1,720,955 research outputs found
The preparedness of subject librarians to meet the challenges of information technology in higher education institutions in Kwa-Zulu Natal
No full textSubmitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Management Sciences in Library and Information Science, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015.This study investigates the preparedness of subject librarians to meet the challenges of information technology in higher education institutions in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The objectives of the study were to identify different technologies that subject librarians use, also to investigate the preparedness of subject librarians to meet the challenges of information technology as it changes rapidly. Furthermore to determine the areas in their technological skills that subject librarians need to improve or strengthen; and to investigate whether the surveyed institutions are providing training and development programmes to re-skill and update subject librarians on new technologies.
The target population for this study was subject librarians from major academic institutions in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Electronic questionnaires were administered to subject librarians for data collection purpose. The study revealed some weaknesses in the use of some technology as well as challenges being faced in skills transfer using technology. Recommendations were made on support from the management of universities in re-skilling subject librarians and pro-active actions from subject librarians should they encounter something new in technology.
Profiling of Postgraduate Students as a Framework for Service Quality in South African Academic Libraries
No full textThis article reviews literature on the importance of profiling library clients in the era of change in the information needs of university communities. The article emanated from the recommendations of a study that evaluated service quality in selected academic libraries in South Africa. A mixed-methods approach was used of which the quantitative approach was the dominant one. A survey design was used. The findings revealed that for academic libraries to be recognised and valued in their respective academic institutions in South Africa, they should be acquainted with the individual needs of their clients to provide a customised service. This article seeks to benefit libraries and librarians in the academic sector in South Africa and compel them to rethink their services, reposition themselves and ensure that they provide services that meet the needs and demands of their respective academic communities. It also seeks to assist academic libraries in strategies to be used in service provision that contribute positively to academic success among universities
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
An Assessment of Service Quality Standards in Service Provision Offered to Postgraduate Students in Selected University Libraries in South Africa
No full textThe article sought to investigate the existing quality standards governing service being provided by academic libraries to improve and promote the quality of service offered in South African university libraries. Although these libraries are providing similar services to their constituencies across South Africa, it is crucial to set and document standards for service provision in South African university libraries. The study was conducted in selected academic libraries in South African universities. Although both quantitative and qualitative approaches were applied, the quantitative approach was predominantly used in executing the study. A survey was also applied as the study’s design. For academic libraries to offer effective service provision to the academic community, service quality standards should be developed and complied with by all academic libraries in South African universities. The study revealed that although academic libraries in South Africa provide similar services, there is, however, no documentation of standards for academic library service provision. Academic libraries in South Africa rely on the benchmarking of service provision developed by first-world academic libraries, thus applying international standards for service provision. It is hoped that this article will be beneficial to academic libraries in South Africa as it seeks to standardise service provision and promote adherence to the stipulated standards. The study adds value to the body of knowledge on academic library service provision
Variations on the Author
Full text link“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
Full text linkWe 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
Full text linkWe 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
- …
