The Digitally Disadvantaged: Access to Digital Communication Technologies among First Year Students at a Rural South African University

Oyedemi, Toks; Mogano, Saki

doi:10.1080/18146627.2016.1264866

Cited by 34 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Existing research that assesses psychological health during the COVID-19 pandemic has relied on cross-sectional data that have been collected through online questionnaires, biasing samples against people with limited access to the internet [ 8 ]. This type of selection bias is likely to be particularly important in developing countries such as South Africa, where access to the internet varies significantly and systematically by socio-economic status and location [ 24 , 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Job loss and mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown: Evidence from South Africa

2021

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Objectives Existing literature on how employment loss affects depression has struggled to address potential endogeneity bias caused by reverse causality. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique natural experiment because the source of unemployment is very likely to be exogenous to the individual. This study assessed the effect of job loss and job furlough on the mental health of individuals in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data and methods The data for the study came from the first and second waves of the national survey, the National Income Dynamics-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM), conducted during May-June and July-August 2020, respectively. The sample for NIDS-CRAM was drawn from an earlier national survey, conducted in 2017, which had collected data on mental health. Questions on depressive symptoms during the lockdown were asked in Wave 2 of NIDS-CRAM, using a 2-question version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2). The PHQ-2 responses (0–6 on the discrete scale) were regrouped into four categories making the ordered logit regression model the most suited for assessing the impact of employment status on depressive symptoms. Results The study revealed that adults who retained paid employment during the COVID-19 lockdown had significantly lower depression scores than adults who lost employment. The benefits of employment also accumulated over time, underscoring the effect of unemployment duration on mental health. The analysis revealed no mental health benefits to being furloughed (on unpaid leave), but paid leave had a strong and significant positive effect on the mental health of adults. Conclusions The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented job losses, which impaired mental wellbeing significantly. Health policy responses to the crisis therefore need to focus on both physical and mental health interventions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Job loss and mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown: Evidence from South Africa

2021

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“…Care is therefore taken not to overreach the claims that might validly be made from the data available. To help the reader judge the extent to which the findings presented here might be applicable to their own context, some of the biographical characteristics of the sample are given in (Oyedemi & Mogano, 2018), i.e. (1) greater access to smartphones than computers, particularly in poorer communities; (2) little access to the internet for learners from poorer communities.…”

Section: Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

South African teachers' engagement in Teach Online: A case study about short course design

Stott

2022

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In the developing world numerous barriers hinder teachers' uptake of the pedagogical and technological skills needed to teach online. This study sought to contribute to an understanding of effective programme design for developing such skills in such contexts by exploring the engagement of a cohort of South African teachers (n=97 initially, decreasing to n=25 across the programme) in a pedagogically and technologically moderately advanced 80-hour short learning programme (SLP). The research is guided by research questions regarding the retention and engagement across the SLP and design elements that affected these. A description of the SLP is given in terms of the teaching, social and cognitive presences included, as well as Chickering and Gamson's seven principles of good practice. Data were collected regarding the numbers of participants engaging in activities across the duration of the SLP. In addition, 20 of the participants who completed the SLP volunteered to answer a questionnaire with 31 Likert-scale items regarding engagement levels, and 3 open-ended items concerning their experiences with the SLP. Content analysis was performed, and findings were interpreted using collaborative cognitive load theory. The findings show high attrition levels, particularly during the registration and orientation processes. High engagement levels were found for those who managed to complete the SLP successfully, with approximately equal representation of these teachers from schools serving richer and poorer communities. The design description and derived recommendations are likely to be of value to designers of online SLPs, particularly within the developing world context, and particularly while the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates use of online teaching. Recommendations are inclusion of (1) participation marks to promote engagement in collaboration; (2) short videos to clarify (a) the nature of the SLP up-front and (b) engagement instructions.

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“…Digital technologies are important tools in teaching learning process and other academic activities, hence the increasing use/implementation of technologies in educational institutions [38] but this implementation is far from global. According to Resta and Laferrière [36], is necessary occur a change in order to exist a digital equity to increase the opportunities for all stakeholders involved in education, particularly the students.…”

Section: Relevance Of Digital Technologies In This Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the Right to Education Be Successfully Implemented Through New Technologies?

Silva¹,

Alves²,

Ferreira³

2020

INTED Proceedings

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The right to education emerges as a fundamental right and instrument of democracy that has accompanied the evolution of the social and democratic state of Western and European law. And can the right to education be successfully implemented through new technologies?It is possible to find the right to education legally enshrined either in the domestic law of states, in constitutional texts, in international law or in general organizations such as the United Nations (UN) or regional organizations such as the European Union (EU). In this context, information technologies emerge as a tool that, given their ubiquity and unquestionable use by all generations and those at present in the school age, can and should be used to increase this right with success. In the specific national case of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic of 1976, the right to education is presented as a freedom and as a cultural right. At international law, the right to education emerges as one of the goals of the UN and is enshrined in the European Union. Also, to note that this right, as a second generation social right, depends on public policies and financial endowment.The right to education, as well as the right to vocational and continuing training -long life education -is valued by the European Union, which shapes the orientation of the Member States in their performance. The right to education as a fundamental right is itself a vehicle for the consecration of fundamental rights as a whole. The development of a policy of raising awareness and educating the public on fundamental rights by states and international organizations that have a practice in this area allows for great achievements in the field of fundamental rights. The education system, possibly through the use of new technologies (ICTs), will be responsible for maintaining the skills (knowledge, skills and attitudes) given the profile of today's students, essential to the pursuit of democratic ideals.The aim is here to discuss the extent to which these new technologies can ensure a more effective implementation of constitutionally established law. The value of the rule of law remains a priority today. But we can see that the realization of the right to education is not yet fully realized. And it will be also through the politics of education and training that the common values and the general principles of law will be maintained. The focus of state and international community intervention was also a necessity and priority.This study intends to focus on the legislative documents and case studies presented in the literature that address the issue of valuing the use of new technologies in the realization of this right. On a theoretical and academic view, it is consolidated through the systematic and methodologically selected normative interpretation of the legislative texts. Without presenting quantitative data, the aim is to bring to discussion and debate the role, value and capacity of the use of new technologies in enforcing a positive right that depends on the State's action...

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The Digitally Disadvantaged: Access to Digital Communication Technologies among First Year Students at a Rural South African University

Cited by 34 publications

References 8 publications

Job loss and mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown: Evidence from South Africa

Job loss and mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown: Evidence from South Africa

South African teachers' engagement in Teach Online: A case study about short course design

Can the Right to Education Be Successfully Implemented Through New Technologies?

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