published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Governance is the process by which power and authority are exercised in a society by which government, the private sector, and citizens' groups articulate their interests, mediate their differences, and exercise their legal rights and obligations. Governance in public organisations is different from that in private organisations as they both possess different types of institutional stakeholders. Governments are directly answerable to the public. Therefore, it is essential for governments to be transparent in order to avoid any triggers in the accountability process that might adversely affect people's trust. The proper creation, capture, distribution and preservation of judicial evidence in the form of records can help avoid these problems. A trusted government is one that can demonstrate its accountability and transparency and is continually striving to improve value delivery and increase cost-effectiveness. The freedom of information demands governments to be more transparent and accountable for their actions and decisions. Whilst governments promote corporate governance to provide transparency and objectivity it can only give stakeholders better tools to do their job, it does not and cannot do it for them. The need for managing risk and audit culture is imperative to balance and satisfy the expectation of citizen and stakeholders. The accountability of a government can arguably only be achieved when it demonstrates considerable transparency, which in turn can only happen when trust is supported by authentic and reliable records. The records management community claims that records have to be preserved for accountability, but they rarely explore what 'accountability' is and what role records play in the accountability processes. In addition, the contribution of records management to good governance and accountability are often not recognised by other professions and management. In an age where corporate governance and transparency is a global agenda, it is imperative for the records management community to scrutinise their present role and approach in order to change the perception by other professions about their contribution towards achieving organisational goals in a highly regulated and compliant bound environment in the public and private sectors. The contention of this thesis is that record keeping is just a tool that ensures the availability of evidence for the accountability of governance, which in turn relies on the ethical standard of those involved.

This thesis addresses the representation of, and reasoning on, musical knowledge in the Semantic Web. The Semantic Web is an evolving extension of the World Wide Web that aims at describing information that is distributed on the web in a machine-processable form. Existing approaches to modelling musical knowledge in the context of the Semantic Web have focused on metadata. The description of musical content and reasoning as well as integration of content descriptions and metadata are yet open challenges. This thesis discusses the possibilities of representing musical knowledge in the Web Ontology Language (OWL) focusing on chord sequence representation and presents and evaluates a newly developed solution. The solution consists of two main components. Ontological modelling patterns for musical entities such as notes and chords are introduced in the (MEO) ontology. A sequence pattern language and ontology (SEQ) has been developed that can express patterns in a form resembling regular expressions. As MEO and SEQ patterns both rewrite to OWL they can be combined freely. Reasoning tasks such as instance classification, retrieval and pattern subsumption are then executable by standard Semantic Web reasoners. The expressiveness of SEQ has been studied, in particular in relation to grammars. The complexity of reasoning on SEQ patterns has been studied theoretically and empirically, and optimisation methods have been developed. There is still great potential for improvement if specific reasoning algorithms were developed to exploit the sequential structure, but the development of such algorithms is outside the scope of this thesis. MEO and SEQ have also been evaluated in several musicological scenarios. It is shown how patterns that are characteristic of musical styles can be expressed and chord sequence data can be classified, demonstrating the use of the language in web retrieval and as integration layer for different chord patterns and corpora. Furthermore, possibilities of using SEQ patterns for harmonic analysis are explored using grammars for harmony; both a hybrid system and a translation of limited context-free grammars into SEQ patterns have been developed. Finally, a distributed scenario is evaluated where SEQ and MEO are used in connection with DBpedia, following the Linked Data approach. The results show that applications are already possible and will benefit in the future from improved quality and compatibility of data sources as the Semantic Web evolves.

