PLoS One. 2015 Feb 12;10(2):e0115035. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115035. eCollection 2015.
ABSTRACT
In this paper we compare two academic networking platforms, HASTAC and Hypotheses, to show the distinct ways in which they serve specific communities in the Digital Humanities (DH) in different national and disciplinary contexts. After providing background information on both platforms, we apply co-word analysis and topic modeling to show thematic similarities and differences between the two sites, focusing particularly on how they frame DH as a new paradigm in humanities research. We encounter a much higher ratio of posts using humanities-related terms compared to their digital counterparts, suggesting a one-way dependency of digital humanities-related terms on the corresponding unprefixed labels. The results also show that the terms digital archive, digital literacy, and digital pedagogy are relatively independent from the respective unprefixed terms, and that digital publishing, digital libraries, and digital media show considerable cross-pollination between the specialization and the general noun. The topic modeling reproduces these findings and reveals further differences between the two platforms. Our findings also indicate local differences in how the emerging field of DH is conceptualized and show dynamic topical shifts inside these respective contexts.
PMID:25675441 | PMC:PMC4326279 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0115035
This study sets out to examine the possibility of using African languages as media of teaching and learning in South African schools. Literature is consistent that (a) language is a crucial means of communication and gaining access to important knowledge and skills, and (b) mother tongue is the only language that promotes effective teaching and learning and that any language, which is not a mother tongue, is a barrier to teaching and learning. In South Africa, there are nine African official languages, but English is the media of instruction used by South African learners, which is a barrier to teaching and learning. This study revealed that using one or two African languages may improve teaching, learning, and the academic performance of the learners, but the problem is how to implement because it will be difficult to use many African languages as media of instruction. The use of nine African languages as media of instruction in South Africa will promote tribalism, which was dominant during the apartheid era, and it will be costly to the government. Therefore, this study supports the use of English as a media of instruction because it will promote unity in South Africa, it will not be costly, and it is an international language.
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