AJIC Issue 15, 2015

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/19266

There is already extensive scholarly publishing on informatics and ICT4D, charting the contours of early stage digital transformation in Africa. This issue of The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC) publishes a collection of articles developed from papers presented at the 44th Southern African Communications Lecturers Association (SACLA) Conference, held on 2 and 3 July 2015 at Open, Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg. The theme of the conference was “Renewing ICT teaching and learning: Building on the past to create new energies”. The emphasis on renewal offers an important message to academics and universities to push forward with change, in an era where change inertia has set in in many parts of the higher education environment and where a reminder is needed that, in the 21st century, change is the only constant. Digital technologies will only create value in the university experience when used for active innovation in teaching and learning, rather than passive availability. Investment in university Internet access, where most ICT spending has historically focused, offers only the foundation for educational informatics, not the digital learning experience. Educational futures require investment in the creative side of digital media use for teaching, learning and research. Issue 15 also publishes a range of unsolicited articles relevant to this thematic area, carefully reviewed, revised and edited. These articles illustrate the breadth of the field of informatics and its importance for future development, as well as the new research problems in the fields of informatics and ICT4D.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.cyberbullying, online risks, children, South Africa

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    Internet Visibility and Cyberbullying: A Survey of Cape Town High School Students
    (LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2015-12-15) Scholtz, Brenda; Van Turha, Tracy; Johnston, Kevin
    The pervasive and open nature of the Internet in the everyday lives of South African children has facilitated benefits such as increased collaboration,learning opportunities and access to knowledge (A2K). However, the online environment’s increased visibility has at the same time provided new ways for children to bully each other, and the evidence in the available literature suggests that online bullying – “cyberbullying” – may result in more harmful consequences than offline variants of such behaviour. This article provides findings from an online survey of cyberbullying experiences among a sample of high school students aged 15 to 21 years in the city of Cape Town. The survey found clear evidence of cyberbullying, as reported by both victims and perpetrators, and it was found that social networking sites (SNSs) were the online spaces most-used for cyberbullying, followed by short message service (SMS) platforms. Among perpetrators, 19% reported that they cyberbullied once or twice a week and 10% said they cyberbullied every day or almost every day. The survey also uncovered gender differences in the length of time it took for victims of cyberbullying to put the incidents behind them, with more females than males taking a long time (i.e., a few weeks, or a month or two or more) to stop feeling “bothered” by the incident. The authors conclude that the findings show a need for improved efforts, in schools and in student households, towards building learners’,parents’ and teachers’ e-safety awareness and capacity for preventative action.