1,720,955 research outputs found
Library funding : a study to identify reliable and equitable sources of public library funding in Kenya
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.The premise from which this research project begins is that public libraries particularly in the developing world, are unable to fully finance their services and thus should seek alternative sources of funding. This project attempts to identify sustainable funding options for the Kenya National Library Services (KNLS) with specific reference to user fees for library services. In order to put the study into perspective, an outline of library history in Kenya is presented together with an overview of social, economic, technological, and social factors which influence the provision of library and information services. The literature review traces the origin of the user fee debate and summarises the arguments for and against fees in libraries. It also attempts to determine whether economic theory could present a theoretical perspective in reconciling the divergent views. The review shows that the issue of charging for library services is hotly contested within the LIS profession and that there is no easy solution. The position of the public libraries within the African continent is contextualised by briefly detailing prevailing conditions, particularly the pressures brought to bear in library budgets during difficult economic periods. An overview of user fee policy in Kenya and the current position of library funding and income generation in South Africa are presented
Library charges: an investigation into the feasibility of introducing user fees at the Kabarnet District library in Kenya
No full textThis study investigates the feasibility of introducing user fees at the Kabarnet District Library a branch of the Kenya National Library Services (KNLS). The study consisted of two main approaches: the first was a conceptual review of the literature in the field and the second was an empirical study. The purpose of the literature review was to give an overview of the literature in the field. It was during the 1980s that the subject was thoroughly investigated and this review to a large extent focuses on that period. The review begins by discussing the topic from the point of view of the developed world, and then proceeds to the situation in Africa with special reference to Kenya. The second approach involved an empirical study at the Kabarnet District Library, which was conducted between January and February 2000. The study was based on a survey study of 74 library patrons and 27 staff members. In addition interviews were conducted in 14 institutions served by the mobile library. Other stakeholders were also interviewed, which include the co-ordinators of local NGO's, primary school teachers and the Kabarnet Town Clerk. Questionnaires and interviews were the primary data collection tools. The questionnaires contained both open and closed ended questions. Both primary and secondary sources were used to collect the data required for the study, viz. directly from respondents and from government and KNLS publications. The survey reports the users' views regarding the library services, their opinions, willingness to pay user fees and the likely effects of user fees. The study also examined whether it is cost effective to introduce user fees taking into consideration the financial implications and staff time needed to implement the scheme. The study further examines the role of the mobile library services and specifically its funding implications, i.e. whether it is economical to run and the feasibility of introducing user fees to reduce the running costs. The data collected was analysed using STATA software. The data was evaluated and conclusions drawn. The results show that the services offered by the Kabamet District Library are inadequate, largely due to substantially inadequate funding and that there is an urgent need to inject more money to improve the service. However, it is apparent that although the users are willing to share costs, the introduction of user fees would not offer a solution since the amount likely to be generated will be minimal as the patrons are willing to pay only an insignificant amount. The study has shown that user fees will negatively affect those who are in the most need of the service and who are also the least able to pay. These include students and the unemployed. One of the main recommendations of the study is that alternative income generating activities be implemented to generate the much needed funds. Such initiatives would include establishing a bindery unit, a cafeteria, a video library and the letting of halls. A further recommendation is that a levy should be introduced on services which have direct financial implications on the library service operation e.g. the mobile library, ILL, and postal services. The study concludes with recommendations for further investigations which could encompass the whole KNLS network. Proposals are outlined which could be used as a basis for further research
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
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
- …
