An Empirical Study of E-Government Service Adoption: Culture and Behavioral Intention

This study seeks to identify and understand the important factors that influence citizens’ behavioral intention to take up e-government services. We adopted a research model empirically tested in the United States. The model integrates three established constructs—the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), trust, and computer self-efficacy. We conducted the research in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a leader in e-government development in the Arab world. Our findings are mostly different from the U.S. study and suggest that behavioral intention may be influenced by citizens’ cultural context. This study contributes to a better understanding of citizens’ behavioral intention and adoption factors in e-government, in particular from a cultural perspective. The findings may help governments formulate effective strategies to improve the level of citizens’ uptake of e-government services. This study paves the way for further research on an e-government adoption model that is robust across cultures.     

Devolution Plan 2000: dictatorship,democracy, and the politics of institutional change in Pakistan

Contemporary development theory and policy research puts an overarching emphasis on institution building as a key driver of change in developing countries. Over the past few decades, decentralisation reforms have played out as the linchpin of such institution building efforts, advocated by international development agencies and favoured by national governments. This article examines decentralisation reforms implemented in Pakistan under the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers initiative through a case study of the implementation and outcomes of Devolution Plan (DP) in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province. Promulgated by General Musharaf in 2000, the DP aimed to restructure and rebuild political and administrative structures, to redress key issues of governance, resource distribution, and service delivery. The Local Government System (LGS) was a key reform element within the DP, but it lost traction and was abolished in 2008/09. This article demonstrates two important factors, regime legitimisation and the preservation of clientelistic politics, that have profoundly shaped implementation of the DP. The findings demonstrate how the implementation of this large-scale internationally supported attempt at institution building ultimately succumbed to a range of particularistic interests.     

The politics of misogyny: General Zia-ul-Haq’s Islamization of Pakistan’s legal system

General Zia-ul-Haq’s ambitious Islamization program vis-à-vis gender status in an Islamic Republic remains embedded in the legal system to the detriment of Pakistan’s females. Passage of the Hudood Ordinances of 1979 was a harbinger of things to come as the military junta moved to implement laws perceived to be congruent with Shariah (Islamic) law. This article examines specific discriminatory legal measures, which ensured the reversal of the slow but significant gains made by females since Pakistan’s creation in 1947; and explores how certain draconian measures enacted by Zia’s regime served to mobilize some Pakistani women to political activism.     

Indigenous languages and Africa's development dilemma

Most African states like The Gambia use European languages for state activities and formal education. Africa has been a global pilot site for “transplanted” development initiatives with apparently consistent outcomes: failure, medium triumph, or unsustainable “success stories”. Its natural resources have been fully exploited, perhaps at the expense of resources like mother-tongue languages. Sidelining mother-tongue languages as the medium for the translation of the voice of the state, explains the gap in cultural relevance of many borrowed development initiatives, but also the neglect of workable endogenous practices. Africa must look inwards and exploit its indigenous language assets to benefit sustained development.     

Psychosocial influences that motivate young offenders to engage in a non-custodial community intervention

Offender programmes do not fully consider how psychosocial factors influence individual engagement within interventions. While factors associated with offending behaviour are well-known, their influence on motivational engagement is not clear. The present study of 109 adolescent offenders in a non-custodial community intervention explored the influence of aggression, antisocial behaviour in the community, problematic and disruptive behaviour in school, and parental bonding and self-esteem on reported motivation to engage with a non-custodial intervention. Regression and correlational analysis revealed relationships between these variables and four subtypes of motivation (i.e. intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, identified regulation and amotivation), although results in respect of self-esteem were mixed. The findings highlight the multidimensional and complex nature of motivation, and support the need to internalise extrinsic motivations through the promotion of self-autonomy and competence within intervention programmes in order to maximise engagement.