Research Articles (Information Science)

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Computing research in South Africa : a scientometric investigation
(South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, 2019) Parry, Douglas A.
Limited attention has been afforded to mapping the ‘landscape’ of South African computing research. Prior studies have considered singular sub-disciplines, publications, or publication types. Given the growing prominence of computing disciplines, it is necessary to identify the patterns of research production, publication, collaboration, and impact of South African computing research. This study presents a scientometric investigation in this regard. Through the analysis of data accessed from the Scopus citation enhanced bibliographic database, the investigation presents findings in relation to annual research production, institutional differences in outputs, topics, collaboration, and citation impact. While characterised by institutional differences, over the period considered, South African computing research output has increased at a greater rate than that of South African research at large. Additionally, despite accounting for a greater proportion of all outputs, conference papers account for a smaller proportion of citations relative to journal articles or book chapters. Corresponding to previous investigations, there exists a tendency towards applied computing topics in contrast to more theoretical topics. Finally, the collaboration network was shown to be particularly de-centralised with many researchers clustered around institutions. The findings are of interest to all researchers conducting computing or related research in South Africa.
COVIDiStRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic
(Springer Nature, 2022-06-21) Blackburn, Angelique M.; Vestergren, Sara
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialects across 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000 responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a year into the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government and scientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Open-access raw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESS dataset has facilitated government policy decisions regarding health crises, this dataset can be used by researchers and policy makers to inform research, decisions, and policy.
Did we captivate them? Perceptions of second-year students about the library's information literacy online tutorials
(UNISA Press, 2013-01) Visser, Naomi
At Stellenbosch University the Department of Information Science is responsible for the mandatory Information Skills 172 and 174 programmes for first-year students in four faculties. In 2009 the faculty librarians were asked to create screencast online tutorials on certain library skills, and in 2010 a focus-group discussion was conducted to determine what students' perceptions were of the influence of these tutorials on their ability to find information for assignments. The findings indicate that the tutorials were not as successful as the library had hoped, and that the library should work at not only improving the tutorials, but also bringing them to the attention of the students.
The early years : the quest for a free space in a restricted environment
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 2020) Bernard, Lategan
This article discusses the considerations which led to the establishment of Scriptura in 1980. Against the backdrop of a looming social and political transformation, the intellectual, political and ecclesial climate was restrictive in many ways and on various levels. The strict adherence to disciplinary boundaries in academe, the dominant political ideology of oppression and exclusion, and the inertia caused by hierarchical systems of ecclesial control all contributed to the need to find spaces where alternative approaches could be explored and tested. In the process, fortunate co-incidences or instances of serendipity played an important role. The intention of this article is neither to provide a historical account of these developments nor an overview of the contents of the journal, but rather to explore the forces which influenced the course of events, often behind the scenes and on a meta-level. After the first decade, the journal was established enough to pursue more conventional objectives.
"Ek is ..." : oor die problematiek van enkelvoudige en meervoudige identiteit
(LitNet, 2014-08) Lategan, Bernard C.
Enkelvoudige identiteitsvorming vervul ’n noodsaaklike funksie in die individuele ontwikkeling en sosiale interaksie van mense. Hierdie soort identiteitsvorming gaan egter met inherente beperkinge gepaard wat dit as identiteitsmodel ongeskik – selfs gevaarlik – maak in ingewikkelde situasies. Hierdie beperkinge het te doen met sowel die soort denkmodel wat ten grondslag daarvan lê as die denkstrategieë wat in die proses gebruik word. Gevolglik word die moontlikhede van ’n meervoudige identiteit as alternatief ondersoek. Die kenmerke van so ’n identiteit word bespreek en die voordele daarvan toegelig aan die hand van plaaslike en internasionale voorbeelde. Ten slotte word geskikte strategieë om meervoudige identiteitsvorming te bevorder, oorweeg.
Exploring procedural decision support systems for wicked problem resolution
(South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, 2017) Pretorius, Carianne
Wicked problems are hyper-complex problems that are not solvable via traditional methods. Some common examples of these include issues such as poverty, climate change, business strategy, and general policy development, which all have high stakes and no straightforward solution. The ambiguity of these problems can be particularly frustrating for the individuals and organizations that encounter them, as the very essence of these problems is elastic and unstable. Additionally, attempts to tame wicked problems tend to be irrevocable — for better or for worse — as the problem itself shifts in unpredictable ways in response. Decision support systems (DSSs) have long been considered a panacea for a number of highly complex problems in light of their potential to store, retrieve, and manipulate information to aid decision making. However, classical DSSs, being originally intended for semi-structured types of problems, are rendered practically impotent in the presence of wicked problems and their associated complexities. Thus, this article investigates the possibility of DSSs that rely on procedural rationality as an alternative strategy for resolving wicked problems. An empirical literature review is utilized to build and present an integrated, descriptive model for the design, development, and use of such DSSs for resolving wicked problems.
