A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south
This pioneering study evaluates the digital divide and advances in virtual education (VE) and e-learning research in the Global South Countries (GSCs). Using metadata from bibliographic and World Bank data on research and development (R&D), we conduct quantitative bibliometric performance analys...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2024
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114644/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114644/1/114644.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848866553839222784 |
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| author | Akpan, Ikpe Justice Offodile, Onyebuchi Felix Akpanobong, Aloysius Chris Kobara, Yawo Mamoua |
| author_facet | Akpan, Ikpe Justice Offodile, Onyebuchi Felix Akpanobong, Aloysius Chris Kobara, Yawo Mamoua |
| author_sort | Akpan, Ikpe Justice |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This pioneering study evaluates the digital divide and advances in virtual education (VE) and e-learning research in the Global South Countries (GSCs). Using metadata from bibliographic and World Bank data on research and development (R&D), we conduct quantitative bibliometric performance analyses and evaluate the connection between R&D expenditures on VE/e-learning research advances in GSCs. The results show that ‘East Asia and the Pacific’ (EAP) spent significantly more on (R&D) and achieved the highest scientific literature publication (SLP), with significant impacts. Other GSCs’ R&D expenditure was flat until 2020 (during COVID-19), when R&D funding increased, achieving a corresponding 42% rise in SLPs. About 67% of ‘Arab States’ (AS) SLPs and 60% of citation impact came from SLPs produced from global north and other GSCs regions, indicating high dependence. Also, 51% of high-impact SLPs were ‘Multiple Country Publications’, mainly from non-GSC institutions, indicating high collaboration impact. The EAP, AS, and ‘South Asia’ (SA) regions experienced lower disparity. In contrast, the less developed countries (LDCs), including ‘Sub-Sahara Africa’, ‘Latin America and the Caribbean’, and ‘Europe (Eastern) and Central Asia’, showed few dominant countries with high SLPs and higher digital divides. We advocate for increased educational research funding to enhance innovative R&D in GSCs, especially in LDCs. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:22:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-114644 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:22:26Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1146442025-01-22T02:16:27Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114644/ A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south Akpan, Ikpe Justice Offodile, Onyebuchi Felix Akpanobong, Aloysius Chris Kobara, Yawo Mamoua This pioneering study evaluates the digital divide and advances in virtual education (VE) and e-learning research in the Global South Countries (GSCs). Using metadata from bibliographic and World Bank data on research and development (R&D), we conduct quantitative bibliometric performance analyses and evaluate the connection between R&D expenditures on VE/e-learning research advances in GSCs. The results show that ‘East Asia and the Pacific’ (EAP) spent significantly more on (R&D) and achieved the highest scientific literature publication (SLP), with significant impacts. Other GSCs’ R&D expenditure was flat until 2020 (during COVID-19), when R&D funding increased, achieving a corresponding 42% rise in SLPs. About 67% of ‘Arab States’ (AS) SLPs and 60% of citation impact came from SLPs produced from global north and other GSCs regions, indicating high dependence. Also, 51% of high-impact SLPs were ‘Multiple Country Publications’, mainly from non-GSC institutions, indicating high collaboration impact. The EAP, AS, and ‘South Asia’ (SA) regions experienced lower disparity. In contrast, the less developed countries (LDCs), including ‘Sub-Sahara Africa’, ‘Latin America and the Caribbean’, and ‘Europe (Eastern) and Central Asia’, showed few dominant countries with high SLPs and higher digital divides. We advocate for increased educational research funding to enhance innovative R&D in GSCs, especially in LDCs. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2024-07-23 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114644/1/114644.pdf Akpan, Ikpe Justice and Offodile, Onyebuchi Felix and Akpanobong, Aloysius Chris and Kobara, Yawo Mamoua (2024) A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south. Informatics, 11 (3). art. no. 53. ISSN 2227-9709; eISSN: 2227-9709 https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/11/3/53 10.3390/informatics11030053 |
| spellingShingle | Akpan, Ikpe Justice Offodile, Onyebuchi Felix Akpanobong, Aloysius Chris Kobara, Yawo Mamoua A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south |
| title | A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south |
| title_full | A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south |
| title_fullStr | A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south |
| title_short | A comparative analysis of virtual education technology, E-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south |
| title_sort | comparative analysis of virtual education technology, e-learning systems research advances, and digital divide in the global south |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114644/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114644/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114644/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114644/1/114644.pdf |