A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Dr Richard Boateng has advised lecturers in the country’s tertiary institutions to take steps to upgrade their knowledge in social media technology in order to teach effectively.

Dr Richard Boateng warned that current developments in Information Communication Technology (ICT) have caught on well with students to the extent that it will be very difficult to use old teaching methods for effective teaching today.

The University of Ghana Business School lecturer gave the advice during a presentation under the theme: Education in Africa – The role of tertiary institutions at the maiden Google Education VC and CIO (Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer) Summit for VC and CIO of the country’s tertiary institutions.

The two-day programme is the initiative of Google Ghana. It is under itsGoogle Apps Supporting Programs and it is aimed at teaching VCs and CIOs how to use technology to improve education.

Speaking in an interview with Myjoyonline.com Dr Richard Boateng observed that while the use of social media may not be applicable to all courses currently being pursued at the tertiary level it is very easy to apply it to all internet based courses like internet marketing and mobile commerce. 

He was of the view that “Some institutions can take a phase base approach where we can say that all first year students who are registering now lecturers who are teaching them should try to use some form of technology to enhance their teaching.”

When that is done, he added, "by the time they are in the fourth year almost all their courses has been taught through or aided with technology.”

The Chiang Mai Rajabhat University (CMRU), Thailand invited Dr. Richard Boateng as a guest speaker to the 2012 CMRU Management Learning Exchange Forum. The management forum was under the auspices of the Faculty of Management Sciences, CMRU.

The 2012 CMRU Management Learning Exchange Forum was themed “From Local to Global: Applying Management Information Systems to Local Businesses”. The objective of the learning exchange forum was to explore how new and emerging technologies can internationalize local businesses in developing economies. It was a place for discourse and debate on novel approaches to building global businesses through new and emerging technologies. The 2012 CMRU Management Learning Exchange Forum was hosted at the Faculty of Management Sciences, CMRU, from 23 to 30 June, 2012. Participants comprised of technology and management experts, academics and research students.

Forum on Local Businesses to Global Business

This forum sought to explore how information systems play a key role in expanding the reach of local businesses and turning them into global businesses. Experts in academia and business gave an exposition on how businesses in Thailand and other Asian countries are leveraging information technology. They also explained how it was influencing teaching technology and business in the University. It was learnt that the top two technology and business jobs were: enterprise technology, and multimedia and animation. In relation, Dr. Boateng also spoke about how Ghanaian firms are leveraging the internet for business. He also explained the challenges of Ghanaian business and how the University of Ghana Business School is addressing the challenges through research and teaching.

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Collaborators: Richard Boateng, Longe Olumide, Robert Stepehen Isabalija and Joseph Budu

This paper investigates the prevalence of cybercrimes (called ‘sakawa’) in Ghana and examines its forms and implications. Using qualitative approach, we explore efforts by organizations and government agencies in Ghana towards curtailing cybercrimes in terms of apprehension, prosecution, reporting, and law enforcement. Findings from our research showed that although awareness of cyber crime is on the increase, the crimes mostly go unreported. The Ghana Police Service which is the organ of government responsible for arresting and prosecuting cyber criminals also lack the technical know-how and adequate legal support to effectively discharge their duties.

We recommend that a multi-stakeholder effort and appropriate technical training for the Police and supportive legislation are required. For online financial transactions, developing strategies which incorporate offline business qualification requirements may be the necessary starting point. Since the perpetrators are young and have some degree of technical competence to commit computer-related crimes. This brings to question the need for appropriate youth development programs which utilize their technical competencies. In future research, we will explore how social theories in criminology can assist in understanding the behavior and intention of both the victim and perpetrators in cyber crime.

Reference: Boateng. R., Longe, O., Isabalija, R.S. and Budu, J. (2011) ‘SAKAWA’ - The Forms of Cyber Crime in Ghana, Journal of Information Technology Impact, 11(2), pp. 85-100.