Gevoelens, welstand en religie : 'n toepassing van Antonio Damasio se opvatting oor die rol van gevoelens in welstand op die ontstaan van religie
(LitNet, 2020) Troskie, Sandra
Alhoewel kulturele gedrag verbluffend wyd in die diereryk waargeneem word, is die mens oënskynlik die enigste spesie wat nie net ons uitwendige omgewing nie, maar ook die innerlike omgewing van ons gevoelens kultiveer. Oor millennia sou dié epigenetiese ingryping op die gemoed volgens ’n klein, maar invloedryke aantal wetenskaplikes ’n vername neerslag in daardie aannames en praktyke vind wat die kern van die mensdom se religieë vorm. In dié artikel word António Damásio – een van die invloedrykste neurowetenskaplikes van ons tyd – se opvatting oor die rol van gevoelens in welstand as teoretiese raamwerk ontwikkel vir ’n bespiegelende ondersoek na die evolusionêre druk wat tot die ontwikkeling van dié vermoë sou lei. Religie, so word aangevoer, ontstaan in aannames en praktyke wat die toegewyde in staat stel om die gevoelens en bewussyn wat deur groepslewe ontlok word, op wyses te reguleer wat die gemoed vir optimale welstand bestendig. Indien groepslewe inderdaad die oorsaak eerder as die gevolg van religie is, behoort daar ’n verband te wees tussen die ontstaan en evolusie van historiese religieë enersyds, en samelewingsveranderinge wat die gemoed van die enkeling in beroering bring, andersyds. Dié voorspelling moet egter nog aan die ontwikkelingsgeskiedenisse van historiese religieuse tradisies getoets word.
IASAS Student Leader Global Summit 2019
(African Minds, 2019) Moscaritolo, Lisa Bardill; Engel, Rozanne; Overmeyer, Tonia
Leadership and mental health came under the spotlight when more than 50 student leaders from all over the world met at Stellenbosch University (SU) from 23 to 26 June 2019 for the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS) Student Leader Global Summit. It was the first time that SU hosted this global summit for student leaders. IASAS is a nonprofit organisation that was founded in Belgium in 2013. It is a worldwide association of university professionals working in the area of student affairs and services. IASAS has more than 1 400 individual, institutional and association members representing over 90 countries on five continents. The fourth IASAS Student Leader Global Summit (SLGS) welcomed 45 students from 14 countries across the world. The SLGS provides a global platform for improving multi- and intercultural communication and understanding amongst students. The goal of the summits is to bring student leaders from different parts of the world together to discuss student governance, leadership, social justice and other topics of shared interest.
In-lecture media use and academic performance : investigating demographic and intentional moderators
(South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, 2018) Parry, Douglas A.; Le Roux, Daniel B.
The growing prevalence of continuous media use among university students in lecture environments has potential for detrimental effects. In this study we investigate the relationships between in-lecture media use and academic performance. Previous studies have shown that students frequently engage with digital media whilst in university lectures. Moreover, multitasking imposes cognitive costs detrimental to learning and task execution. We propose, accordingly, that the constant distractions created by digital media, interrupt the thought and communication processes of students during lectures and, subsequently, obstruct their ability to learn. To test this proposition we conducted a survey-based empirical investigation of digital media use and academic performance among undergraduate university students. A significant negative correlation was found between the number of in-lecture media use instances and academic performance. Furthermore, this effect was found to be pervasive independent of individual demographic factors and the intention with which a medium was used.
"Incompleteness" and the quest for multiple identities in South Africa
(GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Institute of African Affairs, 2015) Lategan, Bernard C.
The article explores the contours of multiple identities in contrast to singular identities in situations of social complexity and cultural diversity. Nyamnjoh’s concepts of “incompleteness” and “frontier Africans” imply an alternative approach to identity formation. Although the formation of one’s own, singular identity is a necessary stage in the development of each individual, it has specific limitations. This is especially true in situations of complexity and diversity and where the achievement of social cohesion is an important goal. With reference to existing theories of identity formation, an alternative framework is proposed that is more appropriate for the dynamic, open-ended nature of identity and better suited to encourage the enrichment of identity. The role of imagination, a strategy for crossing borders (with reference to Clingman’s concept of a “grammar of identity”), the search for commonality, and the effect of historical memory are discussed. Enriched and multiple identities are not achieved by replacement or exchange, but by widening (existing) singular identities into a more inclusive and diverse understanding of the self.
