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Securing the Humanities in an Age of Failing Economics April 7, 2010

Posted by Peter in : Humanities and Education Studies, Projects, Uncategorized , add a comment

Prof Peter Vale, Co-Chair, ASSAf Consensus Panel on the Humanities

From almost every corner of the Anglophone world, the complaint is the same: “The Humanities are under threat”. I use the qualifier because, sadly, my ability to access other language worlds – beyond  the Dutch-Afrikaans link – is limited.*

The question is what is to be done to recover and revive the Humanities?

Research and deliberations into ASSAf’s own Consensus Report on the Humanities in South Africa is well under way and the hope is to issue a preliminary report in late October, 2010. My own view of this issue is framed by an understanding of political economy – the rise of neo-liberal economics has emphasized economic growth and efficiency and, in this particular universe, the Humanities have no place ( the State of Science in South Africa, pg 210). This is a fallacy, of course. Take the creation of jobs. In this country alone, right now, one of the strongest areas of economic growth is Afrikaans cultural production – most of this is both creates jobs and pushes economic growth. (more…)

Role of libraries in research March 24, 2010

Posted by Zweli in : Events, Humanities and Education Studies, Open Access Scholarly Publishing , add a comment

South African Library Week 2010 will be celebrated from 22 – 27 March 2010 with the theme: “Reading changes lives“. SALW2010 was launched on Saturday 20 March at the National Library of South Africa to coincide with the date of the declaration of the first public library in South Africa in 1818.

The Academy is made up of researchers wanting to benefit society through their research. Libraries play a crucial role in this endeavour.

During Library Week we acknowledge the role that libraries play in the production of research. Whereas the internet at large provides general information resources, libraries provide authoritative information resources such as books, journals and access to academic electronic resources.  Click here to read more about SALW2010.

The state of HIV/AIDS clinical trials in South Africa August 18, 2009

Posted by Phakamile in : Health Studies, Projects , 1 comment so far

Clinical trials in South Africa are taking place almost in every province and majority of them are HIV/AIDS -related because of its high prevalence in the country. The good thing about this is that the communities in which these trial are carried out get to benefit by the level of HIV awareness information and education they receive. Through this education and awareness this contributed in the decreasing the level of new HIV infections.

However, the level of acceptance of these clinical trials in these communities is not always smooth sailing. Some of the main issues include: volunteering vs ‘guinea pigs’, re-imbursement and ethical aspects. Some communities, despite being fully informed, regard being reimbursed for volunteering in these trials as a form of coercion to join them.  Others regard volunteers of these trials as guinea pigs. To address these issues communities are always reassured through communuty meetings and education.

South African Journal of Science first on SA Open Access platform August 13, 2009

Posted by Andrea in : SAJS , add a comment

The South African Journal of Science (SAJS) is one of the first South African journals to be hosted on the fully Open Access platform, SciELO South Africa. This represents a major achievement in South Africa that will benefit researchers and scholars in providing a free-to-publish, free-to-access platform for the best scientific thinking the country has to offer.

 SciELO focuses on developing countries where few end users have access to traditional peer-reviewed academic journals either online or in print form. Access to journals is subscription-based and can be very expensive. Only certain libraries carry them, meaning that there have been severe restrictions in accessibility and affordability up to this point. The Open Access platform for these journals aims to combat these restrictions, while simultaneously enhancing the international visibility of South African research. (more…)

Do the Humanities matter? August 13, 2009

Posted by Zuki in : Humanities and Education Studies , add a comment

In the 21st century, more and more emphasis has been put on science and technology. There are certain jobs that did not exist two decades ago, and others that have completely disappeared from the employment seeking websites and newspapers. As a result of these “new job demands”,  the education system has structured its curriculum to suit the current needs of a society which is more technological than two decades ago.

The new societal demands have resulted in a huge shift in terms of who is funded for further studies, putting the humanities in a somehow unpopular position in attracting funding for those students that would like to pursue studies in social sciences and humanities. A few questions have been asked: Do Humanities matter? Is there a future for the Humanities?