Southern agency and digital education: an ethnography of open online learning in Dili, Timor-Leste

Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Online English Learning Platforms

“…It maps a large number of basic characteristics of human brain functions and is an extremely complex network system [8,9]. Neural networks have distributed storage, large-scale parallelism and processing, self-adaptation, self-organization, and self-learning capabilities and are especially suitable for dealing with fuzzy and inaccurate information processingrelated problems that need to consider many factors and conditions at the same time [10]. A neural network is composed of neuron models, and this information processing network composed of many neurons has a parallel distributed structure [11].…”

Towards decolonising research methods training: the development of a locally responsive online learning course on research methods for mental health in war and conflict for researchers and practitioners in the Gaza Strip

“…Our online course aimed to strengthen the qualitative research capacities of MHPR in the GS to empower them to conduct high quality and locally relevant mental health research. To our knowledge, it is the first training delivered in the GS combining the fields of mental health, qualitative research methods and conflict, while addressing the ‘digital neo-colonialism critique’ (Binka, 2005 ; de Sousa Santos, 2015 ; Adam, 2019 ; Gallagher and Knox, 2019 ; King et al ., 2019 ).…”

“…We further recognised the fundamental relationship between knowledge and power (Foucault, 2008 ) and the importance and impact of power imbalance in the educational process (Freire, 1984 ). While our aim was to advance a heterogeneous, global knowledge system reflecting local contexts (Bockstael, 2017 ; Vaditya, 2018 ; Adam, 2019 ; Gallagher and Knox, 2019 ), we acknowledge that we based our course content on Western epistemic knowledge systems, trying to render them culturally sensitive, while at the same time incorporating diverse paradigms and local knowledge in a reflective manner(de Sousa Santos, 2015 ; Adam, 2019 ; King et al ., 2019 ). We are therefore cautious that simply adapting Western epistemologies to local realities might inadvertently contribute to perpetuating epistemic oppression whereby local knowledge is, once again, pushed to the margins rather than occupying a central place in knowledge generation and exchange.…”

“…There are concerns around online learning initiatives directed at non-Western settings to strengthen research capacity. It is argued they impose Western-centric epistemology, provide unidirectional transfer of standardised knowledge, and neglect local paradigms, culture and expertise (de Sousa Santos, 2015 ; Adam, 2019 ; Gallagher and Knox, 2019 ; King et al ., 2019 ). These approaches are perceived to reinforce colonial legacies of knowledge production, widen social injustices and overlook the value of different histories and epistemologies in forming a diverse global knowledge (Binka, 2005 ; de Sousa Santos, 2015 ; Adam, 2019 ; Gallagher and Knox, 2019 ; King et al ., 2019 ).…”

“…It is argued they impose Western-centric epistemology, provide unidirectional transfer of standardised knowledge, and neglect local paradigms, culture and expertise (de Sousa Santos, 2015 ; Adam, 2019 ; Gallagher and Knox, 2019 ; King et al ., 2019 ). These approaches are perceived to reinforce colonial legacies of knowledge production, widen social injustices and overlook the value of different histories and epistemologies in forming a diverse global knowledge (Binka, 2005 ; de Sousa Santos, 2015 ; Adam, 2019 ; Gallagher and Knox, 2019 ; King et al ., 2019 ). In contrast, scholars call for the decolonisation of knowledge as they question the assumption that Western European modes of thinking are universal and superior (Quijano, 2000 ).…”