Response of ASEAN’s National Archives to COVID-19 Pandemic and Prospects for Specialized Cooperation

2022 ◽  
pp. 285-304
Author(s):  
Le Tuyet Mai ◽  
Pham Thi Dieu Linh
Keyword(s):  
2014 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
Scott Pittman

The story of anti-communism in California schools is a tale well and often told. But few scholars have appreciated the important role played by private surveillance networks. This article examines how privately funded and run investigations shaped the state government’s pursuit of leftist educators. The previously-secret papers of Major General Ralph H. Van Deman, which were opened to researchers at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., only a few years ago, show that the general operated a private spy network out of San Diego and fed information to military, federal, and state government agencies. Moreover, he taught the state government’s chief anti-communist bureaucrat, Richard E. Combs, how to recruit informants and monitor and control subversives. The case of the suspicious death of one University of California, Los Angeles student – a student that the anti-communists claimed had been “scared to death” by the Reds – shows the extent of the collaboration between Combs and Van Deman. It further illustrates how they conspired to promote fear of communism, influence hiring and firing of University of California faculty, and punish those educators who did not support their project. Although it was rarely successful, Combs’ and Van Deman’s coordinated campaign reveals a story of public-private anticommunist collaboration in California that has been largely forgotten. Because Van Deman’s files are now finally open to researchers, Californians can gain a much more complete understanding of their state bureaucracy’s role in the Red Scare purges of California educators.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vimbayi Natalie Nhenga-Mugarisanwa ◽  
Peterson Dewah

 Oral history collections are vital assets that represent national heritage. While transcribed collections are kept in a proper archival repository at the Bulawayo National Archives, the audio-visual collections are kept unprocessed and unprotected in unsuitable housing such as cardboard boxes within the Principal Archivist’s office. Storage conditions are not conducive and therefore, unbearable. The study, therefore, explored issues relating to how national heritage contained in oral history collections can be protected through conservation at the institution. In this regard, the study opted to employ the qualitative research methodology, using the case study research design. The informants were purposively sampled, while data were collected through questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and document analysis. Questionnaires were administered to the chosen respondents through hand delivery. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews that lasted between 20–30 minutes. The Director’s Annual Reports from 1990 to 2016 were analysed for the study. The findings of the study indicated that the Bulawayo National Archives captures and stores oral history in paper, cassettes, magnetic tape, and digital formats, and according to various subject areas; which include chieftaincy, minority groups, land question, religion and liberation wars. However, the institution does not have a conservation unit nor an Oral Historian in charge of the collections. In this regard, we recommend that the institution sets up a conservation unit to protect oral history collections, and facilitate the restoration of the already damaged and deteriorated oral history collections. 


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-93
Author(s):  
Gugulethu Shamaine Nkala ◽  
Rodreck David

Knowledge presented by Oral History (OH) is unique in that it shares the tacit perspective, thoughts, opinions and understanding of the interviewee in its primary form. While teachers, lecturers and other education specialists have at their disposal a wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary sources upon which to relate and share or impart knowledge, OH presents a rich source of information that can improve the learning and knowledge impartation experience. The uniqueness of OH is presented in the following advantages of its use: it allows one to learn about the perspectives of individuals who might not otherwise appear in the historical record; it allows one to compensate for the digital age; one can learn different kinds of information; it provides historical actors with an opportunity to tell their own stories in their own words; and it offers a rich opportunity for human interaction. This article discusses the placement of oral history in the classroom set-up by investigating its use as a source of learning material presented by the National Archives of Zimbabwe to students in the Department of Records and Archives Management at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). Interviews and a group discussion were used to gather data from an archivist at the National Archives of Zimbabwe, lecturers and students in the Department of Records and Archives Management at NUST, respectively. These groups were approached on the usability, uniqueness and other characteristics that support this type of knowledge about OH in a tertiary learning experience. The findings indicate several qualities that reflect the richness of OH as a teaching source material in a classroom set-up. It further points to weak areas that may be addressed where the source is considered a viable strategy for knowledge sharing and learning. The researchers present a possible model that can be used to champion the use of this rich knowledge source in classroom education at this university and in similar set-ups. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkholedzeni Sidney Netshakhuma

This study was conceptualised in order to assess the strategies used to incorporate the homeland of KaNgwane into Mpumalanga province after the cessation of apartheid in 1994. The specific objective of the study was to investigate the compliance of records and archives with the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (Act No 43 of 1996), during the incorporation of the homeland of KaNgwane into Mpumalanga. The study adopted a qualitative methodology through document analysis, interviews and observations. The key findings revealed that the archives of the former homeland of Kangwane were not aligned with the requirements of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (Act No.43 of 1996.) Institutions seem to lack experience when it comes to the challenges of storing records and implementing arrangement and control systems. The frequent lack of a records management policy and few to no staff with record-keeping and archival backgrounds was also a concern. A shortage of space to store records safely was also one of the major issues that the study uncovered. There appears to be no concerted effort to retain important historical records. Many records are stored in several different locations in government buildings.  I conclude that archives play an essential role to the nation as the institutional memory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-84
Author(s):  
Ho Jin Chung ◽  
Muhammad Sufri ◽  
Chee Keng John Wang

This study explored the underlying processes associated with the policy of increasing qualified physical education teachers (QPETs) in Singapore primary schools. Data were collected from the National Archives of Singapore, Newslink, NewpaperSG and documents. An ‘archaeological analysis’ by Foucault (1972) was used to trace the discursive conditions which enabled and facilitated the policy. Three distinct elements were borrowed from ‘The Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourse on Language’, namely: the status – as reflected in the positions of individuals influencing the PE policies and initiatives; the institutional sites – as in the locations of the decisions being exercised, and; the situation – identified by the key events leading to the decision to increase QPETs in primary schools. The conclusions based on the analysis of these elements offer a clearer understanding of the various contributions to the adoption of the policy and serve to provide an insightful lens to policymakers who might seek to redesign the future shape of Physical Education.


Author(s):  
Madara Eversone

The article aims to highlight the role of Arvīds Grigulis’ (1906–1989) personality in the Latvian Soviet literary process in the context of the Latvian Soviet Writers’ Union, attempting to discover the contradictions and significance of Arvīds Grigulis’ personality. Arvīds Grigulis was a long-time member of the Writers’ Union, a member of the Soviet nomenklatura, and an authority of the soviet literary process. His evaluations of pre-soviet literary heritage and writings of his contemporaries were often harsh and ruthless, and also influenced the development of the further literary process. The article is based on the documents of the Central Committee of the Latvian Communist Party, the Latvian Soviet Writers’ Union and the Communist Party local organization of the Latvian Soviet Writers’ Union that are available at the Latvian State Archive of the National Archives of Latvia, as well as memories of Grigulis’ contemporaries. It is concluded that the personality of the writer Arvīds Grigulis, although unfolding less in the context of the Writers’ Union, is essential for the exploration of the soviet literary process and events behind the scenes. The article mainly describes events and episodes taking place until 1965, when Arvīds Grigulis’ influence in the Writers’ Union was more remarkable. Individual and further studies should analyse changes and the impact of his decisions in the cultural process of the 70s and 80s of the 20th century.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document