International Journal of Emerging Trends in Information & Knowledge Management (Online ISSN: 2581-3579)

Digital Exclusion, Social Isolation, and Access to Healthcare and Financial Services among Elderly Jamaicans: A Quantitative Study

Paul Andrew Bourne, DrPH, PhD — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Digital exclusion is an increasingly critical issue affecting elderly populations, influencing social connectedness, healthcare access, and financial inclusion. This study examined the relationships between digital exclusion, social isolation, healthcare access, and financial service utilisation among elderly Jamaicans, using a cross-sectional survey of 250 participants. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, and logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate these relationships. The results indicate that digital exclusion is a significant positive predictor of social isolation and a significant negative predictor of both digital healthcare and financial access. Income and education were significant protective factors, reducing social isolation and increasing access to services, whereas age and rural residence were associated with higher exclusion and reduced service utilisation. Gender was not a significant predictor across the models, highlighting the pervasive nature of digital barriers in the Jamaican context. These findings corroborate existing literature on the digital divide while revealing unique geographic and socioeconomic patterns relevant to Jamaica. The study underscores the importance of digital literacy programs, infrastructure investment, and context-specific policy interventions to promote social inclusion and equitable access to healthcare and financial services. Addressing digital exclusion can enhance wellbeing, reduce social isolation, and improve the independence and quality of life of elderly Jamaicans. This research contributes to a broader understanding of digital inequality in low- and middle-income countries and informs policy strategies to bridge the digital divide among older adults.

Game Theory and Leadership Behaviour: Strategic Adaptation to Organisational and Societal Dynamics

Paul Andrew Bourne, PhD, DrPH.

Leadership behaviour is inherently strategic, shaped by interactions with subordinates, stakeholders, and external environments. This study applies game theory to examine how leaders adjust their strategies in response to internal and external pressures, including subordinate dynamics, social climate, economic conditions, political challenges, and risk of losing authority. Drawing on repeated games, signalling theory, and Nash equilibrium, the study develops a conceptual framework that formalises leadership decision-making as a strategic optimisation problem. Leadership actions are modelled using political payoff functions and dynamic utility models incorporating organisational performance, follower perception, and environmental contingencies. Findings suggest that leaders adaptively alter cooperative and confrontational strategies depending on risk assessment, stakeholder behaviour, and societal conditions, balancing short-term outcomes with long-term legitimacy. By integrating game-theoretic principles with leadership analysis, the study provides a structured approach to understanding how leaders maintain power and effectiveness in complex, dynamic environments. The research highlights the importance of strategic flexibility, perception management, and risk assessment in sustaining leadership effectiveness.

Social Media and Fake News Dissemination during the 2023 General Elections in Rivers State, Nigeria

Ibituru Iwowari Pepple, PhD

Social media platforms have made information dissemination worthwhile and helped political communicators utilize the space for information dissemination, which include spread of falsehood or fake news contents, thus offering citizens unprecedented access to information while simultaneously amplifying the spread of misinformation. This study investigates social media and fake news dissemination in Rivers State during the 2023 general elections in Nigeria. Three objectives were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted the theory of rumour transmission and source credibility theory. It employed survey research design to gather information from social media users in Rivers State with a population of 7, 476, 800, to guide the study. It used Taro Yamane sample size determination to arrive at 400 respondents and employed multi-stage sampling technique with questionnaire as the instrument of data collection. The study found out that the residents of Rivers State were exposedto fake news dissemination on social media during the 2023 general elections. The predominant media channels carrying this fake news during 2023 general elections in Rivers State was social media.Theextent of involvement of some residents of Rivers State who use social media for publication of fake news during 2023 general elections was very low. Findings revealed that while social media served as a major source of election-related information, many users struggle to verify content authenticity, leading to polarization and emotional response that affected online discourse. The study recommended that social media users should be mindful of what they expose themselves to and share on social media during elections since majority of such information constitute fake news. The study equally emphasized the need for media literacy education, stronger content regulation and responsible social media engagement to combat the spread of political misinformation in future elections.