Access to information by high school learners in selected schools in the Fort Beaufort Education District, Eastern Cape Province
- Oyediran- Tidings,Stella Olubukunmi, Nekhwevha, F H
- Authors: Oyediran- Tidings,Stella Olubukunmi , Nekhwevha, F H
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Information resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Information services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape nformation technology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Information services Information literacy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2094 , vital:27608
- Description: 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Oyediran- Tidings,Stella Olubukunmi , Nekhwevha, F H
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Information resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Information services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape nformation technology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Information services Information literacy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2094 , vital:27608
- Description: 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
An assessment of energy use as a rural development strategy: the case of Chiwundura communal area, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mangizvo, Remigios Vurayayi
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:11444 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1013595
- Description: Households in Chiwundura Communal Area continue to depend on traditional biomass fuels, that is, fuelwood, agricultural residues and in some cases dung. This is despite the fact that grid electrification has been introduced in the communal area. A few households have been able to adopt the grid electrification whilst the rest remain rooted in the use of the inefficient and polluting traditional biomass. Some of those who have adopted the grid electricity only use it for lighting and entertainment whilst they continue to use fuelwood for cooking. A number of households that have connected to grid electricity have reverted to the use of the traditional biomass. This means that the generality of people in Chiwundura Communal Area continue to be subjected to energy poverty, which is a constrained access to modern energy services such as electricity. As a result these households will not be able to meet the millennium development goals among many other achievements. This state of affairs motivated the researcher to conduct this study. The study wanted to find out why the transition from traditional biomass energy forms to modern energy services was slow in Chiwundura Communal Area. The study also wanted to establish the factors that influenced household en ergy choices as well as establish the ways in which the traditional biomass energy forms had affected the livelihoods of households in the study area. In order to get information on the above mentioned questions, this study which was a case study of Chiwundura Communal Area utilised the triangulation of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. These methods were meant to complement each other and benefit from the strengths of each method. The study used questionnaires, interviews, observations, transect walks, focus group discussions and content analysis. The researcher spent up to three months in the study area so as to get first hand information on the issues under study. A total of 215 households and 106 school children were conveniently sampled to respond to the questionnaires whilst fifty household heads participated in the interviews. The study looked at three energy theories namely the energy ladder, the leapfrogging and the multiple fuels use models as well as consumption and decision making theories to open this discussion. The study made a number of critical findings. Firstly, there was very little transition as most households remained as users of biomass energy; hence they were at the lower rungs of the energy ladder. Those that had moved up the ladder tended to back switch to the use of fuelwood. This made them multiple fuel users. Generally fuelwood was the dominant source of energy as it was used mainly for cooking, space and water heating, space lighting and other domestic needs such as smoking meat. About 22% of all respondents were connected to the grid and used electricity mainly for lighting. Candles, paraffin, gensets and solar energy were part of the energy mix. It was established that income was the most important determinant in the energy choices made by the different households. Most of the households were peasant farmers who could not harvest excess crops for the market. A few households with members in paid employment or obtained remittances from relatives in South Africa or the Diaspora were able to get connected to the grid or could afford to purchase fuelwood from vendors. Households could not procure solar house systems as the start up costs were beyond their reach. Those who were able to acquire generators could not run them for many hours as they could not afford to refuel them regularly. Household characteristics such as age and education of household- head were also important factors. It was however established that cultural and traditional factors were as usual not given the attention they deserved yet they were very significant in determining the type of fuel a household chose. Food preparation and taste always played an important role in determining whether a household chose traditional fuels for certain cuisines. It was also realised that failure by numerous households in the study area to access modern energy sources meant that they could not attain the millennium development goals by 2015. They could not move out of abject poverty as they lacked irrigation schemes to assure them of food security. Universal access to education was affected by lack of light to use for studying and reading after hours. Adult education was also frustrated. The boy child was worst affected as he came to school late or at times missed school altogether collecting fuelwood