Culture, language and productivity in the workplace within the BRICS Nations:
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M , Wolff, H Ekkehard
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174624 , vital:42495 , https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.25159/2663-6697/5009
- Description: The changing economic environment globally carries challenges and opportunities for business. Cross-cultural environments and financial integration call for greater understanding of the workplace. The authors assess the usage and status of language and culture in workplaces within the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries through a light touch survey to assist in framing further and deeper research activities. The objective is to develop a suitable research framework regarding the place of language and culture in the workplace in multilingual and multicultural contexts. The authors argue for the inclusion of a cultural dimension linked to multilingual strategies in the workplace. The inextricable link between language and culture is explored in this article.
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- Date Issued: 2019
From Technauriture to Cultauriture: Developing a Coherent Digitisation Paradigm for Enhancing Cultural Impact
- Authors: Mostert, André M , Lisney, Bob , Maroko, Geoffrey M , Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124528 , vital:35625 , http://www.ijscl.net/article_26650.html
- Description: Developing suitable frameworks and paradigms (theoretical and practical) is a challenge for all disciplines in the face of rapid technological changes. Technological advances are fundamentally changing discourse in many well-established areas of research; from advances in understanding the brain, questioning the informed wisdom of sectors of the brain, through to impacts of social networks on sociology, to digitisation of culture. Technology’s potential is a double-edged sword which calls for coherent and reflective practices, to avoid the many pitfalls which abound. Kaschula recognised this as far back as 2004 in terms of orality, oral societies, and developed Technauriture as a framing solution. Drawing from this experience, the authors aim to expand the concept to offer a framing paradigm for culture in the form of Cultauriture. In this article the concept of Cultauriture is introduced and expanded to create a base for further research and dialogue with and between cultural practitioners, artists and policy makers.
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- Date Issued: 2017
From linguistic determinism to technological determinism
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67062 , vital:29027 , https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-5888-2.ch447
- Description: publisher version , From Introduction: This article seeks to analyse the link between linguistic determinism, the notion that language determines our thought and the way we perceive our reality, as espoused by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, and contemporary technological determinism. Arguably this link takes place within a global context where equal access to technology is not yet guaranteed. Ellul (1964) and Lawson’s (2004) observations create an interesting metaphor in terms of the technological beast staring down human society. The overwhelming response if we accept Lawson’s observation is complacency at best or downright naivety at worst regarding the impact of technology on our thinking. Lawson made his observation in the pre-Facebook era and subsequent literature is now much more focused on all aspects of technology within our contemporary milieu. Technology is now totally ubiquitous in the developed world and becoming more so in developing countries, albeit with a much stronger mobile bias for early technology adopters. That technology is rushing ahead of many individuals and institutions is almost an aphorism with many lagging in its wake. This lag as recognised by Brynjolfson and McAfree (2011) has wide social and economic implications for all members of society, in the case of business those that do not keep up go under. A further pertinent question revolves around how individuals who start from low technological literacy levels or do not keep pace with technological developments are impacted. Dlutu (2013) assesses for example the impact of social network sites on the isiXhosa language and culture in both a rural and urban area of South Africa. Furthermore one may then ask how this technological milieu impacts on the general aspects of the day to day lives and thinking of all members of a society. This gives rise to the concept of technological determinism which in its simplest form states ‘that technology has important effects on our lives’ (Adler, 2008, p. 537). This is far too simplistic when the contemporaneous technological developments are assessed. Adler (2008, p. 537) goes further and recognizes ‘that technology itself is socially determined…and social structures co-evolve in a non-deterministic, emergent process…the effects of any given technology depend mainly on how it is implemented which in turn is socially determined’ (Adler, 2008, p. 537). Engaging this socially determined application of technology can be advanced when the relationship with language and language determinism is considered. Moreover, it is the interplay between technology and language that gives rise to the emerging concept of a language singularity which is brought about by a form of technological determinism. This article seeks to explore the possible effects of rapid technological development on human interaction, language and culture in a ‘globalized’ world which has unequal access to literacy and technology. Furthermore, the article explores the link between language, culture, thought and technology and the type of linguistic and technological determinism that we can anticipate.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2015
The amaXhosa ukuthwala marriage custom in fact and fiction: a contemporary critique
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Huisamen, Tim , Mostert, André M , Nosilela, Bulelwa
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68344 , vital:29241 , https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2013.871454
- Description: publisher version , Ukuthwala is traditionally a marriage custom within the amaXhosa culture in South Africa which permits a ‘legal abduction’ of a bride-to-be. Similar customs of ‘bridal abduction’ exist, most notably in Kyrgyzstan, where it is known as ala kachuu. Research into these customs necessitates a more innovative approach to explore the impact of this social phenomenon. In this article the authors mobilise a fictional narrative to offer a backdrop for a comparative assessment of the impact of bridal ‘legal abduction’ and assess its contemporary status and role within a multicultural society which celebrates the rights of the individual while recognising the value and importance of maintaining cultural identity and traditions. Cultural dissonance has always been characteristic of modern and post-modern societies as they strive for a workable shared ethos. However, when customs such as ‘legal abduction’ (Mtuze, 1993:50) continue under the veil of cultural rights, the wider social sensibilities and perspectives can be at odds with the maintenance of such activities where these activities contradict the rights of the individual as enshrined for example in what can be seen as a liberal South African Constitution.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2013
From Oral Literature to Technauriture: What’s in a Name?