Institute vir gevorderde navorsing : elitistiese luuksheid of bakermat van die wetenskap?
(LitNet, 2019) Lategan, Bernard C.
Institute vir gevorderde navorsing (IGN’s) is lank reeds deel van die akademiese toneel. Tog is hierdie instellings betreklik onbekend en word hulle dikwels met agterdog bejeën en gesien as eksklusiewe klubs wat net vir ’n paar uitverkorenes toeganklik is. Die artikel bied ’n kritiese oorsig oor die herkoms van die idee, die hoofdoelstellings en eiesoortige werkwyse, die verhouding met die res van die navorsingswêreld, die kenmerkende etos, en die potensiële bydrae wat hierdie soort van instelling kan lewer. Vir hierdie doel word geput uit die geskiedenis en ervaring van IGN’s in verskeie wêrelddele, maar in besonder van die Stellenbosse Instituut vir Gevorderde Navorsing (STIAS, na aanleiding van die Engelse naam, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study). Die eerste gedeelte bied ’n oorsig oor die ontstaansgeskiedenis vanaf die eerste instituut wat in 1930 in Princeton gestig is tot op hede, waar tientalle IGN’s in feitlik elke land bestaan. Vervolgens word die simbiotiese verhouding tussen universiteite en IGN’s bespreek. Die mees suksesvolle institute word gedra deur ’n paar kernwaardes wat mekaar onderling versterk. Dit word gekenmerk deur die klem op die vryheid van wetenskaplike ondersoek, die drang na grensoorskryding, die aanvaarding van onvolledigheid, die strewe na inklusiwiteit (wat onder andere elitistiese en uitsluitende neigings teenwerk) en ’n fokus op die uiteindelike bydrae tot die algemene welsyn. Uit hierdie waardes het ’n bepaalde etos ontwikkel wat met voorbeelde uit die praktyk geïllustreer word. Ten slotte word geargumenteer dat ten spyte van gevalle waar die edele doelstellings versaak word, die mees suksesvolle IGN’s ’n belangrike bydrae lewer tot die bevordering van die wetenskap en tot die nimmereindigende soektog na nuwe insigte en kennis.
Kan gister beter word? In gesprek met Jörn Rüsen oor die verwerking van 'n troebel verlede
(LitNet, 2016-07-17) Lategan, Bernard C.
Die artikel ontleed ’n minder bekende opstel van die kultuurhistorikus Jörn Rüsen waarin hy voorstelle maak oor hoe ’n negatiewe verlede verwerk kan word sodat hierdie verlede uiteindelik “beter” word. Die onlangse opvlamming van protes teen figure soos Cecil Rhodes en Jan van Riebeeck is slegs die jongste voorbeelde van hoe die verlede gemoedere in die hede steeds in beweging kan bring. Dit illustreer terselfdertyd die toekomspotensiaal van herinnering. Rüsen ondersoek die aard van herinnering na aanleiding van ’n gesprek tussen twee karakters uit die bekende Peanuts-strokiesprent. Terwyl Linus meen dat dit verkeerd is om jou oor môre te bekommer, en eerder net aan vandag te dink, is Charlie Brown se antwoord dat dit sou beteken dat ons die handdoek ingooi wat die verlede betref: “Ek hoop nog steeds dat gister beter kan word.” Aan die hand van Charlie se antwoord ondersoek Rüsen die aard van herinnering, met name die toekomsgerigte geneigdheid daarvan om vas te stel hoe gister “beter” kan word. Volgens hom is hierdie gerigtheid toe te skryf aan die feit dat ons voortdurend soek om sin te maak van die verlede en dat dit ons motiveer om in die toekoms op ’n bepaalde wyse op te tree. Rüsen se groot verdienste is dat hy hierdie toekomspotensiaal van herinnering as uitgangspunt neem. Die probleem is egter eerstens dat hy van ’n toekomsverwagting uitgaan wat te beperkend vir sy doel is en tweedens dat hy die toekomspotensiaal van herinnering nie konsekwent ontgin nie. Op voetspoor van Droysen (1977) en Von Ranke (1975) gee hy voorkeur aan ’n teleologiese opvatting van die geskiedenis, naamlik dat alle gebeure uiteindelik op ’n bepaalde doel afstuur. So ’n opvatting laat egter ruimte vir sogenaamde meesterverhale om die verstaan van gebeure te oorheers en vir ideologieë om wortel te skiet. ’n Utopiese geskiednisbeskouing is nie veel beter nie, omdat dit ’n ontkoppeling van die verlede veronderstel en nie duidelik maak hoe laasgenoemde vrugbaar vir die toekoms aangewend kan word nie. Apokaliptiese voorstellings is ook nie bruikbaar nie, omdat die fokus van die toekoms na die hede verskuif en die vernietiging van laasgenoemde die voorwaarde word vir die aanbreek van die einde. ’n Eskatologiese geskiedenisbeskouing is waarskynlik die mees bruikbare vir die “beter word” van die verlede omdat dit van die kontinuïteit tussen hede en toekoms uitgaan en ’n spanning tussen beide veronderstel wat toekomsgerigte optrede stimuleer. Ten slotte is ’n meer konsekwente ontginning van die toekomspotensiaal van herinnering nodig voordat werklik verby ’n negatiewe verlede beweeg kan word. Dit beteken dat in elke spesifieke geval die moontlike toekoms van ’n herinnering – ook en veral van ’n negatiewe herinnering – intensief bedink moet word. Hierdie toekoms kan sowel negatiewe (“nooit weer nie!”) as positiewe vorme aanneem – byvoorbeeld in die verbintenis tot beter keuses en meer konstruktiewe optrede in die toekoms. Hiervoor is dit egter nodig dat die blikrigting – anders as die engel in die skildery van Paul Klee – van die verlede na die toekoms gewend sal word.
