Sense of belonging and acceptance of diversity: The case of undergraduate students at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-118
Author(s):  
Acheampong Yaw Amoateng
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
The University

Sexual and Reproductive Health knowledge of Postgraduate Students at the University of Cape Town, in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bupe Mwamba ◽  
Pat Mayers ◽  
Jawaya Shea
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Pap Smear ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Breast Examination ◽  
The University

Abstract BackgroundGlobally and in South Africa, university students’ knowledge of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is low. This study was conducted in response to the dearth of information about the sexual and reproductive health knowledge of postgraduate students. Research conducted to explore the SRH knowledge of undergraduate students suggests that the level of SRH knowledge among undergraduate students is low. The aim of this study was to determine the SRH knowledge of postgraduate students with regards to contraceptives, sexually transmitted illnesses (STI), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Pap smear and clinical breast examination at University of Cape Town (UCT), in South Africa. MethodA cross sectional survey design was utilized, using an adapted and pretested online questionnaire. All postgraduate students enrolled in the first semester of 2017 (9444) were invited to anonymously complete the online survey.ResultsFour hundred and six (406) students completed the online survey, of whom 293 were female and 107 males. The age range of respondents was between 18 years and 57 years, with the median age for both male and female respondents being 24 years. Six survey responses were excluded from the statistical analysis because of incomplete data. Post graduate students from the African continent comprised 90.75% of the respondents. Most respondents were white (51.50%) from both Africa and abroad. The results indicated that respondents knew about sexually transmitted infections, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) & acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Female respondents were more aware of breast examination, and the role of Papanicolaou smear (Pap smear) in SRH. Almost half of the respondents in this study (49%) stated that they had no need for more information about contraceptives. Lecturers were identified as one of the top five sources of information, which suggests that the university environment provides students with important SRH-related information.ConclusionMost postgraduate students had knowledge of sexual and reproductive health with regards to contraception, Pap smear, clinical breast examination, STIs, HIV and AIDS. Further research should focus on the relationship between SRH knowledge and usage among this population. As university lecturers were identified as an important source of information across faculties, the University should consider the incorporation of SRH education in the broader curriculum and as an integral component of student health services.

scholarly journals Online module login data as a proxy measure of student engagement: the case of myUnisa, MoyaMA, Flipgrid, and Gephi at an ODeL institution in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaka Chaka ◽  
Tlatso Nkhobo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Video Clip ◽  
The Other ◽  
Online Module ◽  
File Access ◽  
Highly Active ◽  
Proxy Measure ◽  
The University

Abstract The current study employed online module login data harvested from three tools, myUnisa, MoyaMA and Flipgrid to determine how such data served as a proxy measure of student engagement. The first tool is a legacy learning management system (LMS) utilised for online learning at the University of South Africa (UNISA), while the other two tools are a mobile messaging application and an educational video discussion platform, respectively. In this regard, the study set out to investigate the manner in which module login data of undergraduate students (n = 3475 & n = 2954) and a cohort of Mathew Goniwe students (n = 27) enrolled for a second-level module, ENG2601, as extracted from myUnisa, MoyaMA, and Flipgrid served as a proxy measure of student engagement. Collectively, these students were registered for this second-level module at UNISA at the time the study was conducted. The online login data comprised myUnisa module login file access frequencies. In addition, the online login data consisted of the frequencies of instant messages (IMs) posted on MoyaMA by both the facilitator and Mathew Goniwe students, and video clips posted on and video clip view frequencies captured by Flipgrid in respect of the afore-cited module. One finding of this study is that student engagement as measured by login file access frequencies was disproportionally skewed toward one module file relative to other module files. The other finding of this study is that the overall module file access metrics of the Mathew Goniwe group were disproportionally concentrated in a sub-cohort of highly active users (HAU).

Study on Functionally Gradient Materials Under International Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program: US - South Africa Collaboration

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subha Kumpaty ◽  
Esther Akinlabi ◽  
Andrew Gray ◽  
Kevin Sivak ◽  
Mutiu Erinosho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
International Research ◽  
Functionally Graded ◽  
Cultural Immersion ◽  
Graded Materials ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Scan Speed ◽  
The University

This paper details the ongoing research conducted by Milwaukee School of Engineering senior undergraduate students in South Africa under the third year of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates grant EEC-1460183 sponsored by the National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator Dr. Kumpaty). Andrew Gray and Kevin Sivak conducted research in summer of 2017 under advisement of Dr. Kumpaty and his South African collaborators, Dr. Esther Akinlabi, Dr. Mutiu Erinosho and Dr. Sisa Pityana. They extended the work of Paoli (reported in IMECE2017-71037), with varying percent of Mo (0–15%) in the combination of Ti64-Mo deposited on Ti64 substrate at laser powers of 1500 and 1700 W for a select scan speed. Laser metal deposition was completed at the CSIR – National Laser Center, in Pretoria, South Africa and the material characterization was performed at the University of Johannesburg as in the previous year. Hardness decreased with addition of Mo. Lowest hardness was observed in 10% Mo layers, and greater percent of Mo led some agglomeration issues due to its melting temperature being much higher than that of Ti64. Corrosion tests were also attempted. Etching challenges were present as percent of Mo varied in the same sample. Results are directly applicable to biomedical industry in evaluating functionally graded materials. An alumnus of MSOE, Peter Spyres served as a liaison for our international REU participants as he engaged them during the weekends in a cultural immersion which otherwise would not have been possible. Gray and Sivak were able to spend July 4th at the U.S. Consulate in Pretoria. While the research collaborators have generously provided support, it is the care taken by Peter’s remarkable household, which enhanced the beneficial value of this international research enterprise.

