M. Tech. Business Information Systems

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / Business Intelligence is a broad category of applications and technologies used for gathering, storing, analysing, and providing access to data. It provides historical, current and predictive views of business operations. By so doing organizations are in a position of continuously improving their performance in congruency with their mission and vision. As a result, organizations need to have in place effective Business Intelligence systems that could enable them process and access quality information so as support business processes. The ineffective use of Business Intelligence tools and lack of trust on the integrity of data has led to the deployment of duplicate systems and roles within many organisations. This creates an environment where organisations often have multiple systems that are only known in one business unit. More so, it has created isolations and unnecessary independences of business units as they tend to work in silos. In addition, this creates a negative impact on the overall organisational performance leading to the organisation incurring unnecessary costs. This study aimed at developing a model for enhancing Business Intelligence utilization in order to improve organisational performance.

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / The study aimed at conceptualizing a framework for maximizing Information Systems project maturity. Two factors led to the conception of the study namely, delays in Information Systems project maturity within the South African context and the resultant cost-savings that could be realized from applying appropriate Maturity Models, coupled with the proposed framework, towards reaching project maturity on schedule and on budget. To limit the scope, the South African Weather Service has been selected as the case for the research.

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / Business Intelligence is a broad category of applications and technologies used for gathering, storing, analysing, and providing access to data. It provides historical, current and predictive views of business operations. By so doing organizations are in a position of continuously improving their performance in congruency with their mission and vision. As a result, organizations need to have in place effective Business Intelligence systems that could enable them process and access quality information so as support business processes. The ineffective use of Business Intelligence tools and lack of trust on the integrity of data has led to the deployment of duplicate systems and roles within many organisations. This creates an environment where organisations often have multiple systems that are only known in one business unit. More so, it has created isolations and unnecessary independences of business units as they tend to work in silos. In addition, this creates a negative impact on the overall organisational performance leading to the organisation incurring unnecessary costs. This study aimed at developing a model for enhancing Business Intelligence utilization in order to improve organisational performance.

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

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The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the existing ICT infrastructure in Kenya affects the provision of e-banking services at Barclays Bank of Kenya. The study also compares e-banking applications in Kenyan banks with best practice examples from other countries. Other areas studied are the existing ICT and e-banking security systems as well as the policy and regulatory framework that governs e-banking systems in Kenya. The dilemma still facing the banking and ICT sectors in Kenya is whether the existing ICT infrastructure is adequate and efficient enough to satisfy the demand for voice and data communications required in the provision of e-banking services. The problems that require attention are lack of appropriate equipment to serve a modem financial system and provide the full range of e-banking services, inadequate telephone landlines due to vandalism and failure of Telkom Kenya to expand its network. Other problems include lack of reliable Internet connection, high access costs for landlines and Internet, inadequate capital investment for the provision of sufficient ICT services, dumping of contraband traffic on Telkom's network, cyber crime due to lack of proper e-banking security systems and lack of a suitable policy and regulatory framework for Information Communication Technologies. A qualitative research methodology and a typical case study research design are adopted in the study. Barclays Bank of Kenya is examined as a case study. The activities of the banking and ICT key industry players, Central Bank of Kenya, Telkom Kenya, Communications Commission of Kenya and Today's Online, are also examined. In addition four other commercial banks namely, Standard Chartered, Citibank, Kenya Commercial Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa are contacted and their senior management interviewed concerning this study. Data is collected from interviews, archives, newspapers, published reports and the Internet. The study findings reveal that Barclays Bank Kenya offers different forms of e-banking services namely, Internet banking, online banking, telephone banking and mobile banking. However, the poor state of the ICT infrastructure hinders the growth of ebanking services in Barclays and other Kenyan banks. The existing security measures for landlines and e-banking systems in Kenya are also incapable of preventing most forms of risks and threats and need to be improved. Kenya also lacks a sound policy and regulatory framework to efficiently curb these ICT and e-banking risks. The study concludes by recommending that the Kenyan government should encourage the private sector and development partners to invest in ICT infrastructure and that a comprehensive review of existing laws relating to ICT and e-banking systems be done and amendments formulated. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease associated with high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. (The three types of diabetes are: Type 1 diabetes which is onset in juveniles and is characterised by deficient insulin production and the patient requires daily administration of insulin; Gestational diabetes is onset and first detected during pregnancy and Type 2 diabetes is typically found in adults who are 40 years and over and results from the body's ineffective use of insulin). Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disease that can be prevented and managed by following a particular eating plan, exercising correctly and by the correct administration of medication. With relevant knowledge, lifestyle changes and information, type 2 diabetic patients can improve and manage their condition effectively. Hence information provision is especially important for the management of diabetes. The current study investigated the information needs and information seeking behaviour of adult type 2 diabetic patients at Addington Hospital in Durban. The study was conducted on the patients who attend the Diabetic Clinic at the Hospital. A better understanding of the information needs and information seeking behaviour of diabetic patients can contribute to their successful management of diabetes. Longo's 2010, Health Information Model provided the conceptual framework for the study. The study adopted both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Both methodologies were used to assist in gaining an insight into the research. It was envisaged that the use of both methodologies would enhance and increase the validity and reliability of the data collected. A population of 69 adult patients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes were individually interviewed. The healthcare professionals, which included the Medical Officer and four nursing staff at the Diabetic Clinic and the hospital's diabetic Dietician, completed the self-administered questionnaires. The data was entered into a computer and analysed using SPSS. The data was analysed in terms of frequency of results and presented in the form of tables, bar graphs or pie charts. Four themes emerged from the study: (1) Reliance on the diabetic doctor for diabetic education; (2) the active and passive patterns of information seeking; (3) patients' fear of the consequences of diabetes; and (4) the value of the Department of Health's and the Dietician's packaged information. The results of the study indicated that certain factors influenced the patients' decisions about their diabetes self-management. Their current needs influenced their need to seek out information and in most instances they sought this information out from the diabetic doctor. They could not afford the recommended foods for diabetics and besides obtaining their information from the pamphlets and hand-outs provided by the hospital, they obtained their information from traditional mass media. The study concluded that the patients relied heavily on the information provided by the doctor, the dietician and the hand-outs and pamphlets that are available at the clinic. Without an understanding of the effects of information on type 2 diabetes patients, we have an incomplete picture of how information changes the patients' behaviour, which is of primary concern in healthcare information. The study therefore recommended that future research should investigate the effects information has on type 2 diabetes patients and their behaviour. Recommendations that were drawn from the conclusions of the study were that the Diabetic Clinic and Hospital should consider approaching the South African Diabetes Association (SADA) with regard to volunteering their services and facilities to the patients at the hospital. The Clinic should also consider playing a video/dvd recording on diabetes in the patient waiting room. The Diabetic Clinic should also consider inviting a podiatrist to speak to the patients about foot care. / Thesis (M.I.S.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

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