Research data management practices and services in South African academic libraries

Research data is being produced at a rapid rate in a wide variety of digital forms in academic and research institutions, however, this data is most prone to loss due to mismanagement. Proper management and preservation of this research data is essential for productivity, securing grant funding, enabling collaboration, increases data sharing, ensuring accessibility and the future use of data. Although academic libraries have recognised a need for effective management of research data, however, the management of their fast-growing number of research data poses major challenge to academic librarianship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the research data management practices and services within academic libraries in South Africa, in order to suggest solutions for effective research data management. Review of literature revealed that academic libraries are experiencing difficulties in managing their research data because of the absence of established policies and standards, inadequate standardised storage infrastructure, time constraint to organise data, limited funding, inadequate resources, lack of skills and training in managing research data and lack of incentives for researchers to share their data. All these challenges have created the dire need for best practices and solutions in ensuring proper management and long-term preservation of research data of enduring value in the academic libraries. Effective research data management strategies are thus needed to protect the enormous financial and time investments that have been made by mitigating data loss and avoiding the need for duplication of efforts to recreate lost data. The study suggests the need for implementation of research data management policies and strategies, provision of adequate resources, sufficient funding, collaborative approach and capacitating research data managers and administrators

Harnessing the Youth Bulge for Transformative Leadership, Transparency and Accountability in Africa: The Case of Mozambique and Zimbabwe

In every part of the globe, the 21st century has seen an increase in the youth bulge accompanied by a surge in youths\u27 involvement in various issues. Youth alone now constitute more than 65% (both male and female) of Africa\u27s population becoming impossible to leave youths behind in any processes. Perhaps in the new millennium, the Arab Springs in North Africa and the #feesmustfall South African protests changed the course of history and discourse around leadership issues in Africa. Historically, challenges and opportunities confronting youths in Africa are traditional. Hierarchy (both political and social) always defines the leadership criteria. Historically, youths have been at the receiving end and decisions made on their behalf. This article is also developed in the context of the re-emergence of the #feesmustfall protests in South Africa and also incarceration of young political and human rights activists in Zimbabwe, immensely changing the face of politics in both countries and Africa at large. For Southern Africa, the mass youth protests raises pertinent questions around leadership, unemployment, poverty, education and involvement of the youth in national processes. Through the lenses of the qualitative research paradigm, the author answered the how, why and what questions by identifying patterns in the issues under discussion. This paper seeks to discuss how African countries can or should harness the youth population by grooming transformative leaders who hold governments to account solely on the basis that it is the continent\u27s leadership and actions which affect the full enjoyment of human rights, good governance and democracy in Africa

When the State Turns Against its Own Citizens: Revisiting Police Brutality as an Obstacle to Peace and Development in Zimbabwe

This analysis comes at a strategic yet uncertain period in Zimbabwe when the nation is going through a political transition. A lot ofuncertainty surrounds the outcome of this transition. Since the 1980s, Zimbabwe has been entrenched in a plethora of crises including vast human rights abuses hinged on pervasive police brutality. The police have increasingly become predatory against the Zimbabwean populace, followed by disappearances of human rights defenders and activists. Elections have always been marred by political violence perpetrated by both State and non-state actors to the detriment of human rights and good governance. Whilst the leadership in the governing party has aged, the mantra \u27Save Zimbabwe\u27 has become vibrant. Efforts to thwart democratic movements have failed in Zimbabwe. Given the oncoming 2018 elections in Zimbabwe, this paper seeks to examine the impact of police brutality and explore the pros and cons of such attitudes and behaviours so as to recommend how Zimbabwe can mitigate police brutality and foster tolerance, co-existence, peace, development and human security

Addressing Socio-Economic Challenges to Curb Youth Participation in Terrorism in Africa

The scourge of terrorism has become an international crisis after the 9/11 attacks in America. Terrorism has deeply encroached its claws in Africa on the premise of socio-economic challenges along the clash of civilizations. In countries such as Nigeria, Somalia, Central African Republic, Kenya and the Maghreb region, terrorism is a threat to peace and security, compounded by spiraling youth unemployment rates, the youth bulge, porous borders, poverty, arms proliferation, weak governments, economic problems among other challenges. It is yet to be seen how Africans will unite to deal with this threat to security on the continent given the above mentioned problems. At the same time, one will assess the ramifications, advantages, and pitfalls of the youth bulge and foreign intervention to curb the spread of terrorism towards obtaining sustainable peace and security on the continent

Empowering older women in AIDS prevention: the case of Botswana

This article describes the preliminary results of a peer education programme for AIDS prevention and care among older women in Botswana. A culturally-sensitive programme was developed based on the findings of a qualitative study that revealed older womens knowledge and beliefs about HIV'IAIDS. These findings indicated that older women have been marginalized by public-health messages on AIDS prevention, thus making them vulnerable to HIV infection. Through peer education, older women were empowered to prevent HIV infection to themselves, and within their families and communities. They also learnt about the care of people who have AIDS. The result of the peer education programme indicates that older women, as respected members of the community, are an important resource in HIVIAIDS prevention and control

Outcomes of a community-based HIV/AIDS education programme for rural older women in Botswana

This article describes the experience and outcomes of a community-based educational programme to prevent HIV infection in older rural women in Botswana and to utilize the women as resources to educate members of their communities in the prevention of the disease. The programme used the primary health-care approach to develop and test gender-specific and culturally-relevant materials for the older women. Programme evaluation employed a quasiexperimental design with older women in a second village serving as a control group. Six months after programme implementation, the older women in the target village were more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS than those in the control village. The sexually-active women were practising safer sex, and all were collaborating with health personnel in community activities for HIV/AIDS prevention and care. These activities are continuing and are being sustained by the village health committee