for the household. In Chiwundura Communal Area men and boys were responsible for collecting fuelwood. This signified a shift in gender roles. Men and boys took it upon themselves to have these responsibilities as women and girls could not walk the long distances. The health of the household particularly women and children who spent several hours close to the fire was compromised as most huts were poorly ventilated. They therefore could not adequately deal with indoor air pollution challenges. Other MDGs were also likely not to be achieved by the families. The study also found out that men were not dictatorial in determining the fuel that a household used. Some form of democracy existed within homes and negotiations between husband and wife often took place away from the public domain. Oftentimes women often aped their colleagues who owned modern energy technologies within the villages; hence they pressurised their husbands to buy them SHSs and gensets. This was conspicuous consumption. The study established that there was need for modern energy in the study area. Grid electricity was not the panacea for this as it was beyond the reach of many. It was therefore important to look at renewable energy forms such as gel fuel, SHSs and biogas. It was also pertinent to educate and make households aware of dangers posed by indoor air pollution. The government and different stakeholders must give it equal importance and publicity as that given to HIV and AIDS as it kills several children annually. Housing interventions should be made so that households build huts with proper ventilation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Mangizvo, Remigios Vurayayi
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:11444 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1013595
- Description: Households in Chiwundura Communal Area continue to depend on traditional biomass fuels, that is, fuelwood, agricultural residues and in some cases dung. This is despite the fact that grid electrification has been introduced in the communal area. A few households have been able to adopt the grid electrification whilst the rest remain rooted in the use of the inefficient and polluting traditional biomass. Some of those who have adopted the grid electricity only use it for lighting and entertainment whilst they continue to use fuelwood for cooking. A number of households that have connected to grid electricity have reverted to the use of the traditional biomass. This means that the generality of people in Chiwundura Communal Area continue to be subjected to energy poverty, which is a constrained access to modern energy services such as electricity. As a result these households will not be able to meet the millennium development goals among many other achievements. This state of affairs motivated the researcher to conduct this study. The study wanted to find out why the transition from traditional biomass energy forms to modern energy services was slow in Chiwundura Communal Area. The study also wanted to establish the factors that influenced household en ergy choices as well as establish the ways in which the traditional biomass energy forms had affected the livelihoods of households in the study area. In order to get information on the above mentioned questions, this study which was a case study of Chiwundura Communal Area utilised the triangulation of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. These methods were meant to complement each other and benefit from the strengths of each method. The study used questionnaires, interviews, observations, transect walks, focus group discussions and content analysis. The researcher spent up to three months in the study area so as to get first hand information on the issues under study. A total of 215 households and 106 school children were conveniently sampled to respond to the questionnaires whilst fifty household heads participated in the interviews. The study looked at three energy theories namely the energy ladder, the leapfrogging and the multiple fuels use models as well as consumption and decision making theories to open this discussion. The study made a number of critical findings. Firstly, there was very little transition as most households remained as users of biomass energy; hence they were at the lower rungs of the energy ladder. Those that had moved up the ladder tended to back switch to the use of fuelwood. This made them multiple fuel users. Generally fuelwood was the dominant source of energy as it was used mainly for cooking, space and water heating, space lighting and other domestic needs such as smoking meat. About 22% of all respondents were connected to the grid and used electricity mainly for lighting. Candles, paraffin, gensets and solar energy were part of the energy mix. It was established that income was the most important determinant in the energy choices made by the different households. Most of the households were peasant farmers who could not harvest excess crops for the market. A few households with members in paid employment or obtained remittances from relatives in South Africa or the Diaspora were able to get connected to the grid or could afford to purchase fuelwood from vendors. Households could not procure solar house systems as the start up costs were beyond their reach. Those who were able to acquire generators could not run them for many hours as they could not afford to refuel them regularly. Household characteristics such as age and education of household- head were also important factors. It was however established that cultural and traditional factors were as usual not given the attention they deserved yet they were very significant in determining the type of fuel a household chose. Food preparation and taste always played an important role in determining whether a household chose traditional fuels for certain cuisines. It was also realised that failure by numerous households in the study area to access modern energy sources meant that they could not attain the millennium development goals by 2015. They could not move out of abject poverty as they lacked irrigation