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/175201 , vital:42552 , ISBN 978-0-9566052-3-8 , https://aspace.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/237322
- Description: Oral traditions and oral literature have long contributed to human communication, yet the advent of arguably the most influential technology—the written word—altered the course of creative ability. Despite its potential and scope, the development of the written word resulted in an insidious dichotomy. As the written word evolved, the oral word became devalued and pushed to the fringes of society. One of the unfortunate consequences of this transition to writing has been a focus on the systems and conventions of orality and oral tradition. Although of importance, a more appropriate focus would be on ways of supporting and maintaining the oral word, and its innate value to human society, in the face of rampant technological development. Yet it is ironic that technology is also helping to create a fecund environment for the rebirth of orality. This paper offers an overview of the debate about the relationship between oral literature, the written word and technology, and suggests that the term technauriture may offer a suitable encompassing paradigm for further engagement with the oral word and its application to modern society. We discuss the late Bongani Sitole, a poet whose oral works were transformed into public and educational resources through the application of technology, and we consider the utility of the term technauriture for describing the relationship between orality, literature and technology.
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- Date Issued: 2011
MMORPG: Towards a Sustainable Livelihood Model for Africa and Beyond
- Authors: Mostert, André M , Kaschula, Russell H
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/175212 , vital:42553 , ISBN ViNOrg 2011 , https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-31800-9_4
- Description: The burgeoning worlds of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) coupled with increasing access to the internet is opening a new paradigmatic window for a number of disciplines. Many of these have been slow to take up the challenges associated with this emergent framework, due, in no small measure, to the perception that work and play are mutually exclusive. The dominance of this dichotomy contributed to the slow uptake of the potential for these virtual worlds to be harnessed in the fields of education and employment. This reticence was due in no small measure to the technophobia that tends to characterise the adoption of new technologies within fields that have customarily eschewed an embrace.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Developing a systematic model for the capturing and use of African oral poetry: the Bongani Sitole experience
- Authors: Mostert, André M
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Sitole, Bongani, 1937- Communication and culture Oral tradition in literature Oral tradition -- Africa Ethnoscience -- Africa Folk poetry, African
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002154
- Description: Oral traditions and oral literature have long contributed to human communication. The advent of arguably the most important technology, the written word, altered human ability to create and develop. However, this development for all its potential and scope created one of the most insidious dichotomies. As the written word developed so too the oral word became devalued and pushed to the fringes of societal development. One of the unfortunate outcomes has been a focus on the nomenclatures associated with orality and oral tradition, which although of importance, has skewed where the focus could and should have been located, namely, how to support and maintain the oral word and its innate value to human society in the face of what has become rampant technological developments. It is now ironic that technology is creating a fecund environment for a rebirth of orality. The study aims to mobilize technauriture as a paradigm in order to further embed orality and oral traditions to coherently embrace this changing technological environment. The central tenet of the study is that in order to enhance the status of orality the innate value embodied in indigenous knowledge systems must be recognized. Using the work of Bongani Sitole, an oral poet, as a backdrop the study will demonstrate a basic model that can act as a foundation for the effective integration of orality into contemporary structures. This is based on work that I published in the Journal of African Contemporary Studies (2009). Given the obvious multi-disciplinary nature of the material the work covers a wide cross section of the debate, from questions of epistemology and knowledge in general in terms of oral traditions, through the consciousness and technical landscapes, via the experience with Sitole’s material to issues of copyright and ownership. This work has also been submitted for publication together with my supervisor as a co-author. The study intends to consolidate the technauriture debate and lay a solid foundation to support further study.
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- Date Issued: 2010
Gaming culture: what lessons for pedagogy in South Africa?
