D.Litt. et Phil. / The study reports on an investigation of information needs and information-seeking patterns of Africans living in selected rural villages in the Northern Province. A total of 302 respondents from six rural villages were randomly chosen for the study. The extent to which rural villagers are aware of their information needs, and their ability to express these needs was assessed and evaluated. The study also identified the nature of information sources and information providers used by rural villagers in their pursuit for information, as well as their level of satisfaction with the information sources and information providers used. Barriers to information-seeking and information provision in rural areas such as language, are also identified. The structured interview was used to gather data from the respondents. This incorporated the critical incident technique, which requires respondents to think back to a time when they needed information or knowledge, in order to solve a problem or make a decision. This technique has been proven to elicit more useful responses as the respondents are not directly asked about their information needs in an abstract, theoretical situation which they may not be able to practically relate to or recall. The study revealed inter alia, the existence of a communication gap between the libraries and community information centres in the villages and the people they are intended to serve. The study also reports on the general lack of awareness of rural villagers' information needs and their inability to articulate these needs. Preference for informal, interpersonal and largely oral methods of information transfer have also been identified by the study, and implications for the respondents' informationseeking behaviour in relation to rural information service provision are also discussed. The nature of information needs identified amongst respondents and their information-seeking behaviour call for the adoption of an appropriate model to cater for the unique needs of rural villagers. It is against this backdrop that current models of rural information provision are critically reviewed. The study argues for the need to adapt library and information services to the rural environment and proposes an alternative model of information provision in rural areas. This model represents a departure from the traditional model of library and information services, which is based on print-media and therefore largely unsuitable to the rural African environment. The proposed model is intended to reorientate and re-focus government departments charged with the responsibility for rural information provision, not only in the Northern Province, but in rural South Africa in broader terms. The model is also intended to enable the government and Library and Information Service(LIS) stakeholders to rethink the entire process of information provision and access to information in rural villages. Finally, the study makes recommendations regarding the improvement of rural information provision and acceleration of the establishment of community information centres in rural villages. A call is made for a more integrated approach to rural information provision, using all stake-holders such as chiefs, headmen, Transitional Local Councils, private sector companies and local businesspeople, amongst others.

Dorbyl Automotive Technologies (DAT) is a manufacturing company that supplies parts and components to the local and international motor vehicle market. The automotive components’ market is very competitive and customers require more from the industry to stay competitive. Customers require full integration throughout the supply chain. DAT and its Information Systems Department have ensured that the necessary business information systems are available to assist the company in staying competitive. One problem, though, is that the users of these systems are not using and adopting the technologies available. This research examines the reasons for this by making use of a technology acceptance model called the UNIFIED THEORY OF ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY (UTAUT), which is an integrated model based on eight different available acceptance models. The aim is to understand which factors influence the use of systems. The research also proposes a way forward by suggesting a model to assist DAT in new system implementations as well as correcting the current situation. The only way DAT will stay competitive is by ensuring that the company becomes lean. Customers demand this as more and more are moving to just-in-time delivery. This implies that the suppliers must react to changes real-time. The use of business information systems will become the main focus area to react to changes quickly and correctly. Effective and accurate systems depend on users making good use of these systems. Remaining competitive will depend on how effectively Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are used.

M.Ing. / Companies are seeking innovative ways of enhancing their competitiveness in their markets. Currently, one of the ways used to improve competitiveness by companies in a process environment is to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning system. An Enterprise Resource Planning system is a software system that automates and integrates data and information captured in an organisation. An analysis of the impact of implementing a maintenance management system depends on a number of factors that may include capabilities of chosen system, effective application and ownership of the system by those who use it. Central to implementation of a maintenance system is the maintenance philosophy adopted by an organisation, information system in place, availability of skilled maintenance personnel and execution of developed maintenance program. The implementation process itself also has a bearing on acceptance of the system by those who are supposed to use it. A review of literature on these important factors and on development of an Enterprise Resource Planning system was conducted to show influence each factor has in making maintenance activities effective. To determine the impact of implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning system in a process environment a case study on a company that has recently implemented such a system was conducted. From this case study recommendations on a number of issues were made.

M.Com. (Informatics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Comm. / In today's society everyone is dependent on information for decision making, and a big part of the information is provided via telecommunication lines. Telecommunication is the unseen and unsung hero when it comes to information transfer. It is no wonder that telecommunication service providers are striving to give better and faster service almost daily. Furthermore because of the competitive nature of the telecommunications arena, service providers are striving to get the best performance from their telecommunications links. It has thus become more important to provide excellent service and guaranteed performance above anything else. The purpose of this study is to determine what kind of information is needed by the management of a telecommunications service provider to make business or strategic decisions. Questionnaires and interviews were used in this study to determine what kind of information is needed by the managers and the decision makers in the management of the telecommunication network. The basis of the study was provided through the examination of what a telecommunication network consists of, and the information that is needed to run such a network. An additional feature was that there is already a network monitoring system working practically. This system was used to measure the success of telecommunication network management and to determine what other factors should be catered for when a total telecommunication management network is evaluated.

