http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2586 Tue, 21 May 2013 02:11:38 GMT 2013-05-21T02:11:38Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5378 Job functions and requirements for knowledge managers : lessons for library and information science (LIS) schools in South Africa Ndwandwe, Sipho C.; Onyancha, Omwoyo Bosire The study explored the job functions and requirements for knowledge management practitioners through the analysis of job advertisements appearing on 12 major jobsites in South Africa. It aimed to provide vital information that can assist in re-examining knowledge management education in library and information science (LIS) schools in South Africa. A total of 32 knowledge management-related job advertisements were retrieved using “knowledge” and “knowledge management” as search terms. Details regarding the date and location of the advertisement, job requirements (i.e. qualification, skills, knowledge, experience and attitude) and, most importantly for the purpose of this study, the job functions (i.e. responsibilities, duties, description) were captured from the advertisements and analysed. The majority of the jobs were based in Gauteng with a few based in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. The findings revealed that a variety of job titles are used to refer to knowledge management practitioners, with “knowledge manager” appearing in a majority of the advertisements. Taking into account the multidisciplinary nature of knowledge management, there was diversity in terms of the qualifications required. Some of the common job functions or responsibilities listed in the advertisements were designing and executing a knowledge management strategy, identifying knowledge and information needs, conducting research, conducting knowledge audits, and developing, implementing and maintaining knowledge repositories/databases. The study recommends that LIS schools should endeavor to align their offerings to market requirements so that their graduates may have the required academic qualifications, knowledge, skills and attitudes. Areas of further research are recommended. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5378 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5377 Knowledge production through collaborative research in sub-Saharan Africa : how much do countries contribute to each other's knowledge output and citation impact? Onyancha, Omwoyo Bosire; Maluleka, Jan R. This paper examines co-authorship of research articles in Thomson Reuters citation indexes in order to assess knowledge co-production in selected sub-Saharan African countries. Two indicators, namely publications and citations, were analysed to establish the patterns of knowledge co-production and its scientific impact, respectively. The study found that knowledge production through collaborative research among sub- Saharan African countries is minimal and contributes only a small percentage when compared to collaboration between sub-Saharan African countries and their foreign counterparts. Similarly, the scientific impact of international collaboration was higher than that of continental collaboration. Countries belonging to the same geographic region contributed to each other’s knowledge production more frequently than they did to the countries outside their region. It is recommended that, for knowledge co-production in sub- Saharan Africa to improve, various measures such as encouraging student and staff exchange, hosting more regional conferences and encouraging research networks need to be put in place. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5377 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5375 A co-link analysis of institutions of higher learning in Eastern and Southern Africa : preliminary findings Onyancha, Omwoyo Bosire; Ocholla, Dennis N. This paper presents the preliminary findings of a co-link analysis of 95 (out of a total of 142) institutions of higher education in eastern and southern Africa. Data was collected using a uniform search strategy, i.e. two search queries were used to extract relevant data from the Yahoo! search engine. Data was captured and stored in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets as 2-dimensional matrices. UCINET version 6 (comprising of several analytic technologies) was primarily used to analyse the data in order to: find out the number of external inlinks for each institution; determine the most colinked institutions; map the colinkages; measure the strengths of colink ties; examine colink relationships; and establish the motivations for colinking. For the purposes of presenting the findings, 40 institutions which recorded a normalised colink count of 1.5 and more were selected. Results indicate that most South African institutions have the highest number of inlink and colink counts. Insitutions belonging to the same geographic region established closer relationships amongst themselves than institutions located in different geographic regions. The institutions which yielded fewer inlinks and higher colink counts produced stronger colink ties. Other findings, conclusions and recommendations are provided. Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5375 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5374 Information literacy education and instruction in academic libraries and LIS schools in institutions of higher education in South Africa Jiyane, Veli Glenrose; Onyancha, Omwoyo Bosire Information literacy (IL) is increasingly becoming one of the core subjects in many LIS schools’ curricula today. It is universally considered one of the effective means through which one’s information skills are developed, and more especially at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The aim of this study is to explore the availability and implementation of information literacy programmes in South Africa, with special reference to LIS schools/departments and academic libraries. The study is largely informed by a literature review of scholarly journal articles, books and Internet sources and a survey involving LIS schools/departments and academic libraries in South Africa. Results indicate that most LIS schools and academic libraries provide IL programmes; the IL programmes are known by different titles/names; there are common as well as uncommon topics offered to students; the IL programme is largely offered to first year students by qualified LIS professionals; the purpose of offering IL programmes is generally to enable students to access, select and utilise resources effectively; the challenges of IL provision include lack of resources (e.g. staff, funds and e-laboratories) and support; and the library’s and LIS departments’ community engagement as far as IL provision is concerned is minimal. Several recommendations towards the improvement of IL delivery by LIS departments and academic libraries in South Africa are made. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5374 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z