2.3 Theories and theoretical underpinning of the study
2.3.1 Records Continuum (RC) model
2.3.1.1 Relevance of the Records Continuum Model to this study
Flynn (2001) highlights four themes in archival science that are captured in the model namely identity (provenancial context), transactionality, evidentiality and recordkeeping containers. The four themes link up the four dimensions in the continuum, that is, creation, capture, organise, and pluralize. The four dimensions depict the lifecycle of records emanating from business transactions, right from creation/capture to their final disposition in an organizational context. Considering these key features of the model, Garaba (2010) postulated that the RC offers a holistic approach to RM which is viewed as an enjoined process where one element of the continuum passes seamlessly into the other. This representation of the model makes it appropriate for application in public universities which generate a lot of records as a result of their business transactions. Hence, the RC model addresses all aspects of digital records management that are under investigation by the present study.
The RC model depicts a management regime which covers recordkeeping systems’
design, thus controlling the pre-natal phase in the life of a record. McKemmish (1998) lauded the RC model by observing that archivists and records managers are brought together under a common recordkeeping framework with the same focus which is to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of records. In this study, the RC model provides guidance on recordkeeping requirements from creation, thereby ensuring that proper records are created, and that identified archival records will have the required qualities, that is, reliability, authenticity, integrity and completeness, thereby qualifying them for permanent preservation as archives. The model thus ensures that the final archival objects ingested in the organization’s corporate memory are of the
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right quality, also referred to as ‘record-ness’ which is guaranteed by the promise of cooperation between archivists and records managers.
The RC model focuses upon records as logical rather than physical entities (Upward 2000), thereby providing a unified best practice criteria, consistent standards, common understanding, and interdisciplinary approaches in recordkeeping and archiving processes for all record formats. This aspect of the model is appropriate considering that the study though focused upon digital archives will also have to factor in the permanent preservation options for paper-based archives.
Kemoni (2008) succinctly pointed out that the RCM has gained international acceptance as a basis for RM, both paper and electronic records. Citing State Records of Australia (2004), Kemoni (2008) also noted that the RCM offers an integrated approach to digital records management, resulting in a number of benefits namely:
creation of the right records in the right formats with the right information;
organization of records to facilitate ease of use; systematic disposal of ephemeral records, and; protection and preservation of records. Bearman (1996), Cook (2000) and Upward (2000) who are renowned scholars in the field of archives management concurred that RCM is an appropriate model for the management of digital records, making it appropriate for use in this study which examines management of all record formats.
In research, the relevance of the RCM is evidenced by the fact that the model has been adapted and used effectively in studies of similar magnitude, some of which applied theoretical triangulation. For example, Kemoni (2007) used RCM to investigate recordkeeping practices in Kenya to establish their impact upon service delivery in government ministries. The study revealed a state of poor service delivery occasioned by poor recordkeeping practices, and proposed recommendations to enhance recordkeeping in public bodies. Garaba (2010) used RCM to investigate how national and private archival institutions were managing records and archives management of former liberation movements in East and Southern Africa. The findings revealed that liberation struggle archives mainly existed in image formats, which necessitate information custodians to possess basic knowledge and skills in the
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care and maintenance of these records. The study endorsed the application of the RCM for the management of records in archival institutions.
Luyombya (2010) used the RCM in a study that sought to establish whether Uganda had a framework for the effective management of digital records. Deficiencies in the design and integration of electronic systems in the Ugandan public sector were revealed, and a framework for improving the management of public digital records in the country was proposed. Adu (2015) triangulated the RCM, the RLC, OAIS and the integrated records management model in a study examining digital preservation of e- government in Ghana. The study identified financial issues, loss of e-records, privacy and security issues, technological obsolescence and skills training as the key hinderances to digital preservation in Ghana. A digital preservation framework was proposed for adoption public sector organizations in the country. Maseh (2015) triangulated the RCM, E-records Readiness Tool and the Open Government Implementation Model (OGIM) to investigate the state of records management readiness in the Kenyan Judiciary. The study proposed recommendations to improve the records management regime in the Kenyan Judiciary which was found to be weak.
Saurombe (2016) made use of the RCM in a study that sought to describe public programming activities in the public archives in ESARBICA region by assessing how these institutions communicate their archives to the public and how they encourage utility of their archival resources. The findings of the study indicated that public programming initiatives were not prioritized in comparison to other activities at the national archives. An integrative and inclusive framework for enhancing public programming initiatives in the ESARBICA region was proposed by the study.
Karabinos (2015; 2018) tested the universal suitability of the RCM and its ability to interpret the nature of records by using two cases from the decolonization of Southeast Asia that is, the Djogdja Documenten and Migrated Archives. Each case was placed on the continuum model, mapping each action to a corresponding dimension. Karabinos (2015:139) argued that the universality of the RCM can only be a reality after pluralization of the records being examined and that the successful implementation of the model was dependent on a culture of openness and accessibility. The study proposed a “shadow continuum” to analyse the migrated archives whose existence and context remained unknown to the public. In response to
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Karabinos analysis, Frings-Hessami (2020) asserted that the addition of the “shadow continuum” was needless because it was based upon a fallacy of the dimensions of the RCM and the reasons why the model was developed. Therefore, the model was applicable even in contexts where records have not been made public. Frings-Hessami (2020) proposed an alternate method of mapping Migrated Archives onto the RCM, highlighting significant issues concerning ownership of the archives and how they have been managed and utilized.
Last but not least, Kabata (2019) carried out a study to investigate the readiness of public bodies in Kenya for the implementation of the Access to Information (ATI) Act (2016), by establishing whether the elements necessary for successful ATI implementation were present in public bodies in Kenya. The study triangulated the UK Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) Model Action plan (2003), the
‘Carter Centre Implementation Assessment Tool’ (IAT), the ‘concept of meaningful engagement’ and the ‘records continuum model. The study revealed ATI implementation weaknesses and strengths in the government sector and provided a roadmap for successful implementation of ATI.
The above observations make RCM appropriate for adoption as one of the underpinning models for this study, whose setting is against a hybrid environment, where records in both traditional and digital formats have to be managed for posterity.