Unisa: Highlights of 2011

Department of Information Science: Highlights in 2011

1) Former CoD becoming Acting Director of School, and new Acting CoD

Prof Mabel Minishi-Majanja became the Acting Director in the School of Arts. Professor Bosire Onyancha took up her position as the Acting Chair of Department.

2) Conferences hosted by the Department

The Department hosted 3 conferences in 2011 as follows:

6th Progress in Library and Information Science in Southern Africa (PROLISSA) conference, took place on the 9th -11th March 2011. First there was the Pre-ProLISSA Doctoral Forum as well as the Pre-ProLISSA conference, a Round table discussions platform with African Scholars which preceded the main PROLISSA conference. These two preceding events were held on the Unisa Campus on 9th March 2011. The main ProLISSA Conference was held at the Farm Inn on the 10th & 11th March 2011.

1st IBBY-Africa Conference hosted at The Ranch, Polokwane on … Delegates from 17 countries participated. The conference was organized by the Department on the request of the IBBY (International Board of Books for Young People) branches of Africa

3rd Unisa Storytelling Festival held at Polokwane Community Library. Storytellers from Greece and Cameroon and several storytellers from Limpopo Province participated. Presenters from Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tunisia and Greece presented workshops on storytelling and illustrating and writing for children.

3) Inaugural lecture

Professor Thomas van der Walt delivered his inaugural address as full Professor in the Department of Information Science on 8 November. The title of his address was: From guardianship to abandonment: children‟s literature and Library and Information Science.

4) Masters and doctoral students that graduated

Mrs K. Govendor received her master degree (MInf) in 2011 supervised by Prof Myrna Machet

Mr WK Gyimah received his master degree (MInf) in 2011 supervised by Dr Jackie Fourie and co-supervised by Prof Myrna Machet.

Ms Nafisa Abdelsadek received the doctoral degree (D Litt et Phil) on 21 September 2011. The topic of her thesis , supervised by Prof Thomas van der Walt, was “The effects of social and political dislocation on Persianate children‟s literature: change and continuity”.

Ms Marie Khanyanji Khayesi received the doctoral degree (D Litt et Phil) in September 2011.The title of her thesis supervised by Prof Hester Meyer and co-supervised by Prof Myrna Machet, was “Information behavior in healthcare of home-based elderly people in Nakuru District, Kenya”.

Ms Ellen Caroline Martins received her doctoral degree (D. Litt et Phil) in May 2011. The title of thesis supervised by Prof Hester Meyer, was “Identifying the organizational and behavioural factors that influence knowledge retention”.

5) Publications by staff members, research fellows and students

Ndwandwe, SC & Onyancha, OB. 2011. Job functions and requirements for knowledge managers: lessons for library and information science (LIS) schools in South Africa. Mousaion, 29(2): 209-224.

Ngulube, P & Onyancha, O.B. 2011. What is in a name? Using informetric techniques to conceptualize the knowledge of traditional and indigenous communities. Paper submitted for possible publication in Indilinga: African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Onyancha, O.B. & Ngoepe, M. 2011. The protection of information bill and access to information in South Africa: an informetric study of the media coverage. ESARBICA Journal: Journal of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives, 30:207-228.

Onyancha, O.B. 2011. Post-graduate research in information and knowledge management at institutions of higher learning in South Africa. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 77(2): 155-168.

Onyancha, O.B.2011. Self-archiving by LIS schools in South Africa: practices, challenges and opportunities. ESARBICA Journal: Journal of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives, 30:66-84.

Onyancha, O.B. 2011. South Africa‟s continental and international research collaborations, 1986-2005. African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science, 21 (2): 87-97.

Onyancha, OB 2011. South Africa‟s research collaborations with African and other countries, 1986-2005: an informatric analysis

Onyancha, OB. 2011. How is „Knowledge management‟ similar to or different from „information management‟? An informatrics perspective.

Onyancha, O.B. & Maluleka, J.R. 2011. Knowledge production through collaborative research in sub-Saharan Africa: How much do countries contribute to each other's knowledge output and citation impact? Scientometrics, 87: 315-336.

Van der Walt, T.B. Re-thinking and re-positioning archives: taking archives to the children. ESARBICA Journal, 30:115-134.

