The role of context in decolonising engineering curriculums in proudly South African universities: a cybernetic perspective

Abstract: This paper addresses the epistemological challenges facing South African Public Universities in light of the #FeesMustFall campaign and the associated outcomes. Of particular interest are the academics who are to embrace the changes while they remain in the education system. The decolonisation of knowledge, which is still not clearly understood nor agreed upon, necessitates a rapid review of the status quo in the major universities and how they conduct their business. While transformation and decolonisation are not synonymous, the universities will be undergoing transformation to address the decolonisation needs of the majority of its students, which has already created dilemmas for the academics who have largely followed a Eurocentric approach, and are now to implement the changes addressing decolonisation. The immediate aspects facing the academics are the undefined curriculum changes, as well as the new teaching and learning strategies, which need to reflect the epistemology of the students addressing an Afrocentricity that has not been embraced in the past. A cybernetic perspective relying on Pask’s Conversation Theory may be integral in allowing the academics the skill to contextualise the curriculum, embracing those who are the consumers of this new co-created locally generated knowledge

A cybernetic approach to contextual teaching and learning

Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstrac

Ethically resilient teachers, what might that be? A comparison across two educational levels : pre‐school and university in South Africa

Abstract: When comparing pre‐school teachers with university lecturers, society generally acknowledges the latter as a highly skilled professional while the former does not achieve such admiration or financial reward. Upon studying this status quo, the authors introduce ethically resilient teaching as a set of seven+1 common qualities that are shared by both levels of educators. The purpose of this paper is to present these qualities, describing how they relate to the function of teaching and learning with the aim of bridging the perceived gap between these two levels of educators..

A commentary on the tensions between second-order cybernetics and traditional academic conferences

Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstrac

Transmissive Diffractive Optical Element Solar Concentrators

Solar-thermal-radiation concentrators in the form of transmissive diffractive optical elements (DOEs) have been proposed as alternatives to mirror-type solar concentrators now in use. In comparison with functionally equivalent mirror-type solar concentrators, the transmissive, diffractive solar concentrators would weigh and cost less, and would be subject to relaxed mechanical tolerances. A DOE concentrator would be made from a thin, flat disk or membrane of a transmissive material having a suitable index of refraction. By virtue of its thinness, the DOE concentrator would have an areal mass density significantly less than that of a functionally equivalent conventional mirror. The DOE concentrator would have a relatively wide aperture--characterized by a focal-length/aperture-diameter ratio ('f number') on the order of 1. A kinoform (a surface-relief phase hologram) of high diffractive order would be microfabricated onto one face of the disk. The kinoform (see figure) would be designed to both diffract and refract incident solar radiation onto a desired focal region, without concern for forming an image of the Sun. The high diffractive order of this kinoform (in contradistinction to the low diffractive orders of some other kinoforms) would be necessary to obtain the desired f number of 1, which, in turn, would be necessary for obtaining a desired concentration ratio of 2,500 or greater. The design process of optimizing the concentration ratio of a proposed DOE solar concentrator includes computing convolutions of the optical bandwidth of the Sun with the optical transmission of the diffractive medium. Because, as in the cases of other non-imaging, light-concentrating optics, image quality is not a design requirement, the process also includes trading image quality against concentration ratio. A baseline design for one example calls for an aperture diameter of 1 m. This baseline design would be scalable to a diameter as large as 10 m, or to a smaller diameter for a laboratory test article. Initial calculations have indicated that the characteristics of the test article would be readily scalable to a full-size unit

Triple-loop learning and conversing with reality

Purpose: Three levels of learning developed by Gregory Bateson in the tradition of second-order cybernetics have in-part been translated in terms of double-loop and triple-loop learning, particularly in the tradition of systems thinking. Learning III and triple-loop learning have gained less popularity since they deal with less tangible issues regarding virtues of wisdom and justice respectively. This paper provides a learning device – the systems thinking in practice heuristic which helps to retrieve the cybernetic concern for wisdom in association with an often forgotten systems concern for real-world power relations. Approach: Using ‘conversation’ as a metaphor the heuristic is introduced based on three orders of conversation. Drawing on ideas of systemic triangulation, another heuristic device – the systemic triangulator – is used to surface issues of power in the three orders of conversation. Some manifestations in using the systems thinking in practice heuristic for supporting postgraduate systems learning are demonstrated. Findings: Some key complementarities between conventionally opaque cybernetic issues of wisdom and systems issues of power are revealed, and used proactively to explore more effective coaching of systems thinking in practice. Implications: Cybernetics and Systems thinking may benefit from being grounded more in understanding, engaging with, and transforming social realities. The heuristics provide practical experiential and meaningful learning through conversation, and more social premium for the study of cybernetics and systems thinking. Originality/value: The heuristics – systems thinking in practice, and the systemic triangulator provides an innovative cyber-systemic space for learning and action

Music, sex, and religiosity : a cybernetic study on South African university students' use and interpretation of music media

