Adoption of information and communication technologies in teaching and learning at a university

The study was a cross-sectional exploratory survey to determine lecturers’ and students’ use of the core e-learning site, e-Thuto, at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT). The goal was to determine the adoption of electronic learning via information and communication technologies (ICTs) towards the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning. Yet, research cites several resource and skills challenges hindering ICT adoption in teaching and learning in developing economies that remain unaddressed. Data were collected from 10 lecturers in the Department of Communication Sciences at the CUT and 90 undergraduate students from all the four CUT faculties in order to correlate lecturers’ and students’ perspectives. Therefore, a structured interview schedule was used. Data were analysed using the emic and etic approaches where the respondents’ categorisation of behaviour, correlated with conceptual categories from literature, was regarded as the reality in the study context. The findings indicate a limited adoption of e-Thuto in teaching and learning due to several impediments. The policy implications point towards a more systematic integration of ICTs into the curriculum

Light at the end of a tunnel: An appraisal of online teaching and learning in and post COVID-19 era

The COVID-19 pandemic was like a magic bullet in pronouncing the fourth education revolution, a period of swift migration to online teaching and learning (T&L) platforms. This became evident at the dawn of lockdown periods from March 2020, when countries all over the globe shut down businesses to contain the virus. The shutdown impacted economies negatively. Thus, the educational sector, particularly higher education, was hard hit as the shift from physical to online distance T&L exposed the wide digital divide in both developed and developing worlds. The challenges have been widely recorded, and although these seem to be clouding the opportunities that are yet to be synthesised, it is worthy of corroborating the noted opportunities to prepare for T&L trajectories. Thus, the current study is an appraisal of online teaching and learning, by critically reviewing related literature from various sources dating to the dawn of migration to distance and online T&L platforms across the globe in 2020. The objective is to identify some themes for opportunities for curriculum development brought about by the unprecedented migration to online T&L, to more effectively model current and future scenarios. The major findings, which are explanatory, indicate that online T&L increases access to education by trumping physical and geographical boundaries. Multimedia T&L formats can cater for various capabilities and learning styles. Online T&L has further prompted some education institutions to invest more in information and communication technologies (ICT) thus aligning with the fourth industrial revolution and in some cases the fifth industrial revolution. The COVID-19 era has created opportunities for the adoption of online T&L technologies among both educators and learners to align themselves accordingly. This historical epoch has significantly prompted more commitment to collaboration, partnerships, and associations in the whole education sector to solicit more resources. It is rational to conclude that the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is manifesting itself across the globe, with some developed parts already in the fifth industrial revolution, despite the challenges and albeit at different levels. A conceptual model of a general fourth education revolution, that education institutions, particularly in the developing world, can adapt and adjust to suit their specific circumstances, has thus been developed. The model aims to improve preparation for online education instruction, which has striven, and an unknown future

Livelihoods, Land and Political Economy: Reflections on Sam Moyo’s Research Methodology

This article focuses on the methodological lessons from Sam Moyo’s scholarship. Sam’s research is characterised by a combination of detailed empirical investigation, deep knowledge of the technical and practical aspects of agricultural production and farming livelihoods, and bigpicture political economy analysis and theory. Sam’s method is an insightful contemporary application of the method originally set out in Marx’s Grundrisse. Many contemporary explorations of agrarian political economy fail to sustain the important tension and dialectical debate, between diverse empirical realities and their ‘multiple determinations and relations’ and wider theorisation of the ‘concrete’ features of emergent processes of change. The implications of Sam’s methodological approach for the analysis of Zimbabwe’s land reform are discussed, especially in relation to the land occupations and the politics of agrarian reform since 2000

ACTIVITY SYSTEMS AND LIVELIHOODS IN EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE RURAL AREAS (TRANSKEI): HOUSEHOLD TYPOLOGIES AS SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LANDCARE PROJECT

Consumer/Household Economics,

Comment on "A note on the construction of the Ermakov-Lewis invariant"

We show that the basic results on the paper referred in the title [J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. v. 35 (2002) 5333-5345], concerning the derivation of the Ermakov invariant from Noether symmetry methods, are not new

Cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of the concrete industry in South Africa

