Challenges and opportunities of the postcolonial state university education in Africa: an appraisal of Hunhu/Ubuntu in national-moral development in Zimbabwe

A research argument on the importance of morality (Ubuntu/Hunhu) on the post-colonial university graduate in order to be morally relevant to the society that he/she is to serve.Postcolonial state universities have continued to serve African countries in producing highly educated professionals pertinent for the national economy and development. Unfortunately the moral philosophy of education in tertiary training institutions has been unclear for its products lacked moral relevance to local needs. This failure can be attributed to universities that traditionally hold on to foreign philosophies of education not rooted in local morality. It is for this cause that this paper seeks to appraise the role of state university education in developing ethical and moral development through fostering hunhu/ubuntu philosophy. The aim of this article is to highlight the challenges and opportunities advanced by the postcolonial state university education to national-moral development in Zimbabwe. The study is mainly a review of related literature on the moral philosophy of state university education since independence in Zimbabwe. Local universities are challenged by developments in the moral climate in the country\ which demands for a major curricula review, to improve on professional moral-ethical contact in reshaping the world of the 21s' century. In order to curb the social, political and economic ills experienced in Zimbabwe, this article proposes the moral and ethical approach using hunhu/ubuntu philosophy in remedying actions that are disruptive to the common good. The study also recommends that African universities inculcate person-hood in its products using this hunhu/ubuntu philosophy

Mobilizing User-Generated Content For Canada’s Digital Advantage

Executive Summary: The goal of the Mobilizing User-Generated Content for Canada’s Digital Content Advantage project is to define User-Generated Content (UGC) in its current state, identify successful models built for UGC, and anticipate barriers and policy infrastructure needed to sustain a model to leverage the further development of UGC to Canada\u27s advantage. At the outset, we divided our research into three domains: creative content, small scale tools and collaborative user-generated content. User-generated creative content is becoming increasingly evident throughout the technological ecology through online platforms and online social networks where individuals develop, create and capture information and choose to distribute content through an online platform in a transformative manner. The Internet offers many tools and resources that simplify the various UGC processes and models. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr and others provide functionality to upload content directly into the site itself, eliminating the need for formatting and conversion, and allowing almost instantaneous access to the content by the user’s social network. The successful sites have been able to integrate content creation, aggregation, distribution, and consumption into a single tool, further eroding some of the traditional dichotomies between content creators and end-users. Along with these larger scale resources, this study also treats small scale tools, which are tools, modifications, and applications that have been created by a user or group of users. There are three main categories of small scale tools. The first is game modifications, or add-ons, which are created by users/players in order to modify the game or assist in its play. The second is modifications, objects, or tools created for virtual worlds such as Second Life. Third, users create applications and tools for mobile devices, such as the iPhone or the Android system. The third domain considers UGC which is generated collaboratively. This category is comprised of wikis, open source software and creative content authored by a group rather than a sole individual. Several highly successful examples of collaborative UGC include Wikipedia, and open source projects such as the Linux operating system, Mozilla Firefox and the Apache platform. Major barriers to the production, distribution and aggregation of collaborative UGC are unduly restrictive intellectual property rights (including copyrights, licensing requirements and technological protection mechanisms). There are several crucial infrastructure and policies required to facilitate collaborative UGC. For example, in the area of copyright policy, a careful balance is needed to provide appropriate protection while still allowing downstream UGC creation. Other policy considerations include issues pertaining to technological protection mechanisms, privacy rights, consumer protection and competition. In terms of infrastructure, broadband internet access is the primary technological infrastructure required to promote collaborative UGC creation. There has recently been a proliferation of literature pertaining to all three of these domains, which are reviewed. Assessments are made about the most effective models and practices for each domain, as well as the barriers which impede further developments. This initial research is used as a basis for generating some tentative conclusions and recommendations for further research about the policy and technological infrastructures required to best mobilize and leverage user-generated content to create additional value in the digital economy internal and external to Canada. Policy recommendations based on this research focus on two principles: balancing the interest of both content owners and users, and creating an enabling environment in which UGC production, distribution, aggregation, and re-use can flourish

