Higher education institutions are moving towards highlighting the importance of research. According to the Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa, the status of higher education institutions will be determined by the extent to which they are engaged in research and research-related activities. Higher education institutions…

This article serves as an introduction to the Special Issue on "Decolonizing and Diversifying Research in Cognitive Development." The Special Issue comprises six articles: two articles are empirical articles that focus on executive function development in under-represented environments, two articles address barriers pathways toward…

The technology utilization gap experienced almost one decade ago in many African countries had by June 2017 become a thing of the past when different African governments began to repudiate investment in fixed-line infrastructure in favor of the mobile infrastructure. Many networks providers have since migrated from 3G to LTE-based services.…

Institutional research management (RM) is increasingly seen as a strategic force, not only to raise the research output per academic, but also the quality thereof. RM, therefore, has to attend to researcher development (RD). How RD is achieved, as part of RM, is still viewed as an embryonic field with attendant calls for additional research.…

The fundamental study of physics has played a crucial role in helping to understand natural phenomena and biological processes throughout history. However, physics as a discipline has not advanced at an equal pace around the globe. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), physics research faces major challenges including gaps in human capital, infrastructural…

Employer complaints of engineering graduate inability to "apply knowledge" suggests a need to interrogate the complex theory-practice relationship in twenty-first century real world contexts. Focussing specifically on the application of mathematics, physics and logic-based disciplinary knowledge, the research examines engineering…

Chinese and Russian universities are increasingly drawn into center-periphery repositioning, as they compete for symbolic, financial, and intellectual resources locally and globally. However, their strategies on national and institutional linkages differ with regards to the individual scientist's powers in knowledge production. As global…

This paper empirically examines the impact of academic research on high-tech manufacturing growth of 28 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and emerging countries over the 1991-2005 period. A standard research and development (R&D) expenditure based measure is found to be too general to capture the input in high-tech…

South Africa is characterised by high unemployment levels, a low Total Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity rate, and a high small business failure rate. Entrepreneurship and small business development is seen as a solution to end unemployment in South Africa. A study to understand how to improve small business support was conducted at the…

This biannual publication provides a set of indicators that reflect the level and structure of the efforts undertaken by OECD member countries and seven non-member economies (Argentina, China, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Chinese Taipei) in the field of science and technology. These data include final or provisional…

The knowledge society arises from the combination of four interdependent elements: the production of knowledge through research, its transmission through education, its dissemination through information and communication technologies, and its exploitation through innovation. For this reason, higher education institutions (HEIs) are the main…

An assessment of the extent to which industry-university partnerships in doctoral education, which have become increasingly prevalent in the knowledge economy, have begun to penetrate the South African higher education milieu, is reported. The factors that motivate large industries in developing countries such as South Africa to invest in doctoral…

Purpose: Within the context of the European-funded JOLISAA project (JOint Learning in and about Innovation Systems in African Agriculture), an inventory of agricultural innovation experiences was made in Benin, Kenya and South Africa. The objective was to assess multi-stakeholder agricultural innovation processes involving smallholders. Approach:…

Higher education in South Africa is challenged by academic and social demands. Universities, therefore, have to produce graduates who will be able to function optimally within their field of study, as well as act as agents of change in their social environment. The main purpose of this article is to theorise about applying Engestrom's expansive…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine and draw attention to the potential benefits of solar power generation for access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) aimed at sustainable development in emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: Electricity plays a crucial role in the development and…