1,720,962 research outputs found
Co-design of youth wellbeing indicators for ICT intervention in an underserved community in South Africa
Get PDFThesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019The challenges faced by members of underserved communities in South Africa have frequently been reported in literature. To ameliorate these challenges, different interventions have been introduced both locally and internationally to improve the wellbeing of the members of these communities. One such intervention is the introduction of information and communication technology ICT as a means to close the digital divide and meeting the socio-economic needs of the community. Youth living in these communities are expected to derive more benefit from ICT interventions as they have been reported to be more technology savvy and dependent on technology than the older adults are. However, the failures of ICT interventions deployed by donors have also been reported in literature. Authors have identified several reasons for the failure of ICT interventions, but a lack of consultation with the beneficiaries of this type of intervention is common to many findings. The exclusion of the youth as major beneficiaries of ICT interventions causes a lack of alignment between the interventions deployed for their use and the actual wellbeing needs of the youth in underserved communities. The failure of ICT interventions increases the digital divide and frustrates the good intentions of local and national government as well as international donors to improve the wellbeing of the youth in underserved communities.
By using the concept of wellbeing, the study aimed to explore how youth wellbeing indicators can be used to facilitate effective ICT interventions for youth empowerment and development in underserved communities in South Africa. Furthermore, the study aimed todesign an ICT-based artefact to prioritise youth wellbeing indicators in underserved communities in South Africa.
The study was implemented through a qualitative research method using a service design strategy that allowed for a participatory research approach and co-design instrument for data collection from the youth living in Grabouw anunderserved community in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Data was collected from 40 youth aged between 15 and 30 at two workshops. Content analysis technique was used to analyse data.
Findings from the research show that given the opportunity, the youth are able to determine their social-economic needs. A comprehensive set of wellbeing indicators was developed. Thirteen wellbeing indicators symbolising the issues in the community were prioritised, which are:unemployment, self-image, reaching full potential, family support,access to water, sanitation and electricity,meaning and purpose of life,being healthy,religious practice,educational level,future expectations,freedom of expression,skills to get a job, and access to skills and training. Overall, nine categories of wellbeing indicators were identified; of these, seven are similar to theGlobal Youth Wellbeing Index(GYWI) categories. Three new categories – aspiration, social support, and infrastructure and services – were realised. The three factors are an indication that the Grabouw youth may have special needs different from the global perspective as specified by the GYWI categories. Moreover, the priorities of the wellbeing indicators when compared to the GYWI rating for South Africa differ significantly, which may indicate that the needs of the youth living in underserved communities may vary largelyfrom other youth in the country. Furthermore, an artefact that can be used to prioritise wellbeing indicators was designed.
It is important for stakeholders of ICT interventions to embrace participation of the beneficiaries as a means of aligning interventions to their needs. These stakeholders need to seek ways of developing artefacts that address the needs, not limited to health, so that the youth can take advantage of technology to improve their wellbeing on a continuous basis
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Adoption of new ICT innovation by SMMEs in Cape Town
No full textDissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Information Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyEstablishing Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) is one of the options for South Africa to grow and develop the economy by creating and maintaining employment. SMMEs need to utilise technology innovation in their businesses for the sustenance of their growth and development in the market. Although Information Technology (IT) has been identified as a key enabler of businesses, the adoption of IT by small businesses is low, owing to different disparaging factors and conditions SMMEs are faced with. The factors culminate in challenges which hinder evaluation, adoption and use of new technology innovation by SMMEs to develop the business. The aim of the study is to explore the evaluation and adoption of new technology by SMMEs. The research objectives are to investigate the evaluation factors affecting decision making and choice of technology adoption, and the effect evaluation and non-evaluation of new technology has on the business. The purpose of the research is to establish the challenges SMMEs encounter with evaluating new technology by SMMEs, being that evaluation is a major contributing factor to the successful adoption of new technology by SMMEs. The study takes the form of a multiple interpretive case study employing both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 managers/owners of SMMEs. Quantitative data was collected in the form of an online survey and results were used against the
qualitative data analysis process, with categories formed and patterns identified in the data samples. The research reveals that SMMEs find it increasingly difficult to obtain knowledge on available new technology for business. SMMEs are unable to adequately determine how new technology could align with the business objectives and processes. It seems that government does not play any significant role in the SMME adoption process of new technology. Most SMMEs are oblivious to any government initiative or support available to them. The cost of compliance within the Financial Service Provider (FSP) sector is high due to new standards set by legislation. The increased cost burden of compliance has led to the demise of many FSPs in the financial sector. The study further suggests that with quality evaluation and implementation procedures of new
technology, the selected technology will have a positive effect on the SMME industry. SMMEs need to embrace an evaluation culture and practice to enable them to make quality decisions on new technology in order to capitalise on the potential the technology has to offer. This could lead to gaining a competitive advantage and ensuring survival and growth in the market. Guidelines on new technology evaluation and adoption are proposed to SMMEs. These guidelines will assist SMMEs to evaluate and identify all factors relating to the business environment affecting the evaluation of new technology for the business. The study provides new insight and understanding on how SMMEs evaluate new technology. The evaluation includes issues surrounding availability of information, awareness of opportunities, decisionmaking and the need for increased and visible government participation in the process of SMME new technology adoption
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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