Employing information systems for enlightened uses: the case of Northern Cyprus

The small size of Northern Cyprus makes it an ideal lab to test the use of information systems. This thesis conceptualises the utilisation and importance of information systems to have a more transparent, accountable, democratic and free society. These concepts are framed as Enlightened use of Technology, and the impact of enlightenment was evaluated under four thematic themes. The first theme includes the impact of information systems on individuals. The publication findings indicate that respondents utilise the information systems within their daily lives, and social media is the leading one. Social media is also the primary medium for information retrieval during crises. The second theme evaluates the impact of information systems for occupational use, where the author evaluated the potential of social media for knowledge transfer activities via different occupations. The theme recommends utilising social media applications to have effective knowledge transfer. The third theme evaluates the impact of information systems on the public sector organisations within the domain of e-government. The theme recommends a conceptual model for user-driven decision making, evaluates the decision-makers' proposition towards the technological concepts, and measures the desire and satisfaction of the users. Finally, the fourth theme evaluates the impact on academia; provision of digital skills via education is essential. The thesis highlights that North Cyprus does not have digital isolation despite being isolated. The use of IS in a de facto state is evaluated, where this thesis argues that IS can be used for the Enlightenment despite the situation of Northern Cyprus. Policy recommendations are provided for the 7 out of 10 ministries to utilise the Enlightened use of the Technology effectively.