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The retention of women in Information Technology (IT) is a global problem. This chapter reflects on the results of a comprehensive study of women in the South African IT Industry. Areas covered are demographics, experience and qualifications, the work environment, discrimination, gender issues, technical abilities, mentors and other issues related to women in the IT industry. Factors affecting the retention of women in the South African IT Industry are identified, and popular beliefs with regard to the preferences of female IT employees are examined. The authors believe that the findings reported on in this chapter can provide valuable insights that can be used by companies world-wide to enhance employment policies as well as recruitment and retention strategies aimed at women in IT.

In the fast changing global economic landscape, the cultivation of sustainable entrepreneurial ventures is seen as a vital mechanism that will enable businesses to introduce new innovative products to the market faster and more effectively than their competitors.This research paper investigated phenomena that may play a significant role when entrepreneurs implement creative ideas resulting in successful technology enabled start-ups within the South African market place. Constant and significant changes in technology provide several challenges for entrepreneurship. Various themes such as innovation, work experience, idea generation, education and partnership formation have been explored to assess their impact on entrepreneurship.Reflection and a design thinking approach underpinned a rigorous analysis process to distill themes from the data gathered through semi structured interviews. From the findings it was evident that the primary success influencers include the formation of partnership, iterative cycles, and certain types of education. The secondary influencers included the origination of an idea, the use of innovation. and organizational culture as well as work experience.This research illustrates how Informing Science as a transdisicpline can provide a philosophical underpinning to communicate and synthesise ideas from constituent disciplines in an attempt to create a more cohesive whole. This diverse environment, comprising people, technology, and business, requires blending different elements from across diverse fields to yield better science. With this backdrop, this preliminary study provides an important foundation for further research in the context of a developing country where entrepreneurial ventures may have a socioeconomical impact. The themes that emerged through this study could provide avenues for further research.

In the fast changing global economic landscape, the cultivation of sustainable entrepreneurial ventures is seen as a vital mechanism that will enable businesses to introduce new innovative products to the market faster and more effectively than their competitors. This research paper investigated phenomena that may play a significant role when entrepreneurs implement creative ideas resulting in successful technology enabled start-ups within the South African market place. Constant and significant changes in technology provide several challenges for entrepreneurship. Various themes such as innovation, work experience, idea generation, education and partnership formation have been explored to assess their impact on entrepreneurship. Reflection and a design thinking approach underpinned a rigorous analysis process to distill themes from the data gathered through semi structured interviews. From the findings it was evident that the primary success influencers include the formation of partnership, iterative cycles, and certain types of education. The secondary influencers included the origination of an idea, the use of innovation. and organizational culture as well as work experience. This research illustrates how Informing Science as a transdisicpline can provide a philosophical underpinning to communicate and synthesise ideas from constituent disciplines in an attempt to create a more cohesive whole. This diverse environment, comprising people, technology, and business, requires blending different elements from across diverse fields to yield better science. With this backdrop, this preliminary study provides an important foundation for further research in the context of a developing country where entrepreneurial ventures may have a socio-economical impact. The themes that emerged through this study could provide avenues for further research.

This chapter introduces the use of usability factors as a means of predicting the e-commerce user experience. It argues objectively measurable usability factors, such as page layout, navigation techniques, privacy statements and color can be used to predict how a user of an e-commerce Website will experience the interaction with the site. In support for this argument, it reports on the results of a small pilot study that was done to determine the feasibility of a more extensive study aimed at building a model for the prediction of the user experience. The authors hope a better understanding of the intricate relationship between usability factors and the subjective user experience will lead to the design of more successful e-commerce Websites.