Towards Exploring an Enduring Liberal-Communitarianism in Karl Popper Through His Intellectual Biography

This paper offers here some new insights into the philosophy of critical rationalism through some accounts of Popper’s biography. In particular, it elaborates on the features of an enduring liberal-communitarianism in Popper that many commentators upon Popper do not see. The two important features are the individual and social aspects of Popper’s critical rationalism. These are, in my view, very essential to understanding Popper’s philosophy of science and Popper’s political philosophy. Events of Popper’s life together informed the development of his philosophy of science and his political philosophy. An essential balance in both can best be grasped by newly considering Popper’s biography and its context. Keywords: rationalism, liberal-communitarianism, individual, social, biography, Poppe

Is African science true science? Reflections on the methods of African science

The general character of science and the methodology it employs are in specific terms referred to as observation and experimentation. These two methodologies reflect how science differs from other systematic modes of inquiries. This  description characterises, strictly, ‘Western science’ and it is contrasted with the indigenous mode of enquiry that has come under the name, ‘African science’. In contemporary scholarship, ‘African science’ is being condemned to the level of the mysticoreligious or supernaturalist worldview. ‘African science’ is said to be purely esoteric, personal, and devoid of elements of objectivity and rigorous theorization. In this paper, I re-examine this recondite issue by further reflecting and  strengthening some of the ideas put forward by some African scholars to affirm that there is a distinct method of ‘African science’ that can be termed scientific. In defending a pluralist thesis toward knowledge, scientific inclusive, this paper posits that there exist varieties of inquiry beyond what has been developed in the ‘West’ which can still be justifiably termed scientific. In addition to pluralism, it argues  further that the social character of science, which makes it a part of social and cultural traditions, qualifiedly justifies ‘African science’ as a true science. I will employ the newly formulated conversational method endorsed by the Conversational School of Philosophy (CSP) in this inquiry.Keywords: African science, mystico-religious, rigorous, pluralism, Western scienc

Karl Popper in Africa: Liberal-Communitarianism as Ideology for Democratic Social Reconstruction

This paper examines the liberal society that Popper lauds, that aims to be truly open, and discusses why another, more communitarian kind of society, particularly societies in Africa, may also reflect the quest for intellectual openness that is Popper’s ideal. Moreover, this paper avers reasons why Popper should be comfortable with such a liberal-communitarian mix. The inter-subjectivity in his critical rationalism is a balance of an explicit individualism, and an implicit social element (Afisi, 2016a). Popper is indeed an author of such a balance. For a society to be truly open requires the careful recognition and protection of individual freedom. However, the extent to which individuals are free to perform actions that they desire without external constraints, and the level of their individuality in relation to others when performing such actions, remain a contentious issue between liberals and more communitarian thinkers. Popper’s critical rationalism provides the necessary impetus to this contention through his view of freedom that I contend can best be viewed as carefully balanced, a view which combines individuality with a social element that upholds community values necessary for openness of society. With this combination, Popper’s politics of liberalism provides an effective model of how a truly open society can be achieved. The values inherent to Popper’s liberalism including those concerning intellectual openness, individual freedom, mutual respect, measured self-respect, welfarism, humanitarianism, accountability, critical debates and feedback from the citizens, together concern the conditions for a society to be truly open. There are many competing thoughts as to what openness might be in Popper’s philosophy. The present study of Popper does not presume to address them all. The focus here is specifically on using Popper’s idea of critical rationalism to balance relations between liberal politics of individual rights and freedom, and communitarian politics of the common good, as it relates to situations about how socio-economic and political conditions in Africa societies should be structured. While I contend that Popper’s works in political philosophy focused centrally on Western political tradition, and not about Africa in its strict sense, significant lessons can be distilled from Popper that can offer suggestions on social reforms in Africa. This paper explores Popper’s project of the open society across the plurality and differences of societies, so that his liberal ideas of individual freedom are not undermined, and the progress of the communitarian idea of the common good, that Africa societies are built upon, is also well enhanced. Liberal individualism and community values inherent to communitarianism are both well accommodated within Popper’s critical rationalism

A study plan for investigating Smart brush for better oral hygiene in frail elderly

Oral health in Australia’s older population is of great concern and studies show that two-thirds of residents in aged care facilities have significant oral problems. Cognitive, and functional alterations that accumulate while ageing leads to increasing care dependency which then impacts on the ability to maintain good oral health. This paper presents ideas for a pilot investigation into the effectiveness of smart brush technology for improving oral health among the elderly. The proposed pilot study will follow a design that incorporates a Critical Realist methodological perspective known as the Context- Initiative-Mechanism-Outcome approach with a theoretical perspective, the theory of interactive Media effects (TIME). This paper presents a proposition suggesting smart brush as a means for improving oral health among the elderly through identification of context (frail elderly), initiative (smart brush), mechanism (interaction with the smart brush affordances), and outcome (improved oral health). Both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative data (plaque score, brushing duration/coverage) will be collected and analyzed for testing the proposition

