Repository logo
 

Research Publications (Academic Support)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/211

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Transformation

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Key developments in global scholarly publishing: negotiating a double-edged sword
    (Wiley, 2024-04-08) Oparinde, Kunle; Govender, Vaneshree; Adedokun, Theophilus; Agbede, Lolu; Thungo, Sithabile
    Over the last few years, the publishing industry has experiencedsignificant changes and developments, most of which have had a positiveinfluence on scholarly publishing. For instance, the gradual popularity ofopen access publishing has contributed to the wider access and readershipof published materials. Also, the recent development in the abilities of artifi-cial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in the publication process is laudable forits potential. The gradual shift from print to online publication is also a com-mendable development in global publishing. Not without their own chal-lenges, these developments, among others, have mostly impacted globalpublishing in a positive way. In the current study, the researchers’argumentstems from the notion that although these developments are invaluable,there are accompanying impediments that publishing professionals as wellas publishing outlets must consider. In response to these developments,role-players in the publishing industry must constantly reassess their pub-lishing processes in order to carefully manage and negotiate what is termedby this study as a‘double-edged sword’(capable of having positive andnegative consequences). This study reviews existing studies, draws viewsfrom publishing experts, and seeks opinions from scholars to establishmethods of negotiating some of the key developments in global publishing.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    "In the trenches" : South African vice-chancellors leading transformation in times of change
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2023) Buccus, Imraan; Potgieter, Cheryl
    This paper examined the transformational goals and strategies of nine black university vice-chancellors in South Africa in order to understand how they direct transformation of higher education in the country. The paper draws from narrative inquiry underlined by transformational leadership theory, and focuses on in-depth interviews with university vice-chancellors. The study focused on the key themes that direct vice-chancellors' transformational leadership strategies. These are devolution of power, the needs to transform the institutional culture and attain social equity through putting students first, and addressing the next generation of academic scholars. Finally, the paper draws attention to the enduring imperative to transform universities through a social equity lens and the significance of vice-chancellors' transformational agendas and strategies in this regard. The local context of the university plays an important role in transformational leadership goals and strategies
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Practices and spaces (location) : reflecting on the contribution of writing centres for decolonisation in higher education
    (2023-07-13) Mhlongo, Ntuthuko; Khumalo, Nonhlanhla P.; Naidoo, Denver; Tamako, Nthabeleng
    The location of writing centres in universities has attracted attention from practitioners and researchers in the field of academic support scholarship. These writing centres, known as spaces where students discuss their writing ideas, have become part of the decoloniality discourse in South African higher education. This study adopts a mixed-method approach and builds upon Grimm's theory of transitional space to examine tutor perspectives on the contribution of writing centres' pedagogical practices and physical location to the decolonisation of education at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT). The findings reveal that the writing centres in these contexts contribute to the decolonial agenda by employing various approaches such as multilingualism and one-on-one consultations that are sensitive to the African context. However, despite these positive contributions, it is necessary to initiate decolonial discussions that address historical past injustices. The study recommends that the creation of decolonised spaces is a complex process requiring collaborative engagement between writing centres and the university community, including management. Writing centres have an integral role to play in decolonising the university space, particularly in the South African context.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Decolonising the future in the untransformed present in South African higher education
    (University of the Free State, 2017) Fomunyam, Kehdinga George
    South Africa as a nation became democratic in 1994 because of the end of apartheid. Since 1994, higher education has geared towards transformation and redress of the inequalities created by the inhuman policies of apartheid. While few applaudable steps have been taken towards this direction, South African higher education remains largely untransformed. For the past two years, a wave of student protest swept across the nation, calling for decolonisation of higher education in general and the curriculum in particular. This move brings to mind several questions about decolonisation and transformation. What is the state of South African higher education? Why has it remained untransformed since the advent of democracy? What should be decolonised to ensure transformation of the present and the future? This paper therefore ventures to answer these three questions using the theory of social transformation as a lens. The paper points out that funding structures, research politics, administrative structures and a lack of interest are amongst the reasons for the lack of transformation. The paper concludes that there will be no transformation until higher education institutions have been decolonised. Social transformation is therefore argued as the pathway for decolonisation. The paper recommends that transformation in higher education should go beyond the shelves where they are stored as policy to the classroom and university environment for practice and universities need to revise their understandings of transformation under the guidance of the DHET.