The impact of cultural attrition on youth behaviour :the case of ulwaluko and Intonjane cultural practices in Mthatha and Mount Frere, Eastern Cape, South Africa

This study explored the impact of cultural attrition on youth behaviour: A case of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices in Mthatha and Mount Frere areas, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study endeavoured to achieve the following specific objectives: (i) to respectively examine youth perceptions of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices and their impact towards their behaviour; (ii) to establish different stakeholders’ perceptions on the link between current youth behaviours and attrition of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices; (iii) to explore the extent to which cultural attrition has impacted upon the cultural goal posts of both ulwaluko and intonjane practices; and (iv) to establish the effectiveness of policy environment designed to uphold cultural preservation, integrity, growth and development. The study was premised on theoretical lenses of anomie theory, socio-cultural theory, cultural imperialism theory, and cultural feminism theory. Methodologically, the study used both qualitative and quantitative paradigm and was thus guided by mixed research design which was case study and mini survey. The data was collected through in-depth one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions and key informants i n t h e qualitative aspect of the study. In addition, the quantitative data was gathered through distribution of questionnaires. The study used both non-probability and probability methods sample selection, specifically purposive sampling (for qualitative data) and cluster random sampling (for quantitative) techniques were used. Using these techniques, forty-two (42) participants were selected for qualitative interviews, and comprised of eighteen (18) young men and women of both gender divides. Moreover, nine (9) key informants were included in the qualitative data collection. Therefore, the total number of both participants and respondents was 105. Data was analysed qualitatively through thematic analysis, while descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data through the use of SPSS software versions 24. The study revealed the following: a state of cultural crossroad for both intonjane and ulwaluko rites; cultural attrition is indeed a reality; culture incapable of holding their goal posts; modern era a huge driver to cultural attrition; unfriendly policies on cultures a driver to cultural attrition; human rights’ wave and advocacy aiding cultural attrition; political infiltration of cultures; human rights’ wave and advocacy aiding cultural attrition; and community forums as avenues of disseminating the benefits of cultural practices. Based on the evidence gathered in this study, the following recommendations are made: purposive use of mass media to promote indigenous cultures; community awareness in promoting and maintaining cultures; formulating cultural policies that embed stakeholders’ self-determination, and youth ownership and participation in cultural preservation. The study concludes that cultural practices such as ulwaluko and intonjane play a pivotal role in shaping young people’s behaviours and moral conducts. However, modernity forces and various omissions by stakeholders of these cultural practices have contributed to their attrition

A biography of open source software: community participation and individuation of open source code in the context of microfinance NGOs in North Africa and the Middle East

For many, microfinance is about building inclusive financial systems to help the poor gain direct access to financial services. Hundreds of grassroots have specialised in the provision of microfinance services worldwide. Most of them are adhoc organisations, which suffer severe organisational and informational deficiencies. Over the past decades, policy makers and consortia of microfinance experts have attempted to improve their capacity building through ICTs. In particular, there is strong emphasis on open source software (OSS) initiatives, as it is commonly believed that MFIs are uniquely positioned to benefit from the advantages of openness and free access. Furthermore, OSS approaches have recently become extremely popular. The OSS gurus are convinced there is a business case for a purely open source approach, especially across international development spheres. Nonetheless, getting people to agree on what is meant by OSS remains hard to achieve. On the one hand scholarly software research shows a lack of consensus and documents stories in which the OSS meaning is negotiated locally. On the other, the growing literature on ICT-for-international development does not provide answers as research, especially in the microfinance context, presents little empirical scrutiny. This thesis therefore critically explores the OSS in the microfinance context in order to understand itslong-term development and what might be some of the implications for MFIs. Theoretically I draw on the 3rd wave of research within the field of Science and Technology Studies –studies of Expertise and Experience (SEE). I couple the software ‘biography’ approach (Pollock and Williams 2009) with concepts from Simondon’s thesis on the individuation of technical beings (1958) as an integrated framework. I also design a single case study, which is supported by an extensive and longitudinal collection of data and a three-stage approach, including the analysis of sociograms, and email content. This case provides a rich empirical setting that challenges the current understanding of the ontology of software and goes beyond the instrumental views of design, building a comprehensive framework for community participation and software sustainability in the context of the microfinance global industry

A critical examination of girls’ (dis)empowerment in sport for development and peace.