Master of Public Health - MPH / No abstract available. / South Africa

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBibl / The research project is based on the belief that Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender(LGBT) people have specific information needs and interests that public libraries should cater for. The philosophical literature of public libraries states that they have to cater for all sectors of their diverse communities without discrimination. The aim of the research study was to gauge if Cape Town’s library and information services (LIS) include gay and lesbian materials in their collection development policies and procedures. It also aimed at finding out if City of Cape Town Library and Information Services (COCTLIS) provide for the information needs of their gay and lesbian users in their provision of information services. The research problem and the review of literature led to the following research questions:• Do the gay and lesbian library user community constitute a special user group with particular information and reading needs?• If it is accepted that public libraries have a responsibility for the special information and reading needs of gay and lesbian library users, how do they cater for these needs?• How do South African public libraries, specifically the City of Cape Town Library and Information Services (COCTLIS), provide for these needs with their collections and their information services?• Are the public library staffs aware of the UNESCO principles in terms of LIS services for gay and lesbian library users?The first two research questions were answered by means of a review of the theoretical and professional literature. The last two questions were answered by analysis of COCTLIS collection development procedures and policy and a questionnaire survey of library staff.A survey was conducted among librarians in charge of collection development in the COCTLIS libraries early in 2009, collecting data by means of a structured questionnaire. The sample comprised 69 libraries of the total 100, with an even spread across the six city library districts and including a mix of “types” of library (regional and community).The findings of the research study echo the agreement found in the literature that the provision of library services to LGBT people is inadequate. City of Cape Town collection development policy does not have any explicit mention of the LGBT user group. The major finding of the survey is an evident gap between stated beliefs and actual practices. The majority of respondents agree that public library collections should cater for LGBT people but in fact they buy very few books or magazines oriented to gays and lesbians. And only 55% indicate that they do consciously consider the needs of gays and lesbians in their book selection. The information services to gays and lesbians appear to be rather thin. Fo example, less than 10% include gay and lesbian oriented information in their community information files and only 37% display gay and lesbian oriented information on their community notice boards. The study provides some evidence that practices might differ according to size and position of library.The research study hopes to make a difference in the provision of gays and lesbians in the City of Cape Libraries. It also hopes to remind librarians of the mandate they have to develop their collections to reflect diversity.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / This study focuses on the human resource planning challenges of the Department of Library and Information Services in the City of Cape Town. In line with this focus the study seeks to determine the way in which the human resource planning strategies of the City of Cape Town impacts on departmental effectiveness and service delivery output of the Department of Library and Information Services. The study further endeavours to determine what the human resource planning processes in the Department of Library and Information Services entails as well as whether human resource planning in the Department of library and Information Services takes the external environment into account. The study is qualitative and employs a case study approach in order to reveal the reality of the situation. Structured questionnaires and the researcher’s observations were utilised to gather the research data whilst books, journal articles and government policies and documents were extensively consulted during the course of the study. The research findings indicated that the Department of Library and Information Services lacks a comprehensive human resource plan. Talent management and succession planning is not formally practised in the department and the work place skills plan of the department is not run optimally. The fact that the department is classified as an unfunded mandate also contributes to the current human resource environment in the department. It is recommended that the COCT involves the DLIS in its human resources policy formulation processes.

Appropriate e-services as well as revenue generation capabilities are key to the deployment and the sustainability for ICT installations in poor areas, particularly common in developing country. The area of e-Health is a promising area for e-services that are both important to the population in those areas and potentially of direct interest to National Health Organizations, which already spend money for Health campaigns there. This thesis focuses on the design, implementation, and full functional testing of HealthAware, an application that allows health organization to set up targeted awareness campaigns for poor areas. Requirements for such application are very specific, starting from the fact that the preparation of the campaign and its execution/consumption happen in two different environments from a technological and social point of view. Part of the research work done for this thesis was to make the above requirements explicit and then use them in the design. This phase of the research was facilitated by the fact that the thesis' work was executed within the context of the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL; www.siyakhulaLL.org), which has accumulated multi-year experience of ICT deployment in such areas. As a result of the found requirements, HealthAware comprises two components, which are web-based, Java applications that run in a peer-to-peer fashion. The first component, the Dashboard, is used to create, manage, and publish information for conducting awareness campaigns or surveys. The second component, HealthMessenger, facilitates users' access to the campaigns or surveys that were created using the Dashboard. The HealthMessenger was designed to be hosted on TeleWeaver while the Dashboard is hosted independently of TeleWeaver and simply communicates with the HealthMessenger through webservices. TeleWeaver is an application integration platform developed within the SLL to host software applications for poor areas. Using a core service of TeleWeaver, the profile service, where all the users' defining elements are contained, campaigns and surveys can be easily and effectively targeted, for example to match specific demographics or geographic locations. Revenue generation is attained via the logging of the interactions of the target users in the communities with the applications in TeleWeaver, from which billing data is generated according to the specific contractual agreements with the National Health Organization. From a general point of view, HealthAware contributes to the concrete realizations of a bidirectional access channel between Health Organizations and users in poor communities, which not only allows the communication of appropriate content in both directions, but get 'monetized' and in so doing becomes a revenue generator.

The fragmented nature of modern health care provision makes it increasingly difficult to achieve continuity of care. This is equally true in the context of the South African healthcare landscape. This results in a strong emphasis on the informational dimension of continuity of care which highlights the importance of the continuity of medical records. Paper-based methods of record keeping are inadequate to support informational continuity of care which leads to an increased interest in electronic methods of record keeping through the adoption of various Health Information Technologies (HITs). This research project investigates the role that various HITs such as Personal Health Records (PHRs), Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) can play in improving informational continuity of care resulting in the development of a standards-based technological model for the South African healthcare sector. This technological model employs appropriate HITs to address the problem of informational continuity of care in the South African healthcare landscape The benefits that are possible through the adoption of the proposed technological model can only be realized if the proposed HITs are used in a meaningful manner once adopted and implemented. The Delphi method is employed to identify factors that need to be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of such HITs in the South African healthcare landscape. Lastly, guidelines are formulated to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare landscape to improve the continuity of care. The guidelines address both the technological requirements on a high level, as well as the factors that need to be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of the technological components suggested. These guidelines will play a significant role in raising awareness of the factors that need to be addressed to create an environment conducive to the adoption and meaningful use of appropriate HITs in order to improve the continuity of care in the South African healthcare landscape.