AJIC Issue 27, 2021
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Item AJIC Issue 27, 2021 - Full Issue(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31)Articles on problematic internet use (PIU), Indigenous knowledge in vocational education, machine learning, scaling of innovation, institutional isomorphism, human–computer interaction for development (HCI4D), and scholarly publishing.Item AJIC Issue 27, 2021 - Full Issue - print-on-demand version(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31)Articles on problematic internet use (PIU), Indigenous knowledge in vocational education, machine learning, scaling of innovation, institutional isomorphism, human–computer interaction for development (HCI4D), and scholarly publishing.Item Problematic Internet Use (PIU) Among Adolescents during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Study of High School Students in Ibadan, Nigeria(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31) Ilesanmi, Olayinka Stephen; Afolabi, Aanuoluwapo Adeyimika; Adebayo, Ayodeji MatthewProblematic internet use (PIU) has generally been strongly associated with depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, especially among adolescents, with resulting consequences for their health. This study explores the pattern of internet use, and the prevalence of PIU before and during the COVID-19 lockdown, as well as the causes, effects, and potential mitigation measures in respect of PIU during the lockdown, among high school students in Ibadan, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire, including a 20-question internet addiction test (IAT), was administered during the COVID-19 lockdown to 440 adolescents enrolled in high schools. Of these adolescents, 7.7% appeared from their responses to have had PIU before the COVID-19 lockdown period. However, 64.3% of respondents appeared from their responses to have had PIU during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The main reasons for the increased PIU were boredom, loneliness, idleness, pleasure gained from internet use, physical isolation, and the need for information and communication. The effects of PIU reported among the adolescents included reduced family intimacy, poor academic performance, loss of concentration, as well as internet abuse and risky sexual behaviour. To mitigate PIU among high school students, parental monitoring of adolescents, and their internet access and use, should be promoted. In addition, programmes should be organised by the media and academic institutions to keep adolescents engaged in productive tasks.Item Indigenous Knowledge and Vocational Education: Marginalisation of Traditional Medicinal Treatments in Rwandan TVET Animal Health Courses(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31) Ezeanya-Esiobu, Chika; Oguamanam, Chidi; Ndungutse, VedasteThis study explores Rwandan ethno-veterinary knowledge and the degree to which this knowledge is reflected in the country’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) instruction. The knowledge considered is the Indigenous medicinal knowledge used by rural Rwandan livestock farmers to treat their cattle. Through interviews with farmers, TVET graduates and TVET teachers, and an examination of the current TVET Animal Health curriculum, the research identifies a neglect of Indigenous knowledge in the curriculum, despite the fact that local farmers use numerous Indigenous medicinal innovations to treat their animals. The focus of the Rwanda’s TVET Animal Health curriculum is on Western-origin modern veterinary practices. The authors argue that this leaves Rwandan TVET Animal Health graduates unprepared for optimal engagement with rural farmers and with the full range of potential treatments.Item Supervised Machine Learning for Predicting SMME Sales: An Evaluation of Three Algorithms(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31) Zhou, Helper; Gumbo, VictorThe emergence of machine learning algorithms presents the opportunity for a variety of stakeholders to perform advanced predictive analytics and to make informed decisions. However, to date there have been few studies in developing countries that evaluate the performance of such algorithms—with the result that pertinent stakeholders lack an informed basis for selecting appropriate techniques for modelling tasks. This study aims to address this gap by evaluating the performance of three machine learning techniques: ordinary least squares (OLS), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and artificial neural networks (ANNs). These techniques are evaluated in respect of their ability to perform predictive modelling of the sales performance of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) engaged in manufacturing. The evaluation finds that the ANNs algorithm’s performance is far superior to that of the other two techniques, OLS and LASSO, in predicting the SMMEs’ sales performance.Item A Taxonomy to Understand Scaling of Innovation by African Enterprises(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31) Armstrong, Chris; De Beer, JeremyGrounded in empirical research findings and key statements in the literature, this article proposes a four-part taxonomy for mapping African knowledge-based enterprises’ efforts to achieve scale. The taxonomy, adapted from the framework proposed by Uvin et al. (2000), is comprised of scaling by expanding coverage; by broadening activities; by changing behaviour; and by building sustainability. The article sets out the framework and provides examples of the four scaling dimensions from empirical research conducted in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Botswana, and South Africa.Item Narrative Styles and Institutional Isomorphism in South African CEOs’ Shareholder Letters(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31) Du Toit, Elda; Esterhuyse, LeanaAmong the most-read corporate documents are chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) shareholder letters. Using institutional isomorphism as lens, this study examines the extent to which the narrative styles used by South African CEOs in their shareholder letters are similar to the styles used by CEOs at leading international companies. The study also explores the degree to which impression management techniques are present in the South African CEOs’ shareholder letters. The study uses DICTION software to conduct a narrative analysis of South African CEOs’ shareholder letters for a single financial year, and compares the findings with those drawn from the Craig and Amernic (2018) study of the shareholder letters of CEOs from samples of international Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. The study finds that optimism and realism are the two most-used narrative styles in South African CEOs’ shareholder letters, and that these findings are markedly similar to those generated by the Craig and Amernic (2018) study of international companies. The study contributes to the understanding of normative institutional isomorphism in corporate reporting by providing empirical evidence that the narrative styles employed by CEOs of companies in a developing economy with high corporate governance standards conform to the same norms as those of CEOs of large international companies. The study also finds that the South African CEOs’ dominant communication styles in the shareholder letters lend themselves to being tools of impression management.Item Reviewing a Decade of Human–Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D) Research, as One of Best’s “Grand Challenges”(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31) Van Biljon, Judy; Renaud, KarenThe human–computer interaction for development (HCI4D) field emerged at the intersection of the fields of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) and human–computer interaction (HCI). In 2010, Michael Best nominated HCI4D as one of ICT4D’s “grand challenges”. This HCI4D field is now entering its second decade, and it is important to reflect on the research that has been conducted, and to consider how HCI4D researchers have addressed the challenge that constitutes the raison d’être of HCI4D’s existence. Best provided four guidelines to inform researchers embracing this challenge. This study commences by identifying the primary HCI4D-specific themes, and then carries out a systematic literature review of the HCI4D literature to build a corpus to support the analysis. The corpus is analysed to reflect on how well the field’s practices align with Best’s guidelines. The overall finding is that HCI4D researchers have largely been following Best’s guidelines and that the HCI4D field is demonstrating encouraging signs of emerging maturity.Item The Neo-Colonial Political Economy of Scholarly Publishing: Its UK-US Origins, Maxwell’s Role, and Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31) Gray, EveThe prevailing dynamics of today’s global scholarly publishing ecosystem were largely established by UK and US publishing interests in the years immediately after the Second World War. With a central role played by publisher Robert Maxwell, the two nations that emerged victorious from the war were able to dilute the power of German-language academic publishing—dominant before the war—and bring English-language scholarship, and in particular English-language journals, to the fore. Driven by intertwined nationalist, commercial, and technological ambitions, English-language academic journals and impact metrics gained preeminence through narratives grounded in ideas of “global” reach and values of “excellence”—while “local” scholarly publishing in sub-Saharan Africa, as in much of the developing world, was marginalised. These dynamics established in the post-war era still largely hold true today, and need to be dismantled in the interests of more equitable global scholarship and socio-economic development.