research design, involving 248 academic scientists in 4 disciplines across 4 major Kenyan universities, was employed. We find little diversity in forms of ICTs used to support collaborative research within the studied population. Several factors affect adoption and use practices, including availability and access to ICT resources, nature of the work, national and institutional ICT and research environments and the social cultural practices of researchers. We explain our findings using Venkatesh et al.'s Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model, which identifies four main constructs that affect adoption of technology such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and social influence.

No abstract

No abstract

Increased productivity has been cited as one of the benefits of scientific collaboration. While some studies have identified a positive relationship between collaboration and publication productivity, others have found a negative or no clear relationship between the two. A number of factors determine the relationship established, ranging from the context under which research is carried out that shapes the scientists' collaboration and productivity behaviors and practices, to the methods and measures used. Few studies have examined the factors underlying the said relationship, more so in studies of developing areas. In this article we present the empirical findings of a study seeking to establish the relationship between collaboration and productivity of academic scientists in Kenya, including factors determining the established relationship. The study uses mixed methods research design employing self reported measures of collaboration and productivity. The study establishes a significant, though weak relationship between collaboration and publication productivity for academic scientists in Kenyan Universities. We find that factors affecting level of collaboration, including disciplinary area, academic qualification, and the national and institutional context within which research is done have an effect on productivity of academic scientists. The results presented serve to enhance our understanding of factors determining scientist's productivity, and methods best suited to investigate collaboration and productivity in developing areas.

The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical issues arising from the mass deployment and take-up of mobile technologies. The ethical dimensions of mobile technologies and their use among the general population are considered within a conceptual framework drawing on James Moor's belief in a need for “better ethics” for emerging technologies and Michel Foucault's development of Jeremy Bentham's panopticon as a tool of surveillance. It is found that the mass deployment and use of mobile technologies amongst the general population raise some interesting questions about the changing nature of surveillance and the ethical issues that come out of this. The paper offers an original perspective on the ethical issues arising from new mobile technologies and surveillance, by inverting the established top-down notion of technology and control derived from Foucault