This study took the form of an evaluative study of the effectiveness of public libraries as a means of providing information to school children, and was conducted at the Queenstown Public Library in the province of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The research endeavoured to evaluate the effectiveness of public libraries in the role which they play to provide information to school children, despite the widespread belief that the role of libraries is now being replaced by Information and Communication Technologies, or ICTs. This study is also significant for the factors which contribute towards school children being prevented from receiving the full range of benefits which libraries have to offer and the recommendations which it makes to improve the effectiveness of the role played by libraries in this respect. The study could also be of benefit to the staff of libraries, as it could serve to inform them with respect to what needs to be done in order to improve the ways in which libraries make information available to school children. In this respect the research could also provide valuable insights into the strategies which need to be developed and adopted in order to make public libraries more effective providers of various types and forms of information to school children. It is to be hoped that the study will also make a valuable contribution to the existing body of knowledge concerning public libraries as a means of providing information to school children. It is the fervent wish of this researcher to make a credible and articulate case for the great value which public libraries have for school children, despite the fact that general perceptions no longer accord libraries the value which they were once commonly held to possess.

M.Bibl. (Information Studies) / Traditionally it is part of the library or information service to provide clients with access to current and relevant information through current awareness services. It is part of the information professional's task to apply new technology and necessary services to the advantage of the clients. The purpose of this study was to establish, by means of empirical research, the effectiveness of CoMIC - an abstracting journal service currently provided to the mining industry. Other institutions providing a similar abstracting journal service should be able to use this methodology as a basis when evaluating their own service. Both a literature survey (to gain basic information about current awareness services in general and more specifically abstracting journals) and a postal questionnaire (to establish clients' opinions about the CoMIC service) were used during the study. From the literature survey it was established that the use of an effective current awareness service holds a variety of advantages. There are however also a few problems associated with the provision of current awareness services. These problems are surpassable providing the necessary precautions are taken in time. The criteria to which abstracting journals are to adhere were established. The purpose of the questionnaire was to give clients the oportunity to express their personal views with regard to the CoMIC service. The most important information extrapolated from the questionnaire was that respondents were satisfied with most aspects of the service. Recommendations with regard to alleviating a few minor problems were provided. After an analysis of the research results, it was concluded that CoMIC should be classified as an effective abstracting journal service.

M.Inf. / Belbin's team role theory is a popular team building tool. This study aims to establish whether Belbin's theory can be meaningfully applied to an information service enterprise. Belbin's team role theory is explained and its uniqueness, when compared with similar theories such as Margerison and McCann's team role theory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is highlighted. Belbin's theory is then applied to a team in the Unisa Library to evaluate how the 'end-user', the trainee, views the value of this team role theory. Their views are then evaluated using a research/evaluation questionnaire. The findings are discussed and the conclusion is reached that Belbin's team role theory can be meaningfully applied in an information service enterprise. The feedback of the respondents indicates that they were satisfied with the accuracy and truthfulness of the results and that they were of the opinion that their team roles reflected their personalities rather than their values and culture. For them the main value lies in the renewed self-insight and increased self-confidence gained from the exercise. They also indicated its potential for improved cooperation and problem solving within team context. Furthermore they were confident that the team roles could be used when the reengineering plan is implemented in the Unisa Library. Finally it is recommended that team building needs to form an integral part of the reengineering implementation process. With regard to team development the need to focus on the 'task', 'team', 'individual' and the 'organisational context' is emphasised.