Knowledge management practices in the South African business sector : preliminary findings of a longitudinal study
(AOSIS, 2002) Botha, D.; Fouche, B.
This article reports the findings of the first phase of a longitudinal research project on knowledge management (KM) practices in the South African business sector. The overall objectives of the research are to describe prevalent knowledge management practices, to identify patterns and trends, and to develop knowledge management benchmarking and strategic management tools for the business sector. During the first phase of the project a data collection and analysis instrument for a recurring survey of knowledge management practices was developed and verified. The statistical verification of the instrument was based on a pilot survey of seventy-four respondents representing fifty-three companies in the South African industry, using one-way analysis of variance, cross-tabular chi-squared tests and principal component analysis. The data collected during the pilot survey was considered to be sufficient for a first order analysis of KM practices. The survey tested respondent perceptions on six factors scored by aggregation from 24 indicators. The selection of the factors and indicators was based on a KM reference model developed for the purpose of the research. The findings indicated clear patterns of organisational performance related to the factors of the model. The patterns corroborated to a large extent the published findings of research on KM practices in industrialised countries. This provided the confidence to use the preliminary findings as the basis of hypotheses to guide the further phases of the project.
Om sin te maak. Pleidooi vir 'n gesprek tussen organisasiekunde en hermeneutiek
(LitNet, 2019) Lategan, Bernard C.
Die artikel vestig die aandag op ’n belangrike nuwe ondersoek in organisasiekunde, naamlik die doktorale navorsing van Christiaan Maasdorp soos onder meer vervat in sy proefskrif getitel “Narrativity and organisation: an investigation in sensemaking theory” (Universiteit Stellenbosch 2018). In die eerste gedeelte van die artikel word Maasdorp se kritiek op Karl Weick se teorie van “sensemaking” in organisasies bespreek. In die tweede gedeelte word Maasdorp se voorstel ontleed om leemtes in hierdie teorie met insigte uit Ricoeur se hermeneutiese filosofie te verbeter en te versterk. Dit gaan hierby veral om Ricoeur se opvatting van narratiewe identiteit wat volgens Maasdorp ’n stewiger basis en ’n meer geskikte raamwerk bied vir wat Weick wil bereik. In die slotgedeelte word aspekte van Ricoeur se benadering wat Maasdorp nie voldoende benut nie, aan die orde gestel. Dit raak veral die verandering en vernuwing in en van organisasies wat in Ricoeur se begrip van die herbeskrywing van die werklikheid opgesluit lê. Maasdorp het ’n gesprek begin wat verder voortgesit behoort te word.
Die ontstaan en ontwikkeling van wetenskaplike studies van religie : 'n Genealogiese verkenning
(2020) Troskie, Sandra
Die opkoms van die sosiobiologiese wetenskappe sedert die vorige eeu kan tereg beskou word as ’n oortydige erkenning van Darwin (1872) se insig dat nie net ons vlees nie, maar ook ons gees in ’n wereld van organe, selle en gene gebed is. Een van die gevolge van die insig is dat religie – vir lank as die uitsluitlike domein van die mens- en sosiale wetenskappe beskou – toenemend ook ’n onderwerp van studie vir die biologiese wetenskappe sou word. Die doel van die huidige artikel is nie om die biologiese benadering tot religie te kritiseer nie, maar om die aandag te vestig op die bedenklike oorsprong en invloed van een van die sleutelaannames aan die grond van die meerderheid van die studies. Dit is naamlik dat religie slegs met verwysing na die bonatuurlike en/of die buitengewone gedefinieer kan word. Die aanname vorm daarom die genealogiese fokuspunt vir ’n verkennende ondersoek na die ontstaan en ontwikkeling van wetenskaplike studies van religie as sodanig.
