Description of Subtheme:
ICT includes all digital technology that assists individuals, businesses and organizations in using information. It covers all electronic products that deal with information in a digital form. Therefore, ICT is concerned with digital data storage, retrieval and transmission.
ICT makes a business more efficient, effective and promptly respond to customers’ needs. ICT can assist business activities including design, manufacturing, R&D, distribution and sales and feedback. Prof.Nassef reports that “contrary to the prevalent predict that ICT will decrease the demand for face-to-face communication and will result in greater dispersion of economic activity. She suggests that ICT promotes industrial agglomeration”. In addition, Prof.Nassef argues that “The search of job and recruitment via the Internet offer potential efficiency gains to the labor market and the economy through reducing transaction cost and providing better matching between workers and vacancies by diffusing information about job widely”.
This theme includes a deep analysis of the impact of the information and communication technologies on different aspects of development and growth. It covers topics related to the financial, economic and technological aspects and stress on the importance of ICT their role in facilitating a wide range of services and transactions such as online banking and online services provided by companies. It discusses authentication methods used in online banking and various online services. ICT through facilitating the supply and access of a wide range of financial services, increasing efficiency in institutions and corporations, reducing costs and promoting and enhancing communication are a major channel for development. In addition, It covers topics that links information and communication technologies to urbanization and show the importance ICT in urban service delivery. It presents how ICT can be used to promote and ensure urbanization which became the norm of life of the twenty first century and poses one of the most critical challenges to achieve economic development and better standard of living. Furthermore, Big data as a tool for development presents topics that show how the big amount of digital data continually generated by the global population could be analyzed to support decision making and to generate actionable insights for policy makers. It also indicates the major role that big data plays as a tool for promoting various aspects of development.
Different research avenues could be suggested to address the role of information and communication technology in business. For example,Software Piracy (SP) is a worldwide, multifaceted phenomenon that presents a major challenge for software producers. The SP problem has been heightened worldwide because of the pervasiveness of the Internet and the progression of information technology, which have increased the probability for increasing the intellectual property rights violation. Establishing measures to effectively curb SP in Lebanon, however, requires understanding the underlying motivations and justifications for SP behaviors as well as SP rates and the factors influencing them. In their study, Khalil and Seleim, adopted and tested a causal model of software piracy attitudes, intentions, and behaviors in Lebanon using professionals and managers sample.
Future research designs should also employ other student and non-student samples in other Lebanese private and public sectors in order to verify the findings. Future research models should also include and investigate new constructs, such as national culture, demographics, corruption index, and economic development, that may moderate the SP intention-behavior relationship.
Another research stream aims to show the use of Electronic business (e-business) in enhancing the organization’s competitiveness via deploying innovative information and communications technology. Several studies have been conducted in this area. For example, the impacts of using SNSs (social networks sites) as a way to encourage word of mouth between customers or the effects of SNSs on social or academic performance of university students. Dr.Abbas finds a significant influence of SNSs on firm`s competitive performance, social and academic life of university students.
Future research that fall under this subtheme may include using SNSs as a strategic tool to implement firm`s strategy, the effect of using e-commerce on market share, the role of SNSs on social bonds of university’s students, using information systems to customize firm`s product, and comparisons between traditional communication tools and interactive tools to improve firm`s performance.
Also, in community-based dental education programs, student-provided services can be an important source of community clinic and practice revenues. Therefore, the research within the department of Developmental Sciences are directed towards the construction of new community-based programs as the construction of an educational message to the pre-school teachers in relation to dental traumatology.
In a dynamic business environment, accounting profession should deal with different multifaceted new issues. For instance, how to record innovative business transactions, expand value-added business and information processes, distribute valuable knowledge to a broad group of information users, and offer assurance services across a whole range of economic activities. Information communication and technology has drastically altered the way in which business is performed. Now, most companies used accounting information systems in running their operations. Developments in information technology have radically enhanced accounting systems. Computers and other digital technologies have amplified office productivity facilitating the fast exchange of documents, gathering and analysis of data. According to Dr.El-Haridi and Dr.Mandour, the use of ERP systems in corporations has a significant influence on their performance.
The diffusion of computer usage and software development brought about strong adjustments in accounting businesses’ procedures; however, the influence of these innovations has not been accurately analyzed. Therefore, future research in this area is needed to judge the influences technological innovation has instigated in the accounting firms through a survey, using a structured questionnaire that can send to people responsible for the accounting firms.
The ICT progresses made available huge amounts of information. This availability causes substantial risks to computer systems. In spite of noteworthy improvements in the information security area, several ISs are still susceptible to internal and external attacks. The presence of an internal audit for ISs avoiding these attacks or reducing the negative consequences. Therefore, exploratory research on informatics audit for ISs security is needed.
iConnect
