Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study, a cluster analysis of news stories published in the Botswana Daily News during the period January - December 2004 was undertaken. The study was exploratory in nature and sought to find out what topics were predominant during the study period. The approach we adopted can be divided into three phases, namely data collection, document pre-processing, and cluster analysis. The data used in the study was downloaded from the Botswana Daily News website using a simple program developed specifically for that purpose. Document pre-processing was concerned with transforming the raw documents into a format that could be directly operated upon by the various clustering algorithms. The documents themselves were represented using the vector space model, with the tf.idf term weighting scheme. We experimented with three clustering approaches, namely, direct k-way clustering, k-way clustering through repeated bisections, and agglomerative clustering. Agglomerative clustering performed poorly, and we thus discarded its results. Direct k-way clustering and k-way clustering through repeated bisections produced similar results, though the former performed better in terms of external isolation and internal cohesion of the clusters produced. Consequently, we only retained the results from direct k-way clustering, and subsequently performed a quarterly analysis of our corpus using only the direct k-way clustering algorithm. Analysis of the complete corpus identified a number of topics that were prevalent over the study period. Interestingly, a quarterly analysis of the corpus revealed other topics whose prevalence appears to have been limited to certain parts of the year.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Mentoring programmes have been implemented in organisations to manage succession planning and talent management; to make sure that there are enough resources (people) to take over some tasks when employees in those positions retire or leave the organisation for greener pastures. Mentoring programmes have also been implemented to minimize the call back of retired employees to the organisation at an exorbitant salary to transfer the knowledge that should have been transferred while they where still employees of the organisation. The number one problem facing organisations these days is talent management and global brain drain. Organisations are continuously faced with challenges of how they are going to make sure that their intellectual capital and knowledge remain in their organisational structures and not lost to competitors outside. Organisations have tried many tools to enhance knowledge sharing and transfer, however very little research has been done to look at mentoring as another form to share and transfer knowledge within the structures of organisations. This study aims to look at mentoring and the role it plays in knowledge management as a tool to share and transfer knowledge. It will also pursue to understand the term mentoring, how it differs or is similar to coaching and other related terms. It will also look at how organisations can go about implementing and running mentoring programmes. The research will follow a methodology of literature review from various primary and secondary sources, to ascertain what has been written on mentoring in general, as well as more specifically literature on the relationship between mentoring and knowledge management and its use in organisations. It will also look at local and international firms which have implemented mentoring programmes and how they have succeeded in managing and transferring knowledge between experienced and less experienced employees. It will also look at types of mentoring that the organisation may consider implementing in respective structures. Roles and responsibilities of various parties in the mentoring programme will also be discussed briefly. It has been proven in this research that little has been written and researched on mentoring and knowledge management. Even companies mentioned in this research, their mentoring programmes didn’t have a knowledge management flavour in it; they looked more at succession planning and the human resource factor of mentoring. South Africa as a country as well is still lagging behind with regard to mentoring; it is only in 2006 that an association of mentoring and coaching was introduced, which hopes to look at implementing country-wide standards and ethics. United States of America and United Kingdom are well developed and far ahead with mentoring in general as well as within organisations. Seeing that little has been written on the concept of mentoring and knowledge management, this research concludes that more research need to be conducted to understand and look at the relationship and value of mentoring in knowledge management. It also recommends further research on e-mentoring. The research also recommends that mentoring should be included in performance agreements of experienced employees.