Reflection on supervising Information Science and Technology postgraduate students at South African Universities: best practices for transformational learning

Supervising postgraduate students especially online supervision can be a daunting task that brings several unique challenges. This article reflects on my supervision experiences, the challenges faced by research supervisors in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the strategies to improve the research supervision practices. The article draws upon my own experiences at both residential and distance learning universities and for the past four years as a research supervisor. My supervision reflection begins with my time at the University of South Africa (UNISA), where I cut my teeth as a Senior Lecturer, and have learned several valuable experiences and practices related to teaching undergraduate students, supervising postgraduate students (honours, masters and PhDs), writing research articles and be involved in community engagement or research projects. I have learned that students need to be prepared for postgraduate level and research supervision thus need to be treated with as much significance as teaching at undergraduate levels. I have also learned that the success of postgraduate education largely relies on effective supervision, however, the effective supervision is a two-way process involving both supervisor and student’s commitment. more about humanizing pedagogy. In addition, I have learned that supervisors need to develop and maintain good and harmonious relationship with their student, for the successful completion of postgraduate study or research project. As supervisors we thus need to apply humanizing pedagogy in the supervision relationship. I hope that my reflective experiences and suggested strategies will assist in providing effective supervision and the highest standards of scholarship in Higher Education Institutions, globally and South Africa in particular

Factors affecting the enrolment rate of students in higher education institutions in the Gauteng province, South Africa : based on General Household Survey 2012

Magister Philosophiae - MPhilBackground: In South Africa, many students are not able to register at higher education institutions after receiving their high school diploma. The majority of those who do register do not even complete their tertiary studies. The purpose of this research project is to investigate and analyse higher education institutions’ enrolment and dropout within the Gauteng province, South Africa. Data and Methods: Large-scale secondary data from the General Household Survey (GHS, 2012), obtained from Statistics South Africa were used. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and the Statistical Analyst System (SAS) software package were utilised for quantitative analysis. The numerous local and international pedagogical studies synthesised in this research show that finance, unplanned pregnancies, orphanhood and transport to the higher education institutions are some of the main concerns that affect the enrolment rate of students. Further variables such as gender, race, ethnicities and the type of institution have also negatively affected the enrolment rate of students, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Results: According to the ICEF Monitor 2015, current higher education enrolment in Sub-Saharan Africa is 8%. The UIS Fact Sheet 2010 revealed that the enrolment ratio is 4.8% for women compared to 7.3% for men. The present study focuses on the Gauteng province's students who have completed their high school education, as well as those who are either registered or not registered within the province’s higher education institutions, and are between the ages of 17 and 35 years. Conclusion: This study hopes to be useful to policy-makers, research managers and other decision makers within education

Assessing the practices of environmental health practitioners inspecting normal food traders

Abstract: Informal food trading as a sector, has been established for centuries and is considered an integral part of the historical and cultural heritage of numerous cities on a global scale. Similar to many other countries, informal food trading has gained popularity for several reasons in South Africa. This growing interest goes beyond the safety of the food sold, consumer perspectives and rather includes the role of regulatory authorities such as Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs). Such practitioners meant to ensure that informal food traders are inspected, trained and monitored in order to ensure the provision of safe and wholesome food to the public. However, the uniformity in the standard of inspection, certification, monitoring and statutory enforcement is questionable. Using a quantitative method, the research followed a descriptive design to assess the practices of EHPs inspecting informal food traders within the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM). Purposeful sampling was used for selecting the sample population of 54 EHPs who conduct informal food trader inspections within their area of jurisdiction. In addition, through simple random sampling, records review of 80 informal food trader files was done. Data was collected through a previously validated self-reported questionnaire and data collection checklist. The questionnaire was completed by EHPs and the researcher simultaneously completed the checklist for review purposes. The findings of the study indicated that there were gaps and challenges in the knowledge and practices of EHPs, particularly in the uniformity with which they execute their roles when inspecting informal food traders. The study also shows an existing record management system needing improvement. The value-add associated with the study is an indication of a need for upgraded knowledge management systems that include training, procedural standardisation and enhanced collaboration with other stakeholders for better inspection of informal food traders.M.Tech. (Environmental Health

Knowledge and perceptions about non-communicable diseases by people living with HIV: a descriptive cross-sectional study from Chitungwiza Central Hospital Zimbabwe

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa has shown a rise in morbidity and mortality due to NCDs. PLHIV have shown to be more exposed to NCDs and identifying the knowledge gaps might help the management of NCDs in PLHIV. Objective: The study was conducted in order to determine knowledge and perceptions regarding NCDs in PLHIV from Chitungwiza Hospital. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey on 324 participants from Chitungwiza Hospital. Data collection was through a designed questionnaire. Knowledge and perceptions were evaluated, and the associated risk factors were identified using the Logistic Regression Model. Results: Results showed a 65% level of knowledge and 80% positive perceptions on NCDs. Participants <40 years of age were more knowledgeable (p=0.003) and history of NCD in the family influenced positively on knowledge (p=0.001). Females showed a more positive perception (p=0.043), both increasing age and low education negatively impacted the perceptions (p<0.001) as well as the knowledge (p=0.020). Conclusion: Knowledge and perception were moderately high, but reduced with decreasing levels of education and increasing age. The study recommends educational campaigns to disseminate information about NCDs in PLHIV, targeting the least educated population groups and those older than 40 years of age. Keywords: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs); HIV; Knowledge; Perceptions