Oor die veelduidigheid van tekste
(LitNet Academic, 2011-03) Lategan, Bernard C.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: On the plurality of religious texts - Plurality in the interpretation of texts is not a new phenomenon. However, recent developments have made this phenomenon more prominent. With the focus on religious, and more specifically biblical, texts the article analyses plurality from a linguistic, literary theoretical, historiographic and philosophical perspective. It concludes that plurality in interpretation is an inescapable given in the present context with both positive and negative dimensions. In a final section some constructive approaches to plurality are briefly discussed.
Die opleiding van bedryfsielkundiges aan die Univeristeit van Stellenbosch
(AOSIS OpenJournal, 1978-11) Augustyn, J. C. D.; De Villiers, W. S.; Raubenheimer, I. Van W.; Van Biljon, I. J.
Die aanbieding van Bedryfsielkunde aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch gaan sover terug as 1943 toe daar binne die Departement Sielkunde met 'n afsonderlike kursus in Bedryfsielkunde vir B.Comm.-studente 'n begin gemaak is. Hierdie kursus is in 1949 uitgebrei tot die derde jaar, toe dit moontlik geword het om 'n B.Comm.-graad met Bedryfsielkunde as een van die hoofvakke te behaal.
Quality in software development : a pragmatic approach using metrics
(South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, 2014-07) Acton, Daniel; Kourie, Derrick G.; Watson, Bruce W.
As long as software has been produced, there have been efforts to strive for quality in software products. In order to understand quality in software products, researchers have built models of software quality that rely on metrics in an attempt to provide a quantitative view of software quality. The aim of these models is to provide software producers with the capability to define and evaluate metrics related to quality and use these metrics to improve the quality of the software they produce over time. The main disadvantage of these models is that they require effort and resources to define and evaluate metrics from software projects. This article briefly describes some prominent models of software quality in the literature and continues to describe a new approach to gaining insight into quality in software development projects. A case study based on this new approach is described and results from the case study are discussed.
A taxonomy of minimisation algorithms for deterministic tree automata
(J.UCS Consortium, 2016) Bjorklund, Johanna; Cleophas, Loek
We present a taxonomy of algorithms for minimising deterministic bottomup tree automata (dtas) over ranked and ordered trees. Automata of this type and its extensions are used in many application areas, including natural language processing (nlp) and code generation. In practice, dtas can grow very large, but minimisation keeps things manageable. The proposed taxonomy serves as a unifying framework that makes algorithms accessible and comparable, and as a foundation for efficient implementation. Taxonomies of this type are also convenient for correctness and complexity analysis, as results can frequently be propagated through the hierarchy. The taxonomy described herein covers a broad spectrum of algorithms, ranging from novel to well-studied ones, with a focus on computational complexity.
'n Verskuiwing na 'n oper en meer "pragmatiese" lees van Romeine 13:1–7?
(LitNet, 2015-08) Lategan, Bernard C.
Romeine 13:1–7 bly ’n omstrede teks wat voortgaan om ’n groot verskeidenheid (dikwels botsende) interpretasies op te lewer. Die gedeelte roep vrae op oor mag, die verhouding tussen kerk en staat, onderwerping aan wat as ’n onregverdige regering ervaar word, burgerlike ongehoorsaamheid en nog meer. Die doel van die artikel is om die strategieë wat lesers in die onlangse verlede gebruik het, te ondersoek en te toets aan ’n indeling van interpretasies wat reeds in 1992 ontwikkel is. Veral na die groot magsverskuiwinge in die wêreld aan die einde van die vorige eeu en die toename van internasionale terreur het dié gedeelte weer in die kollig gekom. Die slotsom is dat nog steeds van bekende leesstrategieë gebruik gemaak word, maar dat daar ’n merkbare verskuiwing na ’n meer “pragmatiese” benadering is. Hierdie benadering aanvaar die kompleksiteit van sowel die teks as die verskeidenheid van lesers en hul onderskeie omstandighede en soek na maniere om in die matriks van mag en magsmisbruik, wet en orde, kritiese bewussyn, eie verantwoordelikheid en die nastreef van die algemene welsyn, werkbare en praktiese oplossings vir die omgang met mag te ontwikkel.

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