schemes to assure them of food security. Universal access to education was affected by lack of light to use for studying and reading after hours. Adult education was also frustrated. The boy child was worst affected as he came to school late or at times missed school altogether collecting fuelwood for the household. In Chiwundura Communal Area men and boys were responsible for collecting fuelwood. This signified a shift in gender roles. Men and boys took it upon themselves to have these responsibilities as women and girls could not walk the long distances. The health of the household particularly women and children who spent several hours close to the fire was compromised as most huts were poorly ventilated. They therefore could not adequately deal with indoor air pollution challenges. Other MDGs were also likely not to be achieved by the families. The study also found out that men were not dictatorial in determining the fuel that a household used. Some form of democracy existed within homes and negotiations between husband and wife often took place away from the public domain. Oftentimes women often aped their colleagues who owned modern energy technologies within the villages; hence they pressurised their husbands to buy them SHSs and gensets. This was conspicuous consumption. The study established that there was need for modern energy in the study area. Grid electricity was not the panacea for this as it was beyond the reach of many. It was therefore important to look at renewable energy forms such as gel fuel, SHSs and biogas. It was also pertinent to educate and make households aware of dangers posed by indoor air pollution. The government and different stakeholders must give it equal importance and publicity as that given to HIV and AIDS as it kills several children annually. Housing interventions should be made so that households build huts with proper ventilation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Knowledge retention strategies in selected Southern Africa public broadcasting corporations
- Authors: Dewah, Peterson
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Knowledge management , Intellectual capital -- Management , Employee retention , Broadcasting -- South Africa , Broadcasting -- Zimbabwe , Broadcasting -- Botswana
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:11572 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/438 , Knowledge management , Intellectual capital -- Management , Employee retention , Broadcasting -- South Africa , Broadcasting -- Zimbabwe , Broadcasting -- Botswana
- Description: Knowledge is now regarded as the most important resource surpassing other resources like land and capital. It is a foregone conclusion that knowledge flows out of organizations through various ways such as resignations, retirement and death yet, it does not seem as if organizations are employing strategies to retain such a vital component of production and service delivery. This study investigated the knowledge retention strategies in three Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) public broadcasting organizations of the South African Broadcasting Corporation in South African (SABC), the Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS) in Botswana and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) in Zimbabwe. The aim of this study was to establish how knowledge is captured and retained at such organizations. The objectives of the study were; to find out the types of strategies the three broadcasting organizations employ to capture and retain knowledge; establish how the three broadcasting organizational cultures enable knowledge acquisition, transfer, sharing and retention; establish the role of ICTs as tools and enablers of knowledge retention, creation, transfer and sharing in the three broadcasting organizations; and to propose recommendations on the best strategies for retention of knowledge in the three public broadcasting organizations as well as suggest areas for further and future research. v The study used the survey method and employed the triangulation design for data gathering. Data were collected from three SADC public broadcasting organizations. The population sample comprised 240 professional staff including 38 managers from different sections of the broadcasting organizations. The researcher collected data by administering a questionnaire to staff, interviews with managers and observations. Documentary analysis was also conducted in order to supplement data and fill in gaps. The researcher was mainly interested in gathering data that would give a comprehensive picture about knowledge retention methods in broadcasting organizations. There were four main findings. First, knowledge management as a relatively new concept and practice has not yet been properly embraced in the public broadcasting organization system in order to capture and retain knowledge that is acquired and generated in the organizations. There are no measures put in place in the organizations to retain the knowledge to ensure that once those who hold vital tacit knowledge are gone, the knowledge may still be available and accessible. Second, the study established that the respective organizational cultures impede on organizational knowledge retention. The study established that there was no culture of knowledge sharing. It also emerged that employees were not free to share their knowledge because of government regulations, prevailing political contexts, mistrust and general lack of incentive to share knowledge. Third, the study established that the organizations have no strategies or systems in place to capture the experts‟ knowledge or the knowledge of experienced staff and vi those approaching retiring age. The Human Resources Departments hold exit interviews that cover issues purely to do with why the person is leaving the organization instead of recording the work experiences and expertise of the departing employees. Fourth, the study revealed that the public broadcasting organizations still lag behind in collaborative and communicative technologies that facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing of tacit knowledge but retention of knowledge generally. The study also found that, some of the organizations studied did not have internet connectivity and websites were not yet functional, which hampered acquisition and sharing of knowledge for retention purposes. The importance of this study is that it has made a contribution and provided literature on knowledge retention strategies for public broadcasting corporations as part of knowledge management practice. On the basis of these findings the study recommended the following: appointment of knowledge management officers, establishment of Communities of Practice, encouraging knowledge sharing between employees, introduction of joint programmes with other broadcasting organizations by managers and their supervision of mentoring programmes; organizations to facilitate acquisition of information and communication technologies that enable knowledge management
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Dewah, Peterson
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Knowledge management , Intellectual capital -- Management , Employee retention , Broadcasting -- South Africa , Broadcasting -- Zimbabwe , Broadcasting -- Botswana
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:11572 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/438 , Knowledge management , Intellectual capital -- Management , Employee retention , Broadcasting -- South Africa , Broadcasting -- Zimbabwe , Broadcasting -- Botswana
- Description: Knowledge is now regarded as the most important resource surpassing other resources like land and capital. It is a foregone conclusion that knowledge flows out of organizations through various ways such as resignations, retirement and death yet, it does not seem as if organizations are employing strategies to retain such a vital component of production and service delivery. This study investigated the knowledge retention strategies in three Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) public broadcasting organizations of the South African Broadcasting Corporation in South African (SABC), the Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS) in Botswana and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) in Zimbabwe. The aim of this study was to establish how knowledge is captured and retained at such organizations. The objectives of the study were; to find out the types of strategies the three broadcasting organizations employ to capture and retain knowledge; establish how the three broadcasting organizational cultures enable knowledge acquisition, transfer, sharing and retention; establish the role of ICTs as tools and enablers of knowledge retention, creation, transfer and sharing in the three broadcasting organizations; and to propose recommendations on the best strategies for retention of knowledge in the three public broadcasting organizations as well as suggest areas for further and future research. v The study used the survey method and employed the triangulation design for data gathering. Data were collected from three SADC public broadcasting organizations. The population sample comprised 240 professional staff including 38 managers from different sections of the broadcasting organizations. The researcher collected data by administering a questionnaire to staff, interviews with managers and observations. Documentary analysis was also conducted in order to supplement data and fill in gaps. The researcher was mainly interested in gathering data that would give a comprehensive picture about knowledge retention methods in broadcasting organizations. There were four main findings. First, knowledge management as a relatively new concept and practice has not yet been properly embraced in the public broadcasting organization system in order to capture and retain knowledge that is acquired and generated in the organizations. There are no measures put in place in the organizations to retain the knowledge to ensure that once those who hold vital tacit knowledge are gone, the knowledge may still be available and accessible. Second, the study established that the respective organizational cultures impede on organizational knowledge retention. The study established that there was no culture of knowledge sharing. It also emerged that employees were not free to share their knowledge because of government regulations, prevailing political contexts, mistrust and general lack of incentive to share knowledge. Third, the study established that the organizations have no strategies or systems in place to capture the experts‟ knowledge or the knowledge of experienced staff and vi those approaching retiring age. The Human Resources Departments hold exit interviews that cover issues purely to do with why the person is leaving the organization instead of recording the work experiences and expertise of the departing employees. Fourth, the study revealed that the public broadcasting organizations still lag behind in collaborative and communicative technologies that facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing of tacit knowledge but retention of knowledge generally. The study also found that, some of the organizations studied did not have internet connectivity and websites were not yet functional, which hampered acquisition and sharing of knowledge for retention purposes. The importance of this study is that it has made a contribution and provided literature on knowledge retention strategies for public broadcasting corporations as part of knowledge management practice. On the basis of these findings the study recommended the following: appointment of knowledge management officers, establishment of Communities of Practice, encouraging knowledge sharing between employees, introduction of joint programmes with other broadcasting organizations by managers and their supervision of mentoring programmes; organizations to facilitate acquisition of information and communication technologies that enable knowledge management
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
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