Search

This paper gives an overview of knowledge management (KM) research in Zimbabwe and analyses the most significant research trends and patterns from 2010 to 2022. The literature review technique was used to collect data, focusing on characteristics of publication outputs, focus of the researches, research methods, and summary of key findings. Findings show that research in knowledge management is still limited in Zimbabwe. The corporate sector receives the most focus from KM researchers, followed by knowledge-oriented institutions, the public sector, Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), media organisations, and agriculture-related enterprises. Universities, despite being both knowledge factories and large consumers of knowledge, are implementing knowledge management only to a limited extent. The common research themes include knowledge management technologies, firm performance, knowledge sharing, and knowledge management challenges. The qualitative approach is the most preferred research methodology, while interviews and questionnaires are the most often utilised data collection methods.

The study examined how assistive technology (AT) is being used to enhance the educational experience of learners with special needs at the University of Zimbabwe. Using a case study design, primary data were collected mainly through questionnaires from a sample of 82 respondents comprising students with visual impairment and albinism registered with the University of Zimbabwe Disability Support Services Library, a branch of University of Zimbabwe Library. The study results demonstrated that AT provides freedom by enabling respondents to complete academic activities that they were previously unable to do, such as studying, reading, writing, researching, web browsing, emailing, communicating with lecturers, taking notes, communicating with peers about academic work, and preparing for exams. The study showed that AT enables students with special needs to do academic tasks more effectively and obtain academic material relevant to their studies, as well as improve social interactions, self-confidence, and peer-to-peer engagement. Overall, the study supports the notion that using AT can improve academic engagement and social interaction. Key recommendations for optimising AT usage by students with special needs at the University of Zimbabwe include partnering with organisations and experts in the AT sector to provide more robust training in digital accessibility concepts for personnel, negotiating with the parent ministry to make AT more affordable in higher education, promoting the manufacturing of appropriate AT devices at the University of Zimbabwe through a new faculty, producing experts in the teaching of students with special needs, as well as adopting low-cost AT products.

This qualitative study reflects on the perceptions of library professionals and students living with visual impairments from three Zimbabwean universities about the need for and ways of creating Assistive Technology (AT) competency in academic librarians. Some of the measures that may be used to increase the AT competencies of academic librarians are discussed. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 19 participants comprising 13 library personnel and six students living with visual impairments. The study highlights important types of AT for individuals living with visual impairments, emphasises the importance of competencies in AT for academic librarians and suggest appropriate measures for enhancing the AT skills of academic librarians in the context of participants’ views. It is hoped that the study’s recommendations will generate an urgent need to address AT competencies of academic librarians to drive effective adoption and usage of AT in the studied institutions of higher learning.