Discovery of small group interactions and performance from project emails

Despite latest advances in small group research, discovery of group interactions and performance from analysis of small group communication, such as project emails, is still minimally represented. This paper presents a novel approach of studying small groups through analysis of the participants' emails sent to the project manager. We examined 1,105 email messages from managers' email in-boxes across five distinct ICT projects from the personal, social, collaborative, and engaging perspective of the email senders and link the findings to group performance. The study provides theoretical evidence that analysis of incoming communication from project managers' email in-box can be used to measure a group's success. For project managers the approach has the potential to be highly beneficial for monitoring of indicators for the state of project health. © Proceedings of the 24th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems: Information Systems (IS) for the Future, PACIS 2020. All rights reserved

Organisational Learning with SaaS CRM – A case study of Higher Education

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) generally has a reputation as a technology that does not live up to its over-inflated expectations. Yet, implementations in higher education remain on the rise. Higher Education institutions (HEIs) are embracing cloud-based CRM systems to upsurge performance, encourage better management practices, and enhance their relationship with staff and students. CRM success however relies heavily on an adaptive organisational learning (OL) process upon which proactive decisions can be made. This paper emphasises that committed learning in post-implementation use is paramount to attaining further understanding of the capabilities, features and functionality of the CRM. Investigating how SaaS CRM usage reflect an organisation’s learning in a Higher Education context, the paper presents theoretical and practical contributions in a framework for effective SaaS CRM utilisation, and recommends a continuous cycle of exploration-exploitation-exploration. Yet the reality is that organisations explore, exploit, and then stop exploring

Organisational learning with SaaS CRM – A case study of higher education

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) generally has a reputation as a technology that does not live up to its over-inflated expectations. Yet, implementations in higher education remain on the rise. Higher Education institutions (HEIs) are embracing cloud-based CRM systems to upsurge performance, encourage better management practices, and enhance their relationship with staff and students. CRM success however relies heavily on an adaptive organisational learning (OL) process upon which proactive decisions can be made. This paper emphasises that committed learning in post-implementation use is paramount to attaining further understanding of the capabilities, features and functionality of the CRM. Investigating how SaaS CRM usage reflect an organisation’s learning in a Higher Education context, the paper presents theoretical and practical contributions in a framework for effective SaaS CRM utilisation, and recommends a continuous cycle of exploration-exploitation-exploration. Yet the reality is that organisations explore, exploit, and then stop exploring

Trend analysis and artificial neural networks forecasting for rainfall prediction

The growing severe damage and sustained nature of the recent drought in some parts of the globe have resulted in the need to conduct studies relating to rainfall forecasting and effective integrated water resources management. This research examines and analyzes the use and ability of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in forecasting future trends of rainfall indices for Mkomazi Basin, South Africa. The approach used the theory of back propagation neural networks, after which a model was developed to predict the future rainfall occurrence using an environmental fed variable for closing up. Once this was accomplished, the ANNs’ accuracy was compared against a traditional forecasting method called multiple linear regression. The probability of an accurate forecast was calculated using conditional probabilities for the two models. Given the accuracy of the forecast, the benefits of the ANNs as a vital tool for decision makers in mitigating drought related concerns was enunciated. Keywords: artificial neural networks, drought, rainfall case forecast, multiple linear regression. JEL Classification: C53, C4

Exploring ERP post-implementation modifications and their influence on business process outcomes: a theory driven model

The objective of this research in progress paper is to develop a theory-driven model to categorise post-implementation modifications to ERP systems and to understand the relationship between the identified categories and business process outcomes that are generated as a result of the modifications. While ERP systems can improve the efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of business processes, the relationship between these outcomes and post-implementation modifications is not understood adequately. The model proposed here provides a theoretical foundation for research into the impact of modifications on business process performance, and brings clarity to the definition of an ERP modification by developing a typology of modifications

AN INITIAL EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF ERP POST-IMPLEMENTATION MODIFICATIONS ON BUSINESS PROCESS OPTIMISATION

In this research in progress paper, we present and discuss an initial empirical evaluation of a model on ERP post-implementation modifications. The theoretical foundation and derivation of a set of propositions from the model were reported recently (citation withheld); it categorises post-implementation modifications to ERP systems and relates it to business process optimisation. While ERP systems can improve the efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of business processes, the relationship between these measures of business process optimisation and post-implementation modifications is not adequately understood. By drawing on the post-implementation experience of a large Australian manufacturing company, we report several post-implementation modifications, and empirically classify them in light of our model. The model and empirical evidence together provide a convincing theoretical foundation for research into the impact of post-implementation modifications on business process optimisation, an important area for achieving competitive advantage. With empirical evidence (though initial), we are able to support the utility of our model as a useful managerial tool for clarifying differences amongst various modifications and guiding modifications and its implications to deliver business process optimisation