Micro-Scholarship, What it is, How can it help me.pdf
Fair open science as a powerful resource in the fight against cognitive injustice in African and Haitian universities
1. FAIR OPEN SCIENCE AS A
POWERFUL RESOURCE IN THE
FIGHT AGAINST COGNITIVE
INJUSTICE IN FRANCOPHONE
AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES AND
HAITI
FLORENCE PIRON
THOMAS MBOA NKOUDOU
UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL, ASSOCIATION SCIENCE ET BIEN
COMMUN - PROJET SOHA - APSOHA
FLORENCE.PIRON@COM.ULAVAL.CA
2. Title : Open science as a collective tool of empowerment and
cognitive justice in Haiti and French-speaking Africa : building the
roadmap
2 main investigators : Florence Piron, Université Laval et Diéyi Diouf,
Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, but many co-researchers in 10
countries : a very decentralized networked project, always open to new ideas,
collaborators and sub-projects
Grant given by OCSDnet, IDRC, DFID for 2 years : 70 000 $
A website : http://projetsoha.org with a blog, interviews, training tools in
open science
Many Facebook Groups including a huge one with more than 3400 members,
a newsletter, discussion lists.
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Our reflexion today is anchored in a research-action project : SOHA
3. Objective 1. Document the main obstacles to the sustainable adoption of open
science by graduate students from Haiti and Francophone Africa
Objective 2. Build and test different tools and strategies of training in open
science, in French or local languages. For instance, we intend to set up a
collaborative web documentary about open science composed of short videos
shot by graduate students about their relationship with science and open
science.
Objective 3. Document the potential reception in African and Haitian
universities of two open science tools that are particularly effective against
cognitive injustice or for bridging science and society: institutional
repositories and science shops.
Objective 4. With all the co-researchers and participants, build a French-
speaking international, interdisciplinary, sustainable, open and democratic
network advocating open science in Francophone Africa and Haiti.
Objective 5. Create one roadmap per country to advance open science.
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4. Theoretical and ethical starting points :
• Radical critique of the positivist epistemological position
which is dominant in « science »
• Universal science is in fact science from and for the Global
North and, under the influence of the knowledge economy
paradigm, is neoliberal science
• Neoliberal science gives birth to neoliberal universities
obsessed by performance and competition and forgetful of
the Common Good
• Science is in fact one way among others to create
knowledge, that is to say a way of understanding and
representing our environment and ourselves. It is anchored
in culture.
• Western epistemology can be violent towards other
epistemologies, particularly from (post)colonized countries.
6. Our anger is strong :
- Unequalities between the North and the Global South
- General despise and rejection of local knowledge from the
Global South, even by scientists from the Global South
- Universities seen as training tools for the future elite and not
as tool of local sustainable development
- Invisibility of science from the South and of languages from
the South in academic journals from the North
- Too many dysfunctionalities within universities from the Global
South
A situation of global cognitive injustice :
Cognitive injustice is a situation, a phenomenon, a policy
or attitude that prevents students and researchers to
deploy the full potential of their scientific research
capacity in service to local sustainable development.
7. Another science is possible (title of one of our papers):
• A science based on an inclusive universalism, open to all
epistemologies and viewpoints : science as a dialogue between
knowledges rather than as a knowledge existing only insofar
as it crushes other knowledges (fascination with social and
political epistemology in SOHA!)
• A science based on values of cooperation, sharing, friendship,
compassion, understanding, refusal to separate personal life
and values from research work : a science anchored in
contexts and relationships seen as tools and not obstacles.
• A science calling for cognitive justice : a situation where
everyone could contribute with their knowledge to the
commons of knowledge, regardless of their country, social
class, gender.
• The roadmap towards cognitive justice asks for a finer analysis
of cognitive injustice : the first resultats of SOHA analysis.
8. 9 COGNITIVE INJUSTICES IN UNIVERSITIES FROM
FRANCOPHONE AFRICA AND HAITI AS COMPARED WITH THE
GLOBAL NORTH, HARMING THE LOCAL RESEARCH CAPACITY
1. No research infratructure and no science policy (no political will)
2. Financial and legal barriers to access to scientific publications
3. Digital literacy and access to the web are rare
4. Local knowledge, though culturally and socially relevant, is
excluded or disrespected.
