Our Research Mission

 

To make insightful research into the field of Identity and provide quality education and training through creation, preservation, integration, transmission and utilization of knowledge.

Diasporic Networks
Chinese food restaurants are no longer located in the heart of Beijing but rather in the suburbs of London, New York, Buenos Aires and Warsaw. This is possible because recipes to Chinese delicacies are just a click away from anywhere on the globe. Through the Internet, diasporic communities are getting a chance to participate in socio-political activities that transcend national boundaries. From trading on the stock markets, participating in political debates to holding chat sessions with friends, the list of what one can do through the Internet is endless.
This development has opened new possibilities in the area of Identity. Scholars argue that such transnational interactions among diasporic communities lead to hybridized cultural identities. This is because new cultural attachments beyond those of national identities have been formed through the Internet. So the next time you see Sushi on a menu, do not assume you are in Japan, you could as well be in the jungles of Africa.

Neuro-linguistic programming
According to Jean Nidetch, “Its choice, not chance, that determines your destiny.” Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a communication model that can help us make the right behavioral choices in order to determine our destiny. NLP helps us to shape our identities by allowing us to change, adopt or eliminate behaviors as we desire. It is a programme that allows us to choose our mental, emotional, and physical states of well being thereby allowing us to become proficient at creating our futures.
NLP utilizes a set of techniques or strategies to help us in enhancing our communication skills and personal influence. This means that it provides us with a set of guiding values, approaches, and techniques about real life behavior. NLP therefore aims to increase behavioral and emotional flexibility by instruction in using language, imagination, and the body.

Terror and the Internet
It has often been argued that terrorists thrive on the publicity they receive from the media. This being the case, the Internet has made this scenario even worse. Terrorists have a lot to celebrate about the nature of the Internet today. This is because it offers them easy access, vast potential audiences, anonymity of communication and no regulation whatsoever.
Terrorists have therefore used the Internet to achieve several of their goals that include recruitment, fundraising and sharing information. The fight against terror on the Internet has for a long time been an uphill task. This is because the Internet is an embodiment of the democratic ideals of free speech and open communication.  To fight terrorism, it is therefore important that our governments and the public in general become informed about the uses to which terrorists put the Internet.

 

Research Collaborations

Identity Research opportunities:

• Governmental
• Non-governmental
• Public.
  As our institute continues to grow, we are increasingly striving to tackle scientific problems spanning the entire spectrum of research in the field of identity. We also realize that it is through promoting collaboration that innovation can be best achieved in a more and more complex research arena in the future. We are therefore ready to make clear our research objectives and lines of accountability in order to maintain a close and positive relationship with governments and other major funding sources. We also insist on working in alliance with governments and other research institutes because we appreciate the fact that research is becoming more interdisciplinary. This means that it is becoming ever more important for researchers to work together to achieve a larger scale in their research efforts.

 

Market applications

Market Value of on-line learning

Why an Online degree?
The next big killer application for the Internet is going to be education. Education over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to make email usage look like a rounding error.(John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, 2000). Over the past decade, there has been an increased investment in e-learning initiatives which appears to have occurred as a reaction to the view that higher education is in crisis. The crisis revolves around three issues - access to education, the cost of providing education, and dwindling public revenues (Daniel, 1997; Johnstone, 1992).

Daniel (1997; p.14) further believes that “technology provides the most fertile ground for growing these key ingredients of university renewal: lower costs and unique attractions.” Bates (1997) believes there are four reasons for using technology in higher education;

•  To improve the quality of learning;
•  To improve access to education and training;
•  To reduce the costs of education; and
•  To improve the cost-effectiveness of education.

At the beginning of the 21st Century, the U.S. Depart of Education commissioned a report to find out more about distance learning. Here are some of the statistics the report revealed;

• One-third of all post-secondary schools offer distance learning courses.
• 8% of post-secondary schools offer college-level degree or certificate programs completely through distance learning.
• 55% of 2-year and 4-year institutions offer college-level credit-granting distance learning courses at either the undergraduate or graduate level.
• The top 3 technologies used to deliver courses involved internet-based, two-way interactive video, and one-way prerecorded video.

According to the report, prospective students consider joining the online schools because of a number of advantages that they have over the traditional face to face learning. Most of them make the decisions based on the following key factors;

• Convenience- they can study at their own time and pace
• They can keep their existing job while they study
• They do not have to leave their families and live on a campus
• They have round-the-clock access to the many facilities of their college via their internet connection
• Online degree programs generally cost less.

The report further outlines that academic institutions are now increasing the number of online courses so as to increase global student registration. They courses are also cost effective as there is no need to invest in infrastructure facilities such as lecture halls, offices, libraries and student accommodation. All that is needed is a web page and lectures who can disseminate knowledge from any part of the world.
Green & Gilbert (1995) noted, "the stated hope is that computing and information
technologies will yield new levels of institutional and instructional 'productivity.' The stated expectation is that the infusion or integration of new technologies into instruction will, at minimum maintain and ideally enhance student learning while significantly reducing instructional costs."