No abstract

The growth of the Internet has opened up a vast arena, providing more opportunities for businesses, particularly small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to sell their products and services to a global audience than they would have been able to afford to reach using the traditional methods. SMEs are extremely important to many countries and their contribution to economy cannot be over emphasized. Several researchers have studied the contribution of the Internet and highlight the importance of convenience, satisfaction, quality, and consumer purchase behavior. In this study, it is argued that SMEs stand to benefit significantly from the opportunities and benefits that the Internet offers to businesses. Therefore, the use of the Internet is widely seen as critical for the competitiveness of SMEs in the emerging global market. The study is exploratory in nature and will be conducted in three stages. The findings presented in this paper, argues that SMEs in developing countries must learn from the experiences of developed countries, such as the United States and European countries, and use the Internet more frequently.

Many opportunities have been made available through the use of Information communication technologies (ICT) in organizations in general, and particularly in Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the early adopters' successes well publicized. Thus, many organizations not taking advantages of the ICT are currently examining their options. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence SMEs' decision in adopting ICT in business. The diffusion theory, the technology acceptance model and information richness will provide the theoretical foundation for this study. Currently in the data collection phase, the owner/manager or someone responsible for IT employed by the SMEs will be surveyed in this cross-industry study. Preliminary results from the study are reported as well as sample questions resulting from the study to be used in the final survey questionnaire.

There is a growing demand on educational institutions to use ICT to teach the skills and knowledge students need for the digital age. The integration of ICT into education provides opportunities for teachers and students to work better in a globalized digital age, particularly in teaching and learning environment, where teaching and learning can take place anytime and anywhere, 24-hours seven days a week. The purpose of this article is to identify the factors that influence teachers' decision to integrate ICT in teaching and learning. The study is chosen because of the strategic importance of ICT in education and particularly, its immense potential, to transform the ways in which teaching is carried out in the classroom. There are a lot of studies in the area, but very little empirical research has been conducted to examine this phenomenon from the teachers perceptive. The present article aims to fill this gap by using in-depth case studies, conceptualized within the grounded theory method to develop a model that will explain and enhance the understanding of the factors influencing teachers' integration of ICT in teaching and learning. The diffusion theory will provide the theoretical foundation for this study.

Electronic commerce (EC) has the potential to improve efficiency and productivity in many areas and has received significant attention in many countries. However, there has been some doubt about the relevance of ecommerce for developing countries. The absence of adequate basic infrastructural, socio-economic, socio-cultural, and government ICT strategies have created a significant barrier in the adoption and growth of ecommerce in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. In this paper, the author shows that to understand the adoption and diffusion of ecommerce in Kurdistan, socio-cultural issues like transactional trust and social effect of shopping must be considered. The paper presents and discusses these issues hindering ecommerce adoption in Kurdistan.