The existing District Health Information System in South Africa can be described as a facility based Information System, focusing on the clinics and hospitals and not on the community. Consequently, only those who access health services through these facilities are included in the system. Many children do not have access to basic health and social services and consequently, are denied their right to good health. Additionally, they are excluded from the routine Health Information System. Policy and resource decisions made by the District Managers, based on the current health facility information, reinforces the exclusion of these already marginalised children. The premise behind this research is that vulnerability of children can be tackled using two interconnected strategies. The first is through the creation of awareness of the situation of children and the second through mobilising the commitment and action of government and society to address this situation. These strategies can be supported by designing an Information System for action / an Information System that can be used to advocate and influence decisions and policies for the rights of these children / an Information System that includes all children. An interpretive participatory action research approach, using a case study in a rural municipality in South Africa, was adopted for the study of a child-health Community-Based Information System. The context in which the community is placed, as well as the structures which are embedded in it, was examined using Structuration Theory. This theory also influenced the design of the Information System. As the aim of the research is to change the Information System to include vulnerable children, a Critical Social Theoretical and longitudinal perspective was adopted. In particular, concepts from Habermas, such as the creation of a public sphere and the &rsquo / Ideal Speech Situation&rsquo / , informed the methodology chosen and were used to analyse the research undertaken. <br /> <br /> Based on the research conducted in this municipality, four main changes to the Health Information System were made. These were: &bull / determination of the community&rsquo / s own indicators / &bull / changes in data collection forms / &bull / creation of forums for analysis and reflection, and / &bull / changes in the information flows for improved feedback. Other practical contributions of the research are the development of local capacities in data collection and analysis, the development of practical guidelines on the design of a child-health Community-Based Information System, and the development of strategies for enabling participation and communication. In line with the action research approach adopted, and the desire to link theory and practice, the research also contributed on a theoretical level. These contributions include extending the use of Structuration Theory, in conjunction with Habermas&rsquo / Critical Social Theory, to the empirical context of South Africa / addressing the gap of Community-Based Information Systems in Information System design / extending the debate on participation and communication in Information Systems to &rsquo / developing&rsquo / countries, and developing generalisations from a qualitative case study.

The existing District Health Information System in South Africa can be described as a facility based Information System, focusing on the clinics and hospitals and not on the community. Consequently, only those who access health services through these facilities are included in the system. Many children do not have access to basic health and social services and consequently, are denied their right to good health. Additionally, they are excluded from the routine Health Information System. Policy and resource decisions made by the District Managers, based on the current health facility information, reinforces the exclusion of these already marginalised children. The premise behind this research is that vulnerability of children can be tackled using two interconnected strategies. The first is through the creation of awareness of the situation of children and the second through mobilising the commitment and action of government and society to address this situation. These strategies can be supported by designing an Information System for action / an Information System that can be used to advocate and influence decisions and policies for the rights of these children / an Information System that includes all children. An interpretive participatory action research approach, using a case study in a rural municipality in South Africa, was adopted for the study of a child-health Community-Based Information System. The context in which the community is placed, as well as the structures which are embedded in it, was examined using Structuration Theory. This theory also influenced the design of the Information System. As the aim of the research is to change the Information System to include vulnerable children, a Critical Social Theoretical and longitudinal perspective was adopted. In particular, concepts from Habermas, such as the creation of a public sphere and the &rsquo / Ideal Speech Situation&rsquo / , informed the methodology chosen and were used to analyse the research undertaken. <br /> <br /> Based on the research conducted in this municipality, four main changes to the Health Information System were made. These were: &bull / determination of the community&rsquo / s own indicators / &bull / changes in data collection forms / &bull / creation of forums for analysis and reflection, and / &bull / changes in the information flows for improved feedback. Other practical contributions of the research are the development of local capacities in data collection and analysis, the development of practical guidelines on the design of a child-health Community-Based Information System, and the development of strategies for enabling participation and communication. In line with the action research approach adopted, and the desire to link theory and practice, the research also contributed on a theoretical level. These contributions include extending the use of Structuration Theory, in conjunction with Habermas&rsquo / Critical Social Theory, to the empirical context of South Africa / addressing the gap of Community-Based Information Systems in Information System design / extending the debate on participation and communication in Information Systems to &rsquo / developing&rsquo / countries, and developing generalisations from a qualitative case study.

