Toute communauté suppose l'existence d'un discours performatif ayant conduit à sa reconnaissance dans le monde social. Cette idée de vivre ensemble à travers un réseau n'est pas née ex-nihilo ; elle remonte bien avant l’apparition d'Internet. Comprendre les ambitions et les espérances qui ont conduit à l'élaboration des communautés virtuelles, ainsi que leur évolution, permet, en retour, de mieux comprendre les phénomènes et les groupes actuels. L'expérience menée par Sauvons la Recherche, mobilisation de chercheurs en 2004 et plus marginalement dans les années suivantes, illustre cette nécessité d'appareiller le virtuel et le réel. Une relation menée dans le monde virtuel peut ainsi « prendre chair » et se pérenniser. A travers l'étude du concept de communauté virtuelle et son application au mouvement SLR nous tenterons de prendre la mesure de la pertinence de celui-ci Par le biais de l'échange électronique, nous nous interrogeons sur les rapports complexes entre technique et expression du conflit. L' analyse des échanges électroniques de Sauvons la recherche permet de mettre à jour une partie des processus interactionnels à l'œuvre dans ce champ particulier, et « révélés » dans un moment de crise et de tracer les contours des modalités de la domination et de la régulation incluses dans ces processus de communication. / Any community supposes the existence of a performative speech which defines its recognition by society. This idea of living together through a network was not born ex-nihilo; it existed well before the appearance of Internet. Understanding the ambitions and the expectations which led to the elaboration of the virtual communities as well as their evolution, allows one, in return, to understand better the phenomena and the current groups. The experiment led by Sauvons La Recherche, A movement of researchers in 2004 which continued more marginally in the following years, illustrates this necessity of combining the virtual and the real. In this way A relationship led in the virtual world can " become flesh " and perpetuate ITSELF. Through the study of the concept of virtual community and its application in the movement SLR we shall try to measure its relevance.Through this electronic exchange, we will explore the complex connections between technique and the expression of conflict. The analysis of the electronic exchanges of Sauvons La Recherche allows us to expose a part of the processes of interaction in the work in this particular field, as "revealed" in a moment of crisis, and to draw the outlines of the modalities of domination and regulation included in these processes of communication.

This study investigated the extent of Research Data Management (RDM) adoption at the University of Namibia (UNAM), viewing it from the researcher’s perspective. The objectives of the study were to investigate the extent to which RDM has been adopted as part of the research process at UNAM, to identify challenges encountered by researchers attempting to practice RDM and to provide solutions to some of the challenges identified. Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory was adopted for the study to place UNAM within an innovation-decision process stage. The study took a quantitative approach of which a survey was used. A stratified sample was drawn from a list of all 948 faculty members (the number of academics taken from the UNAM annual report of 2016). The Raosoft sample size calculator (Raosoft, 2004) states that 274 is the minimum recommended sample size necessary for a 5% margin of error and a 95% confidence level from a population of 948, and this was the intended sample size. A questionnaire administered via an online web-based software tool, SurveyMonkey, was used. A series of questions was asked to individuals to obtain statistically useful information on the topic under study. The paid version of SurveyMonkey was used for analysis while graphics and tables were created in Microsoft Excel. The results of the study showed that for the group that responded to the survey, the extent to which they have adopted RDM practices is still very low. Although individuals were found to be managing their research data, this was done out of their own free will; this is to say that there was no policy mandating and guiding their practices. The researcher placed most of the groups that responded to the survey at the first stage of the innovation-decision process, which is the information stage. However, librarians who responded to the survey were found to be more advanced as they were seen to be aware of and engaged in knowledge acquisition regarding RDM practices. Thus, the researcher placed them at the second stage in the innovation-decision process (Persuasion). Recommendations for the study are based on the analysed data. It is recommended, among others, that UNAM should give directives in the form of policies to enhance the adoption of RDM practices and this should be communicated to the entire UNAM community to create awareness regarding the concept of RDM.

Searching, accessing, reading, and storing academic literature is increasingly done with the help of digital devices. This master’s thesis presents the results of a qualitative study on researchers’ academic reading practices, including the surrounding practices of searching for and storing the literature. The aim of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of researchers' use of academic literature on paper and on screens. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten researchers within four different research areas from a university college in Norway. The theoretical framework used to discuss the results is practice theory, with the concepts materiality and affordance. Key findings are that there is not always concordance between what the researchers say they prefer and what they do, as they have a pragmatic approach. The respondents see pros and cons of both formats, and they use both, depending on the situation and what their aim is. The surrounding practices are often done digitally, while deep reading is preferred to do on paper, by the majority. The first reading of a text, which is browsing through it to see whether the text is relevant or not, is always done on screen, while most of the respondents prefer to print out articles when they are to be read thoroughly, as they value the physical properties of paper. However, the respondents of this study are more positive to screen reading than what is seen in previous research, and many of them wish to improve their skills when it comes to e-reading.Keywords: Academic reading, researchers, digital reading, reading practices,

