Emerald | Records Management Journal | Table of Contents

Big government, big solution: could there be a message for all?

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Catherine Hare) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the recent initiatives by the US Federal Government to put in place a robust and comprehensive framework and programme to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of managing Federal records and consider the wider scalability and applicability of the approach. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the context, the supporting documents and the framework and analyses the extent to which the approach can be applied to organizations in general. Findings – While very few organizations will have the authority and the resources available to the US Federal Government, the overall framework and its various elements provide a good, concise and up to date guide, irrespective of an organization's size. Research limitations/implications – The analysis is a personal assessment of the US Federal Government approach. Practical implications – It is hoped that the opinion piece gives food for thought, encouragement to hard pressed professionals to give some time to stepping back and reviewing their activity and highlights some useful, up to date resources. Originality/value – The opinion piece provides an analysis of a major and current records management initiative.

Information culture in a government organization: Examining records management training and self-perceived competencies in compliance with a records management program

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Trudi Wright) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use information culture assessment tools (from work by Curry and Moore) to examine the information culture within a regulated, government environment. In particular, it aims to study the relationship between records management training provided to staff, staff self-perceptions of records management competencies and compliance with a formal records management program. Design/methodology/approach – The survey employs a questionnaire to gather the data from a provincial government ministry in Ontario, Canada. A questionnaire was used for data collection from a sample of 350 records management personnel from a population of 3,510 in five divisions of the ministry. A total of 207 participants responded and the copies of their questionnaire were found valid for analysis. The response rate realized was 66.7 percent. Findings – The results from this study show that the there is a potential relationship between formal training delivered to staff, and the self-perceived level of records management competency, namely that the more training staff receive, the more staff perceive the need for further training, and the greater level of compliance with the records management program. However, as the records management training strategy is informal in nature, it is difficult to determine a holistic influence of the training program on the organization's information culture. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on one ministry with an informal training records management strategy in place. The findings may not apply to organizations where there is a more formal training strategy. The findings should also be tested in private sector organizational settings. Practical implications – Knowledge and understanding of the features of information culture will assist with identifying gaps in addressing the challenges of organizational record management training and its effect on compliance with organizational information and record management programs. Originality/value – This research adds to the body of knowledge about information culture and user-information behavior, particularly in regards to connections between training and compliance in government organizations. This paper provides evidence from an original study.

Recordkeeping informatics: re-figuring a discipline in crisis with a single minded approach

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the widespread crisis facing the archives and records management professions, and to propose recordkeeping informatics, a single minded disciplinary approach, as a way forward. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reflects an Australasian perspective on the nature of the crisis besetting archives and records management professions as people struggle to adjust to digitally converged information ecologies. It suggests recordkeeping informatics as an approach for refiguring thinking, systems, processes and practices as people confront ever increasing information convergence, chaos and complexity. It discusses continuum thinking and recordkeeping metadata as two key building blocks of the approach, along with three facets of recordkeeping analysis involving the understanding of organisational culture, business process analysis and archival access. Findings – Discussion of information and communication technologies as a “wild frontier” highlights the breaking down of recordkeeping processes within them. The causes for this chaos are complex and there is an urgent need to develop more coherent frameworks to identify and address the issues. Such frameworks need to grow from, and be conversant with, strong symbiotic relationships between social formations, recordkeeping processes, and archives, so that they may be applicable in an increasingly diverse range of organisational and community contexts. Embracing complexity is a must if the wild frontier is not to grow wilder. Originality/value – The paper outlines a new disciplinary base from which new and old recordkeeping methods can be launched that are appropriate for this era.

Correlations between ICT and records policy integration and court case management system functionality: East African case studies

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (James Lowry) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – From 2009 to 2011, the International Records Management Trust conducted a research project called Aligning Records Management with ICT/E-government and Freedom of Information in East Africa, with funding from the International Development Research Centre. The research was concerned with the integration of records management components into ICT/e-government and freedom of information initiatives, which are priorities for the governments in East Africa. This paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The research focused on the governments of the member states of the East African Community; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. In each of these countries, research teams examined the level of records management functionality in new or planned court case management systems, where possible. Findings – The findings demonstrated how the lack of a national regulatory framework for records management, at the highest level, could affect the design and implementation of systems, at the lowest, technical level. Originality/value – This paper draws together the case studies prepared by the author from data collected by the national research teams, to provide an overview of the issues encountered in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, which were the member states of the original East African Community, and demonstrate the correlation between ICT and records policy integration and court case management system functionality.

Records Management and Knowledge Mobilisation: A Handbook for Regulation, Innovation and Transformation

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Stephen Curtis) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Editorial

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Julie McLeod) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

2012 Awards for Excellence

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000