Thesis (MPhil (Information and Knowledge Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The knowledge economy has provided an imperative for Knowledge Management in the private sector. It can therefore be said that the KM value proposition is achieving competitive advantage through the creation, sharing and active utilisation of knowledge resources. The measurement of intangibles has similarly received significant attention in the private sector in an effort to provide a more holistic view of company value. Various measurement- and valuation models are discussed. The question is subsequently raised whether KM has any validity in the public sector taking public- and private sector differences into account. The government mandate is explored, particularly in the South African context, and two public sector drivers for KM is identified, namely the organisational- and national imperatives. Finally, an integrated framework for KM measurement in the public sector is proposed based on the dual role of KM in government.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science. Information and Knowledge Management))--Unkiversity of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Quality management, business process engineering and other business management change tools of the late 20th century are often denigrated in knowledge management literature as fads, with no permanent value. Other authors credit these tools with being predecessors of knowledge management. The objective of this assignment is to investigate the origins, theory and practice of some of the process and technology-oriented fads, and to assess the extent to which they build the intellectual capital of the organisation and therefore can be classed as knowledge management tools. The time period covered by the study is 1960 – 1999, with most emphasis on the period 1975 – 1995. This starting point has been selected because it coincides with maturation of business management as a science, evolving from economic and social science theories; wide acceptance of Penrose’s resource-based theories and early proliferation of information systems in business. The end point has been selected because it coincides with expansion of the global network – based on embedded information technologies, the Internet and the World Wide Web; diffusion of on-line, real-time, end-user-controlled computing and the maturity of knowledge management as a discipline. This assignment starts with a study of the historical origins and development of business management theory, including the evolution of business management as a science, the study of organisational behaviour, the development of strategic, environmental, competitive and internal analysis techniques. This is followed by a brief assessment of most important changes in the business environment during the period under review, including the adoption of information technology, and the development of globalisation An overview of several changes in business management in the period surveyed – including strategic management, organisational structure, information orientation, organisational learning, excellence, collaboration and innovation - is followed by more detailed reviews of two of the new methods (fads): quality management and business process reengineering and management. An introduction to intellectual capital, including some approaches to classifying and measuring it, is followed by evidence linking intellectual assets to knowledge resources, and that these resources are managed with knowledge management. This is followed by a presentation of evidence of the contribution of various fads to knowledge and knowledge management, with reference to reference models developed by Skyrme (1999) and Botha and Fouché (2002). By relating intellectual capital to knowledge, the author demonstrates that many of these fads have in fact provided a solid foundation for knowledge management.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Research Problem: Research commences at the point where within our department we begin to reflect on penetrating a new market. At first this reflection can be a very unstructured thought, a conjecture, a question, or hypothesis. In our case, it was about entering the Brazilian telematics or more commonly known the ‘tracking’ market. One of the most competitive markets in the world in terms of lower margins and a high number of competitors. Thus, the need to conduct research and CI analysis was paramount; this was because we had no idea about the Brazilian Telematics market. Therefore, we used research primarily to identify key issues relating to telematics (segment, competitors, customers etc) in Brazil. Like most companies however, our resources was limited in terms of investment and manpower. Apart from commissioning a very specific research, a great deal of desk, or secondary research was undertaken, this proved very valuable when formulating our strategy and achieving actionable results. Overall Objectives: The aim was to utilise mostly Competitive Intelligence and Market Research, two key components within Knowledge Management, to obtain and analyse competitive information from multiple sources to aid DigiCore’s international expansion. For the International team Competitive Intelligence was more than analyzing competitors - it was about making DigiCore more competitive relative to its existing set of competitors and potential competitors in international markets. Predictive analysis - analysing and documenting the likely moves of foreign markets and competitors was a key objective, especially in aiding our final strategy in Brazil. Various aspects of CI and Knowledge Management became indispensable to formulate and implement our strategy in Brazil. Research Design/Methodology: sampling, representativeness and data collection, CI, analysis and interpretation were key activities we conducted. In essence, for DigiCore a well-defined research problem is a precondition for our Brazilian project. The development of a research design thus follows logically from the research problem. A set of guidelines and instructions needed to be followed in order to address our research problem. Main Results: there is the misconception that CI and market research duplicate activities, whilst there may be some truth, for DigiCore CI was undertaken to understand our environment better – beyond percentages, graphs and statistic analysis. CI helped us to forecast, validate industry rumours and ultimately make effective decisions and thus being able to act rather than react. In fact, beginning any competitive intelligence project is a daunting task, but the end results made the whole process worth it. A further component was Managing Information Systems - Our technology is based on ‘complicated’ internal and external environments that need to be considered. So whilst, market research and competitive analysis may aid in the final decision making and ongoing strategies, without juxtaposing these efforts within an information systems environment, the whole project would be futile. Conclusion: there is no doubt in our minds, that by using CI, Market Research, and Knowledge Management in all of our key stages and activities we came closer to our overall objective of penetrating the Brazilian telematics market. Whilst it is too soon to evaluate our success and overall long-term growth, without the above tools we know for certain that there would not have been any success at all.