Information technology is constantly changing, and if academic users are to make best use of these resources, they must sustain efficient information-seeking behaviour. This study explores the information-seeking behaviour of graduate students at Kuwait University, and investigates the factors influencing that behaviour. The population also includes faculty members engaged in teaching and supervising graduate students, and academic librarians. Adopting Wilson's information-seeking model (1999) as the theoretical framework, the study identifies factors influencing graduate students' information behaviour and formulates hypotheses that illustrate the relationship between the different variables. The use of this model provides useful insights into determinants of the information-seeking behaviour patterns of students in a multidisciplinary graduate context. The research uses a mixed method approach, comprising questionnaire survey, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Application of the Critical Incident Technique method provided in-depth data about the patterns of information-seeking behaviour of both graduate students and faculty members. Logistic regression revealed that significant factors related to library awareness, information literacy, organisational and environmental issues, source characteristics, and demographics act as determinants of the patterns of students' information-seeking behaviour. Uneasiness on the part of graduate students towards using the library and consulting its personnel reflects a broader negative perception of the role of the library in shaping students' information-searching patterns. The clearest finding that emerged from the analysis of the students' information literacy dimension was that the majority of graduate students still face difficulties in finding the appropriate information resources, particularly when using resources that need advanced search strategies. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed a heavy reliance on the information resources that require least effort (search engines, Internet websites, and personal contacts). Further, results revealed that graduate students are overwhelmed by an information overload, which leads them to become anxious about finding the appropriate information resources. Based on the results of the research, recommendations are made to further explore the information-seeking behaviour patterns of graduate students in order to enhance their information literacy skills. Improving information-seeking behaviour and enhancing the information literacy of students require interventions on various fronts: faculty members, academic librarians, the university administration, and graduate students themselves.

The principles of knowledge management (KM) are widely acknowledged and have been developed over the last 50 years, especially in such disciplines as management science, sociology, and construction. Whilst knowledge management (KM) is still an evolving practice, specific emphasis is now taking place on securing leverage through knowledge-context, interpretation, transfer, and reflection. Knowledge-based economies are increasingly reliant upon their intellectual capital (IC) cognisant of: the Information Technology (IT) revolution; expanding information society; the increased importance of knowledge; and the congruence and emergence of innovation through the application of KM practices. However, little work in the remit of KM has been evidenced in the Libyan financial sector the omission of which is the focus of this research. This research uses a case-study approach using an interpretive perspective to develop a knowledge management implementation (KMI) framework for the Libyan banking industry. The framework was developed and tested using three Libyan banks (LBs) and one bank from the United Kingdom (UK). Domain expertise was selected from the financial sector and academia to validate all results and findings. Research findings identified that the body of literature surrounding KM (from a Western perspective), could be applied to the Libyan context with a high degree of congruence. Moreover, the Libyan banking industry has now reached a level of maturity to embrace this framework as part of its core business practices. Several critical KM implementation areas were identified for incorporation (linked to organisational maturity). However, no definitive measurable leverage could be ascertained from this study, the aspect of which would need to form part of a larger study using cross-case analysis and multiple replications.

Despite numerous frameworks and models proposed in the literature, Information Systems (IS) assessment still remains elusive. In addition, little agreement exists on the contribution of the IS function within an organization and on how IS is related to the other organizational dimensions. Frameworks that show the relationship between IS and the organization are in the developmental stage and this work proposes a more comprehensive framework to assist in better understanding the relationship between IS and organizational quality. This research examines two popular IS quality assessment frameworks - Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) and Information Systems Assessment (ISA) - and suggests a new framework, IS-MBNQA. This work integrates these two IS quality assessment frameworks into a single comprehensive model that provides a holistic view on how IS quality is interrelated to organizational quality. The existing two IS assessment frameworks attempted to measure IS quality at different levels within an organization. The MBNQA model is the most comprehensive quality framework because it takes an organization wide perspective. On the other hand, ISA employs an IS specific perspective and reflects the relationships of eight major IS success dimensions. ISA is a modified version of DeLone & McLean's model with the inclusion of a success factor for Service Quality. For this study, survey instruments are developed from the MBNQA and ISA frameworks and they are consolidated to allow testing of the single IS-MBNQA framework. Exploratory factor analysis is performed for instrument refinement and confirmatory factor analysis for validity of the models. The instruments developed in this work are utilized as a foundation for identifying the relationships among the dimensions within and between each model. A major contribution of this work is the validation of the 2000 MBNQA model and the extension of existing models/frameworks to better explain the IS contribution to an organization.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the information seeking behaviour of graduate students at Uppsala University, Sweden. Using a qualitative method I gain deeper knowledge of the students’ information behaviour. Method – I interview four master students concerning their information seeking. Two of the students are from the social sciences and two from the medical sciences. Findings – The findings show that students primarily use electronic information resources. The students prefer to access scientific articles electronically, and they rarely use printed books in their studies. The students prefer to use library databases over Google Scholar. The reason for this is not only the access to material, but also that they prefer the more advanced search options provided by the library. Further results show that the students tend to avoid interaction with librarians. Paper type – Two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.

