The Salience of African Scholars in Education Research

The aim of this article is to investigate the authorship of Education research in Africa, within the framework of global Education research production. The negative effect of a low scholarly output in the global pool is explicated. The 2012 volumes of all Thomsons Reuter (previously called the ISI, or Institute for Scientific Information) indexed journals in the field of Education were taken as data pool. The authorship of the 18 523 articles published in this pool was studied. Africa contributed in total 395 authors, representing only 2.13 per cent of the author pool; but taken as a whole. The distributions of authors as per journal, per nations in Africa, and per sub-field of Education knowledge are analysed and recommendations for raising the profile of African scholars in the global circuit of publishing in the field of Education are made.     

Leveraging microgrants to support capacity-building workshops in low- and middle-income countries for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals

Twenty fifteen marked the year of assessment for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs that achieved the greatest success were those where evidence-based practice (EBP) interventions were implemented. The ability to practice evidence-based medicine is grounded in the creation of and access to medical literature that synthesizes research findings. The role that global health literature played in the success of the MDGs demonstrates that medical libraries and librarians have a role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Librarians can hold capacity-building workshops that provide instruction on how to access evidence-based literature and also train health professionals to conduct synthesis research. Research findings conducted by in-country health professionals are more likely to address issues being faced by local communities and will afford the possibility of obtaining the necessary evidence-based answers that can then be used to implement policies to resolve public health issues identified in the SDGs.This paper discusses how an international team of librarians leveraged funding from a Medical Library Association/Librarians without Borders/Elsevier Foundation/Research4Life grant to hold a capacity-building workshop in Zimbabwe and follow-up online trainings. The workshop focused on accessing evidence-based resources and conducting synthesis research. Outcomes included the creation and policy implementation of evidence-based knowledge products in alignment with local needs and galvanizing a multisectoral group of key individuals who have gone on to collaborate toward the vision of creating a Zimbabwe innovation hub. Looking ahead, such grants can be leveraged to conduct capacity-building to support knowledge translation and other local training needs.     

The Persuasive Influence of Nollywood Film in Cultural Transmission: Negotiating Nigerian Culture in a South African Environment

The popularity and viewership of Nollywood films have expanded across African and Western cities especially those with considerable Diaspora population. This study seeks to investigate whether watching Nollywood films is likely to lead to cross-cultural transmission of Nigeria’s cultural heritage to audience members in South Africa. Data for the study were collected using observation and surveys with Likert-type scales involving participants from a South African college. Results show that watching Nollywood films was significant in increasing participants’ knowledge and appreciation of Nigerian culture. Observed patterns indicate that a small portion of participants could mimic or reproduce some common Nigerian expressions and exclamations while a negligible percentage of participants could actually speak a smattering of Igbo, one of Nigeria’s three major languages.     

南非高校合并:成效与经验

自20世纪90年代中期以来的南非高校合并,是摆脱了种族隔离制度的新南非改造其整个高等教育体系最重要的手段,在很大程度上改变了南非高等教育的面貌。南非的高校合并是在政府的主导下进行的,具有很强的计划性。充分调研,反复论证;政府推动,因势利导;就近归并,稳定重点;形式明确,深度融合,是南非高校合并获得成功的基本经验。     

What is a dysfunctional school?

Abstract

Whether or not a school is dysfunctional depends largely on how dysfunctionality in schools is defined and measured. Dysfunctionality, as any construct, is subject to definition and interpretation, and it is thus always marked by perspectivism. But regardless of the definition games occasionally played by academics, some form of reality takes place beyond the constructivist horizon. Moreover, perspectivism and definition games may justify and even create adverse consequences within a school's lived reality. A definition focussing on Grade 12 pass rates, for example, tends to implicate teachers, while a definition focussing on infrastructure tends to exculpate teachers and incriminate government and administration. Accordingly, this article will not end but begin with the adage that a dysfunctional school is what one defines a dysfunctional school to be, and it will explore the conditions and consequences of conceptual variations.     

Sports Mobilities Across Borders: Postcolonial Perspectives

The circulation of mobile professional athletes, a phenomenon whose visibility increased exponentially in the last couple of decades of the twentieth century, poses important questions for postcolonial approaches to the human condition. At first glance, the orientation of entire segments of the population in some countries in the global South to the possibility of migrating to sport careers in the global North seems to reproduce patterns of economic dependence of the world's peripheries on the world's centres, with the latter obtaining resources from the former in non-reciprocal fashion. A more nuanced approach, however, demands that these dynamics be framed in a broader context of multiple power relations that are at once local and global, material and ideational, and rooted in complex histories that have somewhat obscured colonial relations of yesteryears. This approach is illustrated here with materials about migration-oriented football academies in West Africa and the transnational circulation of Pacific Island rugby players.     

Imperialisms in the Olympics of the Colonization in the Postcolonization: Africa into the International Olympic Committee, 1910–1965

After World War II, the principle of a colonized countries' self-determination was at stake in the international relationships emerging from the context of a Cold War and the decolonizations of Empires. Non-Governmental Organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) become not only analyzers of the effects of competition between the different colonial powers, but also enlighteners of the imperial strategies which would turn the power struggles into partnership and cooperation. The fear of a political harnessing from the Occidental countries resulted in two reactions: the progressive integration of English-speaking African National Olympic Committees (NOCs) based on a Great Britain-controlled International Federations (1950–1972) and, eventually and as a direct consequence, the creation of French-speaking African NOCs (1956–1968) through the International Olympic Aid Commission (1961). From 1944 to 1963, conditions for possibility seemed to be gathered for the realization of a process of internationalization of African sport through the integration of new English- and French-speaking African countries into the IOC.     

Ugandan health libraries in the 21st century: key initiatives and challenges

This article is part of a series in this regular feature which looks at new directions in health science libraries. This paper highlights new initiatives aimed at ensuring health libraries can contribute to the development of Uganda in the 21st century and the challenges facing libraries. It stresses that for libraries to be successful they need to form networks and collaborations for resource sharing; take advantage of the benefits of information technology; computerise their library systems; as well as invest in the development of staff. The paper highlights the main challenge facing the library service as inadequate funding both from government for public‐funded health libraries and the private sector (for privately funded health libraries). The paper concludes that, despite the bottlenecks brought about by inadequate funding, Ugandan health libraries have taken positive steps to support health research and education, as well as patient care, not just for Uganda, but for the whole of the East African region. J.M.     

Strategic library and information services models for the visually impaired persons: The South African Library for the Blind perspective

The South African Library for the Blind (SALB) contributes to the quality of life of print-impaired people encouraging independence through access to information, informed decision making, and taking pleasure in the enjoyment of recreational reading. In realizing the vision, SALB implemented two strategic models; agent mini-libraries and comprehensive mini-libraries. Management and administration of the services rendered is covered in detail. The project was pioneered in one of the provinces and has been rolled out to other provinces. The paper highlights how visually impaired people experience in a tangible manner, assistive technologies, training and interaction with community members and use libraries.     

历史与挑战：南非高等教育学科发展--以高等教育与成人教育研究中心为例

1961年南非成为一个独立的共和国后,南非高等教育研究开始发展。南非高等教育学科发展经历了一个历史变迁过程,南非通过在国家层面、院校层面开展高等教育研究,开设高等教育学科专业培养专业研究人员,助推南非高等教育学科的发展。南非高等教育学科发展尚面临诸多挑战。最后以斯坦陵布什大学的高等教育与成人教育研究中心所开展的工作为例,进行具体阐述。