scholarly journals Sense of belonging and first-year academic literacy

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-142
Author(s):  
Steve Marshall ◽  
Mingming Zhou ◽  
Ted Gervan ◽  
Sunita Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Literacy Course ◽  
The University

In this article, we analyze a broad range of factors that affect the sense of belonging of undergraduate students taking a first-year academic literacy course (ALC) at a multicultural, multilingual university in Vancouver, Canada. Students who fail to meet the university’s language and literacy requirements are required to pass ALC before they can enrol in writing courses across the disciplines. Consequently, many of those students feel that they have yet to be accepted as fully legitimate members of the university community. We present data from a two-year, mixed-method study, which involved asking students in surveys and interviews about their sense of belonging, as well as analyzing their reflective writing samples for issues related to their sense of belonging. We found that the participants’ perceptions of sense of belonging are multilayered and context-dependent, relating to changes in time and space, classroom pedagogy, and other social, cultural, and linguistic factors. Implications for higher education are discussed.  

Everyday discourses of belonging of first-generation Eritrean refugees in South Africa: lived experience and attachment*

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-182
Author(s):  
Amanuel Isak Tewolde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
South African ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
African Context ◽  
The University

Research is scant on the everyday sense of belonging of refugees in South Africa. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the everyday discourses of belonging of Eritrean refugees in South Africa. Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit participants, and qualitative data was gathered from 11 participants in the City of Tshwane, South Africa, through open-ended interviews and focus group discussions. Analysis of data resulted in three dominant discourses: 1) ‘we feel like outsiders’; 2) ‘we are neither here nor there’; and 3) ‘South Africa is home’. Drawing on the participants’ discourses, I argue that in the South African context, refugees’ sense of belonging tends to be varied mirroring multifaceted lived experiences. Participants’ construction of South Africa as their home also counters previous research that portrayed foreign nationals in South Africa as ‘excluded’.* This article is based on research conducted at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Ethical Cyber Behaviour among Undergraduate Students in Selected African Universities. An Overview

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurudeen Aderibigbe ◽  
◽  
Dennis N Ocholla ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Ethical Behaviour ◽  
Ethical Orientation ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Orientation Training ◽  
The University

This study examined the ethical behaviour of undergraduate students in relation to cyber technology at the University of Zululand (UNIZULU), South Africa, and the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria. We adopted the pragmatic research paradigm that combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods through the survey method. The sample for the study was drawn from undergraduate students in two purposively selected universities in South Africa and Nigeria. Overall, 450 undergraduate students were invited to participate in the survey; 380 respondents completed and returned the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 84.4%. 14 of the expected 16 members of staff of both Information & Communication Technology Resource Centre ICTREC and Information Technology Section ITS were interviewed, resulting in a response rate of 88%. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used for data analysis. Most of the respondents from the sampled universities reported that they were aware of what constitutes unethical cyber behaviour. Further, the participants (98; 52.1%) revealed that they had never received ethical orientation/training in the university on cyber behaviour, cyber space, or cyber technology. Challenges facing the students is reported. The study recommends that universities should sustain orientation/training programmes on cyber ethics and cyber security awareness at the start of each academic year, especially for newly enrolled students so that they can act responsibly when using the university’s cyberspace. The results of this study may spark further discussions and research on cyber technology access and use in contemporary society.

Global Research Engagement by Undergraduates and its Impact: Laser Metal Deposition Studies in US-South Africa Collaboration

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subha Kumpaty ◽  
Esther Akinlabi ◽  
Elizabeth Paoli ◽  
Arianna Ziemer ◽  
Sisa Pityana
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Metal Deposition ◽  
Functionally Graded ◽  
Cultural Immersion ◽  
Laser Metal Deposition ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Research Engagement ◽  
The University ◽  
Global Research

This paper presents the follow-up work of research conducted by Milwaukee School of Engineering senior undergraduate students in South Africa under the second year of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates grant EEC-1460183 sponsored by the National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator Dr. Kumpaty). Elizabeth Paoli and Arianna Ziemer conducted research in summer of 2016 under advisement of Dr. Kumpaty and his South African collaborators, Dr. Esther Akinlabi and Dr. Sisa Pityana. Arianna extended the work of Mueller (reported in IMECE2016-65094), with 10% Mo in the combination of Ti64-Mo deposited on Ti64 substrate at a laser power of 1700 W for five scan speeds ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 m/min. It was observed that lower scan speeds produced elongated grains. Hardness and corrosion tests were also completed in her study. Elizabeth worked on varying the percent of Mo from layer to layer deposited (5%, 10%, 15%) and characterized these functionally graded samples for biomedical applications. Laser metal deposition was completed at the CSIR – National Laser Center, in Pretoria, South Africa and the material characterization was performed at the University of Johannesburg as in the previous year. An alumnus of MSOE, Peter Spyres was an important liaison for our international REU participants as he engaged them during the weekends in a cultural immersion which otherwise would not have been possible. While the research collaborators have generously provided support, it is the care taken by Peter’s remarkable household, which enhanced the beneficial value of this global research enterprise. The paper addresses yet another successful completion of the international Research Experiences for Undergraduates.

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