Marion Lucille Williams, Alexander Dhoest and Ian Saunderson
The purpose of this paper is to explore social media usage in an academic library in South Africa and the factors influencing its use. The primary goal of the study was to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore social media usage in an academic library in South Africa and the factors influencing its use. The primary goal of the study was to examine perceptions surrounding the impact of non-adoption of social media on morale, and to explore the consequences of digital inequality.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative method, in-depth interviews were conducted with a small sample comprising six key informants at the University of Limpopo Libraries.
Findings
The findings suggest that non-adoption of social media has a negative influence on morale, and that it is a very necessary tool required for interaction with students as well as promotion and marketing of the library’s resources.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is limited to one academic library in South Africa situated in a rural area. The research suggests that more academic libraries in rural areas be studied to ascertain if geographical location and finance are barriers to social media adoption.
Originality/value
This study addresses non-adoption of social media and suggests ways to improve employee morale and retention. The research contributes to current research.
Details
Keywords
Molefeng Isaac Riba and Ian Peter Saunderson
The purpose of this paper is to discuss stigma and insensitive communication surrounding mental illness discourse amongst adolescents in the Polokwane Local Municipality against…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss stigma and insensitive communication surrounding mental illness discourse amongst adolescents in the Polokwane Local Municipality against the background of a Foucauldian lens.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature reviewed included a discussion of perspectives on stigma and insensitive communication, contextualisation of the dual health–belief system in South Africa and the Foucauldian governmentality theoretical perspective. The methodology was based on a Foucauldian orientation and Geertz’ interpretivism. The methods followed to analyse the discourse were Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA), coupled with Geertz' “thick description.” The data were collected from six focus group discussions, which consisted of a total of 36 informants.
Findings
The findings indicated the dominance of the biomedicine discourse, neoliberal rationalisations for self-care and the policy of deinstitutionalisation.
Practical implications
The implications for practice using an FDA approach combined with an interpretivist stance exposes the actions, institutions, possibilities for action whilst understanding core beliefs in a complex dual health and religious belief setting. The addition of Geertz’s interpretivism adds a cultural flare and insight, which adds to the depth of the analysis.
Originality/value
The complexity of beliefs, experiences and health choices calls for culturally sensitive discourse about mental illness and also highlights how discourse about individual conduct and self-care is embedded in the discourse used by adolescents.
Details
Keywords
WHEN technological change began to make a serious impact upon manufacturing industry widespread fears were expressed about the volume of unemployment that would follow. In the…
Abstract
WHEN technological change began to make a serious impact upon manufacturing industry widespread fears were expressed about the volume of unemployment that would follow. In the succeeding years those fears have not been realized, but that does not mean that workers and their jobs have remained unaffected.
TO operate effectively in his environment a man should seek to appreciate the sources which created it. There are few better ways for the work study man, or others concerned with…
Abstract
TO operate effectively in his environment a man should seek to appreciate the sources which created it. There are few better ways for the work study man, or others concerned with the efficient running of the industrial machine, to do so than by digesting Management Thinkers, published at 40p in the Pelican Library of Business and Management.