Marginalized Knowledge: An Agenda for Indigenous Knowledge Development and Integration with Other Forms of Knowledge
Table 2: IKS Programmes and Activities
Yüklə 2,6 Mb.
|
- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- 4.5 Research and Documentation
Table 2: IKS Programmes and Activities
4.5 Research and Documentation Besides various research that has been carried out in this region, there is the Indilinga journal, which aims to contribute to the ongoing, global discourse on indigenous knowledge (Mkabela, 2004: iii). Developments in IKS in South Africa since 1996 - when the focus on IKS was magnified and the research direction and emphasis became more inclusive of knowledge-holders and practitioners (although this still has a very long way to go before reaching desired and appropriate levels), and issues of intellectual property and benefit-sharing started to be debated more vigorously - have given rise to other sets of challenges (Mosimege, 2004: 81). Many institutions have a database of some kind related to medicinal plants and traditional medicines, including the CSIR, National Botanical Institute (NBI), Medical Research Council (MRC), Agricultural Research Council (ARC), universities and technikons (universities of technology). Often, these databases have no reference at all to one another. Other institutions have other types of databases. The CSIR, for example, in addition to the databases on the bio-prospecting work done by the Bio/Chemtek Business Unit, has a database of the indigenous technologies used by the universities in the period 1996–1998. This database, which is in the process of being transferred to DST for further analysis, needs to be integrated with other databases in order to better depict IKS in South Africa (Mosimege, 2004: 81). An analysis of multiple databases in EBSCOhost (i.e. Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, Eric, Masterfile, Medline, International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance), Thompson Web of Science (formerly ISI), Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA), Health InterNetwork, Access to Research Initiative (HINARI), African Journals Online (AJOL), and Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGRICOLA); reveals that there is a lot that has been researched on and in South Africa. There are quite a number of local databases reflecting on IKS, examples being:
Conclusion The government of South Africa has expressed commitment to the “recognition, promotion, development, protection and affirmation of IKS” as reflected in a recent policy document entitled ‘Indigenous Knowledge Systems’ (see http://www.dst.gov.za) produced by the Department of Science and Technology of South Africa. The document’s introduction reflects on African cultural values in the face of globalization, highlights the development of services by Traditional Healers, and discusses the contribution of IKS to the economy and how IKS interfaces with other knowledge systems. The other seven chapters highlight IKS and the National System of Education and Innovation, the Governance and Administration of IKS, Institutional Framework, Funding for IKS, Policy and Legislative Regulatory Framework, Human Resource Development and Capacity Building, and IKS Information and Research Structures. There has been remarkable progress made thus far in the development of IKS structures, governance and administration; also reflected in the IKS policy document alluded to earlier and in section 4.2 of this paper. The support for the creation of IKS governance and administration structures provides a strong foundation for IKS development. The process of creating and developing IKS centers and systems currently in progress and a framework for this development is provided in the IKS policy focusing on databases, libraries, museums, oral forms of IK, IKS laboratories and IKS centers. Universities and research councils are likely to play a key role as well. Although not entirely exhaustive, there is evidence that IKS programmes and initiatives are in place, as reflected with the examples in Table 1. A more comprehensive inventory of such programmes and activities needs to be compiled for evaluation. Lastly, it is noted that although IKS research and documentation exists, the recordal systems are not comprehensive. What appears in the listed databases and institutions may not fully reflect on-going and completed research and publication output. The challenges facing IKS development in South Africa, in our view, lie in the refinement and revision of policies, implementation of existing policies and initiatives, and the evaluation of their effectiveness for the development and application of IKS in national development. Notes
References Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA). Online URL: http://www.aginternetwork.org Accessed 12th March 2007
URL: http://www.ajol.info/ Accessed 12th March 2007
URL : agricola.nal.usda.gov/ Accessed 12th March 2007 Anand, S; Parashar, V. (2006). Integrating Local and Global Knowledge Through ICT: Implications for Rural Business and Development. IIMB Management Review, p.85-93 ARC-Roodeplaat Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute: Research Highlights 2000-2005- Pretoria: ARC ARC Strategic Plan, 2007 – 2012. online. url: http://www.arc.agric.za Botha, H and Boon, J. A. (2003). The Information Audit: Principles and Guidelines. Libri. Vol 53, pp. 23-38.
