There’s a strong correlation between academic freedom and other elements of democracy. But cause and effect are not so clear. The African experience makes the relationship clearer because simultaneously, and in a relatively short time, the whole continent moved from one-party to multiparty systems.
The work of Christopher Boafo, Richard Afriyie Owusu and Karine Guiderdoni-Jourdain offers an understanding of the internationalization of informal smaller firms in two major enterprise clusters in a sub-Saharan African economy through a network perspective.
For academic researchers working with social movements and activist groups can present unique challenges. Finding ways to work effectively together, whilst acknowledging differences in power and objectives, is often problematic. Drawing on perspectives from different social movements and academia, Diana Mitlin, Jhono Bennett, Philipp Horn, Sophie King, Jack Makau and George Masimba Nyama present insights from the Slum/Shack Dwellers International movement on how academics can successfully co-produce useful knowledge for social movements.
Most countries in Africa are lagging behind development goal suggested by the United Nations. Science academies have a crucial role to play in developing ways for scientists to help these nations achieve development goals more effectively.
Catriona Macleod received the 2017 Psychology and Social Change Award from her home institution, Rhodes University, late last year in large part for recognizing and then critiquing the psychology of Africa.
In the past few years there has been an insidious rise in predatory journals and publishers, notes Adele Thomas, and African academics have not been immune to their predation.
Individual academics and institutions have driven the open access process in South Africa. This bottom-up approach has its merits, argue John Butler-Adam, Susan Veldsman and Ina Smith, but a push from the top is needed to ensure that the nation stays on track.
The director of directs the International Network for Higher Education in Africa argues that a nascent effort to rank the continent’s institutions of higher education ‘seems to me to be doomed from the start.’
Drawing on discussions with academics who have oriented their work around public engagement and social impact, Daniel Pearson suggests these academics present an opportunity to rethink the existing structures of reward and recognition in higher education. “We are, as a species, addicted to story,” says English professor Jonathan Gottschall in his book, The Storytelling Animal. “Even when the […] Tom Burns, whose combination of play — and plays – with teaching in higher education added a light, collaborative and engaging model […] A 2024 report by the National Academies explores the latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and their potential effects on economic productivity, job stability, and income inequality. It also highlights key research opportunities and data needs to help workers and policymakers adapt to the evolving AI landscape. In this post, co-authors Frank T. Piller, Tucker J. Marion, and Mahdi Srour reflect on the inspiration behind their research article, “Generative […] During the final stages of editing the proofs for Artificial Intelligence and Work: Transforming Work, Organizations, and Society in an Age of Insecurity, […]
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Impact
Young Scholars Can’t Take the Field in Game of Academic Metrics
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Canada’s Storytellers Challenge Seeks Compelling Narratives About Student Research
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Tom Burns, 1959-2024: A Pioneer in Learning Development
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Innovation
NAS Report Examines Nexus of AI and Workplace
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When Do You Need to Trust a GenAI’s Input to Your Innovation Process?
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The Authors of ‘Artificial Intelligence and Work’ on Future Risk
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