Drowning in data, thirsty for information and starved for understanding: A biodiversity information hub for cooperative environmental monitoring in South Africa
- MacFadyen, Sandra, Allsopp, Nicky, Altwegg, Res, Archibald, Sally, Botha, Judith, Bradshaw, Karen L, Carruthers, Jane, De Klerk, Helen, de Vos, Alta, Distiller, Greg, Foord, Stefan, Freitag-Ronaldson, Stefanie, Gibbs, Richard, Hamer, Michelle, Landi, Pietro, MacFayden, Duncan, Manuel, Jeffrey, Midgley, Guy, Moncrieff, Glenn, Munch, Zahn, Mutanga, Onisimo, Sershen, Nenguda, Rendani, Ngwenya, Mzabalazo, Parker, Daniel M, Peel, Mike, Power, John, Pretorius, Joachim, Ramdhani, Syd, Robertson, Mark, Rushworth, Ian, Skowno, Andrew, Slingsby, Jasper, Turner, Andrew, Visser, Vernon, van Wageningen, Gerhard, Hui, Cang
- Authors: MacFadyen, Sandra , Allsopp, Nicky , Altwegg, Res , Archibald, Sally , Botha, Judith , Bradshaw, Karen L , Carruthers, Jane , De Klerk, Helen , de Vos, Alta , Distiller, Greg , Foord, Stefan , Freitag-Ronaldson, Stefanie , Gibbs, Richard , Hamer, Michelle , Landi, Pietro , MacFayden, Duncan , Manuel, Jeffrey , Midgley, Guy , Moncrieff, Glenn , Munch, Zahn , Mutanga, Onisimo , Sershen , Nenguda, Rendani , Ngwenya, Mzabalazo , Parker, Daniel M , Peel, Mike , Power, John , Pretorius, Joachim , Ramdhani, Syd , Robertson, Mark , Rushworth, Ian , Skowno, Andrew , Slingsby, Jasper , Turner, Andrew , Visser, Vernon , van Wageningen, Gerhard , Hui, Cang
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/415624 , vital:71271 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109736"
- Description: The world is firmly cemented in a notitian age (Latin: notitia, meaning data) – drowning in data, yet thirsty for information and the synthesis of knowledge into understanding. As concerns over biodiversity declines escalate, the volume, diversity and speed at which new environmental and ecological data are generated has increased exponentially. Data availability primes the research and discovery engine driving biodiversity conservation. South Africa (SA) is poised to become a world leader in biodiversity conservation. However, continent-wide resource limitations hamper the establishment of inclusive technologies and robust platforms and tools for biodiversity informatics. In this perspectives piece, we bring together the opinions of 37 co-authors from 20 different departments, across 10 SA universities, 7 national and provincial conservation research agencies, and various institutes and private conservation, research and management bodies, to develop a way forward for biodiversity informatics in SA. We propose the development of a SA Biodiversity Informatics Hub and describe the essential components necessary for its design, implementation and sustainability. We emphasise the importance of developing a culture of cooperation, collaboration and interoperability among custodians of biodiversity data to establish operational workflows for data synthesis. However, our biggest challenges are misgivings around data sharing and multidisciplinary collaboration.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: MacFadyen, Sandra , Allsopp, Nicky , Altwegg, Res , Archibald, Sally , Botha, Judith , Bradshaw, Karen L , Carruthers, Jane , De Klerk, Helen , de Vos, Alta , Distiller, Greg , Foord, Stefan , Freitag-Ronaldson, Stefanie , Gibbs, Richard , Hamer, Michelle , Landi, Pietro , MacFayden, Duncan , Manuel, Jeffrey , Midgley, Guy , Moncrieff, Glenn , Munch, Zahn , Mutanga, Onisimo , Sershen , Nenguda, Rendani , Ngwenya, Mzabalazo , Parker, Daniel M , Peel, Mike , Power, John , Pretorius, Joachim , Ramdhani, Syd , Robertson, Mark , Rushworth, Ian , Skowno, Andrew , Slingsby, Jasper , Turner, Andrew , Visser, Vernon , van Wageningen, Gerhard , Hui, Cang
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/415624 , vital:71271 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109736"
- Description: The world is firmly cemented in a notitian age (Latin: notitia, meaning data) – drowning in data, yet thirsty for information and the synthesis of knowledge into understanding. As concerns over biodiversity declines escalate, the volume, diversity and speed at which new environmental and ecological data are generated has increased exponentially. Data availability primes the research and discovery engine driving biodiversity conservation. South Africa (SA) is poised to become a world leader in biodiversity conservation. However, continent-wide resource limitations hamper the establishment of inclusive technologies and robust platforms and tools for biodiversity informatics. In this perspectives piece, we bring together the opinions of 37 co-authors from 20 different departments, across 10 SA universities, 7 national and provincial conservation research agencies, and various institutes and private conservation, research and management bodies, to develop a way forward for biodiversity informatics in SA. We propose the development of a SA Biodiversity Informatics Hub and describe the essential components necessary for its design, implementation and sustainability. We emphasise the importance of developing a culture of cooperation, collaboration and interoperability among custodians of biodiversity data to establish operational workflows for data synthesis. However, our biggest challenges are misgivings around data sharing and multidisciplinary collaboration.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
Hybrid approaches to teaching: Re-imagining the teaching of a foundational science course during a global pandemic
- Parker, Daniel M, Vorster, Jo-Anne, Quinn, Lynn, Blackie, Margaret
- Authors: Parker, Daniel M , Vorster, Jo-Anne , Quinn, Lynn , Blackie, Margaret
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426662 , vital:72377 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/cristal/article/view/240803"
- Description: Access to scientific knowledge, and teaching in the sciences, is believed to be about training because scientific knowledge is, generally, specialised. However, for students to gain full epistemological access in the sciences, they also need to be inducted as scientists and learners of science. We use Bernstein’s regulative and instructional discourse to engage with the notion of epistemological access and effectiveness of a foundational science course. We examine how the course can cultivate scientific identities amongst first year students at a recently established South African university. Our analysis assesses the impact of the forced shift from contact teaching to Emergency Remote Teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that the course was able to begin to facilitate the cultivation of different kinds of knowers in science. However, several gaps remain. Thus, we argue that foundational science lecturers should focus on hybrid teaching approaches to promote enhanced learning amongst students.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Parker, Daniel M , Vorster, Jo-Anne , Quinn, Lynn , Blackie, Margaret
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426662 , vital:72377 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/cristal/article/view/240803"
- Description: Access to scientific knowledge, and teaching in the sciences, is believed to be about training because scientific knowledge is, generally, specialised. However, for students to gain full epistemological access in the sciences, they also need to be inducted as scientists and learners of science. We use Bernstein’s regulative and instructional discourse to engage with the notion of epistemological access and effectiveness of a foundational science course. We examine how the course can cultivate scientific identities amongst first year students at a recently established South African university. Our analysis assesses the impact of the forced shift from contact teaching to Emergency Remote Teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that the course was able to begin to facilitate the cultivation of different kinds of knowers in science. However, several gaps remain. Thus, we argue that foundational science lecturers should focus on hybrid teaching approaches to promote enhanced learning amongst students.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
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