Unisa Press Journals (University of South Africa)
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Exploring the Potential of Co3O4@MnO2@ZnO Enhanced with Vitex Doniana Leaf Extract for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications
No full textThe use of transition metal oxides as supercapacitor electrodes has attracted a great deal of attention because of their properties such as superior electrochemical performances, availability, low toxicity and affordability. It has been noted that Co3O4@MnO2@ZnO composites augmented with Vitex doniana leaf extract as an electrode material is being investigated for the first time in the context of supercapacitors. The Co3O4@MnO2@ZnO composite electrode mediated with Vitex doniana leaf extract used in this study was produced using the chemical bath deposition technique. The findings demonstrated that Co3O4@MnO2@ZnO nanocomposites enhanced with Vitex doniana leaf extract are good material for supercapacitor electrode fabrication. This is demonstrated by the achievement of maximum specific capacitances of 1 215 F/g using cyclic voltammetry and 1 250 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g using galvanostatic charge–discharge. After 10 000 complete cycles, Co3O4@MnO2@ZnO (CMZ/150) showed exceptional stability, with a 97.25% retention rate
Perspectives on Depression Among Black South African Youths: A Qualitative Analysis
No full textDepression remains a complex and challenging issue both locally and globally, and is characterised by its multifaceted nature and profound impact on individuals and societies. Locally, cultural stigmas, varying interpretations and limited resources can exacerbate the difficulties faced by those struggling with depression. This study investigates the perceptions of depression among black South African youths, while recognising the diversity in conceptualisations across cultural groups. It provides an overview of depression research, which encompasses its definition, symptoms, types of depressive episode, and historical racialised and racist treatment of people with depression in South Africa. The post-1994 era, marked by a new democratic government, is explored with a focus on measures for equal treatment. The study delves into cultural influences on how young people from various backgrounds understand depression. The research methodology involves semi-structured interviews with eight participants, and offers qualitative insights into their perceptions of and experiences with depression. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data. Three themes emerged from the findings, namely, the conceptualisation of depression from young black South Africans’ perspective, the impact of societal beliefs and stigma on the conceptualisation of depression, and personalised metaphors and idioms of distress. The varied conceptualisations shared by the participants suggest that there may not be a singular or universally accepted way to understand depression among black South African youths. The study advocates for a more open and inclusive approach to understanding depression by acknowledging the spectrum of perspectives and experiences in this cultural context
Research Cultures in the Modern University: Artificial Intelligence and Its Imperatives on Scientific Knowledge
No full textThe university is traditionally mandated with training generations of scholars on knowledge production and maintaining the integrity of the knowledge production system. However, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and their wide adoption by researchers may challenge this mandate by altering research processes. This article discusses the changing research cultures arising from the use of AI tools in academic research and how these may occasion retrogressive research cultures. It uses exploratory methodology, engaging with literature and pertinent theories. The article’s main finding is that AI is widely used in various research stages. It also establishes the different viewpoints on AI usage, collating the wider African vision of scientific knowledge production. It concludes that AI affects cognitive-based learning and critical thinking, which may disrupt the succession of research cultures and divest the academe of its intellectual integrity. The article suggests an urgent review of AI use in universities to restore and maintain the integrity of knowledge production for the well-being of current and future societies
The New Digital Education Policy Landscape: From Education Systems to Platforms, edited by Christóbal Cobo and Axel Rivas
No full textBarriers to Recognition of Prior Learning for Sector Education and Training Authority-Accredited Providers in Gauteng
No full textRecognition of Prior Learning is essential in adult education, allowing learners to formalise their experiential knowledge. In South Africa, providers accredited by the Sector Education and Training Authority are required to implement Recognition of Prior Learning within the National Qualifications Framework. However, providers, particularly those in Gauteng province, face significant challenges. This article aimed to examine the barriers faced by accredited adult education providers in Gauteng. The article assesses their impact on Recognition of Prior Learning implementation and suggests strategies to address them. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used, with semi-structured interviews conducted among six accredited providers. This allowed an in-depth exploration of their challenges in implementing Recognition of Prior Learning. Five (5) primary barriers were identified: the complex and technical nature of Recognition of Prior Learning, shortage of skilled practitioners, inadequate internal management, financial limitations, and insufficient awareness, capacity building, and advocacy. The study also found that financial constraints and low engagement among stakeholders were particularly detrimental, restricting the effective integration of Recognition of Prior Learning. The article concludes that systemic changes are needed to enhance Recognition of Prior Learning implementation. Therefore, this article recommends applying adult learning theories, such as Knowles’s learning contracts and Kolb’s experiential learning model, to better align Recognition of Prior Learning with adult learners’ needs. The research further recommends that increased training, management support, and standardised funding are critical to making Recognition of Prior Learning more accessible and effective across South Africa
Mapping the Diffusion and Adoption of ICTs Among SMMES in the Agribusiness Sector: The Case of the City of Tshwane in South Africa
