M.Ed. / According to government reports in the White Paper education must be accessible to the total population of the Republic of South Africa. Statistics indicate that a vast number of citizens have no qualification at all and a major part of the remainder only have a basic qualification. It is therefore vital that education be available to all, and the most effective way of providing education is by means of istance education. In order to solve the education crisis by means of distance education, one has to address the variety of problems that will be encountered. This study was intended to clarify some specific educational and personal problems encountered in distance education. With four of the problems identified i~ mind, a relevant literature study was done. From the insight gained by means of the literature study a questionnaire was formulated and distributed to ascertain the views of 7000 students. The students were all students at Technisa, the only technical college in distance education in the Republic of South Africa. After the acquired information was analysed, an interpretation of the data was done. The findings produced the following important information:- Students require study material with adequate information to enable them to work at an individual pace. Examples in the study material should be market related, and very clear step-by-step procedures should be provided. Lecturers should bear in mind that the students study on a part time basis, being employed during the day. For this reason unneccesary information is superfluous. Students also need extended time to finish a course. The language should be comprehensible at the level the students have enrolled at, t .e. NI-level terms and concepts shou1d be used for an NI student .. Alecturer should be able to express himsel f on paper and should provi de all the wri tten support needed by the student. This support and motivation should be fed back in the shortest time possible so that the student will not be left in the dark with long time delays between submitting an assignment and receiving it back again. Students need seminars/workshops by Technisa to enable them to put quest ions and queri es to their 1ecturer and to make contact with their fellow students. Such contact will mot ivate the students and ensure that they do not feel alone or left in the dark by Technisa. The questionnaire also brought to light that the majority of students were first time correspondence/distance education students, and this proves that distance education should adapt to di fferent student I s needs to study and succeed through distance education.

e-Research is a new way of doing research, collaborating globally and nationally while making use of ICT infrastructure to do research. This research project set out to understand the dynamics involved in e-Research, and gain a better understanding of what the various components are that make up the e-Research paradigm, while at the same time looking at how these various components are funded. To this end the research focused on studying countries with established e-Research initiatives.

M. Ed. / There is no official management plan whereby former technical colleges in South Africa could be managed and operated strategically and efficiently. No distinction will be made between state and state aided colleges in future. The Act on Further Education and Training (Act 98 of 1998) only acknowledges two colleges of this nature for further education and training (FET), they are public and private institutions. Technical colleges will merge and continue to exist as public colleges for FET. A public college for FET will accordingly be forced to deliver proof of its physical, financial and human resources, to be declared a public college for FET. In this study, management areas were researched whereby a management plan could strategically and efficiently be developed and implemented at a college for FET. The purpose of such a management plan is to place a clear perspective on the management areas, ie. all the interested structures of a college whereby aspects of the organisational activities at a college, as well as the delivery of efficient educational and training services, can be attained. A thorough and comprehensive literary study of relevant and related literature was attempted to provide a solid theoretical foundation for the study. The result of this literary study gives a clear perspective on management areas of a management plan. Therefore such a management plan cannot only be developed but also implemented at a college for FET. A further empirical research, in the form of a questionnaire, in support of the literary study, was executed in order to determine to which extent, a college management will address managerial aspects as well as the development and applications thereof. Hypothesis was specifically directed at the context and aim of the research in order to establish not only the statistical significance of analysing the differences but also the interpretations thereof. It has been established that a management plan can be planned, developed and implemented according to a model at a public college for FET. This model poses as interaction between the management areas, levels and structures of the strategic, tactical and operational plans. The management plan is a professional and meaningful plan that sheds light on the mission, goals, objectives, priorities, policy and resources of the college, to ensure the involvement of staff members. The main objective is the understanding and aspirations of all concerned, to implement the mission and values of the college.

e-Research is a new way of doing research, collaborating globally and nationally while making use of ICT infrastructure to do research. This research project set out to understand the dynamics involved in e-Research, and gain a better understanding of what the various components are that make up the e-Research paradigm, while at the same time looking at how these various components are funded. To this end the research focused on studying countries with established e-Research initiatives.

