An intercultural approach to implementing multilingualism at Rhodes University, South Africa
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Maseko, Pamela , Dalvit, Lorenzo , Mapi, Thandeka , Nelani, Linda , Nosilela, Bulelwa , Sam, Msindisi S
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Multilingualism -- South Africa , Intercultural communication , Education, Higher -- South Africa , Language and culture -- South Africa , Language and education -- South Africa , Rhodes University
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59390 , vital:27579 , doi: 10.5842/39-0-74
- Description: The work of intercultural communication theorists such as Ting-Toomey (1999) and Gudykunst (2003) has informed curriculum design and teaching methodology of the courses developed for teaching isiXhosa for vocational purposes to second language (L2) learners. This seems to be an appropriate theoretical paradigm within multilingual South Africa, where intercultural communication is becoming a daily reality for a growing portion of the population. We make use of this theory to introduce and develop experiential understanding of multilingualism at Rhodes University in various departments and, more generally, on campus.
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- Date Issued: 2009
Adoption of ICTs in a marginalised area of South Africa
- Authors: Mapi, Thandeka , Dalvit, Lorenzo , Terzoli, Alfredo
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431130 , vital:72747 , https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/4390301/5-thandeka-libre.pdf?1390837024=response-content-disposi-tion=inline%3B+filename%3DAdoption_of_ICTs_in_a_Marginalised_Area.pdfExpires=1714988863Signature=N683m3iYa8BDSsrNBb-fZpYmsy~pftZZQbiEdNz8ZFJaL2I-Wt32FIJcLEKFnrSjj0AfnYak4RVZjuZhuFVHQZOnkt7tIBBwccqexeEkwq94rCX6r1~aA~GdyL4Z3WzHRK~Xoug17mnu869TGq8VxuSNBf-LmbSr03uZeXlk2dpobbp3ROl06wauhLm02p1th1qBM5n-Bc0q8wYS-zkY-jA9fc7w6ZE~m6hlHE6Amt1xg~db99oRcu1EuXSdHyWDZDw3OsQ9zlMfX7AU6EBhfAtFbxXuVXOlNOEPuXHgiQ1UbFveqfVKGFRg0dmYXzw62MQM0EQQ2g4qXgk2Xc2z0cQ__Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
- Description: This paper examines how a community in Dwesa, a marginalised area in the Transkei Region of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, adopts Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This research is part of the Siyakhula project, which aims at promoting the potential of the area through ICTs. The project is situated in four different schools: Mpume, Nondobo, Mtokwane and Ngwane. Fostering ICT awareness and a sense of owner-ship by the community are seen as crucial factors, and computer literacy education is an integral part of the project. The study focuses on how di-verse groups of people adopt new technologies and approach ICT educa-tion. Qualitative research methods such as Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Participant Observation (PO) were adopted in the study.
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- Date Issued: 2008
The localisation into isiXhosa of the iLanga telephone system
- Authors: Dalvit, Lorenzo , Tsietsi, Mosiuoa , Terzoli, Alfredo , Maseko, Pamela , Sam, Msindisi S , Mapi, Thandeka
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431358 , vital:72767 , https://nru.uncst.go.ug/bitstream/handle/123456789/6552/Information Communica-tion Technologies page 410.pdf?sequence=1isAllowed=y#page=256
- Description: In this paper we describe the localisation of iLanga, a VoIP PBX sys-tem, into isiXhosa. In South Africa, for social and political reasons, mak-ing systems available in the African languages is becoming more and more important. On the one hand, it gives access to the use of technol-ogy to people who are not fluent in English. On the other hand, it has a strong symbolic value. Although a variety of software is already availa-ble in a number of African languages, localisation in such language is still in its early stage. The process presented interesting challenges both from the technical and the linguistic point of view.
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- Date Issued: 2008
An ontology-based, multi-modal platform for the inclusion of marginalized rural communities into the knowledge society
- Authors: Thinyane, Mamello , Dalvit, Lorenzo , Slay, Hannah , Mapi, Thandeka , Terzoli, Alfredo
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431218 , vital:72755 , https://doi.org/10.1145/1292491.1292508
- Description: With the information revolution that promises to shape the 21st century, knowledge has become the prime commodity, very much like land, means of production and capital have been at different times in the past. Access to information, made instantly available by the growth of the Internet, determines access to economic resources, social participa-tion and better quality of life. For this reason, the knowledge stored on the Web and the advantages offered by the spread of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are equally important for rich socie-ties to prosper and for poor ones to develop. The only difference is that marginalised communities do not have access to the tools and have little control over the content found in the domain of ICTs. In this paper we describe an intervention to develop the potential of a typical rural community in South Africa through ICTs. This involves providing Inter-net connectivity and deploying a platform to support e-commerce, e-learning, e-government and e-health. The core of the platform is an on-tology-based model designed to integrate and respond to Indigenous Knowledge Systems. This has been achieved by combining a deep understanding of local knowledge and social networks with the use of authoring, communication and ontology-management tools. The prima-ry goal of this new approach is to find a way to make ICT solutions more sensitive to the local context, and therefore more effective. Sec-ondly, we hope to foster a sense of ownership of the project among the community, by capitalising on local knowledge and resources.
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- Date Issued: 2007