Van der Walt, T.B. Social and cultural issues in the illustration of Iranian children‟s books. Co-author with Nafisa Abdelsadek . Mousaion, 29(3).

Du Preez, M. 2011. Engineers‟ task related information behavior. In, Proceedings of the 10th Annula Inofrmation and Knowledge Management Conferences:managing information and knowledge in the new decade: an interdisciplinary approach

Du Preez, M. & Meyer, HWJ. 2011. Exploring conceptual models to study consulting engineers‟ social networks. Mousaion 29(2):74-93.

Okello-Obura, C. 2011. An assessment of Makerere university library and information science students‟ participation in field attachment. Mousaion 29 (1):17-36.

Okello-Obura, C. 2011. Assessment of the problems postgraduate students face in accessing e-resources in Makerere university, Uganda: a comparative analysis between LIS and education students. Mousaion 29 (2):41-60

Okello-Obura, C. & Ssekitto, F. 2011. Records and information disaster preparedness in selected organizations in Uganda. ESARBICA Journal. 30: 126-147.

Ngoepe, M. 2011. Assessing the extent to which the National Archives and Records Services of South Africa has fulfilled its mandate of taking the Archives to the people

Ngulube, P. , Modisane, C & Mnkeni-Saurombe, N. 2011. Disaster preparedness and the strategic management of public records in South Africa: guarding against collective cultural amnesia. Information Development.27(4): 239-250

Komba, M. & Ngulube, P.2011. E-government adoption in developing countries: trends in the use of models. ESARBICA Journal.30:162-176

Ngulube, P & Mavodza, J. 2011. Exploring the use of knowledge management practices in an academic library in a changing information environment. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science.77 (1):15-25.

Wessels, N. 2011. Methodology in action: exploring action research for masters studies in information science. Innovation 42:98-112

Dube, L. 2011.Quality assurance practices in University libraries in South Africa. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science. 77(1):26-36

Dulle, F. 2011. The adoption of open access scholarly communication in Tanzanian public universities: some influencing factors. Mousaion. 29 (1): 112-135.

6) Conferences/workshops attended and papers/lectures delivered by Staff

Prof TB van der Walt deliver a paper, “Social media, children and the public library of today” as the conference “The modern library in modern formats” in Ekaterinburg, Russia on 29 November 2011.

“African heritage and children: sustainability in a globalised world” at the International Conference on Social Sciences (ICSS) in Izmir, Turkey on 7 October 2011.

“Children‟s literature and reading: the abdication by Departments of Information Science of their role towards creating informed and literate citizens of tomorrow” at the 11th Annual DIS conference, University of Zululand, 15 September 2011

“The abdication of our role towards creating informed and literature citizens of tomorrow: Information Science teaching and children's literature and reading” at the Student Symposium, University of South Africa, date?

Prof van der Walt also delivered 2 public lectures in the School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin, USA on 2 and 4 April 2011on “Race, racism, South African young adult literature and its readers” and “Library services for children in South Africa”

Prof Onyancha delivered the following papers:

11th Annual DIS conference, University of Zululand, 14-15 September 2011. Co-presented three papers:

a. …with Maluleka, J. M&D students’ preferences for references and referencing in LIS research in South Africa.

b. …with Makhubela, S & Dube, L. LIS education and training in South Africa: who are our students?

c. …with Mnekeni-Saurombe, N, Burger, M, Mokwatlo, IK, Maluleka, J. Developing a glossary of terms using informetric approaches: methodological issues

First Annual Conference of the Faculty of Communication and Information Science at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) on Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Africa, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 23-24 August 2011. Presented a paper in collaboration with Prof P Ngulube entitled “What is in a name? Using informetric techniques to conceptualize the knowledge of traditional and indigenous communities

South African Society of Archivists Conference, Sunnyside, Pretoria South Africa, 14-15 July 2011. Chaired a session.

13th ISSI (International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics), Durban, South Africa, 4-8 July 2011. Presented two papers and poster paper and chaired two sessions:

d. ...with Okon, A. A measure of research productivity in Nigerian Universities: a bibliometric analysis

e. How is ‘knowledge management similar to or different from information management? An informetrics perspective.

f. ...with Ocholla, D.N. and Ocholla, L. What is the growth and scientific impact of global warming research, 2008-2010?

