Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Many organisations recognise the importance of Information Management (IM) and are implementing it into the structure and culture of their organisation and the roles of their managers and employees. More and more, organisations are thinking and operating strategically - their very survival depends on information. Information is the lifeblood of an organisation. An essential part of any business strategy is consideration of how information systems strategy supports change. Experts agree that information management has become a competitive necessity for all types of companies. The organisations that will succeed in the global information environment are those that can identify the value of information. One of the biggest problems facing managers today at all levels is the problem of investing in and using technology efficiently, especially Information Technology (IT). Business intelligence enables organisations to make well informed business decisions and thus can be the source of competitive advantages. This is especially true when companies are able to extrapolate information from indicators in the external environment and make accurate forecasts about future trends or economic conditions. Business intelligence becomes a top initiative and investment priority for Chief lnformation Officers (CIOs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). This dissertation addressed the need to identify the most important information management components as a foundation for the more in-depth discussion on information management principles and best practices in broad base industries. The elements of information management that appear the most frequent in the literature study indicate that authors place high priority on the following components: • Information security • Information management governance • IT standardisation • Regulatory requirements for information management • Business intelligence • Virtual collaboration • Management of service outsourcing • Selection of service providers • Project management • Change management • Risk management • Asset management • Knowledge management • Business processes • Balanced scorecard • Benchmarking • Competitive Intelligence • Business partnering. The empirical study was conducted in six phases. The first phase consisted of establishing a framework of information management best practices in broad base industries and the second phase was to develop a preliminary measuring instrument to investigate the perceptions of the sampling population on information management best practices. Phase three consisted of a pilot study in the development of a questionnaire. Phase four was to investigate perceptions of information management best practices in broad base industries. The analysis model was developed based on the criteria evaluated using advanced statistical procedures. The five most important components of information management that were identified were Business processes, Information security, Business intelligence, Risk management, and Information management governance. The best practices for these five most important components of information management were also identified. The five highest ranking best practices were: Virus control implemented; Information management strategy aligned with business goals; Documented business processes; Risk management framework implemented; and Support and training in place. Phase five was to describe the results of the empirical study for information management best practices in broad base industries, Phase six was to compare the perception what the information management best practices are as perceived by companies from broad base industries. The most uniform perception was identified for the information management component 'Business Intelligence'. On average, it was rated almost equally by all participants. On the other hand, there is a significant difference in perception from all industry segments and the whole industry for 'Risk Management'. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This study focuses on the use of Social Network Sites (SNSs) and certain personality rights (specifically the right to privacy and the right to identity) that may be infringed by this use. The study also discusses data protection law as the protection of the rights to privacy and identity are interlinked with data protection in that data protection assumes importance when there is processing of personal information on SNSs. The study seeks to determine whether South African law provides adequate protection for the interests that form the object of these personality rights, and highlights certain shortcomings, particularly in the context of SNSs. It also suggests solutions where there are shortcomings by learning from other jurisdictions. Related issues investigated are: who should be held responsible for the user-generated content uploaded on SNSs; the role of the Internet Service Provider (ISP); and how to deal with anonymous defendants. / Private Law / LL. M.

The study set out to investigate the provision of sustainable internet access to public libraries in South Africa. The rationale of the study was to investigate how sustainable internet access can be provided to public libraries in South Africa and to determine how they have developed and are regulated. Internet access is a key driver in delivering information services to the users and a critical tool in facilitating information sharing regardless of platform and geographic location. Therefore, the level of information and communications technology (ICT) penetration in public libraries formed a critical part of the study as the provision of internet to these libraries depends on available ICTs. The study employed a survey design and used interview tool to collect data from nine participants. Questionnaire augmented interviews as they were used to collect data from 322 respondents. The study used the probability sampling technique to collect data from the participants. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants for the interview, whereas the stratified probability, proportional to size, and systematic techniques were also used to select respondents in the senior categories, namely heads of public libraries. This ensured a sample size of 331 out of a population of 1 621 selected for the study. The sample size consisted of nine directors and 322 head librarians. No sampling was done on the nine heads (directors) of provincial public libraries, as the nature of this population did not warrant further dissection due to its small size. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used to analyse data. Questionnaires were analysed when they were returned and interviews were analysed when they were conducted. Written descriptions, tables and figures were used to present data in an elaborative manner. Data was also presented through frequencies and percentages. It emerged from the study that most public libraries (97%) were connected to the internet. The findings of the study showed that most public libraries (80%) were connected to the internet through the fixed lines and that each of the nine provinces had its own internet service providers (table 5.12). The study recommended fixed lines for internet access to be laid to all public libraries in South Africa and that a government agency be used as a dedicated internet service provider for public libraries across all the nine provinces. A further study was recommended about the application of an internet access model used by academic institutions to public libraries. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

