COLLABORATION BETWEEN LIBRARIANS AND ACADEMICS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION STUDIES FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN KZN

The aim of this study is to assess the level of collaboration between librarians and Library and Information Science (LIS) academics for the development of the LIS curriculum, being aware that collaboration is an instructional strategy that positively affects student academic achievement. The term collaboration has become popular concept in areas of life where two or more individuals, organisations, institutions or nation embark upon a mutually agreed process. Collaboration provides the opportunity for experts and researchers to partner and fine-tune thoughts and develop strategies for multi-dimensional thinking towards achieving common and uniform practice. Collaboration between librarians and LIS academics has been seen as a strategic activity in the management of LIS education programs and library and information services. It is widely acknowledged that there have been program structure and the content changes in Library and Information Studies (LIS) over the past decade. The supplementary drivers for change included changing client demand, innovations in information technology and the desire of LIS academics to cater to a wider information management marketplace than the traditional one. These changes are attributed mostly to library automation and the digital environment and it can be said that these changes affect the LIS curriculum to be unstable. The LIS education has been affected by these changes and the changing environment has compelled LIS schools to improve their curriculum so that it is in line with the LIS job market. The researcher believes that the changes in Library and Information Science (LIS) job market, changes in LIS education and the changing environment can be addressed through collaboration between librarians and LIS academics. The consistent collaboration between librarians and LIS academics can tremendously improve the relevance of the LIS curriculum. In regard of the present study, the researcher will critically review the literature that will be retrieved from different resources such as books, journals and articles based on collaboration between librarians and LIS academics as well as curriculum development in LIS institutions internationally, nationally (African setting) including South African setting

Harnessing Openness to Improve Research, Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Colleges and universities should embrace the concept of increased openness in the use and sharing of information to improve higher education. That is the core recommendation of this report. The report was produced by CED's Digital Connections Council (DCC), a group of information technology experts that advises CED's business leaders on cutting-edge technologies

Double-Loop Learning and the Global Business Student

In preparing students for employment in commerce, the student needs to be aware of many aspects not necessarily included in business programs. In recognizing students often have no or limited exposure to foreign environments, the authors developed an electronic exchange between students in Canada and Kazakhstan. In this exchange, students not only learned about foreign marketplaces but were able to integrate classroom teachings and text knowledge into their actions. This approach resulted in enhanced learning for students through double-loop processes and development in their other courses.  Dans la préparation des étudiants pour un emploi dans le commerce aujourd’hui, l’étudiant doit connaître de nombreux aspects aucune nécessairement inclus dans les programmes d’affaires. En reconnaissant les étudiants ont souvent l’exposition on pas limité à environnements étrangers, les auteurs ont élaboré un échange électronique entre les élèves en Canada et aux Kazakhstan. Dans l’échange, les étudiants ont non seulement appris au sujet des marchés étrangers, mais ont été en mesure d’intégrer les enseignements en classe et l’information dans leurs textes dans leurs actions. Il en a résulté dans l’apprentissage renforcé par double boucle des processus et de développement dans leurs autres cours

New media practices in India: bridging past and future, markets and development

This article provides a review of the academic and popular literature on new media practices in India, focusing on the country’s youth's use of mobile phones and the Internet, as well as new media prosumption. One particular feature of the Indian case is the confluence of commercial exploitation of new media technologies and their application for development purposes in initiatives that aim to bring these technologies to marginalized segments of the Indian population. Technology usage in turn is shaped by the socioeconomic location of the user, especially in regards to gender and caste. The potential of new media technologies to subvert such social stratifications and associated norms has inspired much public debate, which is often carried out on the Internet, giving rise to an online public sphere. In all of the writings reviewed here, the tension surrounding new media technologies as a meeting place of the old and the new in India is paramount

Effectiveness of HRD for developing SMEs in South Asia

Today South Asia is host to a large youth bulge which is entering the labor market every year posing challenging questions for the national governments in the context of employable skills, space for entrepreneurship, innovation and economic freedom. SME sector provides an opportunity for the young to exercise their ideas and ideals. However a prerequisite for the young to be innovate is the how countries produce and retain a high end human capital. This study provides a review of national socio-economic policies in South Asian region - which answer such challenges.human resource development, small and medium enterprises, economic growth, competitiveness

Twenty Years Later and the Socialist Heritage is still Kicking: the Case of Russia

Only recently, 20 years after transition to a market system, has Russia regained a similar production level it had achieved on the eve of transition in 1991. This may sound surprising, given its low productivity under central planning which dropped even ltransition, institutions, Russia, economic growth, human capital, higher

The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in America

As the United States slowly emerges from the great recession, a remarkable shify is occurring in the spatial geogrpahy of innovation. For the past 50 years, the landscape of innovation has been dominated by places like Silicon Valley - suburban corridors of spatially isolated corporate campuses, accessible only by car, with little emphasis on the quality of life or on integrating work, housing, and recreation. A new complementary urban model is now emerging, giving rise to what we and others are calling "innovation districts." These districts, by our definition, are geographic areas where leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, business incubators, and accelerators. They are also physically compact, transit-accessible, and technicall