XXI ESARBICA Conference on Access to Information: Archives and Records in Support of Public Sector Reform in Context, Maputo, 8 -10 June 2011. Delivered two papers:

g. … with Ngoepe, M. The protection of information bill and access to information in South Africa: an informetric study of the media coverage

h. … with Mokwatlo, KI. How does LIS perceive records management? A trend and core/periphery model analyses

6th Biennial DISSAnet Conference, Pretoria, South Africa, 9-11 March 2011. Delivered a paper entitled “Job functions and requirements for knowledge managers: lessons for LIS schools in South Africa”.

Onyancha, O.B. How is „knowledge management similar to or different from information management? An informetrics perspective. In: E Noyons, P Ngulube, and J Leta (eds). Proceedings of ISSI 2011: the 13th Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics, Durban, South Africa, 4-8 July, pp: 626-637 [Research in Progress paper].

Ani, O.E. & Onyancha, O.B. A measure of research productivity of Nigerian universities: a bibliometric analysis. In: E Noyons, P Ngulube, and J Leta (eds). Proceedings of ISSI 2011: the 13th Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics, Durban, South Africa, 4-8 July, pp: 54-65.

Ocholla, D.N., Onyancha, O.B. & Ocholla, L. What is the growth and scientific impact of global warming research, 2008-2010? In: E Noyons, P Ngulube, and J Leta (eds). Proceedings of ISSI 2011: the 13th Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics, Durban, South Africa, 4-8 July, pp: 1040-1042 [Poster paper].

Mrs M Du Preez and Prof HWJ Meyer co-presented a paper at the 6th ProLISSA conference entitled “ “Exploring conceptual models to study consulting engineers‟ social networks”, at the 6th Biennial ProLLISSA Conference in March.

Mrs M Du Preez delivered a paper at the 10th Annual Information and Knowledge Management Conference, Johannesburg. The title of the paper was “ Enginners‟ task related information behavior.

Mrs N Wessels delivered a paper entitled The book: power and potential in South Africn townships school libraries at the ALA national library and information technicians conference, Perth 12-16 September.

Mrs Veli Jiyane delivered a paper entitled “ Benefits presented by Information and knowledge society on informal sector women entrepreneurs” at the 11th Annual DIS Conference, University of Zululand

Mrs Veli Jiyane delivered a paper entitled “ Contribution of informal sector women entrepreneurs to tourism industry n South Africa: issues and trends” at the 1st Emerging Research Paradigms in Business and Social Science Conference in Dubai on 23 November 2011.

Mrs Veli Jiyane co-presented a paper with Prof Patrick Ngulube at the 1st Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Knowledge Systems at the National University of Science and Technology, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 23-24 August 2011.

7) Mousaion

Three issues of the Departmental journal, Mousaion: South African Journal of Information Studies was published in 2011. The annual special number on children‟s literature and reading once again proved to be very popular and more than 30 articles were submitted for this issue.

8) Alumnus of the Year

Mr Robert Pearce, Director: Library & Information Services, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth was elected as the Department's 6th Alumnus of the Year.

9) Community involvement

Prof TB van der Walt and Mr Jan Maluleka are involved in a multi-disciplinary research project with the University of Namibia and Prof Marietha Nieman of Unisa‟s Department of Education on the reading habits of children in Namibia.

Prof TB van der Walt and Ms Veli Jiyane are involved in a multi-disciplinary research project on climate change and children: a case study of Isimangaliso with Dr Felicit Fairer-Wessels of the University of Pretoria.

Mrss Knoetze, Mnkeni-Saurombe and Wessels are involved in multi-disciplinary reading and literacy community and research projects in high-poverty primary schools in an urban South African setting under the auspices of the Academic Literacy Reseach Unit, Department of Linguistics. As part of the projects, school libraries have been introduced and set up at the schools to support the literacy programmes.

10) Involvement with other universities

Prof Onyancha is the External examiner, Department of Knowledge and Business Management, University of Johannesburg

Prof TB van der Walt acted as external examiner for the structured masters and doctoral courses and dissertations of the Department of Information Studies of the University of Ghana

Prof Van der Walt was also external examiner for the Children‟s literature course of the Higher Certificate in School Librarianship of the University of Western Cape and the

Children‟s literature and school librarianship module of the BInf Honours of the University of Zululand, 2011.

11) Photographs of some of the highlights: