University of Johannesburg

Cloudebate podcast series: Using the Metaverse for Education Hosted by Dr Herman Myburgh Senior Lecturer Institute of Intelligent Systems Our guest is Prof. Umesh Ramnarain HOD: Department of Science and Technology Education Faculty of Education Discussing the use case of Metaverse technology in the Education space.

This year’s Cloudebate™ series will focus on the hugely important topic: What is blockchain technology, and how can Africa leverage this technology? Some of the items discussed in the podcast interview will be the following: • What is the simple explanation for the man/woman on the street “ What is blockchain technology” • How can Africa leverage this technology moving forward into the future • What are the opportunities presented by this technology in the Education space ? • Should governments be supporting this technology or be aware of it in terms of regulations and law?

UJ COLLABORATORS: Although several partners from South Africa, the United Kingdom and Uganda formed part of this project, for the purpose of this podcast, we would like to report on the UJ-related leg of this project. The collaborators on the UJ section of this project comprised of • Dr Anica Zeyen (PI) (Royal Holloway University of London and research associate of UJ), • Prof Heidi Lourens (team leader) (Department of Psychology, University of Johannesburg), • three research assistants namely, Dr Michelle Botha (Stellenbosch University), Dr Emma McKinney (University of the Western Cape) & Dr Vic McKinney. SCOPE OF THE PROJECT: During the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, much emphasis is placed on medical vulnerability and less on its social impact on people. This is particularly the case for disabled people. The impact on disabled people goes beyond a risk of infection and can negatively influence their (long-term) wellbeing. To address this need, this project aimed to understand the non-medical impacts of COVID19 on disabled people in South Africa and Uganda. Three co-ethnographers collected ethnographic data from three disabled South African participants (9 ethnographies altogether). These accounts included an entry interview of about two hours, diary keeping by participants for 2-months and then exit interviews of about 1-1.5 hours. This rich qualitative data allowed us to gain deep insights into how the pandemic has impacted the lieves of disabled people within South Africa. In addition to the qualitative data mentioned above, a disabled artist – Mr Surprise Khoza – is currently painting a representation of disabled persons’ experiences during the COVID19 pandemic. He is painting with acrylic paint in order to provide a tactile representation for visually impaired persons.

The podcast discusses contemporary threats to the pursuit of truth. One of these threats is the unreflective acceptance of (what might be termed) a neo-colonial pseudo-moral framework that ahistorically, parochially, and dogmatically imposes its values upon former colonies. Having this conversation is Dr Asheel, a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and his guest is Mark Oppenheimer. Mark is a practicing advocate and member of the Johannesburg Bar. He has appeared in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court in a series of cases that seek to determine the boundary between freedom of expression and genuine hate speech. Mark has also authored submissions to Parliament on hate speech and expropriation without compensation.

The global onset of COVID-19 has resulted in substantial public health and socioeconomic impacts. An immediate medical breakthrough is needed. However, parallel to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic is the proliferation of information regarding the pandemic, which, if uncontrolled, cannot only mislead the public but also hinder the concerted efforts of relevant stakeholders in mitigating the effect of this pandemic. It is known that media communications can affect public perception and attitude toward medical treatment, vaccination, or subject matter, particularly when the population has limited knowledge on the subject. Objective: This study attempts to systematically scrutinize media communications (Google News headlines or snippets and Twitter posts) to understand the prevailing sentiments regarding COVID-19 vaccines in Africa.

Multidisciplinary aspects Sustainable development goals principles: Earth systems Techno-economics Social dynamics Geopolitics Enabling the fast-emerging needs for multi-Gbps communications and Implementing with multidisciplinary factors accounted for.

Ransomware is big business The illegal criminal practise of holding corporate business or even personal computer files hostage through virtually impossible to crack encryption tools, commonly known as ransomware attacks, has rapidly increased in scope, public visibility and, indeed, success. In fact, these days so-called Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) is a well-organised, evolving and accessible criminal business endeavour. Mainstream media are progressively reporting more incidents of ransomware attacks, with the result that the general public has become increasingly aware of the practise. Usually companies under attack pay up, as they have almost no other choice. Because the criminals who hold files at ransom want repeat business, they almost always also release the key to decrypt the locked files upon payment. Payment is often demanded and received in Bitcoin as the astute cyber thief’s cryptocurrency of choice. According to an article by Danny Palmer for the influential tech website ZDNet, ransomware industry researchers estimate these kinds of attacks increased sevenfold in 2020 compared to the previous year. The reason, according to Palmer, is attackers are seemingly aiming for bigger paydays all the time. “A single attack can result in cyber criminals making hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars,” he highlights. The well-publicised recent ransomware hack of the Colonial Pipeline, an infrastructure system that supplies almost half of the fuel used throughout the east coast of America, has again shone a light on the goal of most of these kinds of actions: Profit. And where there’s profit to be made, even if illegal, business model structures soon follow.

Guidelines for physical activity and return to training: During and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Many people believe that as long as they are healthy and asymptomatic, their sports conditioning programme may begin where they had left off before the coronavirus lockdown. This is fallacious thinking, as this long layoff may lead to injuries, overtraining and staleness. It is, rather, a progressive process where the principles of exercise science need to be heeded when they start a training programme after the layoff, as well as preventative measures. Further, it is not only fitness that needs to be considered, but also the skills that may have also regressed with lockdown as a result of COVID-19. Players, coaches and support staff are encouraged to take cognisance from the guidelines and recommendations in this chapter for prevention from COVID19 and return to athletic and fitness activities. A mathematical model and strategy to guide the reopening of BRICS economies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter provides a possible strategy in counteracting the spread of the virus and reopening of the economy. This chapter demonstrates the overall risk model of each of the BRICS nations as at 1st October 2020. Following this model and strategy would allow countries to reduce the complacency towards the virus and assist in the reopening of their economy/country.

Alongside debate on the availability of vaccines in South Africa, there is widespread concern about people’s willingness to be vaccinated. This briefing reports on findings from Round 3 of the University of Johannesburg (UJ)/Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Covid-19 Democracy Survey. This was conducted between 29 December 2020 and 6 January 2021. Only adults living in South Africa were included. We asked: ‘If a Covid-19 vaccine became available to you, would you take it?’ This was followed by an open-response question that allowed participants to explain their answer in their own words. Here we present key findings and offer critical insights into the public’s acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine. This report provides crucial information for the public health campaign that will need to precede and accompany the vaccine roll out.

The study sought to assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in motivating digital transformation in the education sector in South Africa. The study was premised on the fact that learninginSouthAfricaandtherestoftheworldcametoastandstillduetothelockdownnecessitated by COVID-19. To assess the impact, the study tracked the rate at which the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) tools were used by various institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were obtained from secondary sources. The findings are that, in South Africa, during the lockdown, a variety of 4IR tools were unleashed from primary education to higher and tertiary education where educational activities switched to remote (online) learning. These observations reflect that South Africa generally has some pockets of excellence to drive the education sector into the 4IR, which has the potential to increase access. Access to education, particularly at a higher education level, has always been a challenge due to a limited number of spaces available. Much as this pandemic has brought with it massive human suffering across the globe, it has presented an opportunity to assess successes and failures of deployed technologies, costs associated with them, and scaling these technologies to improve access.

The storytelling project is a multidisciplinary collaboration as it involves students from Strategic Communication (Faculty of Humanities), Applied Information Services (CBE) and Applied Legal Services (Faculty of Law) to develop their storytelling skills. The project also partners with Brand South Africa and the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa as external partners on the theme "PLAY YOUR PART" in your local community.

The discussion looks at what democracy is and should be in the 21st century; trends in Africa vs the rest of the world; the role of emerging technologies in expanding or restricting freedoms and rights; the impact of inequality; population growth; the impact of COVID-19.

The food security of millions of people around the world is currently being threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is an evolving health and human crisis. Hundreds of millions of people were already suffering from hunger and malnutrition before the coronavirus pandemic and, unless immediate action is taken, there could be a global food emergency (FAO, 2020). In the future, the combined effects of COVID-19 itself, as well as corresponding control measures and the emerging global recession could disrupt the functioning of food systems, if precautionary actions are not taken to forestall such an occurrence. Such disruption can result in serious health and nutrition consequences. This research was aimed at assessing dietary habits of people during the COVID-19 lockdown and the possible effect their consumption patterns could have on health. The study evaluated the state of food security in various African populations during the pandemic and assessed the health risk that may be associated to populations’ lifestyle during the lockdown. In addition, the research ascertained the various foods/drinks being consumed in various Sub-Saharan countries during the lockdown in order to prevent COVID-19. The study design was a cross-sectional online survey. An online questionnaire was designed and content-validated. Six countries were selected for this research – South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya. Research assistants were sent the online survey link to circulate in their respective countries for 6 weeks (June/July, 2020). The questionnaire was structured to gather socio-economic data, information on food security and lifestyle of the participants (including a food frequency questionnaire) before and during the COVID-19 lockdown, data on special foods/drinks consumed during the pandemic to prevent the disease, and the sources of information on COVID-19 prevention.

Cryptocurrency. Holy Grail or Fools Gold? Is it a get-rich-quick scheme or a genuine alternative to traditional money? Read more: https://universityofjohannesburg.us/4ir/cloudebates/cryptocurrency-holy-grail-or-fools-gold/

Three academics from the UJ Department of Strategic Communication Prof Elizabeth Lubinga (Associate Professor/Project Principal Investigator); from the School of Communication, Prof Sarah Chiumbu (Head of School/Associate Professor) as well as Journalism, Film & Television Department; and Dr Karabo Sitto (Lecturer) Strategic Communication Department. The University of Johannesburg collaborated with HSRC Senior Research Specialist in Science Communication Dr. Konosoang Sobane and NUST Senior Lecturer, Journalism Department Dr. Nkosinothando Mpofu for the project. The two-year science engagement project in collaboration with industry, intends to explore innovative message framing within a multi-country context, as a component of crisis health communication. It will focus on specific strategies employed during the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and Namibia.

Decolonisation as a movement helps us to re-imagine the usefulness of local and indigenous knowledge systems. The essence of decolonising psychology in particular to South Africa is to advance the notion ‘culturally’ relevant theories and practices that are deeply located in our lived experiences.

The focus of my research is related to leading future-fit schools by future-fit leaders. We live at a time of unprecedented change. The Covid-19 pandemic as a disrupted has changed education in ways that has accelerated the kind of transformation that would have otherwise taken much longer to achieve. While much devastation has been brought about by the pandemic, it had also opened many doors of opportunity. Given that South Africa had been behind on the previous three industrial revolutions, we now have what Marwala (2020) calls a forced opportunity to make the most important 4IR contribution - namely the preparation of youth through 21st century skills development that provides them with competencies to embrace a constantly changing technology driven world. My research in the Sandbox project during Covid-19 began also as a forced opportunity. I coordinate the school culture stream where I work with 10 Limpopo school principals and 2 PhD students in a participatory research process meant to influence the leadership of a culture of learning that develops future-fit leaders who are able to catalyse a progressive strategy that influences teaching and learning in ways that cultivate 21st century learning. Such leadership focuses on digital preparation for a school context that is under resourced and teachers have not been trained to develop online and remote learning pedagogies, much less learners whose home environments are not conducive to supporting education. Since March 2020 and through various online engagements the research conducted has propelled a transformation journey that had begun the work of future-fit. We modified our research approach, since face-to-face and context-linked engagements were not possible. Using visual participatory research methods after providing principals with access and training to online communication platforms we co-created a research agenda around leading school culture transformation that would enable these 10 principals to lead their schools successfully through the crises brought about by the pandemic, to use community resources to ensure continued teaching and learning despite lockdown and social distancing protocols, as well as develop a Maslow before Bloom orientation to address the pressing life needs of their learning community.

Our research provides the opportunity to explore intern and student psychologists' experiences, expectations and understanding of their overall training during the COVID-19 pandemic. This training is a crucial element in the development of their practical skills and their professional identity as a psychologist. Urgent and often emergency responses to COVID-19 pandemic foregrounded the importance of not interrupting or losing the educational year, however the focus should still encompass the ability to provide suitable (if not better) learning opportunities (Teräs et al., 2020; Toquero, 2020). We should continue to research the impact and implications of this interaction between digital technologies and education (Williamson et al., 2020) and ensure that we are critically reflecting on such processes, especially the technological changes that have been implemented as a response to the pandemic (Teräs et al., 2020). This research enables an exploration of what a technology-based training and internships may look like, but also considering the benefits and the sacrifices that may have coincided as a result of the current context and the changes made to training programmes.

The Centre for Social Change (CSC), University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) research division of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) released a research briefing on the public’s willingness to take a Covid-19 vaccine and reasons for their decision. Findings show that: 67% of adults would definitely or probably take a vaccine if it was available. 18% of adults would definitely or probably not take a vaccine. These findings come from the latest round of the UJ/HSRC Covid-19 Democracy Survey, undertaken between 29 December 2020 and 6 January 2021. It was conducted online using social media adverts to direct potential participants to the survey and #datafree through biNu’s Moya Messenger app. It was completed by 10,618 participants. Findings were weighted by race, education and age, and are broadly representative of the population at large. The questionnaire was available in the country’s six most widely spoken languages. 15% of adults did not know.