This study discusses the way in which Saudi academic women perceive their role as academic researchers at Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. My aim is to illustrate and explain the role of women academics who live in a conservative religious culture in Saudi Arabia, and how they fulfil their research obligations. Moreover, I aim to clarify and understand the challenges they face throughout their academic journeys. I have used the method of narrative inquiry in order to understand the perceptions of and career complexities faced by the participants in this study. This thesis discusses the improvement of education in Saudi Arabia and how women in the country have gained rights in terms of education. This study is built on discovering the effects of the conservative religious identity of a Saudi academic woman and how she copes with the various challenges that she faces throughout her academic journey to become a researcher. The four academic researchers involved in this study incorporate their identities and beliefs into their daily tasks. Three themes emerged from the findings and the interpretation of the data, which served as a guide to answering the research questions. These three themes are:  Family and cultural role: a fine line between support and control  Challenges through the academic journey  The Saudi identity I conclude the study by discussing the major finding that these Saudi academic women’s conservative religious identities have shaped them not only as women of faith, but also as academic researchers. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

East African highland bananas (Musa spp., AAA-EA genome group) are a major staple and income-generating fruit crop in the highlands of eastern and central Africa, grown across the countries of the Great Lakes region (i.e. Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and North-West Tanzania). Despite its importance, farmers and researchers are reporting that yields are declining, most notably in areas with low soil fertility. Although numerous studies have been conducted on yield constraints of bananas in the East African highland region, there is virtually no understanding of the impact of plant density management on the yields of these low-input banana systems. The productivity and profitability of various plant densities was studied in contrasting agro-ecological sites of Rwanda (Ruhengeri, Rusizi, Karongi, Butare, Ruhango, Kibungo and Bugesera), that differed distinctly in terms of altitude (1400-1960 m a.s.l), temperature (17-20°C), annual rainfall (950-1400 mm yr-1) and soil types (Nitisols, Ferralsols, Acrisols and Andosols). Under those cropping systems, the plant density is one management factor that resource poor farmers have some control over. An on-farm survey was conducted in all sites to determine the influence of climatic and edaphic factors on variations in on-farm plant density practices and bunch mass. In addition, three researcher-managed banana density experiments were conducted in contrasting agroecological sites (Kibungo low rainfall with medium soil fertility, Rubona high rainfall with low soil fertility and Ruhengeri high rainfall with high soil fertility) to (i) investigate the influence of plant density on the vegetative growth and yield parameters of AAA-EA bananas for typical highland agro-ecological zones, (ii) to assess the effect of plant density on nutrient deficiencies and imbalances, and (iii) to assess the magnitude and variability of nutrient depletion in the smallholder banana systems that are characterized by low external input use. Three different local EA highland banana varieties (i.e. “Ingaju”-cooking type, “Injagi”- cooking type, “Intuntu”-beer type) were each planted at five different plant densities (plants ha-1) of 1428, 2500, 3333, 4444 and 5000. Agronomic data (growth and yield traits) were collected over two cropping cycles (plant and ratoon crops). Soil, plant and climate data were also collected. Approaches such as compositional nutrient diagnosis (CND), boundary line functions and yield gap analysis were used to quantify the contribution of each identified yield limiting factor to yield gap. A first order magnitude of nutrient depletion was determined using partial nutrient balance calculations. Plant density positively correlated with water supply (i.e. difference between rainfall and evapotranspirative demand of bananas), with highest plant densities (>1500 mats ha-1) found in high rainfall areas (>1200 mm yr-1) with water surplus (218-508 mm yr-1) and lowest plant densities (1000-1400 mats ha-1) found in lower rainfall areas (1000-1200 mm yr-1) with water deficit (from -223 to -119 mm yr-1). Bunch masses were significantly higher at the lowest plant densities (18.1-20.8 kg fresh mass plant-1) when compared to the highest plant densities (14.7-15.5 kg). Lower soil and banana leaf nutrient contents were observed on weathered soils (Acrisols) and were associated with smaller bunch mass in comparison to fertile soils (Andosols, Nitisols). Farmers tended to reduce mat densities (i) if they wanted to intercrop, and (ii) to increase bunch mass to adapt to market preferences for large bunches. The plant densities generally recommended by extension bodies (3 × 3 or 2 × 3 m; i.e. 1111 and 1666 mats ha-1, respectively) are seldom practiced by farmers, nor do they seem to be very appropriate from an agronomic or economic perspective. Per hectare bunch and above ground biomass yields increased with increasing plant density, but maximum yield strongly depended on agro-ecological site. Bunch yields of beer bananas continued to increase with density, but maximum yields for the cooking cultivars were observed at 4444 plants ha-1 at Kibungo and Rubona, whereas yields continued to increase linearly beyond this level at Ruhengeri. Relationships between bunch yield, the total above ground dry matter yields and soil chemical properties suggest that nutrient deficiencies were larger at Kibungo (i.e. notably K) and Rubona (i.e. K, P, Ca, Mg) when compared with Ruhengeri. With increasing densities, leaf area index (LAI) continues to increase up to a value of 4 with 95% of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) intercepted by the crop canopy. This suggests that further density and LAI increases would probably have little additional positive effect on total per hectare production. Compositional nutrient diagnosis (CND) indices showed that K, Mg and P were the most deficient elements in areas with low inherent soil fertility (Kibungo and Rubona) compared with relatively fertile areas (Ruhengeri). The boundary line functions and yield gap analysis also confirmed that K was the most limiting factor, contributing to an expected yield gap of 55.3% at Kibungo, while P and Mg contributed to a 35% yield gap at Rubona. An increase in plant density resulted in an increase in average yield gap from 45.6 % to 70.2% at Kibungo, whilst average yield gap decreased significantly from 47.5% to 30.2% at Rubona, and 76.6 to 53.7% at Ruhengeri. Nutrient uptake increased with plant density. Partial N and K balances (kg ha-1 yr-1) were estimated to be strongly negative at Rubona and Ruhengeri, while Ca and Mg were positive at Kibungo and Ruhengeri, but negative at Rubona. The results of this study indicate that, generally, soil fertility is a more limiting factor than water, but both CND norms and boundary line analysis showed that expected yield gaps seem to be high for plant density due to low inherent soil fertility. Partial nutrient balances provide a first order magnitude of nutrient depletion. Nutrient mining is significant, particularly for K. The current extraction rates will not allow farmers to sustain their yields, and options should be developed to improve the productivity of EAH banana cropping systems. The limited availability of manure and inorganic fertilizers is a real threat to the food and income security role that banana production plays in smallholder systems. In summary, the results from this study suggest the optimal density for bananas depends on water availability, soil fertility and cultivar. The agronomic optimal plant density is lower (< 4444 plants ha-1) in low rainfall (< 1000 mm yr-1) and less fertile areas, but seems to be higher (> 5000 plants ha-1) in areas with high fertility, which receive high rainfall (> 1300 mm yr-1). Improved plant density management can serve as an important entry point for resource poor farmers to maximize yield potential of EAH bananas in the various production zones. Blanket density recommendations do not make sense. While farmers can significantly improve their banana production, increased densities will put significant additional stress on limited nutrient resources, and region-specific integrated soil fertility recommendations should be developed and adopted to ensure sustained improvements of banana production and smallholder livelihoods. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

