Absorptive, adopted and agile: A study of the digital transformation of Africa carriers

My thesis explores the cultural, social and management context of digital transformation for African carriers, and discusses the elements of social-cultural barriers, obstacles of digital adoption, innovation, organisation change, ecosystem and their influences. Existing studies are mainly based on the presumed conditions in developed markets, including the free market, rule by law, human capital without considering the social and historical obstacles, absorptive capacities of organisations and the influences of foreign ICT enablers. Using a qualitative research paradigm privileges the insiders’ perspective. I have examined the different backgrounds of digital transformation in Africa. Path dependence is a significant negative consequence of post-colonial social net and western knowledge dominant environment. Vested interest plus corruption slowed down the process of digital adoption while arbitrary administration causes unnecessary concerns for participants. Traditionalism of Africa is a trade-off between customs of tribes and influence of colonial power. The priority for carriers is reshaping the organisation to take advantage of existing strategic assets, while the improvement of value creation efficiency is carried out by activating the ability of individuals. The new value net breaks the previous development model of low interdependence, maximising the use of external resources based on complementary advantages and sharing. The value net inherits the advantages of flexibility, innovation, quick response, and risk reduction advantages of organisations. Meanwhile, it has 4 following unique characteristics in Africa: Extremely Various Needs of Customers, Cross-industry, Locally Adopted Business Model and High Sensitivity in Costs. Four aspects are examined in value proposition, core competence, incubation and co-value creation to enable value net synergies. My research contributes to the theory of the digital transformation in undeveloped countries, in particular how social relationships and cultural norms are inextricably linked with insiders’ understandings of digital transformation. It also contributes to emerging debate about digital maturity research paradigms and methodologies

Introducing Identity

This chapter provides an introductory overview of theories of identity and indicates some of the broad ways in which they might be applied to young people's interactions with digital media. The first part of the chapter offers a brief account of five major areas of theory: social-psychological theories of adolescence; sociological theories of youth culture; theories of social identity, and the relations between individuals and groups; notions of identity politics; and theories of subjectivity and modernity. The second part of the chapter covers three major themes that are at stake in the analysis of young people and digital media: theories of technology; the notion of young people as a "digital generation"; and the place of learning, both in and beyond schools. In this course of this broad-ranging overview, the chapter also prefigures some of the more specific themes addressed in the chapters that make up the remainder of the volume

From intersubjectivity to interculturalism in digital learning environments

The paper presents the work of the research program “Studies on\ud Intermediality as Intercultural Mediation” a joint international venture that seeks\ud to provide blended-learning -both online and in-classroom- methodologies for the\ud development of interculturalism and associated emotional empathic responses\ud through the study of art and literary fiction.1\ud Technological development is consistent with human desire to draw on\ud previous information and experiences in order to apply acquired knowledge to\ud present life conditions and, furthermore, make improvements for the future.\ud Therefore, it is logical that human agentive consciousness has been directed\ud towards encouraging action at a distance by all possible means. The evolution in\ud media technologies bears witness to this fact.\ud This paper explores the paradoxes behind the growing emphasis on spatial\ud metaphors during the 20th-century and a dynamic concept of space as the site of\ud relational constructions where forms and structural patterns become formations\ud constructed in interaction, and where the limit or border becomes a constitutive\ud feature, immanently connected with the possibility of its transgression. The paper\ud contends that the development of mass media communication, and particularly the\ud digital turn, has dramatically impacted on topographical spaces, both sociocultural and individual, and that the emphasis on „inter‟ perspectives, hybridism,\ud ambiguities, differences and meta-cognitive articulations of awareness of limits\ud and their symbolic representations, and the desire either to transgress limits or to\ud articulate „in-between‟, intercultural „third spaces‟, etc. are symptomatic of\ud structural problems at the spatial-temporal interface of culture and its\ud representations. Finally, the paper brings into attention research on the\ud neuroscientific basis of intersubjectivity in order to point out the material basis of\ud human knowledge and cognition and its relationship to the archiving of historical\ud memory and information transfer through education. It also offers and brief\ud introduction to the dynamics of SIIM

Migrant Capital: Networks, Identities and Strategies

Migrant Capital presents state-of-the-art empirical, theoretical and methodological perspectives on migration, networks, social and cultural capital, exploring the ways in which these bodies of literature can inform and strengthen each other. In so doing, it brings the theoretical and methodological dimensions into dialogue with each other. The migrants discussed in the book are ethnically and socio-economically diverse and have a range of migratory trajectories and experiences. Various types of networks are looked at and compared: intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic; locally-based, national and transnational; informal and formal, including migrant community organisations. Migrant Capital is international in focus drawing on research from Australia, North America, the Caribbean and across Europe. Migration research often focuses on individual cases, thereby running the risk of over-emphasising the peculiarities of particular migrant groups and locations, leading to criticisms of empirical nationalism. The range of case studies in this collection can open up a comparative perspective in order to contribute to a broader theoretical framework rooted in empirical research

