The African Journal of Information Systems

Focus and Scope

The African Journal of Information Systems (AJIS) provides a high caliber scholarly research journal in information and communication technology (ICT). The focus of AJIS is to acquaint a broad audience of readers in the variety of intellectual traditions included under the rubric of ICT in Africa. Therefore, the journal aims at disseminating research on the transfer, diffusion, and adoption of ICT within the context of Africa; the innovation and development of ICT solutions for and within this context; impacts of ICT on society and of society on ICT; and other relevant normative, empirical, and theoretical concerns of ICT development, implementation, strategy, management and policy that are distinctive to Africa and associated developing economies.

Africa, when compared to most other continents remains in a precarious situation. While ICT have made significant inroads into the continent over the past decade and are beginning to contribute substantively to development, there remains a dire need for:

• The development and archiving of a rich body of knowledge on ICT that is specific to the continent of Africa. While there are a number of specialized journals that cater to ICT research, there are few articles that focus on Africa, more so on Sub Saharan Africa. To bridge this gap and fill this critical need, AJIS will provide an avenue to disseminate research on ICT in Africa and similar developing economies
• The advancement of opportunities for publishing scientific research among the citizenry of the continent with a view to increasing the number of ICT scholars and researchers stationed in Africa that participate in the global ICT arena. To this end AJIS aims to increase participation of scholars from Africa and other regions of the world in disseminating ICT research and best practices that touch on or address specific issues in Africa and associated developing economies.

Therefore, the AJIS seeks to provide a distinctive African perspective on the theory and practice of information systems. The journal encourages submissions of first rate research articles by academicians, but also case studies and reflective articles by practitioners.

Given that the AJIS seeks to be a conduit, not only for reporting high caliber scholarly research, but also for facilitating the teaching of ICT to prospective practitioners and researchers, AJIS also includes a section on practice and implementation which encompasses (a) reports on field conditions, (b) issues of field methodology, (c) downloadable data sets useful for teaching, (d) ICT cases that have been designed for varying levels of instruction, and (e) editorials. Such sections are designed to enhance the availability of teaching resources, to help us incorporate ICT research into our teaching, and to explore professional issues confronting our field.

Besides the focus of its contents, AJIS is unlike most journals in that it is both fully electronic and fully paper-based in format. Our goal is not simply to provide an Internet accessible version of a journal that appears in print. Rather AJIS intends to exploit the electronic medium to its fullest degree. AJIS includes immediate archiving of the journal and an ability to search current issues and archived material. We encourage authors to include audio and video files as integral parts of their articles and data sets.

In all these ways, AJIS fills a gap in ICT research. At the same time, like other top publications, AJIS remains committed to upholding the highest standards of scholarship. All submissions go through a process of anonymous peer review. We are proud to have an outstanding editorial board which works with us to ensure that only research of the highest caliber is published.

AJIS was founded with partial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). It is hosted at the International Center for Information Technology and Development (ICITD), Southern University and A&M College.