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/175189 , vital:42551 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC30895
- Description: Gaming culture is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Whereas before it was the reserve of those who were prepared to invest in the latest gaming hardware, increasingly powerful entry level machines coupled with more powerful mobile technologies are impacting on how young learners and students assimilate information. This evolving characteristic exhibited by the learners across South Africa must generate a serious reflection of education and training methodologies. Historically, education structures have been slow to embrace the changes that are imperative if the products of the process are to be adequately prepared for the future that faces them. One of the most telling realities of the modern era, or the planetary phase as it is now being tagged, is rapid change. The question that all educators need to ask is 'how is my pedagogic approach evolving'?.
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- Date Issued: 2010
Towards enhancing indigenous language acquisition skills through MMORPGs
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Indigenous peoples -- Languages -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Language and languags -- Computer-assisted instruction , Language and languags -- Study and teaching -- Technological innovation , Language acquisition , Computer games
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59343 , vital:27559 , http://alternation.ukzn.ac.za/Files/docs/17.1/08 Kas FIN.pdf
- Description: The growing interest and access to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) has opened up significant new scope for educational methodologies, from standard language teaching options through to formalising the skills that a ‘player’ develops through their quests and other activities. This scope is extensive and has created numerous opportunities for innovation both within education and the world of work. This is evidenced by the increasing presence of educational establishments in the virtual world, with Second Life being the most popular for conventional educational purposes. In Second Life and many other realms participants are earning some income and in some cases enjoying a reasonable living from online activities, while developing their skills base. These MMORPGs may open opportunities for promoting language acquisition provided this is located within a suitably attractive realm; ‘players’ would then engage in activities that would contribute to their abilities to use the indigenous languages in everyday life. This article explores how such a system could be developed and the likely contribution it could make to promote a multilingual environment at school and post school levels. Further, it will identify the implications for the future of teaching and learning through the harnessing of MMORPGs.
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- Date Issued: 2010
Analyzing, digitizing and technologizing the oral word: the case of Bongani Sitole
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Sitole, Bongani, 1937- , Xhosa (African people) -- South Africa , Xhosa poetry , Folk poetry, Xhosa
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59368 , vital:27566 , https://doi.org/10.1080/13696810903259384
- Description: This article analyzes the oral poetry, izibongo, produced by Xhosa oral poet Bongani Sitole (both in book and technological form). It will trace this poetry from the moment it was orally produced, through to the technologizing and publication of this poetry in book form and on a website. The initial part of this article looks at the life and work of the poet. A contextual analysis of selected poetry is provided. The latter part of the article concentrates on issues related to technology and its relationship to the oral and written word. The term ‘technauriture’ has been coined in order to refer to this process. The contribution of eLearning4Africa (www.elearning4africa.com) to the digitization process of Sitole’s poetry is acknowledged.
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- Date Issued: 2009
The influence of cellular phone "speak" on isiXhosa rules of communication
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Cell phones -- South Africa , Communication and culture -- Technological innovations , Language and culture -- South Africa , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59401 , vital:27594 , doi: 10.5842/37-0-43
- Description: Cellular telephones have revolutionised the art of communication across all societies, and South Africa is no exception. Access to this form of communication has made personal contact easier, in both rural and urban contexts. Globally this form of communication has been readily embraced. However, cultural rules that pertain to face-to-face communication are often flouted by cellular phone users. This flouting holds true no doubt across many cultures, languages and contexts. Bloomer (2005:97-100) assesses this flouting of cultural maxims in relation to Grice's cooperative principle. This article attempts to assess how general rules of politeness in isiXhosa have been and are being transformed by what could be termed the "economics of speaking".
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- Date Issued: 2009
Communicating across cultures in South African law courts: towards an information technology solution*
- Authors: Kaschula, Russell H , Mostert, André M
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Language policy -- South Africa , Courts interpreting and translating -- South Africa , Translating and interpreting -- Technological innovations , Intercultural communication -- South Africa , Conduct of court proceedings -- South Africa , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , Multilingualism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59423 , vital:27599 , doi: 10.5842/36-0-39
- Description: Language rights in South Africa are entrenched in the Constitution of South Africa (Chapter 1, Section 6, Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). However, the concomitant infrastructure and organisational realities make this policy difficult to implement, especially in law courts (Kaschula and Ralarala 2004). Creating effective communicative environments has historically been constrained by lack of effective training of legal practitioners and by the lack of capacity for building translation structures. With the advancement of technology, potential solutions are becoming more apparent and it is incumbent upon the academic community to embark on a rigorous investigation into possible solutions and how these Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions could be applied to the execution of justice in South African law courts. This article aims to open the discourse of possible solutions, via assessments of computer based translation solutions, ICT context simulations and other potential opportunities. The authors hope to initiate the interest of other language and legal practitioners to explore how the new technological capabilities could be harnessed to support the entrenchment of language rights in our law courts.
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- Date Issued: 2008