Background: The South African construction industry is noted to be one of the most popular industries heavily dependent on projects. Calls exist for research that ascertains not just how entrepreneurs act as project managers but also the evaluation of project success and the role information management plays in all this.Objectives: The aim of this study was to understand the views and experiences of entrepreneurs in how: (1) project management success is conceptualised, and (2) the role that information management played to this within a South African construction industry space.Method: The study adopts a qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews to generate narratives and themes around how: (1) project management success is conceptualised, and (2) the role that information management played to this. A sample of 15 entrepreneurs working within the construction industry was used for this study.Results: Based on the analysis of the narratives of the 15 entrepreneurs, project success was conceptualised mainly along three themes. Firstly, project success was about keeping the customer happy. Secondly, project success in the construction industry meant meeting the set targets, especially those of a financial nature. Finally, project success was about channelling internal synergies to realise external gains. Further, the 15 entrepreneurs espoused one main sub-theme around the role of information management to this conceptualisation of project success. This posits the role of information management to be a currency in effective decision-making.Conclusion: The study concluded by focusing on the implications and recommendations based on the identified themes.

Background: Knowledge sharing has been identified as the core process of knowledge management for institutions which are interested in the retention of knowledge invested in their human capital in the event of their departure from the institutions. To this end, knowledge sharing has been the focus of research institution-wide, and less focus has been paid to communities of practice (CoPs) within the South African public service.Objectives: This study aimed to explore factors that motivated knowledge sharing practices in a South African public service CoP.Method: This study used the mixed methods design through the lens of the motivational theory. Primary quantitative data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires returned by 23 of the 31 KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial Human Resource Development Forum (PHRDF) members to whom the questionnaires were distributed. In addition, primary qualitative data were collected from the senior managers of Human Resource Development (HRD) units from 10 different KZN Provincial Departments of the 14 managers requested. The quantitative analysis was established using SPSS software, whereas qualitative analysis was established using thematic codes with the NVIVO software.Results: The findings from the results revealed that PHRDF members were intrinsically motivated to share their knowledge rather than extrinsically motivated.Conclusion: Although literature confirmed the main barrier to knowledge sharing in organisations as being the unwillingness to share, CoPs were likely to reduce the extent to which knowledge sharing was hindered. Members of a CoP ultimately related to one another as homogeneous groups despite representing different departments. To this end, hedonic intrinsic motivation occurred as members shared knowledge for the good of the whole regardless of the absence of extrinsic motivation. Departmental silos fell away, and there was no anticipation of rewards or incentives for knowledge sharing. It is, therefore, imperative that the South African public service strategically positions CoPs as knowledge sharing platforms to curb the loss of knowledge when employees leave its employ for whatever reason.

Background: Google Scholar provides user-friendly information resources and is very effective in finding information to satisfy various information needs, especially by the research students. However, despite its usefulness in satisfying information and research needs of the research students and researchers as a whole, the lingering effect associated with it is drawing students away from libraries. Similarly, there have been limited studies conducted to examine the level of perceived usefulness of Google Scholar by the graduate students, particularly in the context of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.Objectives: The study examined the perceived usefulness of Google Scholar by the postgraduate students of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.Methods: A total of 223 postgraduate students selected through simple random sampling from 15 faculties that made up the University formed the sample for the study. A survey approach was adopted using a questionnaire to gather data from respondents. Six research questions were developed to guide the study.Results: The results demonstrate that the majority of respondents strongly agreed and agreed that they were aware of Google Scholar and usually used it. However, the respondents were not satisfied with Google Scholar as it does not either speed up their research or make their research easier. Google Scholar was considered useful because it covers broad topics in the area of interest and usually provides relevant articles related to the respondents’ search done through this platform.Conclusion: The study concluded by recommending, among others, that there is a need for orientation programmes to enhance the use of Google Scholar via the university library.

