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2.2.3.1.10 Transform
Read (2012:Transform) indicated that “transform” is a very important component, which requires creating new data from the original material. According to Higgins (2008:138), data is transformed by migrating it to a different format and/or by creating a subset “to create newly driven results.”
2.3 ELECTRONIC THESES AND DISSERTATIONS IN THE SEVEN
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completed in 2012 and 3035 theses from 1813 to 1889 were then accessible from the UM digital and Internet archives (Pinkas and others, 2012:270).
2.3.2 South America
According to Vijayakumar and Vijayakumar (2007:71), the SITE-Theses System was the first attempt in Brazil to integrate Brazilian theses and dissertations in a unified database. The database started in 1996 and was co-ordinated by the Institute of Brazil for Information Communication Technologies (IBICT). The IBICT played an important role in the development of the Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações (BDTD) project. The BDTD project was approved in 2002 with the aim of “building a national digital library of theses and dissertations by integrating various national initiatives as well as promoting the integration of the national ETD digital library with international initiatives” (Southwick, 2006:105).
Southwick (2006:108) described some of the outcomes since the BDTD project in 2002. These include almost 21000 theses and dissertations from 28 Brazilian local ETD digital libraries. The project was extended to several universities in South American countries outside Brazil, countries like Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela, with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). These countries started pilot-projects using technology supplied by IBICT.
2.3.3 Europe
Several countries in Europe had theses and dissertations digitization projects.
According to Swain (2010:2), the Cranfield LIS, a member of the European Initiative in Library and Information in Aerospace (EURILIA) project, participated in a thesis- scanning project in 1990. Cranfield Library and Information Services later collaborated to test the uploading of thesis metadata and full text. French Universities initiated several ETD programmes and a Multi-Disciplinary Theses project.
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The Digital Scientific Archive or Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet (DiVA) project (Academic Archive On-line) was initiated at Uppsala University in Sweden and has evolved from being a project at one university to a joint project, with partners from seven universities in three different countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden).
According to Muller and others (2003:The DiVA project), the DiVA project started in September 2000. The project focused first on developing a workflow and finding technical solutions for publishing doctoral theses in electronic format. It was later extended to keep other publications such as research reports and undergraduate theses.
2.3.4 Australia
The Australian Digital Theses (ADT) Project resulted from the collaboration of seven Australian institutions in 1998/99 “to accept electronic theses from postgraduate students” (Fox and others, N.d.:6). According to Fox and others (N.d.:6), the oldest work in the collection dated back to 1968. Vijayakumar and Vijayakumar (2007:70) indicated that the ADT project was designed to improve access to, and enhance transfer of, the research information contained in theses, by providing a full text version available from the desktop via the web. In 2007 there were already 26 Australian Universities in the ADT project, but ADT “ceased operation on 28 March, 2011. The database server has been decommissioned and the content of that database is accessible from the National Library of Australia’s Trove service”
(Council of Australian University Librarians, 2013:ADT).
2.3.5 Asia
According to Sheeja (2012:422), the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) and University Grants Commission (UGC) played a major role in the establishment of electronic theses repositories and Open Access (OA) movement in India. Swain (2010:3) indicated that In India the digital libraries began in the mid-1990s, with the support of government. The ETD Repository Shodhganga was originated, and became operational on 20 May 2010. The aim of the repository was to “facilitate
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open access to Indian theses”, world-wide (Sheeja, 2012:422). The project aimed at digitizing older theses from all universities in India. Sheeja (2012:423-424) stated that the project was well received by the Indian academic community, resulting in 62 universities signing a memorandum. By 19 June 2012 Shodhganga already had 3350 theses in the repository, from 52 universities.
According to Jin (2004:367), the China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS), which is a federation of academic libraries in China, initiated the China Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (CNDLTD) project to improve the accessibility of local ETD collections. Jin (2004:369) indicated that improved access to ETDs can contribute greatly to the dissemination and preservation of knowledge.
CALIS is a federation of academic libraries in China and has more than 152 members and seven local centres. “CALIS members let students and their advisors determine the online accessibility of their ETDs. The majority of students allow their ETDs to be viewable online soon after submission, while the others elect to protect their ETDs for a certain period of time” (Jin, 2004:369). In 2003 there were already 2340 ETDs submitted by students of Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University. Out of the 2340 theses submitted, 69 percent of students wanted theirs immediately accessible online, the remaining 31 percent included those who gave access permission to their theses from either one year onwards or to no access at all.
2.3.6 Antarctica
Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent on earth. Human life does not exist on this continent because of its harsh climate. The world's lowest temperature of minus 81◦C was recorded in Antarctica in 1983. Only a few human beings reside there for research purposes (7 Continents, N.d.:Antarctica). The researcher could not find a source that indicates the existence of ETDs in this continent.
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2.3.7 Africa
The Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, in Nigeria started on the project to digitize abstracts of theses and dissertations in 2004, (Omotayo and Aboyade, 2012:8). According to Eke (2011:1), digitization of theses and dissertations at the university libraries of Jos and the Obafemi Awolowo Universities (both in Nigeria) provided a model for Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), also in Nigeria, under the Association of African Universities - Database of African Theses and Dissertation (AAU-DATAD) programme, to start digitizing its post- graduate theses and dissertations. The main aim of the digitization was to provide global access through the Internet for all the theses and dissertations accepted for higher degrees at the university. According to Vijayakumar and Vijayakumar (2007:72), the theses and dissertations in Egypt are available on the Ain Shams University Network (ASUNET), “including theses and dissertations of Egyptians who graduate from other international universities”.
2.3.7.1 South Africa
According to Ubogu (2001:249), in 1998, Rhodes University uploaded its digital theses on the World Wide Web and “became the first institution in Africa to do so.”
The university made it compulsory for students to submit digital files of their theses and dissertations. The Rhodes University Masters and doctoral theses and dissertations are digitized and made accessible on the Rhodes Digital Commons. The RU theses and dissertations collection includes some theses predating the inauguration of Rhodes University in 1951. The oldest thesis currently held within the repository is dated 1928. The repository holds in excess of 5000 Rhodes theses and all new theses and dissertations submitted for degree purposes are continually added to the collection (Rhodes University Library, 2014:RU theses collection). To date, the Rhodes theses collection has more than 5501 theses in its database.
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UPeTD is the University of Pretoria's electronic theses and dissertations service. The submission of masters and doctoral theses and dissertations is compulsory.
According to the Univerity of Pretoria library (2003:About UPeTD),
the UPeTD initiative was launched in July 2000 with the objective to create the necessary infrastructure and resources to allow post-graduate students to publish their theses or dissertations on the Internet in a well- managed environment which will make it accessible to the international research community.
The UnisaETD is an open access digital repository of electronic versions of the University of South Africa theses and dissertations since 2003. The repository includes theses completed by UNISA staff at other academic institutions (University of South Africa library, 2011:2.). The University of the Western Cape electronic theses and dissertations repository holds full-text theses submitted for degree purposes since 2004, with selected titles prior to 2004 (University of the Western Cape, 2002-2011:UWC Electronic Thesis).
The majority of universities in South Africa have most of their theses and dissertation available online, for example, the University of Cape Town (UCTScholar) has, to date, 15 October 2014, 7602 theses online, and the University of Johannesburg (UJDigispace) has 9439 theses.
2.3.7.1.1 University of KwaZulu-Natal
The University of KwaZulu-Natal launched its digital repository, ResearchSpace in September 2009. The plan for the repository was to start by uploading masters and doctoral theses and dissertations before embarking on other digitization projects (University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009). The repository, to date, has 6632 theses.
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