The level of access to educational information is pertinent to the attainment of quality education by learners. Librarians play a key role in facilitating access to such information. Access to educational information equips the possessor with the power of knowledge to assert their rights under any right regime, and a right to education cannot be fully exercised without corresponding access to educational information. Set in the Fort Beaufort Education District of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, this study evaluates the level of access to educational information as an enabler of quality education. Research revealed that despite the acclaimed educational improvement in South Africa, the quality of education in many black constituencies and provinces remains low. Therefore, the objectives of this study include inter alia an investigation of the educational information needs of high school learners in the Fort Beaufort Education District, the educational information available and accessible to them, how the learners access information, the services and technologies accessible to the learners, challenges confronting their access and means of improving learners’ access to educational information in the district and by extension in South Africa.

Thesis (MTech(Education)--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2001 / This study presents a theoretical evaluative framework for information literacy initiatives. The evaluative framework is based on a holistic behavioural taxonomic approach incorporating affective, cognitive, and physical domains. In this study the behavioural taxonomic approach was applied to the evaluation of a historical information literacy initiative, the IFYE (Integrated First Year Experience), developed by the Cape T echnikon in 1997, South Africa. The motivating factor behind the evaluation was to determine whether it would be suitable as an implementable initiative at other institutions in the Western Cape. This coincided with the aims of Infolit, who had invited institutions of Higher Education to submit pilot projects on information literacy in a drive to promote information literacy throughout the Western Cape. Although the IFYE initiative may not have realised its full potential, information literacy has drawn continued interest and other initiatives have since been developed. Application of two eXlsttng taxonomles, demonstrated distinct limitations in their application and a new taxonomy was developed within the South African educational context. The new taxonomy was applied to the theoretical evaluation of an innovative elearning information literacy initiative developed by the Cape Technikon in 2000, which has been accepted by Infolit for wider implementation throughout the Western Cape. The final section of the study presents recommendations based on the evaluation of the elearning initiative, information literacy initiatives in general, and structural changes to the developed taxonomy. Areas for further research are also discussed.

This study investigates the impact of ICTs for agricultural development in the Alice rural community. The rationale for carrying out the study has to do with the limited access to ICTs by farmers residing in this rural community which in turn affects their productivity and increase in the volume of agricultural production. The core argument of the study is that the use of ICTs has positive spinoffs on agricultural development which leads to improvement in the quality and quantity of agricultural production. Conversely lack of access to ICTs can result in inability to enhance agricultural productivity in rural areas such as Alice. Furthermore, it is argued herein that technological information devices such as ICTs are essential communication and information tools; and as such, should be regarded as useful communication media for disseminating relevant agricultural information to farmers residing in rural communities. In conducting this study theoretical frameworks such as Rogers’ diffusion of innovation and development theories encompassing both the participatory approach and development support communication were presented and argued for as approaches suitable for the study. Triangulations of research methods, such as, qualitative and quantitative methods, were utilized for the collection of data for this study. As is common practice, the triangulation method was used in cross checking and supplementing data/information collected through the utilization of each of the methods. Interviews and questionnaires were used as data collection tools for this study owing to their ability to generate clear and precise responses or answers to the questions posed. The key findings of the study show that the limited access to ICTs in the Alice rural community was caused by factors such as low level of literacy, age and language barriers which in turn affected the adoption of ICTs amongst the Alice farmers. Amongst the recommendations emanating from this study is the idea that the adoption of ICTs for agricultural information can be fast-tracked through the implementation of telecentres/kiosk and information centers for easy access to information and communication services in the rural community.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of academic libraries in providing services to culturally diverse student populations. In this study the information needs and information-seeking behaviour of the culturally diverse students of the Technikon Witwatersrand were analysed. The study also tried to establish whether there are differences in information needs and information-seeking behaviour of various cultural groups. The empirical investigation was conducted by means of focus group interviews and a questionnaire survey on a sample of undergraduate students of the Technikon Witwatersrand. There were assumptions that African students have limited experience in using the academic library, have no computer and information handling skills and might have language difficulties. Therefore, the expectation was that African students might have problems in the use of the academic library. However, the results of the empirical study show that English and Afrikaans speaking students are experiencing more problems than African students. / Information Science / M.Inf.