In April 2019, the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index was launched. This index relies on Big Data and measures the evaluative mood of a nation in real-time, the first of its kind. A live feed of tweets is extracted from Twitter, and sentiment analysis is used to determine each tweet's sentiment using Natural Language Processing. Subsequently, they use the sentiment scores to derive an hourly happiness score, ranging from 0 to 10. Additionally, each tweet's underpinning emotions are analysed. Currently, a distinction is made between eight emotions: sadness, surprise, disgust, anticipation, fear, anger, trust, and joy. When the GNH Index was launched in 2019, it initially focused on three countries; South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Subsequently, in June 2020, the GNH project expanded to include seven additional countries, mainly from Europe. For more information on the GNH, please refer to the website https://gnh.today.

Dr Chirove uses mathematical models to understand the prognosis of COVID-19 disease spread subject to factors such as human factors, environmental/ecologic and viral factors within and between the multiple animal hosts, between and with the environment, between and within the human host and cross-cutting among the animals, environment, and humans. The research encompasses the design of mathematical models at various scales of occurrence of COVID-19 infection namely 1) the within host scale, 2) the population dynamics scale and 3) multiscale modelling to enhance the holistic understanding of the infection as well as highlighting the importance of scale specific targets for intervention.

A report of the Institute for the Future of Knowledge at the University of Johannesburg. How do you deal with decolonization in relation to medicine The Institute for the Future of Knowledge was one of the first think-tanks to take a position to the government’s decision to implement a “full lockdown”. Last year, IFK produced a report titled “A Framework for Decisions in a PostCOVID World”, in which Prof Alex Broadbent argued that the COVID-19 lockdown regulations caused more harm than good. Leading the conversation on the post-COVID19 world, IFK held a series of webinars (4 to be exact) on the post-COVID world. The main issues noted was that COVID has exposed to the functionality of the following: ~ government response -> corruption and misuse of funds dedicated to combat the pandemic; ~ healthcare –> people with chronic conditions were further disadvantaged; and ~ access to social relief -> the efficacy of the R350 unemployment grant? Food parcels? To date, less than 200,000 people in South Africa have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with the AstraZeneca vaccine, as South Africa decided to sell the 1 million doses it had procured to 14 fellow African countries.

When WhatsApp announced its requirement for user acceptance of a new privacy policy at the start of 2021, originally slated for implementation by 8 February 2021, panic ensued. Almost overnight people around the world started downloading and installing alternative messaging apps such as Telegram, Signal, WeChat and others. Fearmongering on social media was in overdrive with people dreading a perceived threat that WhatsApp owner Facebook will be within its rights to have access to private messages and other personal, private details shared via WhatsApp, after users accept the new policy. WhatsApp also threatened deletion of WhatsApp accounts if users did not accept the changed policy.

Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, UJ pointed out in his welcoming remarks that the University is proud to host the first Moses Kotane lecture as the institution aims to foster intra-African and global conversation by bringing African insights, questions and values into meaningful conversation. "The University is embarking on a project to write biographies for our African leaders, and our African perspectives must be reflected", said Prof Marwala. WATCH Prof Marwala's opening remarks below. More click: https://www.uj.ac.za/newandevents/Pages/Political-stalwart-Moses-Kotanes-life-celebrated-at-by-UJ-with-moving-memorial-lecture.aspx

Prof Wole Soyinka - titled “The Gods Who Send Us Gifts : An Anthology of African Short Stories” which took place on the 16th May 2018 at the Chinua Achebe Auditorium, APK Library at the University of Johannesburg

Professor Tshilidzi Marwala argued that speech-recognition technology failed African people because names and places are mispronounced. "Any technology can be used for the good or bad. Socially, we need to participate. Politically we need technological support and awareness. Economically, we need to invest in research and development," he said adding that if nothing was done we would see "a new kind of colonisation".

UJ Confucius Institute convened a seminar titled ‘The Battle of the Giants?: Shifting Sino-US Relations’ to deal with the important but increasingly strained relationship between Beijing and Washington, as well as discern some expectable scenarios and recommend policy responses for the African continent. Participants in the seminar included renowned political scientist Professor Wang Dong of Peking University as well as poisoner in the field of international political marketing, Dr Henry Sun, along with Sanusha Naidoo who served as a respondent for both.