Research Outputs (ICT4D)
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/11921
2024-03-29T10:23:31ZResearch collaboration in asymmetric power relations: A study of postgraduate students’ views
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/29912
Research collaboration in asymmetric power relations: A study of postgraduate students’ views
Van Biljon, Judy; Mwapwele, Samwel
Collaboration among researchers and across disciplinary, organisational and cultural
boundaries is essential for addressing the increasingly complex challenges and opportunities
facing international development. Despite the known advantages and various incentives,
research collaboration within Africa (specifically within South Africa) is lacking. To better
understand the reasons for this lack of research collaboration, this study explored collaboration
between students and supervisors in an information and communication technology for
development (ICT4D) postgraduate student project in South Africa. South Africa, a country
with major social inequalities and asymmetric power relations, provides an appropriate
context. The students’ perspectives provided a space for investigating the collaboration factors
by unpacking the capability inputs according to Robeyns’ representation of personal
capabilities. Data were captured from a survey and focus groups (FG) with students and
supervisors in ICT4D from different universities in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used
to identify and link the participants’ expectations of research collaboration with their
perceptions of the challenges of such collaborations. The contribution is a conceptualisation of
the main components representing research collaboration viewed in terms of personal
capabilities, including the factors that influence collaboration.
Transdisciplinarity contribution: Research collaboration is fundamental to promoting multi-,
inter- and transdisciplinary research. The novelty of this study lies in applying a theoretical
lens from the field of human development to explore research collaboration in the
transdisciplinary field of ICT4D. Given the research application context and the theoretical
lens applied, the findings have implications for initiatives and policies on funding
transdisciplinary research collaboration.
2023-02-16T00:00:00ZA Conceptual Framework for the Development of Argumentation Skills Using CSCL in a Graduate Students’ Research Course
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/29819
A Conceptual Framework for the Development of Argumentation Skills Using CSCL in a Graduate Students’ Research Course
van der Merwe, O. R.; Van Biljon, Judy; Pilkington C, /
Developing and presenting a well-formulated research argument
is core to the learning journey of a graduate student. In open
distance e-learning, computer-supported learning is instrumental in providing
a platform for graduate students to develop their argumentation
skills. However, there is little guidance on the elements required in using
computer supportive collaborative learning (CSCL) to augment argumentation
skills development (ASD). This paper reports on elements
identified in literature that should be present in a framework using CSCL
to augment ASD. The thematically analysed data gathered during the
focus group sessions were used to confirm the structure of the argumentation
skills development framework (ASDF), and confirmed that there
is a need for a framework to provide guidance in using CSCL to augment
ASD. The contribution includes the conceptual ASDF using CSCL, comprising
seven elements, that provides a strategy of scaffolded learning for
implementation in a graduate course to augment ASD.
2022-07-07T00:00:00ZReflections on the Maturity of the Mobile Communication Technology for Development (M4D) Landscape: 2008 - 2016
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/29612
Reflections on the Maturity of the Mobile Communication Technology for Development (M4D) Landscape: 2008 - 2016
Van Biljon, Judy; Renaud, Karen
The 2018 M4D conference marks a decade of dynamic growth in
the Mobile Communication Technology for Development (M4D) discipline.
This paper reflects on the developments and maturity of the field based on a
systematic literature review of the research papers published in the biennial
M4D conference series (2008-2016). The findings offer a comprehensive
overview of what was studied (application domains), where the research took
place (geographic locations), by whom (the researchers affiliations), how the
research was carried out (methodologies) and how the research contributed to
the maturity of the M4D field. We conclude by summarising the insights gained
from our investigation, with the goal of enriching discussions on how M4D
research has evolved, where research gaps may exist and what can be gained
by retaining a M4D theoretical corpus.
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZUsability Requirements for Learning Management Systems in Open Distance Electronic Learning Environments: Considering Lecturers’ Views on Students’ Needs
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/29457
Usability Requirements for Learning Management Systems in Open Distance Electronic Learning Environments: Considering Lecturers’ Views on Students’ Needs
Lehong, Sewisha; Van Biljon, Judy; Sanders, Ian
The 2020 health pandemic brought renewed interest in using learning management systems
(LMSs) to deliver educational services as routinely done in open distance and electronic
learning (ODeL) environments. LMSs usability has been researched but the lecturers’
perspective remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to propose validated usability
guidelines for an LMS in an ODeL context. A set of usability requirements was abstracted from
the literature and used as the basis for a heuristic evaluation (HE) of the institution’s LMS.
These results of the HE was triangulated with three other usability evaluation methods
including usability testing with eye tracking, a post-test system usability scale (SUS)
questionnaire and interviews. The primary contribution is the validated usability requirements
for ODeL LMSs based on the lecturers’ perspective. A secondary contribution is the
triangulation approach to evaluating the guidelines in situ which confirmed HE as a valid
evaluation method for LMSs.
2022-01-01T00:00:00Z