Background: Case studies are core constructs used in information management research. A persistent challenge for business, information management and social science researchers is how to select a representative sample of cases among a population with diverse characteristics when convenient or purposive sampling is not considered rigorous enough. The context of the study is post-school education, and it involves an investigation of quantitative methods of clustering the population of public technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in South Africa into groups with a similar level of maturity in terms of their information systems.Objectives: The aim of the study was to propose an evidence-based quantitative method for the selection of cases for case study research and to demonstrate the use and usefulness thereof by clustering public TVET colleges.Method: The clustering method was based on the use of a representative characteristic of the context, as a proxy. In this context of management information systems (MISs), website maturity was used as a proxy and website maturity model theory was used in the development of an evaluation questionnaire. The questionnaire was used for capturing data on website characteristics, which was used to determine website maturity. The websites of the 50 public TVET colleges were evaluated by nine evaluators. Multiple statistical techniques were applied to establish inter-rater reliability and to produce clusters of colleges.Results: The analyses revealed three clusters of public TVET colleges based on their website maturity levels. The first cluster includes three colleges with no websites or websites at a low maturity level. The second cluster consists of 30 colleges with websites at an average maturity level. The third cluster contains 17 colleges with websites at a high maturity level.Conclusion: The main contribution to the knowledge domain is an innovative quantitative method employing a characteristic (in this case website maturity) as a proxy for MIS maturity. The method can be applied in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research, to group a population and thereby simplify the process of sample selection of cases for further in-depth investigation.

Background: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of how a virtual community of practice can be delivered via a mobile social networking framework to support rural community media in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.Objectives: The article presents the results of a study conducted to ascertain the possibilities of utilising mobile social networking as a means to provide access to required information and knowledge to rural community media through creation of a virtual community of practice. Improving the operational effectiveness of rural community media as a component of the rural community communication process would serve to improve the entire rural community communication process as well, making them more effective tools for availing relevant news and information to rural communities and reflecting the realities of rural communities to their broader environment.Method: The study was conducted on rural community media small micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study applied an interpretive research philosophy, qualitative research design and multiple–case study approach. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews supported by a questionnaire, with secondary data collected via literature review, observation and documentation analysis.Results: Findings were that rural community media do make use of social media and mobile devices in operating their business, require access to generic and domain specific support services and actively engage their peers and stakeholders in this respect, although no formalised structure existed. The authors’ recommendation is to create a formalised virtual community of practice through the establishment of a mobile social network.Conclusion: Because of the fact that rural community SMMEs already utilise mobile devices and social media to operate their businesses, development of a solution based on a mobile social networking platform could be a useful tool in providing support to these SMMEs.

Background: The Centre for Open and Distance Learning at Mzuzu University was established in 2006 with the aim to increase and broaden access to higher education to most Malawians who despite meeting entry requirements into higher education were not selected because of shortage of space on campus and other learning and teaching resources. Although Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is hyped as a practical option for making higher education available to many people as widely reported in the literature, universities need to address several issues for it to hold its ground.Objectives: The study set out to investigate information needs and barriers to information sources by ODL students by addressing three objectives, namely information needs of ODL students, information sources of ODL students and challenges that ODL students face when seeking information for their courses of study.Method: A survey questionnaire with a mix of closed-ended and open-ended questions was distributed to 350 students to find out the information sources and challenges that the ODL students face when searching for information to accomplish their academic activities.Results: According to the findings, all 258 (100%) students who answered the questionnaire need information to prepare for the end-of-semester examinations. Information sources that are used most by students include lecture notes, Internet and library books with scores of 238 (92.6%), 207 (80.5%) and 199 (77.4%), respectively.Conclusion: ODL students have limited access to information materials for accomplishing their academic activities and Mzuzu University can resolve this challenge by introducing satellite information centres in the three geographical regions of Malawi.

