The purpose of ASAUDIT is to promote and advance the use and support of computing and information technology at South African universities, and to further develop relationships with key members in the Higher Education sector both locally and internationally.

The association strives to promote professional skills and conduct in university ICT management and to serve as unitary voice for the South African Higher Education IT profession and to provide mutual support mechanisms to its members by encouraging development and application of standards and best practices through the sharing of expertise among members and colleagues in organising informative events.

ASAUDIT focuses on the sharing of knowledge and collaboration between University IT divisions. To ensure that this is facilitated properly special interest groups (SIGs) see to the needs of universities. No less than six Stellenbosch University IT staff are involved in these groups.

Ralph Pina heads the Green IT SIG group. This group ensures that  IT operations are ecologically sustainable (i.e. that energy and material throughputs are minimised) and on ICT’s role in enabling sustainability elsewhere in the university. The SIG share information about Green IT and will be emphasising cross-institutional benchmarking using Green IT indicators.

Johan Kistner is responsible for the ECM SIG group, aiming to provide a forum to share experiences in electronic content management, as well as to collect a library of best practices. The SIG is not limited to any particular brand or solution; it rather strives to serve the interest of all member institutions. Institutions share their knowledge and assist each other with advice. In addition, speakers from the industry are invited with restraint on the commercial tone.

Mark-Allen Johnson was recently chosen as co-chairman for the Mobile Special Interest Group. They offer the opportunity for technologists, teaching and learning specialists as well as other stakeholder groupings within the South African Higher Education sector to collaborate on leveraging the potential of mobile devices. The SIG endeavours to facilitate conversations locally and through international engagement on the theory as well as practice of all areas related to mobility as it applies to higher education.

Petro Uys and Marinka Naude are both members of the Skills Development SIG, whilst IT’s Managing Director, Helmi Dreijer leads the Procurement Committee.

More information on ASAUDIT can be found on http://www.asaudit.ac.za

As of 1 July 2012 free Internet access to the electronic subscription resources of the SU Library Service is only available from the Library’s website.

As announced in a previous Bits-‘n-Bytes article, the former method used to provide free access – namely a configuration setting in the end-user’s browser called the PAC file – is for a number of reasons no longer a technically feasible method to employ.  Free Internet access to electronic subscription resources is therefore now only available by following the applicable links on the Library website.  In such a way the cost for accessing the resources is automatically discounted from the end-user’s monthly Internet bill.  These links can also be bookmarked in web browsers to serve as shortcut links to electronic resources.

Users are still encouraged to use Inetkey whilst accessing subscription electronic resources, because it will speed-up the download of non-academic content from these e-resources sites.

For enquiries contact Wouter Klapwijk.Vanaf ingang 1 Julie 2012 is gratis Internet toegang tot die US Biblioteekdiens se subskripsie elektroniese bronne slegs beskikbaar vanaf die Biblioteekdiens se webwerf.

Soos met ‘n vorige uitgawe van Bits-and-Bytes berig is die metode waarmee voorheen gratis toegang bewerkstellig was – naamlik ‘n verstelling in die gebruiker se webleser bekend as die PAC lêer – weens ‘n verskeidenheid van redes nie meer langer ‘n tegniese haalbare opsie om gratis toegang te bewerkstellig nie. Gratis toegang is dus voortaan slegs beskikbaar deur enige van die elektroniese bronne skakels op die Biblioteek se webwerf te gebruik. Sodoende word die gebruiker outomaties onthef van die Internet koste vir toegang tot subskripsie elektroniese bronne. Hierdie skakels kan ook deur middel van die gebruiker se webleser geboekmerk word om as snelskakels tot die elektroniese bronne aangewend te word.

Gebruikers word nogtans aangeraai om deurgaans Inetkey te gebruik, want dit sal die aflaai van die nie-akademiese inhoud met die gebruik van elektroniese bronne versnel.

Navrae kan gerig word aan Wouter Klapwijk.