This study investigates the impact of multimedia on the effectiveness of information scanning. Information scanning is the act of seeking and receiving a wide variety of special information to develop a thorough understanding of the organization and the environment. The application domain of this study is Executive Support Systems. The experimental task is to identify potential threats and opportunities, a strategic information-scanning activity, based on the information stored in three ESS prototypes. Forty subjects from four organizations participated in the experiment. A random assignment process allocated them into three groups. The control group used the text-based ESS. The first experimental group used the visual multimedia ESS. The second experimental group used the audiovisual multimedia ESS. The experiment was carried out on the sites of the participating organizations. The investigator measured the effectiveness of information scanning based on the number of threats and opportunities each subject identifies. A close-ended questionnaire measured subjects' retention of information. The results of this study support the cognitive-fit theory. The findings indicate that multimedia is not an appropriate presentation format for analytical tasks. Subjects who use text-based ESS identify significantly more threats and opportunities than subjects who use audiovisual multimedia ESS. The cognitive style of subjects does not moderate the impact of multimedia. The results show that the use of multimedia does not necessarily improve retention of information. Further research is needed to determine the most effective combination of text, graphics, animation, video, and sound.

Many online platforms employ networks of human workers to perform computational tasks that can be difficult for a machine to perform (e.g. recognising an object from an image). This approach can be referred to as social computation. However, systems that utilise social computation often suffer from a lack of transparency, which results in difficulties in the decision-making process (e.g. assessing reliability of outputs). This thesis investigates how the lack of transparency can be addressed by recording provenance, which includes descriptions of social computation workflows and their executions. In addition, it investigates the role of Semantic Web technologies in modelling and querying such provenance in order to support decision-making. Following analysis of several use-case scenarios, requirements for describing the provenance of a social computation are identified to provide the basis of the Social Computation Provenance model, SC-PROV. This model extends the W3C recommendation for modelling provenance on the Web (PROV) and the P-PLAN model for describing provenance of abstract workflows. To satisfy the identified provenance requirements, SC-PROV extends PROV and P-PLAN with a vocabulary for capturing social computation features such as social actors (e.g. workers and requesters), incentives (e.g. promises of monetary rewards received upon completion of a task), and conditions (e.g. constraints defining when an incentive should be awarded). The SC-PROV model is realised in an OWL ontology and used in a semantic annotation framework to capture the provenance of a simulated case study, which includes 46,665 diverse workflows. During the evaluation process, the SC-PROV vocabulary is used to construct provenance queries that support an example workflow selection metric based on trust assessments of various aspects of social computation workflows. The performance of the workflow selected by this metric is then evaluated against the performance of two control groups - one containing randomly selected workflows and the other containing workflows selected by a metric informed by provenance which lacks SCPROV descriptions. The examples described in this thesis establish the benefits of examining provenance as part of decision-making in the social computation domain, and illustrate the inability of current provenance models to fully support these processes. The evaluation of SC-PROV demonstrates its capabilities to produce provenance descriptions that extend to the social computation domain. The empirical evidence provided by the evaluation supports the conclusion that using SC-PROV enhances support for trust-based decision-making.

M.Com. (Computer Auditing) / Competence in information technology (IT) is crucial for the professional accountants and most importantly, for information systems (IS) auditors currently practising in the execution of IS audits. The increasing dependence of businesses on computerised information systems gives rise to the need for auditors who possess IT knowledge and skills. This study reports the results of a study that investigates the level of IT knowledge and skills required for an IS auditor in the specific context of audit work in South Africa. Results of this study are based on a literature analysis and on data collected from different IS auditor practitioners. The aim of this study is to: (i) examine the IT knowledge and key areas of expertise required from an IS auditor; (ii) determine the educational qualifications required of an IS auditor; and (iii) evaluate the soft skills required from an IS auditor. This research involves a two-stage empirical study. Firstly, the study carried out a literature survey of IT knowledge and skills. Secondly, structured interviews were conducted with a sample of IS audit practitioners. The findings from this study make three main contributions to the field of IS auditing practice and auditing education. Firstly, the study will help in contributing to a theoretical enhancement of the current level of knowledge in the limited existing literature on IS auditors and the type of knowledge and skills that is required from the professionals to perform their duties effectively and add value to the organisation. Secondly, findings from this study are significant to the standards setters regulating the audit profession, academia designing university courses, and audit practitioners evaluating their own IT knowledge. An important contribution of this study is that the findings would initiate discussion, debate and action that would lead to positive changes in the South African IS auditing profession to ensure that IS auditors are on par with the latest technologies around the world.