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / South Africa held its first democratic election in 1994. At the moment, government has to address many injustices of the past. For this they need funds. The years before 1994 saw South Africa isolated from the rest of the world as a result of its human rights track record. As a result of this isolation, the government has not only inherited injustices that need to be addressed, but it also inherited debt, which needs to be repaid with interest. Therefore, the South African Revenue Service is tasked with the responsibility to ensure an inflow into government coffers. The South African Revenue Service has been constituted as an autonomous body in 1997. Although the task of revenue collection seems mundane, its enormity cannot be over-emphasised. The revenue it collects is needed to address issues of inequality such as: • equality of education; • restoration of basic living conditions, such as shelter and health care; and • upgrading and retaining skills in order to compete globally. The general perception is that the South African Revenue Service has achieved much through transformation projects in a very short period. Furthermore, the President is embarking on a mission to unite the African continent through various initiatives. Currently, perception gained from the media is that Africa is corrupt and lacks the economic will to change. The current study was undertaken to establish whether the model used by the South African Revenue Service, as perceived by the media, is well received. A positive media perception could pave the way for other government organisations as well as South Africa’s neighbours to enter into an information and knowledge sharing partnership with the South African Revenue Service to the benefit, not only of the country, but also of the continent as a whole. The conclusion drawn is that the South African Revenue Service is indeed an example to be proud of. They seem to have formed partnerships with business, professional bodies and foreign agents as well as with the ordinary man in the street to engage successfully in discussions, which will ultimately lead to the mutual benefit of all its stakeholders, internal and external. Finally, from a media perspective, the organisation is perceived to have done South Africans proud; however, it is also clear from media reports that room for improvement exists.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / South Africa’s ten year old democracy puts great emphasis on being a participatory government, where citizens are able to engage with the policy and legislative process. An important aspect of this is the role played by Parliament which is not only the place where citizens are able to make their voices heard, but is also an important mechanism in keeping the government in line with the views and needs of the “people”. Its role of oversight (of the government departments) is a critical one in keeping the democracy intact, and an important part of this is their ability to access and use information from a wide range of sources. The purpose of this assignment was to consider the current use of information in Parliament and identify the flaws in the management and use of information by Parliamentary Committees. A number of questions are posed, questioning whether the current management and use of information allows Parliamentary Committees to fulfill their obligations in terms of the Constitution. In exploring these questions I have provided background to the role that NGOs have played in the past in South Africa, with specific reference to their relationship to Parliament/government and their expertise in the area of sustainable development. I have explained the role of Parliament (and more specifically the Parliamentary Committees in South Africa), as envisaged in the Constitution, as well as the problems facing Parliament in fulfilling these roles. I also indicated the ways in which civil society organizations could assist Parliament in fulfilling its role as effectively as possible. After considering the various theories of information and knowledge management a model was built on which the current information behaviors of Parliamentarians, specifically with regard to their work in the Committees, could be evaluated. Various key problems were identified and elaborated on. A strategy was outlined to address some of these problems.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We are in the era where Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are increasingly becoming as common as desks and chalkboard in our classrooms. Government, students, parents and the community at large are now expecting ICTs to be integrated in the school curriculum and to be used as tools of instruction.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is South Africa’s statutory research agency dedicated to the social sciences. Information Services (IS) plays a significant role in advancing social science research through the provision of its proactive desk research and its library service. HSRC IS is looking at implementing a library solution that will better serve its users. The existing library system no longer meets the needs of the HSRC Library staff or the research staff. The functionality and efficiency of an ILS is critical to the smooth operation of IS in fulfilling its mandate within the HSRC, i.e. to provide access to information, in an efficient, useful, and timely manner, the focus being on ease of accessibility to a whole range of library and other online resources. The ILS must be able to handle many formats, accommodate searching on the Internet, provide a variety of functions including manipulating electronic data, working with graphics and expediting resource sharing. IS identified the following three ILS solutions, together with their add-on components 1) Innovative Interfaces’ Millennium solution, 2) SIRSI’s Unicorn solution and 3) Ex Libris’s ALEPH solution. The user and system requirements for ILS at the HSRC are sketched. The unique requirements, as well as the requirements the HSRC shares with other research organisations, are pointed out. The three ILS are evaluated against the criteria established. All three the ILS suppliers specialise exclusively in library automation software and have many years of experience in the provision and support of ILS, Innovative Interfaces Inc and Ex Libris for 25 years each and SIRSI for 15 years. Innovative Interfaces Inc has the largest customer base in South Africa. Ex Libris has one academic consortium as a client (CALICO) and some smaller utilisers, while SIRSI is just breaking into the South African market. All three systems comply fully with all the Cataloguing, Serials and Acquisitions modules requirements, that is, the more traditional library functionalities. When it comes to the more ‘non-traditional’ functionalities, such as full-text searching and discussion forum functionality, these systems still fall short. It is either not supported at all, or additional modules or add-ons are required. The various systems requirements are aligned to the current information technology environment at the HSRC. The conclusion is that the actual differences between the systems are few and far between, but that there are some specific requirements and add-on possibilities which makes Millennium the most attractive choice.