Issues in Christian Encounters with Yoga: Exploring 3HO/Kundalini Yoga

The paper begins by drawing out current issues that have been raised by critics concerning the contemporary practice of Hindu postural types of yoga in western and specifically western Christian contexts, with some illustrative reference to contemporary movements and schools, especially to Bikram Yoga. These are: cultural misappropriation; commodification; lack of moral pre-requisites; narcissistic attachment to bodily effects; occult influences; and doctrinal differences. The paper then explores specific aspects of the theory and practice of 3HO/Kundalini Yoga (3HO/KY) by Christians in light of these possible issues, showing how this tradition of Kundalini Yoga seems to skirt or side-step most of them, simply by the way that it locates and grounds itself in Sikhism. The substantial concerns for Christians practicing 3H0/KY seem related to issues surrounding doctrinal compatibility and religious syncretism—criticisms that have been raised also by some Sikhs against 3HO/KY itself

The canonization of German-language digital literature

In his paper, "The Canonization of German-language Digital Literature," Florian Hartling discusses "Net Literature," a relatively young phenomenon, that has its roots in experimental visual and concrete poetry and hypertext. With the use of new media technology, this new genre of literature has acquired much interest and is now considered to be one of the most important influences in contemporary art. Not only does Net Literature connect sound, video, and animation with interactivity and allows new forms of artistic expression, it also impacts significantly on the traditional functions of the literary system. Hartling suggests that, in relation to Net Literature, the notion of the "death of the author" gives birth to the "writing reader." Hartling presents the results of his study where he applies the concept of "canon" to German-language Net Literature and where he attempts to find out whether, in this new form of literature, a "canon" has already been formed. Based on Karl Erik Rosengren's framework of "mention technique," a sample of Germanlanguage reviews of Net Literature was analyzed. The study intends to test the applicability of Rosengren's method to the analysis of Net Literature, that is, whether it is valid to use a method that was originally developed for the empirical study of the traditional literary canon for the study of an emergent Net Literature

Travellerscapes : tourism research and transnational anthropology ; paper for the conference 'Alltag der Globalisierung. Perspektiven einer transnationalen Anthropologie', January 16-18, 2003, Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main

Even though tourism has been recognised as an important field for transnational research today, there are few attempts to place tourism in the context of transnational theories or to think about transnationalism from the perspective of tourists. I argue that in researching tourist practices one can add important aspects to transnational approaches. The prerequisites of mobility and interaction for example are the features chosen by backpackers to describe what their Round-The-World-Trip is about. A form of tourism is adopted, or created, that itself confronts many aspects of globalisation: First of all there is the immense dynamic that is involved. Backpackers try to cover as many places and experiences as possible, travelling at high speed. They adopt all kinds of touristic experiences ranging from beach to adventure to culture tourism. They don't focus on a specific area or country but travel the world. They cross national borders perpetually. Additionally they form a transnational network in which they interact with strangers of similar backgrounds (other backpackers, tourist professionals). This network helps them interacting with people from different backgrounds (the socalled hosts or locals). Considering my research Backpackers forge a certain identity from these transnational practices which I want to name globedentity. Globedentity expresses a type of identity construction that not only refers to the individual (I) but reflects the world (globe) in this identity. This globedentity is not fixed but is perpetually re-created and re-defined. It also embraces the increasing popular awareness of globalisation which backpackers, coming from highly educated middle class backgrounds, in particular have identified with. Due to the constant awareness of the latest global social, cultural and economic developments in these educated milieus they know exactly which tools to use to become successful parts of their societies

Towards the estimation of the economic value of the outputs of Scottish Higher Education Institutions

This report is the outcome of a preliminary scoping study undertaken for the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and Universities Scotland Knowledge Transfer Taskforce during the three month period April - June 2005. The study focussed on the feasibility of developing an economically meaningful approach to measurement of Scottish higher education institutional outputs in monetary terms. The growing policy emphasis on higher education's role in the economy has led to an increasing need for quantitative analysis of the value to the economy of what a HEI does (that is, as a producer of specifically educational goods) - over and above the economic benefits that arise from the mere fact of the HEI doing something (that is, as a producer of general unspecified goods)

Metropolis on the margins: talent attraction and retention to the St. John’s city-region

The objective of this research is to examine the factors that influence the attraction and retention of creative and highly educated workers in a small-sized Canadian city. The study examines two hypotheses: that the social dynamics of city-regions constitute the foundations of economic success in the global economy; and, that talented, highly educated individuals will be attracted to those city-regions that offer a richness of employment opportunity, a high quality of life, a critical mass of cultural activity and social diversity. The hypotheses are explored through in-depth interviews with creative and highly educated workers, employers and intermediary organizations. The evidence from the interviews suggests mixed support for the hypotheses. In view of these findings, we contend that the specificities of place must be more carefully theorized in the creative class literature and be more carefully considered by policy-makers designing policies directed towards attracting and retaining talented and highly educated workers