The term access to information refers to communities or individuals having the right to acquire and use information which was not accessible before. This is as a result of being able to get hold of and use ICTs or the Internet. Access to information is essential to the well-being of people and can be achieved by creating an atmosphere conducive enough for free and independent sources of information, ICTs being available to everyone and people being able to use them, production of local information content and making all information that is produced using public funds freely available to all.
This includes research and scientific information (UNESCO, 2009a:7,116).
Capacity-building
It is the enhancement of competencies and skills of individuals, communities, organisations and nations to exploit information and ICTs. The enhancement takes the form of training, formal and informal education including lifelong learning, infrastructure, systems, technology know-how and access to information (UNESCO, 2009a:117).
Capacity building should also extend to research and innovations to enable individuals
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generate their own knowledge, communities to generate local content and public institutions to generate national content (Pajaro and Betancourt, 2007:29).
Digital divide
The imbalanced access to information or ICTs between developed and developing countries, urban and rural communities including different age groups (UNESCO, 2009a:20-21).The concept surfaced in the 1990s and was initially used for the technical and physical hindrances to the uptake of ICTs. Later it extended to social barriers emanating from who has access and enough competencies and who does not have in order to use ICTs. Digital divide could be attributed to the following factors: economic factors: where for example cost of ICTs is high, or income levels are low to access ICTs; social factors like different levels of education, geographical location, age and gender; cultural factors where people can‟t appreciate the need for and use of ICTs because they haven‟t identified any use for it, or anyone to emulate and; content-related reasons: when there is no information or services of interest, content is not available in local languages or local content is lacking (UNESCO, 2009b:16-17).
Global information economy
It is the world move from an industrial economy to an information-intensive driven economy. Information is considered and used in commerce and industry as a resource to improve productivity and competitiveness in global markets. In such an economy, information is the resource for economic growth (Mangla, 2003:96).
ICT
ICT stands for Information and Communications Technology (or technologies). It is the convergence of information technology and Communication technologies. It is an
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encompassing term that is used to describe all technologies that enable the processing, storing and transfer of data and information electronically (Martin et al 1991:91).
Information society
It is a community whose improvements in social and economic well-being of the people depend largely on information and its use. Mangla (2003:93) explains, „in such a society, the living standards, patterns of work and leisure, the education systems, research and development activities, the market place are all influenced markedly by information‟. It is a society whose economic foundation has shifted primarily from industrial to Information, as a result of technological advancements (UNESCO, 2009a:20).
Information superhighway
It is the global network of telecommunications and information technologies. It is a network in which information travels very fast and uses computers with high performance. It is used by the world for business, industry, government operations, education, entertainment, and informing citizens. It is also referred to as Global information infrastructure. The information superhighway has its origins in the USA.
Legislation was developed in 1991 to connect all high-tech computer research centers together on a high-speed network and to support work into advanced data processing.
The network was later in 1993 extended beyond Government and universities into offices and homes across the US. The network has since expanded beyond the frontiers of the USA to the rest of the world (Malhotra et al 1995: online).
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IT stands for Information Technology. It encompasses computers, software, networking and other equipment used to manage information. Particularly for capturing, storing, protecting, processing, transmitting and retrieving information (Martin et al 1991:91).
Information technology is an essential medium for making information resources more widely available and increase in value.
Knowledge society
A society which is able to generate, access without restrictions and utilise knowledge for the social and economic development of its people. Knowledge is therefore, at the centre of any activity, be it economic, social or cultural. This term is often used interchangeably with the term „information society‟. However, information society is a precursor to knowledge society. Knowledge is generated from information through interactions (UNESCO, 2009a:127, 21-22).
Legal and regulatory framework
The legal and regulatory framework refers to all relevant policies, laws, regulations and implementing institutions including mechanisms that together provide the framework for information services. It is meant to establish necessary standards and systems which will guarantee the right to information and promote the exploitation of information and ICTs. This is achieved through the establishment of a sound and a stable legal system by the legal bodies (Pajaro and Betancourt, 2007:29).
National information systems
A collection of all inter-related institutions and professionals dealing with information in a country (Poliniere,1975:2).The concept of a national information system embraces
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libraries, documentation and information centers; organizations involved in generating, collecting, storing and disseminating information; industries manufacturing computers and other ICTs; mass media and; Research and Development institutions. Their roles complement each other and relate as a unit. A well-coordinated system entails better information services in a country (Mangla, 2003:96).
1.12 Organization of the thesis The thesis comprises:
Chapter 1: Introduction and background to the study. This chapter provides background, statement of the problem, research questions, research objectives, significance of the study, and limitations. It also gives an overview of the information services in Malawi.
Chapter 2: Theoretical framework and literature review. The chapter covers the theoretical framework on which the study is based. It also reviews literature from research conducted by other scholars in the field of national information policy particularly on access to information, factors impeding the development of a national information policy, capacity building in information services and the legal and regulatory framework relating to information services.
Chapter 3: Research design and methodology. The chapter covers the exploratory research design, the sampling procedure used and data collection techniques that were used.
Chapter 4: Data presentation and analysis. Results are presented, analyzed and interpreted in line with research questions.
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Chapter 5: Discussion. Results are discussed and linked to existing literature, research questions and objectives.
Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations. Results are summarised, recommendations are made based on the findings, areas of further research are highlighted and conclusions are drawn from the results.