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As technology becomes cheaper the potential for learning is greater, preparing and disseminating learning material through smartphones is likely to become popular. However, it was not clear whether students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, have the right equipment (smartphones) to support learning at a historically disadvantaged university. This study assesses smartphone ownership as a potential tool for enhancing students' learning at a relatively resource-poor higher education (HE) environment in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Correspondence universities, such as 'Unisa' and examples worldwide in HE, use students' smartphones for educational purposes. Primary data were collected from postgraduates and undergraduate students using a selfadministered structured questionnaire for all faculties. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was employed to account for students' perceived ease of use (EOU) and perceived usefulness (PU). The results revealed smartphone ownership and use was greater than the ownership and use of regular cellular phones. Regular cellular phone users commented on smartphone capabilities as enhancing learning.

In this research, the premise is that sharing data according to the guidelines for publishing open government data ensures greater transparency, delivers more efficient public services, and encourages greater public and commercial use and re-use of government information. This logic, drawn from previous literature and past studies, is extended by examining the interplay between economic benefits of e-Government and social considerations in adoption of e-Government models decisions. Drawing on organizational decision-making research, this research argues that, both early and late adopters respond to framing and interpreting adoption decision situations as opportunities, instead of threats, to enhance transparency and accountability. Following interpretivist research conventions methodology, the sampling plan was purposeful and included a total of 39 interviews. It is found that the social, political, and economic context of developing countries may not readily accommodate current models of openness in e-Government. The conclusion drawn in this research is that motivations for the openness in e-Government to appear legitimate coexist with motivations to realize transparency and accountability. These findings prompt rethinking of the classic institutional, framing, and diffusion model, to suggest openness in e-Government model that developing countries could adopt to suit their social and economic context, as a contribution to the body of knowledge.

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