In recent years, women’s and girls’ development has taken centre stage within the sport for development and peace (SDP) movement so much so that some scholars have referred to the attention on women and girls as the ‘girling of development’ (Hayhurst 2013a; Chawansky 2011). Amongst the increasing number of programmes targeted at women’s and girl’s development within SDP and the broader development sector, the term ‘empowerment’ regularly features as a desirable outcome (Lindsey et al. 2017; Hancock et al. 2013). Most notably, international development agencies such as the United Nations have emphasised their backing for empowerment within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) where SDG number 5 is to ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’ (United Nations Sustainable Development 2015). Despite the increasing number of sport-based empowerment programmes targeted at women and girls globally, very few academic studies have explored precisely how participation in SDP programmes empowers women and girls or whether participation leads to their disempowerment. As a result, development agencies, policy makers and practitioners have continued to offer unfounded and ambitious claims regarding sport’s potential for empowering women and girls. This qualitative study aimed to provide an in-depth and critical understanding of girls’ (dis)empowerment by examining two National Governing Organisations (NGO) in Rwanda. Drawing on Critical Feminist Theory and Zimmerman’s (1995, 1990) conceptualisation of empowerment, concepts such as gender, empowerment and power were unpacked and critically examined in the context of SDP. Multiple methods of data collection were used to achieve the aim including a document analysis, a research journal and fourteen in-depth semi-structured interviews with practitioners working for NGOs. Significant attention was paid to the researcher’s reflexivity, given the limited time spent in the field collecting data (21 days), and practical strategies for mitigating the limitations of the research were discussed. The study uncovered programme mechanisms and social processes that enabled girls to increase their capabilities to improve control over important life matters as well as those which served to disempower girls because of participation in SDP. Empowering programme mechanisms included designing a critical pedagogy, recruiting local Rwandan coaches to deliver sessions and creating a supportive environment to foster mutual and peer support. Disempowering mechanisms were those which reproduced harmful power relations between volunteers from the G lobal North and girls participating in the programme. The findings also revealed the presence of complex contextual mechanisms related to fostering girls’ empowerment including the role of family and the values embedded in cultural philosophies. In light of the primary findings, this study advocates the requirement for NGOs to develop a critical and holistic understanding of the culture and context which effect girls’ (dis)empowerment. The identification of programme and contextual mechanisms provide crucial insight into the relationships between gender, empowerment and SDP in research and practice. Overall, this study produced new trajectories for the conceptualisation and implementation of SDP programmes to foster dimensions of girls’ empowerment and prevent their disempowerment

Ubuntuism, commodification, and the software dialectic

“Free as in speech, but not free as in beer,” is the refrain made famous by Richard Stallman, the standard-bearer of the free software movement. However, many free software advocates seem to be of the opinion that the purity of free software is somehow tainted by any preoccupation with money or profit. Inevitably, this has implications for the economic sustainability of free software, for without a source of income, how can free software hope to survive? The challenge of finding a way to ensure economic sustainability without sacrificing the ideals of free software is what we have termed the “software dialectic.” While the literature on the economics of free software is already quite substantial, in this essay we approach the subject by considering first principles, such as the difference between wealth and money, how the market chooses what to produce, and what the laws of thermodynamics have to do with economics. Finally, even though the ideas expressed in this essay apply to free software in general, here we shall be focusing on that particular incarnation of free software known as the GNU/Linux system