The objective of the paper is to provide an understanding of the South African concrete industry's environmental burden in terms of natural resource consumption and carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2-e). The review covers current practices in the concrete construction field in South Africa (SA) and their implications for the environment. Elaboration in terms of detail and quantification is given for the environmental burden generated during the manufacture of raw materials for concrete and their transportation to site. Four-year average (2005-2008) data is provided for resources consumed and wastes emitted during the quarrying and manufacture of raw materials for concrete. Carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions data per unit of material produced was obtained from the InEnergy Report produced for the Cement and Concrete Institute (C&CI) of South Africa. The study determined that, on average, 39.7 Mt of raw materials are consumed per year and 4.92 x 109 kg CO2-e emissions are emitted per year to produce cement and aggregates for concrete production in South Africa

The resilience of indigenous knowledge in small-scale African agriculture: key drivers

The successful use of indigenous knowledge (IK) in development practice in rural Africa over the last couple of decades has proved to be elusive and disappointing. Using empirical field data from northern Malawi, this study suggests that the two key drivers for farmers in this area are household food security and the maintenance of soil fertility. Indigenous ways of knowing underpin the agricultural system which has been developed, rather than the adoption of more modern, ‘scientific’ ways, to deliver against these drivers. Such IKs, however, are deeply embedded in the economic, social and cultural environments in which they operate

Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies in Teaching and Learning at a University

Published ArticleThe study was a cross-sectional exploratory survey to determine lecturers’ and students’ use of the core e-learning site, e-Thuto, at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT). The goal was to determine the adoption of electronic learning via information and communication technologies (ICTs) towards the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning. Yet, research cites several resource and skills challenges hindering ICT adoption in teaching and learning in developing economies that remain unaddressed. Data were collected from 10 lecturers in the Department of Communication Sciences at the CUT and 90 undergraduate students from all the four CUT faculties in order to correlate lecturers’ and students’ perspectives. Therefore, a structured interview schedule was used. Data were analysed using the emic and etic approaches where the respondents’ categorisation of behaviour, correlated with conceptual categories from literature, was regarded as the reality in the study context. The findings indicate a limited adoption of e-Thuto in teaching and learning due to several impediments. The policy implications point towards a more systematic integration of ICTs into the curriculum. Keywords: adoption, diffusion, e-Thuto, ICTs, learning, teachin

Analysis of Essential Elements for Plants Growth Using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

In this study, a total of ten essential elements for plants growth in the Guinea savanna region of Niger State in Northern Nigeria have been identified in the soils using instrumental neutron activation analysis. The experimental results show good agreement with certified or literature values within the agreed percentage range of ±2.35% to ±8.69%. However, the concentration distributions of the ten identified elements in the soil samples within the studied area for plants growth revealed the following: Fe (123.4 ppm), Mn (2100.7 ppm), K (5544.3 ppm), Al (54752.4 ppm), Ti (3082.9 ppm), Ca (4635 ppm), V (54.3 ppm), Na (857.5 ppm), Mg (13924.1 ppm), and Dy (12.1 ppm). A further analysis of the two fundamental soil physical parameters for healthy growth of some common crops like egusimelon, groundnut, rice, yams, soybeans, cassava, and potato analyzed in this work revealed a pH range of 4.0 pH–8.0 pH and a temperature range of 28.0°C to 29.3°C, which are optimal for plant nutrients availability in the soils within the study area

Economic impacts of cassava research and extension in Malawi and Zambia

This paper estimates the economic impacts of cassava research and extension in Malawi and Zambia over the period 1990-2008. The data come from sample household surveys, planting material production records, and a series of cassava improvement experiments conducted in the two countries. Past investments in cassava improvement have led to the development and release of a good number of high-yielding and cassava mosaic virus disease (CMD)-tolerant cassava varieties. The results show relatively higher adoption rates for the CMD-free local varieties compared to CMD-tolerant varieties that have been released in the two countries. The adoption of new varieties has been low and slow largely due to the fact that most of these varieties lacked the consumption attributes highly valued by farmers. The multiplication and distribution of CMD-free planting materials of the recommended local varieties led to greater adoption, but infection with CMD three to four years after adoption meant that the yield gains and economic benefits could not be sustained. Nevertheless, the multiplication and distribution of clean cassava planting materials generated a modest rate of return of 24%, which is actually consistent with an earlier rate of return estimate of 9 to 22% for cassava improvement in developing countries. Analysis of the ex ante impacts of current and future investments in cassava improvement shows that cassava improvement research that focuses on the development and dissemination of varieties with highly preferred consumption and industrial attributes would yield a greater rate of return of 40%