Background: Contemporary technology and its rapid rise to a ubiquitous nature are affecting the way in which technology is used. This holds implications for military information operations and information warfare concepts as the previously separate functional areas are increasingly overlapping due to the increased convergence of information technology.Objective: The aim of the article is to illustrate the convergence of the functional areas of information operations through the use of reported examples and descriptive models. Methods: A qualitative review and analysis of practitioner documents, academic publications, and other reports is conducted. The diverse views of this phenomenon are contrasted and discussed. The possible implications of the convergence and possible management techniques are proposed and discussed. Results: There is strong opinion that the domains are not converging, however practice shows that there is an increasing overlap of operational considerations and organisational structure. Conclusion: It is concluded that the domains are not converging, but the operations and management of the information operations functional areas may converge, and this has an impact across all functional areas that needs to be taken into consideration.

Background: Smartphones and similar mobile devices have changed the way individuals interact with technology and with each other. The app preferences of smartphone users are vitally important to those seeking to understand the motivation behind app downloads and usage.Objective: The research problem of this article is centred on the preferences for smartphone apps by the growing market of smartphone users in South Africa. The study includes a demographic profile of the users to establish what attracts this market into downloading smartphone apps.Methodology: The study employed a mono-method, quantitative methodological framework with an online survey as the data collection instrument. The survey was conducted amongst undergraduate university students in 2013 and repeated again in 2014. Results: It was found that the ‘young adult’ demographic, of which the sample of undergraduate university students formed a part, was discerning about which apps they downloaded and that the frequency of downloads occurred less than once a month in most cases. Information and entertainment needs were amongst the top reasons users indicated as motivations for downloading apps. Conclusion: The study’s findings confirmed that the sample had definite preferences regarding which apps the users were downloading, and these preferences depended on the needs that they wished to fulfil. The study also revealed that, even though users were aware of security threats associated with downloading apps, this knowledge did not deter them from continuing to download apps. Future research recommendations also arose from the study, giving direction to prospective studies.

Background: According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) ‘Telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via communications to improve a patient’s health’. Despite the documented advantages of telemedicine, especially in developing countries, the implementation of this technology has been slow, with most projects not succeeding past the pilot phase.Objectives: The aim of the article is to provide critical success factors (CSF) that will enable the deployment of telemedicine in the cloud in order to improve health care services in developing countries.Methods: A thorough literature review was performed of peer reviewed articles in order to identify possible barriers for telemedicine to be deployed in the cloud. Furthermore, the Technology Organization Environmental Model was used in order to group the barriers according to the various factors and, from this process, critical success factors were formulated for consideration.Conclusion: Five critical success factors were formulated in order to implement telemedicine making use of the cloud in developing countries. These include having a national integrated plan for telemedicine; promoting best practices within a legislation framework; involving the end user; providing education to improve levels of telemedicine awareness amongst staff and patients, and addressing technological issues.

Background: Knowledge development and innovation are at the heart of the progress of academic and research institutions (ARIs) through individual and coordinated research projects. Collaboration initiatives remain a challenge for many researchers for a myriad of reasons which are further intensified by the many technology options that are available both freely and at varying prices. Although multiple theories were considered, the focus on electronic communication supported by the interest in how innovation is diffused and the richness of media motivated the focus on diffusion of innovations (DOI) and media richness theory (MRT).Objectives: The objective was to develop a multi-dimensional matrix of e-collaboration factors for research institutions. This study investigated collaboration by ARIs while focusing on the supporting and enabling technologies.Method: The grounded theory method (GTM) was adopted. E-collaboration literature was reviewed followed by data collection using observations, interviews and a blog. DOI and MRT were considered as theories that assist in the implementation of collaboration. A blog was developed as an e-collaboration platform to examine the emergent ideas and to collect data. Data was analysed through the coding method which led to the development of the multi-dimensional e-collaboration factors matrix.Results: The findings reveal that e-collaboration has multiple factors that must be considered. Collaboration by participants was improved through knowledge development and innovation.Conclusion: The multi-dimensional matrix of e-collaboration factors presented collaborators with a checklist that will enhance and improve their work. ARIs continue to collaborate at multiple levels depending on their needs and objectives.