Service quality has always been a tacit assumption within the delivery of academic library services, but since the 1990s demands for accountability from different stakeholders, including the clients, made service quality a highly debated and researched focus in academic libraries all over the world. The scope of the study covers a wide-ranging analysis of discourses underpinning service quality and its accompanying performance indicators in academic libraries. Using the academic library of the University of South Africa as an illustrative case study, this study examines the possible impact of inventory control on the service quality of the academic library in three areas, namely access to information resources, retrieval of information resources and positive implications for sound financial management. The study's findings all point to a positive enhancement of service quality in regard to the three areas mentioned. / Information Science / M. Inf.

International water law has been unable to translate its principles into effective institutions for the management of shared water resources. National interest has often override any real commitment to the principles of international water law as reflected by the draft Articles of the ILC. Based on the theory of sovereignty, it emphasises a discretionary power to co-operate. However, the community of interest's theory is rather recommended as basis for co-operation. The draft Articles does not take sufficient account of the role domestic water policies, international relations and economics play in the co-operation of states. An integrated approach that considers social and economic effects within an environmental context is proposetL The political economy of water includes the potential of 'virtual water' through the importation of staple grains. A holistic approach, taking global trade in agriculture into account, is recommended. The SADC countries should also consider the potential of regional trade in 'virtual water'. / Law / LL. M. (Law)

Momentous choices and opportunities have opened up in South Africa since a settlement was successfully negotiated and a new political and constitutional dispensation was created. Events such as the constitutional negotiations and the establishment of reconstruction and development initiatives have placed a renewed emphasis on development management, process facilitation and the development of policy. This study provides an overview of the broad field of policy studies and specifically focuses on policy process models. In particular, this study centres on the further development of the generic process model and provides an overview of the application thereof to the operational environment. From this, simulation exercises and case study material have been developed as policy learning methodologies. Institutional arrangements for policy processes and the institutionalisation of policy and related support capacities at intergovernmental and organisational level receive particular attention. The study demonstrates the application of the generic process model by applying the framework to a case study based on the provincial demarcation exercise. This study concludes that policy management, as a cross-cutting, lateral methodology, in conjunction with similar methodologies, such as strategic planning, research methodology and project management, should be regarded as a critical tool, by the academic community and development practitioners alike, for improving the decision-making capacity of government, the private sector and civil society. / D.Litt. et Phil. (Development Administration)

Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-04T12:36:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009 / A pesquisa e o desenvolvimento tecnológico com vistas à inovação contribuíram significativamente para os progressos observados ao longo da últimametade do século XX, influenciando a formação de recursos humanos qualificados e a gestão das instituições de Ciência & Tecnologia. Entretanto, pesquisa, desenvolvimento e inovação são atividades intrinsecamente ligadas. Assim, as políticas de fomento à inovação implicam em apoio à pesquisa técnico-científica e conseqüentemente na manutenção da capacidade técnico-científica das instituições e exige, também, a análise e o constante aperfeiçoamento da gestão da pesquisa e dos programas de fomento à Pesquisa & Desenvolvimento das instituições públicas de pesquisa. Neste sentido, este trabalho se ocupou da análise qualitativa de um programa de apoio às atividades de P&D realizadas pela maior instituição de pesquisa em saúde do país a Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. O objetivo foi a proposição de um modelo de avaliação de bolsas de pesquisa adequado à complexidade organizacional da FIOCRUZ, que sem abrir mão do mérito científico, da produtividade e da eficiência como componentes da avaliação, seja capaz de identificar critérios e indicadores que levem em conta as articulações dos projetos de pesquisa com os objetivos estratégicos da instituição, com as políticas governamentais de estímulo à inovação eo impacto social de suas atividades. Espera-se com o resultado desta proposta contribuir para a efetividade do modelo de gestão de programas de bolsa de P&D na instituição. / The research and technological development with a view to innovation significantly contributed to the progress observed throughout the last half of the twentieth century, influencing the formation of qualified human resources and the management of Science & Technology institutions. However, research, development and innovation are intrinsically linked activities. So, the innovation promotion policies implicate in support to technical -scientific research and consequently in maintenance of technical-scientific capacity of the institutions and also require analysis and a constant improvement of the research management and of Research & Development fomentation programs of research public institutions. In this sense, this work was in charge of the qualitative analysis of a support program to Research & Development activities accomplished by the major health research institution in the country – Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. The aim was the proposition of a research scholarships evaluation model suitable to the organizational complexity of FIOCRUZ , that considering the scientific merit, productivity and efficiency as evaluation components, be capable of identify criteria and indicators which take into account the research projects articulations with the strategic aims of the institution, with governmental policies of incitement to innovation and social impact of its activities. Our hope with the result of this proposal is to contribute to the effectiveness of the Research & Development scholarship programs management model in the institution.

Modern Web or ¿Eternal-Beta¿ applications necessitate a flexible and easy-to-use data management platform that allows the evolutionary development of databases and applications. The classical approach of relational database systems following strictly the ACID properties has to be extended by an extensible and easy-to-use persistency layer with specialized DB features. Using the underlying concept of Software as a Service (SaaS) also enables an economic advantage based on the ¿economy of the scale¿, where application and system environments only need to be provided once but can be used by thousands of users. Within this tutorial, we are looking at the current state-of-the-art from different perspectives. We outline foundations and techniques to build database services based on the SaaS-paradigm. We discuss requirements from a programming perspective, show different dimensions in the context of consistency and reliability, and also describe different non-functional properties under the umbrella of Service-Level agreements (SLA).

To stay competitive, the increasingly challenging reality that digitization and globalization have led to a constant evolution of market conditions, Google and other organizations use a model called OKR, objectives and key results. Implementing a model such as OKR in an organization places high demands on the interaction of the management team, which is one reason why not everyone is successful with the implementation. To improve interaction, several management teams have applied Patrick Lenicinois' management team method the five dysfunctions in a team. The purpose of this study is to investigate how a management team's interaction is affected by applying a management team method. To answer the question, two focus group interviews have been conducted, consisting of members from two different management groups that have implemented the management group method, the five dysfunctions in a team, and the goal management model, OKR, in recent years. The empirical work has been analyzed based on Goffman's symbolic interactionism and Weber's bureaucratic structures. Application of a management group method can, according to the study, lead to changes in the interaction, in the form of increased trust within the group, that communication takes place more in the form of dialogue and a higher collective commitment to the management group's common goals and results. For a change to take place, the management team needs to invest time and energy both initially and continuously. This insight is significant for research into the impact of the management team method on norms and behaviors in social contexts and how the corporate world can meet the need for interconnected management teams for e.g. change management.