5. The wall between science and society is a barrier
6. The Western research system is closed to those not fitting its mold
7. The language of science is colonial
8. The pedagogy of humiliation is still rife in universities
9. Epistemic alienation is profound : feeling obliged to think with
an epistemology and a bibliography from the North
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9. OPEN SCIENCE : A WAY TO TRANSFORM SCIENCE
PRACTICED IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH TOWARDS MORE
COGNITIVE JUSTICE ?
5 pillars of open science (in our definition, not a universal
one):
1. Collaborative / cooperative way of working together
2. Citizen science, participatory research, research-action
3. Free and open software and licences
4. Alternative organizations aiming to bring closer
research and society (Fablabs, makerspaces, science
shops)
5. Open access to scientific resources
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10. 1ST PILLAR: COLLABORATIVE WORK
Open science encourages students and researchers to work
closely together instead of being isolated from fear of being
robbed
- Share one’s bibliographies, notes, papers, findings, data
- Mutually criticize texts and ideas
- Multiply co-authors
- Use web tools to write and think together
- Use social media
Zotero, Framapad (Free version of Google drive), Trello,
Authorea
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11. 2ND PILLAR : CITIZEN SCIENCE
In citizen science, non-scientists are invited to participate in research
projects (without being paid) for the sake of science. Very popular in
environmental surveys and observational activities.
Numerous projects on sci-starter website
In Participatory research-action in social science, research sbjects are
invited to participate in the design and the interpretation of the
project.
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13. 4TH PILLAR : ALTERNATIVE ORGANISATIONS
BRIDGING SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
• Fablabs, makerspaces, living lab, co-working spaces : where
scientists, entrepreneurs, students, teachers, etc. can come in the
same place and try ideas, concepts, machines.
• Science shops : a mediation service within a university linking civil
society organization and students/professors.
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14. 5TH PILLAR : OPEN ACCESS
● Thanks to the web, more and more scientific publications are on
the web
● Some of these documents are accessible only by subscription or
by payment with a credit card: they are « closed ».
● Some documents are accessible without any barrier : they are in
open access.
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16. A SCIENTIFIC PAPER IN NEOLIBERAL REGIME
OF KNOWLEDGE IS…
- A geopolitical issue (competition, ratings, etc.)
- An economic issue : For-profit publishers (Elsevier,
Sage, Nature PG, etc.) make a lot of profit in
publishing (online) and selling articles that
scientists funded by public money give them
voluntarily at no cost
- A professional issue : quantity of publications is
essential to academic careers (quality??)
- An industrial issue : how to combine industrial
secret and publication?
For what purpose do some academics advocate open
access for all to scientific publications?
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17. FIRST PURPOSE OF OPEN ACCESS
Improve the productivity of research and researchers
- Eysenbach (2006) : Since open access maximises the
number of quotations, it « is likely to benefit science
by accelerating dissemination and uptake of research
findings ».
- The quicker the results are disseminated, the quicker
research advances, the more scientists publish and the
morer their career prosper
- Journals are managers of this incessant flux of results
and papers.
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18. SECOND PURPOSE OF OPEN ACCESS
• A mainly economic purpose : « Open Access to science
and data = cash and economic bonanza », according
to Neelie Kroes (2013), Vice-president of the european
community en 2013
• OECD is for open access since it increases the
potentialities for innovation : « avoiding duplication
while facilitating replication, accelerating discovery,
and driving innovation ».
• Innovation that can be tranformed into merchandise,
markets.
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19. THIRD PURPOSE OF OPEN ACCESS
• Democratization of access to scientific
knowledge for people without an affiliation to a
university:
• K-12 teachers
• Non-professional science lovers
• Civil society organizations
• Journalists
• Public administrations
• Graduates wishing to continue to learn and think
• From a fiscal justice viewpoint, open access gives bacl
to tax-payers what they funded through their tax.
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20. IN FRANCOPHONE AFRICA AND HAITI
• University librairies have so few resources that students
and professors are in the same position as the
« outcasts » in the North.
• Immediate and integral open access is a wonderful
opportunity for them to access up to date scientific
information. But it is mainly information from the
Global North!
• Open access responds only to one of the cognitive
injustices, not to all of them
• Open access to publications from the North could
even increase epistemic alienation (cognitive injustice
9) if students and professors don’t have access to any
local science or science from the Global South.
• Open access should be accompanied by
empowerment strategies for students and professors
from Africa and Haiti, guiding them towards more
research and publication in open access.
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21. HOW TO OBTAIN OPEN ACCESS
Two possibilities for researchers:
- Publish in an open access journal (Gold way)
- Archive one’s papers in an institutional repository
(website) (green way)
Conditions :
Researchers must commit themselves to open access
They must not fear journals
They must have electricity and web access
They must have a basic digital literacy, not considering that
what is on the web is of less quality than what is printed.
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22. 24 octobre 2016, après un resserrement des critères d’admission
DOAJ: lists of open access journals
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26. OPEN ACCESS IS MORE AND MORE
PUSHED BY SCIENCE POLICIES IN
THE NORTH
Accrued productivity of science and possibility of
innovations
+
Fiscal justice
=
Most countries from the North demand that the publicly-
funded scientists put their papers in open access 12
months after the publication at the latest.
Science policies in Africa could fight oyher
cognitive injustices (web, grants, scholarships,
national languages in universities …)
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28. USUAL MODUS OPERANDUS OF A
SCIENCE SHOP IN THE GLOBAL NORTH
1. A civil society organisation suggests a project which could
be a solution to a difficulty or a need regarding its mission
2. The Science shop recruits students and professors to do the
project
3. The project is done by the students, under the supervision
of the professor/tutor
4. The students give their report to the CSO
5. The CSO does not pay anything
6. The students get course credits or a mark for their
participation
29. INADEQUACY OF THIS MODEL IN HAITI AND
AFRICA
On the university’s part :
• In Global South, a University’s mission is very often to train
future elite and public officials, not to be a sustainable local
development tool
• A Global south university perceived itself as an elite
organization; local academics may tend to despise local
CSOs’ work and local knowledge (cognitive injustice)
• In a global South university, the main language is the
colonial language (English or French), sometimes not well
spoken among CSOs
• The pedagogy is not open to replacing lectures with team
work on specific projects
30. INADEQUACY OF THIS MODEL IN HAITI AND
AFRICA
On the CSO’s part :
• In the Global South, supporting local CSOs generally refers
to financial assistance. What organizations expect foremost
to receive is money, not academic help.
• A university is generally perceived as an elite organization.
Therefore, CSOs may have trouble understanding the
concept of "free" services that could be offered to them by
an elite institution.
• The location of the science shop office in a university
building may also hamper the engagement of civil society
organizations with university.
• Usually, CSOs do not see the relevance of a university for
them or for sustainable development…
31. OUR VISION : SCIENCE SHOP FOR
AFRICA AND HAITI
De-localize the science shop outside university buildings, in
areas where CSOs are active
Allow and encourage the use of local languages by CSOs
and students
Carefully prepare a communication strategy, in local
languages, to explain the concept of a science shop to
CSOs; organize workshops
Enlarge the science shop mission to include a general
dialogue between academics and civil society about the role
and uses of a university
Enlarge the science shop range of services to make it a
global resource (training)
32. These services :
Add to the science shop a wifi-powered makerspace, where
people (students, CSOs, lecturers) can do things together :
express needs and ideas, build things, but also discuss their
problems, exchange ideas, solutions, research the web etc.
Research and methodology training for students and
lecturers, through tutorials and mutual mentoring : how to
manage a concrete project, write a report, but also how to
use web tools, to research the open access web, to publish
in open access, etc.
Workshops and conferences about sustainable development,
local knowledge, CSO’s work and missions, alternative
pedagogy, etc.
SOHA has generated 9 projects of science shop in Haiti, Benin, Burkina
Faso, Cameroun, Guinée, Mali, Niger, Sénégal and RD Congo
37. MOOC FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS
How to design and write a thesis proposal within a
cognitive justice perspective
38. THEATER PLAY ABOUT COGNITIVE
JUSTICE
Collaborative writing with students from Haiti, Cameroon and
Burkina Faso
A play explaining cognitive justice and showing the
importance of local knowledge and of a better relationship
between universities and civil society, universities and villages
39. RECHERCHE DOCUMENTAIRE DANS LE
WEB SCIENTIFIQUE LIBRE
A guide in 8 steps to help students from the Global South or
citizens non affiliated to a university find open access articles,
journals, on the subject that they are interested in.
40. ROBOTIQUE - FABREL
Introduction to robotics for primary school teachers in
a Cameroon village
Collaborative writing of local biology and physics
textbooks bu secondary school teachers
41. Collaborative papers
and books
We have organised
3 conferences
(2 in Haiti, 1 in
Cameroon) to
present open science
to local students.
Hundreds came and
gave their opinion.
42. THIS PRESENTATION
is licenced with Creative Commons:
You can use it pour your teaching or training
activities.
It is part of Knowledge commons and belongs to
all.
Your turn!
