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    An Investigation of the impact on electronic records management on service delivery in the department of immigration in Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Kapanda, Mutale
    This study sought to investigate the impact of electronic records management on service delivery in the Department of Immigration. Specifically, the study had the following five objectives to achieve at the end of the study: to establish employee’s experience with the electronic records management adopted in the department of Immigration: to determine the extent to which implementation of the ERMS had improved storage of records at the department of Immigration: to assess the extent to which ERMS had improved accessibility and retrieval of records: to investigate the impact of ERMS on service delivery at the department and lastly to identify the challenges arising from use of ERMS in the department. This study used a case study research design using a single cross-sectional mixed methods approach meaning both qualitative and quantitative data was collected for the study. Data was collected from a sample of 110 respondents drawn from target population of approximately 200 staff who interact with the electronic management system (ERMS). A structured questionnaire consisting of close-ended and open-ended questionswas administered on 100 respondents and oral interviews conducted on 10 key informants that were purposively selected for this study. Quantitative data was analysed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 26 while qualitative data was analysed using thematic techniques. The study established that automation has greatly improved the retrieval and accessibility of records as responded by 86.9% of staff surveyed. Further, automation has reduced storage costs and eliminated misfiling and loss of records, resulting improved service delivery. In. Furthermore, results from the study reveal that in terms of improving storage of records, efforts to have full storage off site back-up of records has equally been underway with SMART Zambia. This is to ensure that there is a full recovery plan in times of disasters. In addition,the findings revealed that 86.9% of the respondents were of the view that the implementation of ERMS had improved accessibility and retrieval time of records while 84.5% indicated implementation of ERMS had made it possible for same record to accessed by several users simultaneously. The findings from the fourth objective indicate 90.0% of the respondents rated the speed at which work was being done after implementation of ERMS was faster as opposed to 8.4% who felt it was slow. The major challenges from the studyas revealedby the respondents included lack of fully trained personnel, potential security breaches at , inadequate funding, weak implementation strategies, poor Internet connectivity and frequent power outages, inadequate computer facilities. Other challenges include staff resistance to change. Based on the findings and discussions, the study recommends that the Department of Immigration increases funding to purchase more computers and other related equipment; provides regular staff training based on a thorough needs assessment for all levels of staff;revision of current records management policy to incorporate electronic record management issues spelling out retrieval, accessibility;andimprove backup system to enhance safety and security of electronic records.
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    Identification of sources for missing electronic theses and dissertations metadata in higher education institutions in Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Chisale, Adrian
    Low-quality metadata can lead to vagueness, poor recall, and inconsistent search results, underscoring the importance of robust quality assurance mechanisms in Information Retrieval systems. This study addresses the challenges of ensuring the completeness and quality of Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) metadata within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Zambia. Zambia has 61 registered HEIs registered with HEA. In order to facilitate easy access to ETDs at national level, efforts to establish a National Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ZANETDs) Portal are underway. However, the diversity of ETD sources poses a challenge in maintaining metadata integrity, thereby impacting the discoverability of ETD digital objects. This research sought to identify HEIs with functional Institutional Repositories (IRs), assess the relative quality of ETD metadata from these repositories, and explore methods to address missing metadata elements. A questionnaire was distributed to all 61 HEIs to ascertain the presence of functional and interoperable IRs. Additionally, ETD metadata from HEIs with functional IRs were harvested using the OAI-PMH protocol and analysed to evaluate metadata completeness. Furthermore, a combination of document analysis of policy documents and content analysis of randomly sampled ETD manuscripts from HEIs with functional IRs was conducted to identify potential sources of missing metadata. The findings indicate that out of 61 HEIs, only 10 (16.39%) had implemented functional IRs. Moreover, the analysis of ETD metadata reveals non-compliance with the ETD-MS metadata standard established by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. Variations in the location of certain ETD-MS metadata elements across HEIs were observed. Identified sources of missing ETD-MS metadata elements from IRs present opportunities for automated extraction techniques to generate missing metadata, thereby facilitating the successful implementation of the ZANETDs portal and improving the visibility of ETDs in Zambia. It is therefore recommended that; all IRs be compliant to the de facto metadata schema for possible system collaboration at local and international level and there is also need to design an intelligent system that would automatically generate the missing ETD metadata elements for improved visibility of research output.
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    An informetric analysis of malaria research in Zambia, 1961-2016.