For many people music is an important aspect of their daily life. Music preference is a complex subject tied to social identity, personality, leisure activities, religion, family and friends, and so forth. Music is also a form of expression, which is communicated to the public over various mediums and formats. The themes depicted in music media (music in the form of television, radio, and internet sources, both auditory and visually presented) are vast owing to the array of different artists and their individual worldviews that they put on offer for the public. The lyrical content and/or imagery put forward by musicians depicts an array of different themes, which are contextualised by individuals in their personal conception of their favourite music. The meaning that listeners/viewers attach to their music is equally related to their own background and life experience, including their belief system (religion). There has been a controversial increase in the sexualisation and explicitness of music media; however, there is a gap in the intersection between music, sex, and religiosity as a field of study. Understanding the influence of music media requires an understanding of the people who are experiencing this content. Taking a cybernetic approach and the position of the listener who determines the meaning of an utterance, as put forward by cyberneticist Heinz von Foerster, this study is a reflexive contextual enquiry into how people are experiencing and interpreting their music media and whether this media challenges their view on religion (if they consider themselves aligned to a religion). To address this broad research question, a two-part study was conducted. The first part consisted of a quantitative study of 459 students from the University of Johannesburg to obtain a snapshot of a young adult demographic in terms of their music media, sexuality, and religiosity choices. Thereafter, using the results from this first part of the study, a qualitative interview-based study was conducted. Together the quantitative and qualitative studies provide a basis for answering the main research question. The results show that the young adults in the study are thinking beings, not just manipulated by mainstream music media; rather, they decide what is right for them often motivated by their views on religion. Methodologies used in religious studies have been subject to criticism. One specific aspect is the lack of acknowledgment of epistemology within research designs. In addressing this critique, a second- order cybernetic study was conducted. By introducing a cybernetic approach to qualitative religious study, a new approach is thus also presented which is called A Reflexive Recursive Learning Approach to Religious Studies.Religious Studies and ArabicD. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies

Does stroke location predict walk speed response to gait rehabilitation?

Objectives Recovery of independent ambulation after stroke is a major goal. However, which rehabilitation regimen best benefits each individual is unknown and decisions are currently made on a subjective basis. Predictors of response to specific therapies would guide the type of therapy most appropriate for each patient. Although lesion topography is a strong predictor of upper limb response, walking involves more distributed functions. Earlier studies that assessed the cortico-spinal tract (CST) were negative, suggesting other structures may be important. Experimental Design: The relationship between lesion topography and response of walking speed to standard rehabilitation was assessed in 50 adult-onset patients using both volumetric measurement of CST lesion load and voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping (VLSM) to assess non-CST structures. Two functional mobility scales, the functional ambulation category (FAC) and the modified rivermead mobility index (MRMI) were also administered. Performance measures were obtained both at entry into the study (3–42 days post-stroke) and at the end of a 6-week course of therapy. Baseline score, age, time since stroke onset and white matter hyperintensities score were included as nuisance covariates in regression models. Principal Observations: CST damage independently predicted response to therapy for FAC and MRMI, but not for walk speed. However, using VLSM the latter was predicted by damage to the putamen, insula, external capsule and neighbouring white matter. Conclusions Walk speed response to rehabilitation was affected by damage involving the putamen and neighbouring structures but not the CST, while the latter had modest but significant impact on everyday functions of general mobility and gait

Water source, climate, and water chemistry combine to influence DOC concentration and DOM quality in Buffalo Pound Lake, Saskatchewan

Freshwater lakes and reservoirs are key components of the global carbon cycle. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important water quality characteristic that regulates physical, chemical, and biological functions in these systems. Elevated DOM quantity, measured as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, and changes in DOM source and composition (DOM quality), create challenges for water managers already facing deteriorating sourcewater quality due to cultural eutrophication, climate-related uncertainty, and water scarcity. High DOC and variable DOM quality are a concern to drinking water treatment plants owing to their effects on disinfection byproduct formation, added costs for removal, and risks of bacterial regrowth in water distribution systems. In highly managed drinking water reservoirs like Buffalo Pound Lake, Canada, in the Great Plains of North America, understanding the effects of water source, climate, and in-lake water chemistry on DOM quantity and quality is of particular concern. Inflows to this reservoir are dominated by water releases from a large upstream reservoir (Lake Diefenbaker) with episodic influxes of runoff from the local catchment. Sourcewater variability to Buffalo Pound Lake depends on local hydroclimate, which fluctuates through periods of extreme wet and dry conditions. Long-term analyses demonstrated large fluctuations (> 10 mg/L) in monthly DOC concentrations over a 30-year period, and revealed the importance of flows from Lake Diefenbaker and the local catchment, and in-lake nutrient (total phosphorus and ammonium) and solute (sulfate) chemistry, on driving DOC in Buffalo Pound Lake. On a shorter timescale, measurements of DOM quantity and quality along the length of the lake, and across four open-water seasons when Lake Diefenbaker was the primary water source, clearly illustrated the role of internal production on altering DOM quantity and quality from lake inflow to outflow. We observed increases in DOC of up to 1–2 mg/L from the Buffalo Pound Lake inflow to outflow in all years, and several DOM quality metrics suggested a shift toward autochthonous DOM production as water transited through the reservoir. In dry years with greater water residence times, these patterns suggest that long, narrow Buffalo Pound Lake may act similar to a slow-moving river with respect to internal DOM production and processing. This work advances efforts to disentangle long-term drivers of DOC and understand DOM quality dynamics in this shallow eutrophic reservoir and across freshwater systems globally. Our results provide a foundation for DOM quantity and quality forecasting in Buffalo Pound Lake and will inform the design of an ongoing $325M upgrade to the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant