Legislative Information Needs of Indigenous Parliamentarians in Botswana and Impact on Effective Decision Making

Thapisa, A.P.N.

doi:10.1080/10572317.1996.10762398

Cited by 13 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Another African study was undertaken by Thapisa (1996) and was aimed at determining the information needs of MPs in Botswana, identifying sources used by them, determining the degree of assistance which they require in using information in parliamentary debates, determining the adequacy of the NA library in providing parliamentarians with the needed information. The results of the study, conducted through a structured questionnaire with response rate of 27.5 percent (11/40 of members), indicated that parliamentarians of Botswana demonstrated an awareness of the value and importance of information in legislative debates.…”

Section: Research Questions Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Information seeking behaviour of Members of the Kuwaiti Parliament (MKPs)

Mansour

Alkhurainej

2011

Library Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose -The main purpose of this paper is to lighten a very big dark room of research regarding parliament and parliamentarians in the Arabic environment. The two researchers of this study tried to investigate the information seeking behavior of Members of the Kuwaiti Parliament (MKPs) in terms of their thoughts, perceptions, attitudes, motivations, techniques, preferences, ways, tools and problems encountered by them towards accessing information. Design/methodology/approach -The authors employed a questionnaire, with a response rate 42 percent. Findings -The study found that MKPs were mainly seeking information to make a parliamentary request/inquiry, to make a speech, and to make a decision. The study showed that the most important sources of information MKPs were seeking for were minutes of sessions, mass media, personal letters and information networks. It was also found that MKPs preferred printed formats, with a very good use of the internet and computers. This study showed MKPs' confirmation of using the English language, beside the use of the Arabic language, as the most dominating foreign language used to access information. The study found that consultants, secretaries and colleagues were the most important assistants of information to MKPs. The currency of information, the limited nature of the library's role to deliver information, and the use of technology tools were the most significant problems encountered by MKPs when they were seeking information.Research limitations/implications -The paper investigates the topic of parliamentarians' use of information, and as such highlights a topic that has limited previous research. Practical implications -The paper provides valuable insight into the information behavior of a very important client group. Originality/value -Being the first study in the Arab world concerned with the issue and topic of information seeking behavior and needs of Arab parliamentarians, it is considered a pioneering and unique study among many studies conducted in the field of both information access and information seeking, especially with this category of information users.

show abstract

Section: Research Questions Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Information seeking behaviour of Members of the Kuwaiti Parliament (MKPs)

Mansour

Alkhurainej

2011

Library Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Their statements reveal that they paid attention to several kinds of information sources, within mass media and social media, as well as individuals and organisations on the broad spectrum of issues, political stances and (in)formality (cf. Thapisa, 1996, Orton et al, 2000Marcella et al, 1999Marcella et al, , 2007. The nebulous approach appears almost to be a contra-theory for the life in the round: The elite politicians' information use, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Marcella et al (2007) found that politicians alternate between being passive recipients of information and active seekers of information that may not even exist yet. Previous research also suggest that politicians make extensive use of informal and personal sources (Thapisa, 1996;Orton et al, 2000), even though they seemed to be lacking any cognisant mechanisms to evaluate the quality of these sources (Marcella et al, 1999). They often got hold of information by chance, or because others wanted them to have it (Orton et al, 2000).…”

Section: Previous Research On Elite Politicians' Information Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information-rich, but time-poor

Galtrud

Byström

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how elite politicians in opposition in the Norwegian parliament use information when responding to government propositions and investigate if Chatman’s small world conception can explain the socially and economically highly privileged groups’ approach to information. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative analysis of the data consisting of eight interviews with seven members of parliament (MPs) and one political advisor is based on a selective coding grounded to Chatman’s six propositions on life in the round. Findings The overall findings indicate that elite politicians’ information practices concentrate in mastering the flow of information and admitting attention selectively, but on broad topics. Whereas MPs information practices within an intentional approach (i.e. to be used in political responses and debates) aligned with the small world idea, the nebulous approach (i.e. keeping updated on societal issues) breaks the boundaries of their “small worlds”. Originality/value The study provides a glimpse into information practises of a little studied group, elite politicians. Moreover, it applies Chatman’s conception of small world in a novel manner.

show abstract

“…Na África há ainda menos estudos e a maioria deles é reticente em questões de diferença de sexo. Um desses estudos foi realizado por Thapisa (1996) Por tratar-se de estudo exploratório, foi desenvolvido um roteiro de entrevista com características incrementais e com flexibilidade para facilitar uma compreensão aprofundada das questões elencadas (PATTON, 2002). O guia continha perguntas sobre:…”

Section: Estudos De Informação No Legislativounclassified

Acesso E Uso Da Informação Por Legisladores Do Parlamento Ugandense / Information Access and Use by Legislators in the Ugandan Parliament

Nalumaga

2017

Rev. Elet. Prog. Pós-Grad. Câmara dos Deputados

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Investiga práticas de informação no nível parlamento ugandense. O principal objetivo foi destacar as influências do contexto das atividades legislativas no comportamento informacional dos legisladores. As mulheres membros do Parlamento foram especialmente consideradas em razão de seu status como grupo social sub-representado na política. Os níveis de acesso e uso da informação foram examinados para ambos os sexos. Foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com trinta e cinco legisladores. O roteiro das entrevistas abrangeu a aquisição e uso de informações através de estruturas formais, como a biblioteca parlamentar; a unidade de pesquisa parlamentar; informação eletrônica; iniciativas pessoais. Intermediários e funcionários da biblioteca foram entrevistados e as práticas observadas, sendo as entrevistas registradas e transcritas textualmente. No nível primário de análise, categorias de fontes de informação diferentes foram destacadas e relacionadas com o comportamento informacional. No nível secundário, foram analisados o contexto e as influências parlamentares em relação a ambos os sexos. O comportamento informacional incluiu solicitação ativa e recebimento passivo. A igualdade no acesso está intimamente ligada às instâncias de recebimento "passivo". As necessidades de informação que requeriam pesquisa ativa demonstram diferenças acordo com o sexo. Os legisladores masculinos, possivelmente como insiders políticos, pareciam mais adaptáveis às inconsistências na provisão de informações. Mulheres legisladoras poderiam ter mais vantagem com alguns investimentos de baixo custo.

show abstract

Legislative Information Needs of Indigenous Parliamentarians in Botswana and Impact on Effective Decision Making

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Information seeking behaviour of Members of the Kuwaiti Parliament (MKPs)

Information seeking behaviour of Members of the Kuwaiti Parliament (MKPs)

Information-rich, but time-poor

Acesso E Uso Da Informação Por Legisladores Do Parlamento Ugandense / Information Access and Use by Legislators in the Ugandan Parliament

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About