    (The University of Zambia, 2019) Chifunda, Namukale
    The study focused on an informetric analysis of malaria research in Zambia. This study aimed to investigate research output on malaria in Zambia, from 1961 to 2016. The specific objectives were to investigate the research output on malaria in Zambia in PubMed/Medline from 1961 to 2016, identify the organisations conducting research on malaria in Zambia from 1961 to 2016, explore authorship collaboration in malaria research from 1961 to 2016 and identify the core journal in which research on malaria is published from 1961 to 2016. The quantitative approach was used when designing and planning this study. The study made use of informetric approaches, which is citations analysis by obtaining 440 publications of malaria in Zambia in PubMed/Medline, to fulfill its general objective. These publications were produced between 1961 and 2016. Research output on malaria in Zambia was highest in the period 2011 to 2016 with the percentage of 45.2 (199) publications, whilst the lowest being from the period 1961 to 1975 with the percentage of 5 (2). Organisations conducting research on malaria in Zambia, such as Medical Research Institution produced the majority at 41.6% (183) of these publications, while Government of the Republic of Zambia like Ministry of Health, Chainama Hospital, Ndola Central Hospital, malaria research publications were the lowest at 2.7%(12). The authorship collaboration distribution patterns on articles on Malaria showed that 54.5% (240) were co authored by groups of more than five people, with the lowest of four authorship collaboration pattern at 8.6 %(38) of the published articles on Malaria. The study revealed highest number of malaria publications was the Malaria Journal with 23.0% (101) and the lowest journals were the Annals of Tropical Medicine and the Parasitology Journal with 1.1% (5) each. The distribution of the research publications on aspects of Malaria indicated that a significant number of authors 54.3% (239) authored on general and unspecified aspects on malaria, while the lowest 0.5% (2) focused on the symptoms of malaria. Based on the findings of the study, the following are some of the recommendations; more local research publications must be conducted, all types of authors should contribute equally to the authorship patterns in malaria research and more local authors must be contributing to the journals in which research on malaria is published.
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    An informetric analysis of malaria research in Zambia, 1961-2016.
    (The University of Zambia, 2019) Chifunda, Namukale
    The study focused on an informetric analysis of malaria research in Zambia. This study aimed to investigate research output on malaria in Zambia, from 1961 to 2016. The specific objectives were to investigate the research output on malaria in Zambia in PubMed/Medline from 1961 to 2016, identify the organisations conducting research on malaria in Zambia from 1961 to 2016, explore authorship collaboration in malaria research from 1961 to 2016 and identify the core journal in which research on malaria is published from 1961 to 2016. The quantitative approach was used when designing and planning this study. The study made use of informetric approaches, which is citations analysis by obtaining 440 publications of malaria in Zambia in PubMed/Medline, to fulfill its general objective. These publications were produced between 1961 and 2016. Research output on malaria in Zambia was highest in the period 2011 to 2016 with the percentage of 45.2 (199) publications, whilst the lowest being from the period 1961 to 1975 with the percentage of 5 (2). Organisations conducting research on malaria in Zambia, such as Medical Research Institution produced the majority at 41.6% (183) of these publications, while Government of the Republic of Zambia like Ministry of Health, Chainama Hospital, Ndola Central Hospital, malaria research publications were the lowest at 2.7%(12). The authorship collaboration distribution patterns on articles on Malaria showed that 54.5% (240) were co authored by groups of more than five people, with the lowest of four authorship collaboration pattern at 8.6 %(38) of the published articles on Malaria. The study revealed highest number of malaria publications was the Malaria Journal with 23.0% (101) and the lowest journals were the Annals of Tropical Medicine and the Parasitology Journal with 1.1% (5) each. The distribution of the research publications on aspects of Malaria indicated that a significant number of authors 54.3% (239) authored on general and unspecified aspects on malaria, while the lowest 0.5% (2) focused on the symptoms of malaria. Based on the findings of the study, the following are some of the recommendations; more local research publications must be conducted, all types of authors should contribute equally to the authorship patterns in malaria research and more local authors must be contributing to the journals in which research on malaria is published.
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    An examination of records management practices in small and medium enterprises in Lusaka urban district of Zambia.
    (The Univerity of Zambia, 2021) Zulu, Yakhiwe Chapansi
    The study sought to exam records management practices in small and medium enterprises in Lusaka Urban District of Zambia. The study was guided by four research objectives; to identify the type of records being created or received by the SMEs, to establish the existing record management practices in the SMEs, to examine the effect of records management on business performance in SMEs, and to establish challenges in records management in SMEs. The research design used was a survey. Sources of data were from primary sources and the instrument of data collection used was the interview schedule. The sample size was 20 owners and/or managers of SMEs. All the 20 owners/managers took part in the study. Data analysis was done thematically using content analysis. Research findings showed that the SMEs created and received mostly financial records such as; receipt books, financial statements, bank statements, invoices, books of accounts and purchase orders. Other findings revealed that paper based systems were used to manage records. Records were stored in managers’ offices. Research findings also revealed that to secure and protect records, lockable cabinets were used. Further findings revealed that the managers of records were not qualified in records management and there were no records management policies and retention and disposal schedules in place. The findings established that records management informed a business of its financial position. The challenge faced in managing records was the negative attitude by some managers towards managing records. Judging by the lack of policies and guidelines, it was concluded that the records management practices in the SMEs were inconsistent and inefficient. This study recommends that the SMEs formulate and promulgate records management policies. The SMEs should sensitize all employees on the importance of records and having a sound records management system. Further, SMEs should employ qualified records managers