In this research process, my objectives were as follows; firstly, to explore the relationship between identity formation and poverty and secondly to explore the role of the church in combating the effects of poverty in the lives of those who live in poverty stricken communities. A Narrative approach was used to gather data from the community. I listened to the stories of those people who live in poverty. Seven movements were used as the methodology for this research (Muller 2005:81-86). As a practical theologian, I positioned myself within postfoundationalist theology. In this position I avoided foundation epistemology which seeks the absolute truth as well as anti or nonfoundational epistemology which promotes relativism. As I mentioned earlier postfoundationalist practical theology is always thinking in a specific context and can also go beyond that specific context into interdisciplinary thinking. Starting from a specific context into an interdisciplinary context, we found that the concept of poverty has been described as a discourse meaning that it went from poverty as a lack of resources into linguistic, poverty as lack of capabilities or poverty being political. By taking multidimension method to eradicate poverty one needs to apply a multidimensions approach. The stories from Nellmapius affirmed that poverty influences identity formation. The following effects were identified: low self-esteem, stress, depression, lack of self-acceptance and hopelessness. The church has the capacity as the biggest membership and with the most awareness organization in most communities that has the attention of many people. The church is able to preach hope for people in what seems to be hopelessness and encourage the poor to rise out of their poverty. It can facilitate the poor and the government to work together to change their lives. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

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Because of the importance of Research Data Management (RDM) in the life sciences, where vast amounts of research data in different complex formats are being produced, this study aimed to assess the state of RDM readiness in the life sciences at Wits to ascertain what support is needed with regards to RDM. In order to achieve the aim, the current RDM practices and needs of researchers, as well as the challenges they face, were investigated. The Jisc Research Data Lifecycle (Jisc, 2021a) was used to guide the literature review, frame data collection, analyse data and advise on some of the main findings and recommendations. A mixed methods approach and an explanatory sequential design were used to achieve the research objectives. For the quantitative phase of research, an online questionnaire was used to collect data. As the total target population (282) was not big, a census was conducted. The questionnaire was administered using SurveyMonkey software. During the qualitative part of the research, semi-structured interviews were used to explain the quantitative results. Five participants were purposively sampled to take part in interviews. The statistical package, MS Excel, was used to analyse quantitative data whilst qualitative data were analysed by thematic analysis. The study showed that life sciences researchers at Wits have adopted many RDM practices, and researchers are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of the openness of data. However, they are dealing with similar RDM issues as their peers worldwide. Results highlighted challenges of, amongst others, the lack of an RDM policy as well as the lack of, or unawareness of, appropriate RDM training and support at Wits. As formal implementation of RDM still needs to take place at Wits, it is recommended that Wits puts an RDM policy in place, followed by suitable RDM infrastructure and awareness making of current services.