Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
School of Information Technology
Department of Informatics
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
ICT development in rural areas. The Department has had an extensive research involvement in the Siyabuswa Educational Improvement and Development Trust (SEIDET). The activities of SEIDET are focused on providing additional classes to secondary pupils in a variety of subjects. A computer lab has been established at the SEIDET site in Siyabuswa due to previous collaborations between SEIDET and the Department. As a result, large numbers of pupils (as well as teachers) have been trained in basic computer literacy. A new research project that commenced in 2001 and is expected to continue till at least 2004, focuses on the way in which SEIDET uses and manages the possibilities offered by recently acquired LAN and Internet facitilities. Results should provide important perspectives on the use of Internet as part of ICT development in rural areas, technology diffusion in rural areas and the applicability of current IS theories and research methods in the context of rural ICT development.
Contact person: Dr HH Lotriet.
Data mining. A project on knowledge acquisition and sharing, dealing with insurance and sick leave data, has given rise to industry collaboration with the company Knowledge Integration Dynamics (KID). The goal of the partnership with KID is to explore contributions in the field of data mining. It was found that the data collected by the industry were not particularly suitable for analysis. Subsequent feedback related to what data should be collected and the format of the questionnaires. Since, as found, the preparation and enrichment of the data constitute the biggest part of the process, queries and interfaces were developed to simplify this process. Furthermore, studies were done using Netmap to illustrate the potential value of data mining.
Contact person: Dr MC Matthee.
Collaboration on substantial tasks that require the development of concepts and reconstruction of meaning depends on effective communication. In the distributed social structures, which have developed as a result of globalisation, it is important that dispersed teams (or virtual teams) are able to work together. This is sometimes called e-collaboration. Collaborative learning in distance education is a particular example of this. In the research undertaken first year Informatics students could choose between doing team work face-to-face, or as dispersed teams communicating via e-mail or WebCT. The discussions were recorded and were analysed to identify the different types of communicative action engaged in. This was done to understand how this group collaborated so that success factors could be identified and proposals be made regarding education in the use of e-mail. It was found that the virtual (dispersed) teams studied did not succeed in collaborating. Communication ability was defined as the skill that compensates for the inherent leanness of the medium used. A number of depictions of factors contributing to successful asynchronous collaboration are provided. Different classes of information and time, trust and communication ability assist in constructing meaning when text is communicated electronically. A conscious effort needs to be made to improve the communications ability of members of virtual teams. This should be done by encouraging students, even undergraduate students, to participate in teams communicating via the Internet so that they acquire the necessary experience before the stakes becomes too high.
Contact person: Dr PM Alexander.
|