The purpose of this research was to describe and explain crimes against women in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. It was conducted by means of a literature review, followed by empirical research, based on police dockets, against the background of Seligman's theory on learned helplessness. The literature review was used to design a research schedule. The schedule was used for data capturing from police dockets from the Crime Information Analysis Centre (QAQ at their Gauteng Regional office in Johannesburg. From this data, a convenience sample, consisting of 303 cases, was compiled. These cases were reported at the charge offices of Pretoria-Moot Villieria, Pretoria-North, Pretoria-West Eersterust and Hillbrow, for the period between 1 January 1997 and 1 March 1998. Finally, recommendations are made for the design of preventative strategies, and suggestions are made for possible future research. / Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om misdade teen vroue in die Gauteng Provinsie van Suid-Afrika te beskryf en te verklaar. Dit is gedoen aan die hand van literatuurstudie, en is uitgebrei met 'n empiriese ondersoek wat op polisiedossiere ebaseer is, teen die agtergrond van Seligman se teorie van aangeleerde hulpeloosheid. Die literatuurstudie is gebruik om 'n skedule te ontwerp. Die navorsingskedule is gebruik vir datavangs uit polisiedossiere. Die polisiedossiere van die Misdaadinligting-Analisesentrum (MIAS) van Gauteng se streekkantoor in Johannesburg is gebruik vir die samestelling van 'n gerieflikheidsteekproef bestaande uit 303 gevalle. Hierdie gevalle kom uit die aanmeldings by die aanklagkantore van Pretoria-Moot/ Villieria, Pretoria-Noord, Pretoria-Wes, Eersterust en Hillbrow, en wel tussen 1 Januarie 1997 en 1 Maart 1998. Ten slotte word aanbevelings vir die ontwerp van voorkomingstrategie gedoen en voorstelle vir moontlike toekomstige navorsing gemaak. / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminology)

In the context of the Internet, spam generally refers to unsolicited and unwanted electronic messages, usually transmitted to a large number of recipients. The problem with spam is that almost all of the related costs are shifted onto the recipients, and many of the messages contain objectionable content. Spam has become a significant problem for network administrators, businesses and individual Internet users that threatens to undermine the usefulness of e-mail. Globally, spam spiralled to account for over 60% of all e-mail near the end of 2004. It is a problem that costs the global economy billions of dollars a year in lost productivity, anti-spam measures and computer resources. It has forced governments to enact legislation against the problem and it has prompted the development of numerous technical countermeasures. Spam can only be defeated by a combination of legal measures, informal measures (including self regulation and social norms), technical measures and consumer education. Because spam is a relatively recent and evolving problem, the application of various common law mechanisms are explored, including the law of privacy and the law of nuisance. Various constitutional concerns may also arise in the context of spam, and the right to freedom of expression must be balanced against other competing rights and values, including the right to privacy. Comparative legislation is examined, because it is important to recognise trends in spam legislation in other jurisdictions so as to ensure a measure of interoperability with those laws. The practical difficulties in identifying spammers, and the lack of jurisdiction over offshore offenders affect the practical implementation of the current protection offered by the ECT Act. In conclusion, this thesis identifies the need for direct anti-spam legislation in South Africa, and suggests various clauses that will need to be catered for in the legislation. It is submitted that "opt-in" legislation should be preferred over "opt-out" legislation. It is further submitted that a definition of spam should be based on the volume and indiscriminate nature of the e-mail, and not only on whether the communication was commercial. Therefore, a definition of bulk unsolicited e-mail is proposed. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LLD