Global maritime education and training (MET) is currently subject to great change brought about by new international legislation, a dynamic shipping environment, the growing impact of technology, and the challenges maritime institutions face to survive in an uncertain market place.The aim of the research is to determine to what extent global MET institutions can enhance and enrich traditional practices through access to new technology and the use of innovative teaching and assessment methods' within a sustainable and achievable framework.The first Chapters of the study investigate the impact of change on the global MET scene by examining how international maritime legislation influences activities of maritime institutions. Ninety institutions from fifty-three countries responded to a survey that examines their intentions regarding the use of satellite communications, Information Technology, computing, multimedia, simulation and distance learning delivery methods. Shipboard operations that impact upon future training needs are also put under the spotlight.The study analyses the potential use of the Internet, e-mail, simulation and distance education services to determine how these elements can be used to advantage for the education and training of seafarers. An evaluation is made of the use of computers and marine simulators as assessment tools, in the light of international concerns about standards of competence.The study concludes that maritime institutions can benefit from the use of new technology, but only through rational planning and sustainable staged growth. A series of continua of technical development are provided to assist institutions, from to the largest, to plan for technical development and growth in a rational way.

This thesis analyses the development of the Ballarat East Free Library (1859), the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute Library (1859) and the City of Ballaarat Free Library (1878) within the broader context of public librarianship in Victoria between 1851-1900. Mechanics’ Institute libraries and free libraries represent the major derivatives of a nineteenth-century library model that emphasised the pursuit of lifelong learning, private reading and the enjoyment of genteel recreational facilities. The circumstances that led to the formation of an Institute and a free library in Ballarat in, 1,859 provide a unique opportunity to analyse the public library model for two reasons. These libraries were established in a remarkable goldfield city that enjoyed a number of economic and cultural advantages and secondly, the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute Library and the Ballarat East Free Library experienced such spectacular growth that by 1880 they were two of the largest public libraries in Australia. However, it is argued that this growth cycle could not be sustained due to a combination of factors including low membership levels, limited funding for recurrent expenditure purposes, and heightened dissatisfaction with the book collections. Libraries began to stagnate in the late-1880s and the magnitude of this collapse in Ballarat, and throughout the colony, was subsequently confirmed with the publication of a national survey of Australian libraries in 1935. The ‘Munn-Pitt’ report found that public libraries had provided a better service in 1880 than at any other time in the next six decades. Four conclusions are drawn in this comparative analysis of the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute Library, the Ballarat East Free Library, and to a lesser extent, the City of Ballaarat Free Library, between 1851-1900. Firstly, is it shown that the literature places considerable emphasis on the formation of public libraries but is far less critical of the long-term viability of the public library model as it evolved in Ballarat and throughout the colony in the nineteenth century. Secondly, whilst Ballarat and its library committees benefited from the city's prosperity and the entrepreneurial zeal of its pioneers, these same library committees were unable to overcome the structural flaws in the public library model or to dispel the widespread belief that libraries were elitist organisations. As a consequence, membership of the major libraries in Ballarat never exceeded 4% of the total population. Thirdly, it is acknowledged that an absence of records relating to book borrowing habits by individuals limits is a limiting factor, but this problem has been addressed, in part, by undertaking a comparative analysis of collection development policies, invoices, lists of popular authors and books, public comment and the book borrowing patterns of a number of comparable libraries in central Victoria. These resources provide a number of insights into the reading habits of library patrons in Ballarat in the late-nineteenth century. Finally, this thesis focuses on the management policies and practices of each library committee in Ballarat in order to move beyond the traditional explanation for the demise of nineteenth-century libraries and to propose an alternative explanation for the stagnation of public libraries in Ballarat in the mid-1880s. The traditional explanation for the demise of colonial libraries was the sudden reduction in government funding in the 1890s, whereas this thesis argues that a combination of factors, including the unresolved tensions with regard to libraries collection development policies, committee and municipal rivalry, and increasing conservatism, had already damaged the credibility of Ballarat’s libraries by the mid-1880s. It is argued that the intense rivalry between library committees resulted in an unnecessary duplication of services and an inadequate membership base. It is also argued that the increasingly conservative, un-cooperative and uninviting attitudes of these library committees discouraged patronage and as a direct consequence, membership and daily visitor rates of the free and Institute libraries in Ballarat plummeted by 80% between 1880-1900.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes special report study entitled: Rehabilitation of old buildings. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (PhD) Australian Catholic University, 2005. / Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Bibliography: p. 237-253. Also available in an electronic version via the internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, August, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1998. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-127). Also available on the World Wide Web.