Research Articles (DSS)

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Browsing Research Articles (DSS) by Author "Mchombu, Kingo"

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    Harnessing Knowledge Management for Africa’s Transition to the 21st Century
    (SAGE, 2007) Mchombu, Kingo
    The purpose of this paper is to analyse the factors which make knowledge management an important resource for accelerating the development of Africa as we move into the 21st century. As African information specialists we are faced with the urgent challenge of making our full contribution to ongoing efforts, in our respective countries, to end poverty and underdevelopment on our continent. The key objective of this paper is thus to answer the question: What are the methods that information and knowledge management can use to address poverty and underdevelopment in Africa? In addressing this topic, the paper raises the following sub-questions: 1. What are the basic concepts underlying the information and knowledge management revolution? 2. How best can Africa manage the transition process to an information and knowledge-based economy? 3. What role does knowledge management play in national development? 4. What challenges face information specialists in the knowledge revolution era? In addition to this introduction, this paper has five other parts. The next part provides basic concepts and definitions of knowledge management. The third part explores the management of the transition process from an agricultural society to an information and knowledge-based society. The fourth part focuses on the role information and knowledge plays in human development. The fifth part continues the exploration by analysing specific sectors of national development, and the sixth part looks at the challenges for information specialists in the knowledge revolution era.
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    The information needs for poverty eradication in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at Grenwell Matongo in Katutura, Windhoek
    (2007) Mchombu, Kingo
    The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the eradication of poverty are two concerns that are wieldy supported by the Namibian Government, the United Nations and bilateral agencies. However within Africa, not much research has been done on what role libraries and community information resource centres can play towards meeting the goals of the MDG programme and the eradication of poverty. The City of Windhoek, through the Vantaa-Windhoek project, which addresses among others, promotion of culture of reading and enhancement of access to development information to communities in informal settlements. Both partners were keen to establish the information needs situation of the community to fight poverty and deprivation. Thus this report presents findings from the study carried out at Grenwell Matongo, Katutura, Windhoek, on information needs for poverty eradication in the context of MDGs. Focus group discussion were conducted with three groups consisting of young females, young males, and adults respectively. In addition, participants participated in drawing Venn diagrammes on various aspects of their information needs and use behaviours when dealing with poverty issues. The participants described the high levels of poverty in their community, and the low levels of hygiene and sanitation. There was recognition that education for children is important to overcome poverty. Poor facilities for homework at home, low parental support because of low level of education and hunger among learners make learning difficult. Gender relations are marked by alcohol related violence and rapes. The rates of HIV/AIDS and TB infections were thought to be high but kept secret because of fear of stigma. There were serious environmental problems in the community because of the use of inflammable fuel sources such as paraffin and candles in the corrugated iron shacks. The community information centre in the settlement is used intensively by young people to obtain educational information and for study facilities. Adults however, indicated that they only use the community information centre marginally, mainly for photocopying and literacy classes purposes. Recommendations are made on how to address the identified information needs of the community and capacity building in the context of MDG and poverty eradication. Overall the youth appeared to have a richer information environment with more sources and channels for accessing and sharing information compared to adults in the community, some of who appeared isolated disempowered and complained that no one listened to them. The key recommendations from this study include the following: Capacity building through the creation of a broad based information centre committee to provide advice and direction; expanding the range of information provided to the community, more facilities, expanding the size of the information centre to enable it to undertake more responsibilities, and introducing skills based and discussion forums into the information dissemination strategy. The need to network with other development agencies was also recommended as a way of providing support for the work being done at the centre.
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    Libraries, literacy and poverty reduction: a key to African development
    (2006) Mchombu, Kingo; Cadbury, Nicola
    This paper examines the role of libraries as providing support in relation to two areas of knowledge, namely, literacy and survival information. Libraries play an important role in the acquisition, maintenance and development of literacy skills. They achieve this through offering access to reading materials that are relevant, stimulating, enjoyable or useful. Pleasure in reading, which in turn helps to foster a lifelong reading habit, is often experienced in the library in which readers gain their first opportunity to pick a book of their own choice. Libraries are also important for providing practical information that can be used to facilitate development, whether for seeking employment, understanding rights, learning a skill, checking a fact or developmental information, in health, agriculture, education and small businesses.
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    Mata-review and scoping study of the management of knowledgement for development
    (IKM Emergent Research Programme, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes. IKM Working Paper, 1, 1-46., 2008) Ferguson, Julie E.; Mchombu, Kingo; Cummings, Sarah
    The development sector has not yet fully appreciated the strategic importance of knowledge to its work and because of this, has not developed effective responses to the knowledge asymmetries within and between organizations. Even where the strategic importance of knowledge to development is appreciated, development actors are struggling with the practical challenges of organizing and using information and knowledge. A substantial amount has already been written on knowledge management in development, including a number of literature reviews. Consequently, this paper will draw on existing literature reviews rather than repeating this exercise, providing a ‘review of reviews’, and supplementing it with linkages to other fields. This study explores the theoretical and conceptual background to the challenges facing the broad field of knowledge for development. It starts by providing an outline of the broad knowledge for development field, tracing its origins both within and outside the development sector (Part 1) and placing particular emphasis on the practice-based view of knowledge. Next, it provides an overview of stages and models of knowledge management (Part 2). These stages and models are of key importance as they show the perceived trends in knowledge management. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to a meta-review of literature reviews focusing on knowledge management for development (Part 3), identifying the main issues which need to be addresses in further work on this subject, and exploring differences in knowledge management approaches beyond the Anglo-Saxon discourse (Part 4). The next section (Part 5) goes on to draw the findings from all the other parts of the working paper to identify key issues that need to be addresses in future research in the areas of: • The Northern, Anglo-Saxon bias in the dominant knowledge management for development discourse; • Knowledge management in different constellations of development organizations; • The human face of knowledge management; • Knowledge asymmetries; and • Evaluation and impact assessment of knowledge management.
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    Overview and information issues concerning the HIV/AIDS situation in Africa
    (2007) Mchombu, Kingo; Mchombu, Chiku M.
    The paper examines the information and knowledge issues concerning the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. The paper starts by presenting an overview of the HIV/AIDS pandemic citing evidence which shows clearly HIV/AIDS is spread out in Africa, the hardest hit continent. The impact of HIV on the youth, women and girls, and orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) is explored and reasons for the high levels of infections presented. This outline provides the backdrop for analyzing the HIV/AIDS information and knowledge issues which include overlapping information functions and responsibilities which have led to the emergence of a non traditional scientific communication model; the absence of an HIV/AIDS infostructure and infrastructure at grassroots level leading to an information vacuum in places away from the major urban areas; and the negation of the impact of information on behaviour change because of socio-economic and cultural factors. The final section proposes knowledge management at national and grassroots level as the best way to improve the local production, transfer and sharing of HIV/AIDS knowledge and information in Africa which will lead to innovation and concrete action to curb the spread of the disease.