No full textSmall, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) are key catalysts for advancing inclusive growth and development in South Africa. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have transformed and revolutionised the way people, governments, and SMMEs operate in the modern world. This article sheds light on the diffusion and adoption of ICTs by SMMEs in the agribusiness sector in the City of Tshwane, South Africa. The study was informed by the diffusion of innovation theory. The study employed a qualitative approach and targeted selected SMMEs and policymakers from Tshwane municipality; data were collected using face-to-face interviews. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants. Data were analysed using thematic categorisation. The findings show that a variety of ICTs have been adopted by SMMEs to improve communication with their clients, but at a low rate of adoption. The need for sufficient funding support from government to help improve the business operations of SMMEs was the most popular recommendation to emerge from the study. The article concludes that sufficient government support is needed to assist SMMEs in developing and adopting the ICTs they need to operate efficiently. This calls for government intervention such as funding support and mentorship to help develop SMMEs
Hitting the Sweet Spot in the Next Normal: Innovative Response to Disruptive Change: Reintegration after Disruption
No full textThe tertiary education sector’s emergency remote teaching response to the COVID-19 pandemic was swift and committed. The rollout from March 2020 of EdTech to complement the extant technology platforms was rapid, but hitting the sweet spot, the nexus of teachers, students and EdTech was not uniformly attained. Interrogating the particularities of this elusive target rests on three premises: thorough and durable comprehension of knowledge beyond facts remains the goal; the post-pandemic future is different from that normal preceding it, and compensating for the lived existence of much of not most of the student body is a point of weakness. The role of tertiary education institutions is elevated to prominence in the next normal. For, if teaching is to be mechanical and learning indifferent, the pandemic will have taught us nothing. Deep learning, the goal of instruction, requires prioritisation and deliberate and considered methodisation. This, in turn, requires confronting a multiplicity of issues: the methods of teaching and assessment that prompt superficial and short-term memorisation, the shortcomings of quality assurance systems, the scant connection there appears to be between taught curricula and consequent learning outcomes, and the desires of the labour market which for younger graduates especially, remains tantalisingly out of reach. If education is to be societally relevant, it must find the balance between achieving redress aligned to ideological principles and transformation mapped to the requirements of the labour market
Developing a Business Intelligence Strategy to Support Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Virtual Business Intelligence Competency Centre (vBICC): Reintegration after Disruption
No full textSignificant inefficiencies in the higher education system have prompted institutions such as the University of Cape Town (UCT) to consider new strategies for student success, such as the application of business intelligence (BI) to teaching and learning. In 2019, a three-year project called Data Analytics for Student Success (DASS) was launched to develop and implement such a BI strategy. In 2020, the COVID-related shift to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) made it more urgent than ever that the institution was able to make evidence-based decisions on how to respond to student needs in real or near-real time. Despite still being an informal structure, the DASS was able to provide this much-needed service to the institution and continues to support the teaching and learning agenda. As a community of data practitioners with differentiated domain expertise, we reflect on the work of the DASS to articulate how this approach is different to existing BI strategies within the institution and how it has contributed to the teaching and learning agenda. We then consider the challenges of sustainability and impact and propose a model of a virtual Business Intelligence Competence Centre (vBICC) as a framework that can harness existing strengths within the DASS and will also provide a set of organising principles that can take forward data capacity-building and leadership for evidence-based decision-making at institutions like UCT
The People’s Charter for an Eco-Social World: A Framework for Afrocentric Social Work in the Wake of Climate Change
No full textThis article argues that environmental citizenship and climate change debates have been an elitist subject, not only because they are embedded in Western ideologies but also because natural and environmental science disciplines dominate them. This hegemony occurs against the backdrop of climate change affecting all nations and people alike, which suggests a need for diversified models and context-specific and inter/multidisciplinary interventions. This article calls for a holistic approach to the achievement of an eco-social world, an approach that acknowledges African values, to curb climate change disasters. Using the conceptual analysis and Afrocentric social work worldview, this article discusses the People’s Charter for an Eco-Social World, a framework adopted during the People’s Global Summit held online from 29 June to 2 July 2022. The summit focused on the theme ‘Co-Building a New Eco-Social World: Leaving No One Behind,’ a central emphasis of this article. The discussion illuminates the nexus between the People’s Charter, Afrocentric values and the values of the social work profession. The core values of the People’s Charter, including inclusivity, respect, solidarity, ubuntu and buen vivir, align with social work principles and offer a path towards environmental justice. This article also highlights the implications of incorporating African-aligned values into an international policy instrument. It thus recommends Afrocentric green social work as a holistic and inclusive approach to climate change debates that are likely to achieve an eco-social world for all
Doris Lessing’s Boundary Crossings: The Representation of Climate Change in Mara and Dann: An Adventure
No full textIn the novel Mara and Dann: An Adventure (1999), Doris Lessing depicts the survival predicaments of humans and nonhumans tens of thousands of years after a climate catastrophe. This article illustrates the emergence and the main characteristics of climate change fiction and explores how climate change is represented in the novel using the theoretical framework of climate change criticism. In doing so, this study argues that Lessing narrates climate change through crossing boundaries of scales, species, and genres. Lessing transcends the scalar boundary between the short-term human scale and the long-term planetary scale to make climate change and its anthropogenic causes perceptible and visible; she transcends the boundary of species to render humans into another kind of species, threatened by extinction and animal attack, in order to dissolve the dichotomy between subject and object; and she transcends the doom scenarios depicted in fiction dealing with an environmental apocalypse to provide an alternative, better future with the purpose of evoking readers’ emotional response and ethical reflection. By examining the boundary crossings, this article sheds new light on Mara and Dann as an epitome of climate change fiction, suggesting Lessing’s intentions to deconstruct the age-old dichotomy between humans and nature and to criticise the ideology of anthropocentrism