The aim of this paper is to review the current situation regarding plagiarism and ghostwriting, and to stimulate debate about how universities should respond to the rise in these forms of academic misconduct. The apparent upsurge in academic misconduct means that universities today face one of the greatest challenges to academic integrity they have had to deal with ever since the university system came into existence some 800 years ago. Plagiarism and ghostwriting are undermining the integrity of university degrees to an extent not seen before. Academia and fraud are not strangers. Universities have a long history of cheating of one sort or another, often associated with examinations, but also with research. In the past this cheating involved activities such as smuggling notes (commonly called ‘crib sheets’) into examinations, and consulting them even under the watchful eyes of invigilators. It also involved students obtaining sight of an examination paper in advance. The fraudulent creation of research results has also been an issue. However, in the 21st century, the opportunities for cheating have exploded. This has resulted in universities becoming more concerned about ensuring the integrity of their examination processes and the degrees they award. Our paper focuses on cheating in the writing of dissertations or theses required at undergraduate or postgraduate level, with an emphasis on plagiarism and ghostwriting. We do not propose a simple solution to these problems, as preventing or stopping cheating is not just a matter of catching the wrongdoers. Cheating is endogenous to the current university education system, and needs to be addressed in terms of not only prevention and detection but also how people who are found to engage in such misconduct are treated. We suggest that creative ways of promoting learning would help to minimise cheating at universities. It is also important to ensure that the issue is discussed openly among students and faculty staff.

This paper examines the nature and extent of e-government activities in South Africa. E-Government refers to the practice of leveraging ICT to deliver services to employees (G2E), to citizens (G2C), to business (G2B) and to other government departments (G2G). The research method used was through direct personal engagement through semi-structured interviews with 10 stakeholders at local, provincial and national government level. The sample comprised two senior provincial management, two senior municipal managers, two academic government researchers, one national government official and three businessmen connected with government. A literature review was also conducted with data sourced from journals, books, websites and popular media for evidence of e-Government not known to the respondent or a provincial (state) or national initiative. It finds although e-Government activities is being provided by, inter alia, government, citizens and business, the service is few, far between and expensive. Although government has committed to e-services, there are, with few exceptions, such services available. On the other hand citizens are rising in anger as they demand improved service levels. It determines some typically government-centric services have already perhaps out of necessity been usurped by citizen led initiatives. Business is also providing innovative e-services. This comes however with skewed costs that may agitate the digital divide. There is an increasingly pervasive broadband infrastructure from both public and private enterprise that represents an opportunity to roll e-services. The ubiquity of mobile devices and ICT may make-services possible. This is an enticing opportunity, particularly given the increasing and sometimes violent calls for service delivery. To achieve traction the authors argue a stronger advocacy role is needed to promote e-Government activities by all stakeholders namely government, business or civil society. This paper uses the Prossler-Krimmer Model to analyze egovernment activities in South Africa including KwaZulu-Natal. It examines the technological, political, legislative and societal(sectors) respectively in South Africa and concludes eGovernment is a major opportunities for all stakeholders through a combination or research, cross training, advocacy and a re-contextualization of e-government.

The purpose of this study was to investigate challenges surrounding e‐Government systems in South Africa and their origins. Based on interviews with senior managers/senior state administrators as the key method and on qualitative data analysis, challenges were identified within the cultural environment of the senior managers, their positioning in relation to e‐Government systems, organizational processes, and in the policy domain. A specialized cultural analysis based on the informing culture framework was applied in order to deepen understanding of the challenges' origins. It revealed a hybrid of an immature bureaucracy and a mature clan informing culture as deep‐seated aspects of the socio‐organizational context surrounding South African e‐Government systems. The contributions of this research are in advancing theorizing on e‐Government and in helping the senior managers/senior state administrators to develop a better understanding of the cultural environment that they are expected to work in.

Effective ICT governance is essential in the public sector to drive digital transformation and improve service delivery. This research investigates the corporate governance of ICT Policy Framework (CGICTPF) and Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and State Information Technology Agency (SITA) Act governs the operational activities and strategic directions of Government Information Technology Officers (GITOs) in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provincial administrations in South Africa. Using a comparative case study, the research draws on policy analysis and interviews to reveal governance obstacles in procurement and executive ICT engagement. KwaZulu-Natal shows progress due to strong leadership, while Eastern Cape and Free State face delays from compliance-driven cultures and bureaucracy. The study urges a balance between regulation and agility, recommending GITO empowerment through decentralized procurement and leadership development. It advances ICT governance theory by exposing multi-level implementation challenges.

This chapter presents a comprehensive analysis of South Africa's public sector transformation through the lens of information and communication technology (ICT) governance. Leveraging qualitative research and grounded in frameworks such as the King IV Report, the Corporate Governance of ICT Policy Framework (CGICTPF) and the SITA Act, the study uncovers the systemic challenges and opportunities inherent in integrating corporate governance with ICT strategies. Drawing insights from the findings of the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) and reports by the Zondo Commission, as well as from scholarly literature, the intersection of policy, practice and technology is examined. South Africa's experience highlights the transformative potential of digital ecosystems while revealing critical barriers that retard progress, including fragmented accountability, inadequate ICT expertise, misaligned governance practices & the state capture revealed by the Zondo Commission (CISC, 2022). This chapter contributes to the global discourse on digital transformation for startup-driven E-Government