Distance Education as socio-material assemblage: Place, distribution and aggregation

This paper outlines some of the material assemblages that are formed in international distance education (DE) in Africa. It offers a first exploratory study of materialities in DE and how they potentially distribute and aggregate to form a network to provide education. Through the use of interviews, students lived experiences are explored to unpack the multiplicity of networks needed to overcome the de‐aggregated and distributed institution. The multiplicity of networks that form in DE brings challenges that question how spaces become connected and disconnected and how different materialities shape DE. The materialities in DE produce forces and effects, such as translocal and transmobilites that are more than just the human actor, but extrude materials, networks, and connectives that transform continuously. The interconnectivities of the university and home or institution and students are brought together through enabling technology, but infrastructure does not always have the ability for the facilitation of aggregation

Between Hope and Hype: Traditional Knowledge(s) Held by Marginal Communities

Traditional Knowledge (TK) systems have always been integral to the survival and adaptation of human societies. Yet, they enjoy a fairly recent recognition and popularization by scientists, the media, politicians, corporates and the wider public. In this paper we present a typology of key driving forces behind the popularization of TK held by marginal communities: an equality preference motive, a value motive, a compliance motive, a scarcity motive and a strategic motive. Secondly, through the use of a simple model, we discuss the hype's impact on marginal communities. Moreover, we critically assess the outcome of a number of policy instruments that intend, in part, to protect traditional knowledge bases of such communities. Our analysis primarily draws upon secondary literature; policy documents and case studies within economics, the social sciences, conservation biology and legal studies. We argue that whilst the public and institutional hype around TK may have resulted in its prioritization within international conventions and frameworks, its institutionalization may have adversely impacted marginalized communities, and in particular contexts, unintentionally led to the creation of 'new' marginals. We purport that the traditional innovation incentive motive does not hold for protecting TK within a private property regime. Instead we identify a conservation incentive motive and a distribution motive that justify deriving policy instruments that focus on TK to protect marginal communities

Claiming indigeneity through the school curriculum, with specific reference to technology education

The development of the new curriculum post-1994 was coupled with a strong drive towards recognising and affirming the critical role of indigenous knowledge, especially with regard to science and technology (World Intellectual Property Organization, 2006). In the light of this claim, the author of this paper critically examines, from a literature study point of view, the extent to which the technology education curriculum accommodates or integrates indigenous technologies as part of IKS. In fulfilling this purpose, the author clarifies the important concepts related to IKS that will facilitate an understanding of the said critical examination of the technology education curriculum. These concepts include indigenous, culture, indigenous people, indigenous knowledge and Africanisation. The concept of indigenous technologies will be clarified later in this paper, under the relevant heading, since this is the main focus of the study. The paper also includes a section that argues the need for the curriculum to integrate IKS, and the author examines the extent to which the technology education curriculum integrates indigenous technologies