Thesis-2005-Nikoi.pdf (12.53 MB)
Living and working in an information dryland: a study of the information behaviour of NGO development workers in the Northern region of Ghana
thesis
posted on 2012-10-15, 14:26 authored by Samuel Kotei NikoiThe last few decades have seen a rise in the number of civil society organisations
involved in global development. This has been attributed to the end of the cold war and a
shift in global economic and political thinking driven by beliefs organised around neoliberalism.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as agents of civil society have
become significant players in what is now described as the "New Policy Agenda" a fact
evident in their visibility at many global policy forums. Today, NGOs are seen both as
vehicles of democratisation and preferred channels for welfare service provision in direct
substitution to the state. Ghana, like many African countries have been caught in this new
wave of global socio-political developments. In 1992, the country adopted multi-party
democracy ending a long period of military dictatorship. The result of this transition is
that many organIsed civil society groups, including NGOs, have joined forces with
government In the fight against poverty and in the socio-economic development of the
country. Despite this positive development two major, but separate studies, carried out in
the country in 1999 both reported that lack of access to information continues to
undermine effective participation of civil society groups in the country's development,
something seen as a threat to the country's nascent democracy. To address thIs issue, the
study examined the information behaviour ofNGO development workers as a segment of
civil society in order to assess what implications, if any, this might have on the design of
an information system better suited to their needs.
The findings of this study suggest that the information behaviour of NGO development
workers, is greatly influenced by a number of factors. These include amongst others the
aid system, particpatory development rooted in human centred development, and also
decentralised development reflected in vanous partnership arrangements. The study
findings also show that the informatIon behaviour of development workers is greatly
influenced by their knowledge state, when they come into the social development
environment, and also at various stages during the life of a project. Various information
locales are identified which act as spaces for the open exchange and sharing of
information. A framework is put forward - Knowledge Village and Information Pumpstations
(KVIP) - as a useful way of looking at, and addressing information issues within
the NGO work environment in Northern Ghana.
History
School
- Science
Department
- Information Science
Publisher
© Samuel Kotei NikoiPublication date
2005Notes
Doctoral thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.Language
- en