URL: http://www.cemiride.info/aboutus.asp Accessed 7th March 2007
information content. Indilinga - african journal of indigenous knowledge systems Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST). 1996. White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage. [Online]. http://www.dacst.gov.za/arts-culture/artculwp.htm Department of Science and Technology (DST), (2004.). Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Policy DoDEA. (2004). Department of Defense Education Activity. Online URL : http://www.dodea.edu/CSPO/definitions.htm Accessed 9th March 2007 EBSCOhost database. Online URL: http://web.ebscohost.com/ Accessed 12th March 2007 Ellen R. and Harris, H. (1996). Concepts of indigenous environmental knowledge in scientific and development studies literature: A critical assessment. East-West Environmental Linkages Network Workshop 3, Canterbury 8-10 May 1996: Online: URL: http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Rainforest/SML_files/Occpap/ indigknow.occpap_41.html Accessed: 11 Apr. 2007 Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI) database. Online URL: http://www.healthinternetwork.org/scipub.php Accessed 12th March 2007
Capacity in Uganda. A paper presented at ProLISSA 2004. Proceedings of the 3rd biennial DISSAnet conference, Pretoria, 28-29 October 2004. pp. 173-190. Available online: SABINET database. Accessed 3rd August 2006. Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Policy, 2004. URL: http://www.dst.gov.za Accessed 12th March 2007 Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Policy, 2006 Accessed 12th March 2007 IKSSA Trust, (nd). Annotated Bibliography of Published works on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) undertaken in South Africa.-Pretoria: IKSSA. International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Dene Cultural Institute. (1992). capturing traditional environmental knowledge. Online URL: http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/644-6/ Accessed 10th March 2007 Information Sciences Institute (ISI) database. Online URL: http://scientific.thomson.com/index.html Accessed 12th March 2007
all: can knowledge management principles be used effectively? SCESAL Conference, Carnival City, Kempton Park, 20-21 April.
librarians in Sierra Leone? The International Information & Library Review 37, 199–207 Online: ScienceDirect Database access date 11 April 2007 Kawooya, Dick. Copyright, Indigenous Knowledge and Africa’s University Libraries: The Case of Uganda. World Library and Information Congress: 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council. 20-24 August 2006, Seoul, Korea. http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla72/index.htmAccessed: 11th August 2006 Kiplang’at, J. (2004). Diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies in Communication of Agricultural Information among Agricultural Researchers and Extension Workers in Kenya. PhD thesis.- University of Zululand. Le Roux, C. J. B. (2003). Tapping Indigenous Knowledge on the World-Wide Web. Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems 2 (1), p.107-113 Minishi-Majanja, M. (2003). Mapping and auditing information and communication technologies. Education for Information 21 (2003) 159–179 Online, URL: EBSCOhost database. Accessed 6th March 2007 Mosimege, M. (2004). Indigenous Knowledge Systems in South Africa: Perspectives from the Department of Science and Technology. INDILINGA - African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems Vol 3 (1) Mogege M. (2005). Indigenous Knowledge Systems Policy in South Africa: Development of Digital Libraries and Implications for Benefit Sharing and Intellectual Property. Presentation made at the Commons- Sense Conference at Wits University on 27 May 2005 Mutula, S. M. (nd). The Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for the Revitalization and Preservation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. National Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office, (nd). Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Works (Pamphlet). National Heritage Council, 2006. National Heritage Council Annual Report 2005-2006
[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nrf.ac.za/focusareas/iks/ Accessed 1st August 2006.
Approaches.-4th Ed.-Boston: Allyn & Bacon Neuman, W.L (2006). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.-5th Ed.-Boston: Allyn & Bacon Ngulube, P (2002). Strategies for managing and preserving indigenous Knowledge in the knowledge management era. Paper presented at SCECSAL 2002. . Pretoria: LIASA, pp. 61 - 69. Ocholla, D. N (2003), Information Resource Management: Information Audit and Mapping Vol.2. KwaDlangezwa. Ocholla, D N.; Onyancha, O. B. (2005). The Marginalized Knowledge: An Informetric Analysis of Indigenous Knowledge Publications (1990-2004). South African Journal of Library and Information Science. Vol. 71 Issue 3, p247-258. Online: EBSCOhost database. Online URL: http://web.ebscohost.com/ Accessed 12th March 2007
why should we study it? In What is indigenous knowledge? Voices from the academy, ed. L. Semali and J. Kincheloe, pp. 3-58. New York and London: Falmer Press. South African Government website: paper http://www.gov.za/white_paper.htm#CHAP4 Online Accessed 6th November 2006 Yüklə 2,6 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|