This study investigates the customer-based brand equity of the major cellphone network service providers (Vodacom, MTN and Cell C) amongst principal estate agents registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board in Gauteng. Secondary research covered the marketing environment of the major service providers. An extensive study of literature on branding, brand management and brand equity measurement was undertaken. An empirical study was conducted. Telephone interviews were used for initial contact and screening. An invitation to participate in the survey, with a link to a questionnaire, was e-mailed to qualified respondents. Cell C users were excluded from the quantitative analysis. There were several significant findings: Vodacom and MTN users are alike in terms of personal and estate agency-related demographics. With the exception of age and gender, the sample fits the stated descriptors of individuals in the LSM seven to LSM ten groups. Cronbach‘s alpha coefficient confirmed a high level of reliability (0.870) for the summated measurement scale developed as an indicator variable of customer-based brand equity and Vodacom and MTN‘s rating on the summated scale did not differ at a statistically significant level. The service provider used proved to be an important driver of loyalty, but overall satisfaction with the cellphone service does not differ statistically significantly between Vodacom and MTN users. Vodacom has established a much more favourable positioning on the brand association statements evaluated. Factor analysis identified five brand association dimensions that should be considered for measurement of brand associations. Multiple regression analysis identified the brand as a product dimension as the best predictor of customer-based brand equity. Vodacom received more favourable brand performance ratings than MTN. Factor analysis identified six brand performance dimensions that should be considered for inclusion when measuring brand performance. Multiple regression analysis identified the easy to use and one-stop-service dimensions as the best predictors of customer-based brand equity. The customer-based brand equity of the user group is moderate (16 out of 25, or 64%). / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

In a traditional business environment, companies set up their organisation’s IT data infrastructure, install their applications and carry out the maintenance and management of their infrastructures. Whereas Cloud computing removes the need for companies to set up own data centers and run enterprise applications. Cloud computing technology provides businesses with the advantage of on-demand access, agility, scalability, flexibility and reduced cost of computing. An appreciable increase is being observed in the acceptance and migration to this new IT model in developing economies. In Nigeria, it has been observed that there is a somewhat unimpressive rate of adoption of Cloud computing by the microfinance operators. This research investigates the reason for the slow adoption of Cloud computing by SMEs in Nigeria with special consideration to the Microfinance subsector and to develop a model for improving the adoption of cloud computing by microfinance organisations. The research was conducted using a qualitative research design method. Interview was the main data collection instrument and data collected was analysed using thematic content analysis method. The analysis of the study revealed that SMEs in Nigeria, with particular reference to microfinance subsector in Akwa Ibom State are yet fully to embrace cloud technology. It was discovered that most of the SMEs studied, has some level of reservation about cloud computing arising from not having appropriate education and enlightenment about the cloud economic offerings and potentials. From the outcome of the research, the researcher identified that most people’s concerns are as a result of lack of knowledge about cloud computing and so the researcher concluded that appropriate enlightenment by industry stakeholders, cloud service providers, cloud enthusiasts and even the government on the risks and overwhelming economic incentives of cloud computing as well as the provision of a monitored free trial services will encourage the adoption of cloud computing by SMEs. / College of Engineering, Science and Technology / M.Tech. (Information Technology)

There has been a paucity of research concerning vocational training of learners with special education needs. The literature study focused on a vocational training and transition planning programme in the United States of America, which could provide as a useful guide to educators and school managers, when implementing vocational training and transitional planning in South Africa. Research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with educators and principals at special schools, observation of learners whilst performing skills training and documentary analysis, to explore whether learners with barriers to learning are receiving skills training that could position them for employment in the open labour market after they exit school. Findings revealed that principals and educators at special schools are faced with challenges in the learner’s microsystem, exosystem and macrosystem, resulting in the inadequate preparation of learners with special education needs for employment in the open labour market. Based on the findings, recommendations in terms of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory were made, to increase the opportunity for learners who experience barriers to learning, to be engaged in meaningful employment. / Education Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This Master's thesis deals with the description of the current state of community planning of social services and the mid-term planning of development of social services in the Karlovy Vary region. At the same time, the thesis reflects the historical content which led to the use of the community planning method in The Czech Republic. In the thesis, the author uses examples from abroad and from The Czech Republic that show specific problems especially encountered by organizers planning social services. The author bases his research on his analysis of interviews held with planning coordinators in the Karlovy Vary region. From the coordinators viewpoint, they describe structure and course of social service planning processes in the region. The author also examines the role of users invited into the planning of social services, how planning organizers communicate with those users, and how all representatives evaluate the plan's results. An additional information source regading social services planning dealt with publicly available resources, particularly websites of individual cities and their regions. The objectives of using this sources were to describe the planning of social services in the Karlovy Vary region and to determine its main active players. In conclusion, the author summarizes the...