Simultaneous interpreting as an aid in parallel-medium tertiary education

No Abstract

Die sekuriteitswag, my finansiële adviseur

In contrast to other (mainly European countries) where liaison interpreters act as intercultural brokers and interlingual facilitators between state service providers and immigrant communities, the South African situation calls for interpreting between service providers and citizens. This form of interpreting however mainly takes place within an unregulated and informal setting. Since 2004 the larger financial sector had to put measures in place to ensure that all relevant documentation were available in the 11 official languages of the country. However, due to inter alia high levels of illiteracy, it was found that the bottom end of the banking population still employ the services of bank security staff to act as interpreters on their behalf. This paper reports on this well-established form of liaison interpreting in the financial sector. It is argued that the nonprovision of trained interpreters who are also bound to a code of ethics leads to the exploitation of linguistic marginalised groupings and thus perpetuates asymmetrical power relations in financial discourse.Keywords: liaison interpreting, financial sector, language facilitationSleutelwoorde: gemeenskapstolking, finansiële sektor, taalfasiliteringArticle text in Afrikaan

Access to housing in South Africa: An overview of dimensions and mechanisms

The historical background of influx control, group areas and the regulation of unlawful occupation of land (squatting), explain, to some extent, why unlawful occupation of land and informal settlements are still prevalent 18 years after the new Constitutional dispensation commenced. For many people in South Africa, access to land is still an ideal and not a reality. Not only have the “three pillars of apartheid” contributed to the dismal current state of affairs, but the multi-faceted and multi-dimensional nature of access to housing has also contributed to it being particularly complex. In this regard a human rights, a land reform and a property law dimension can be identified. The human rights dimension is imbedded in socio-economic rights and is founded on dignity; the land reform dimension is based on the premise that access to housing is interlinked with access to land, and the property law dimension involves the development of common law (Roman-Dutch) principles of property and ownership to provide for other (or alternative) forms of ownership. This article aims to provide an overview of the three-dimensional nature of access to housing and to highlight some of the mechanisms encapsulated within each dimension. An overview of statutory measures will be provided and, where relevant, certain aspects will be attended to in more detail. In light of its three-dimensional nature, it is clear that access to housing remains a major challenge for all role players involved

Taalbeleid, -praktyk en –houdings: SAPD-konstables in Gauteng

No Abstract.Journal for Language Teaching vol Vol. 42 (1) 2008: pp. 152-17

Some factors influencing the use of simultaneous interpreting as an alternative to parallel-medium teaching in tertiary education

Currently, a number of historical Afrikaans universities (i.e. North-West University, the University of the Free State and the University of  Johannesburg) are experimenting with the use of simultaneous interpreting (using the whispered mode) as an alternative to parallel-medium teaching. Simultaneous interpreting is discussed as a useful language policy management mechanism against the backdrop of a  changing linguistic context at tertiary institutions. In the case of the University of Johannesburg's Kingsway Campus, a dramatic shift has taken place in the linguistic profile of learners over the past nine years. This shifthas not only led to a need to reformulate the institution's language policy, but also poses challenges to the relevance of the languages of learning and teaching traditionally used, namely English and Afrikaans. It was therefore decided to experiment with the use of simultaneous interpreting to provide teaching and thus additional linguistic support in the four languages prescribed by the University's language policy, namely English, Afrikaans, Sesotho sa Leboa and isiZulu. The project aimed at establishing how a multilingual context would impact on learners' language attitudes and what the repercussions of such attitudes would be on interpreting in the classroom. This article reports on some of the factors found to  influence the use of simultaneous interpreting at the University of  Johannesburg, namely the hegemony of English, the extent of the linguistic diversity that has become characteristic of tertiary classrooms,and the impact of language attitudes.Keywords: simultaneous interpreting, classroom interpreting, language policy, hegemony, language attitudes, language diversit

Including learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Voices of mainstream teachers

The global shift toward inclusive education is in pursuit of creating a more equal and just society. This has lead schools worldwide to experience an increase in the number of learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) entering the general classroom. At the first level of contact, teachers play an important role in the implementation of inclusive education. It is therefore crucial to acknowledge their experiences.  Their voices need to be heard as their experiences can contribute to doing justice to the policies on inclusive education.  In search of teachers’ subjective experiences, this interpretive qualitative phenomenological research study was framed by a social constructivist paradigm. Participants were purposefully selected from an international school in Cape Town, South Africa. Data was collected through an online open-ended questionnaire, followed by an in-person focus group discussion at the school. The findings indicated that while teachers are in favour of inclusion, they experience many challenges which result in a policy-implementation-gap.&nbsp

Compulsory HIV testing of child sex offenders in the South African criminal justice system

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 established unique procedural mechanisms for the processing of sexual offence cases and for the protection of victims. One such procedure relates to compulsory HIV testing of an alleged offender on application by the victim or a police official. This article is a theoretical exploration of Chapter 5 of the Sexual Offences Act, and the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 as they pertain to HIV testing of children, juxtaposed against the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008. The submission concedes that Chapter 5 of the Sexual Offences Act is applicable to child offenders. The authors, however, argue that child offenders are procedurally sui generis in the criminal justice process and resultantly the prescripts of Chapter 5 of the Sexual Offences Act are at odds with the position of a child offender within the protections of the Child Justice Act, insofar as effective protection of the best interest standard is concerned

Protecting the Florida panther and panther habitat on private lands: conflicts and management options

Presented at the 8th international congress for wildlife and livelihoods on private and communal lands: livestock, tourism, and spirit, that was held on September 7-12, 2014 in Estes Park, Colorado.Presenter: Elizabeth Pienaar.Although it is protected by the Endangered Species Act, both management and recovery of the Florida panther is contingent on habitat conservation on private lands as well as landowner support for panther conservation efforts. Conflict over cattle depredation by the Florida panther and mitigation for incidental take of the panther has contributed to the formation of the Florida Panther Recovery Implementation Team by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). This Team consists of representatives of the USFWS, the National Park Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), environmental NGOs and private landowners, with a mandate to facilitate the recovery of the Florida panther, in part by addressing the human dimensions of panther recovery. One of the key challenges that agencies face is how to engage stakeholders (in particular landowners) in panther management, which is particularly difficult when there is a history of distrust between agencies and stakeholders. To assist in these efforts, I conducted interviews and focus group meetings with a variety of stakeholders to assess their opinions about human-panther conflict, options for managing the Florida panther on private lands, habitat conservation incentives, and the role of agencies in mitigating human-panther conflicts. I will present a synthesis of these discussions and I will highlight the key areas of contention and conflict between various stakeholder groups that must be addressed in order to attain panther recovery

Mid-trimester termination ofpregnancy - a randomised controlled trial of two prostaglandin regitnens

Objective. To detennine the more applicable of two ways of prostaglandin induction currently in use in second trimester induced abortions for congenital or chromosomal abnormalities.Design. A prospective randomised controlled trial.Setting. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Tygerberg Hospital, CP.Study population. Twenty consecutive patients admitted for tennination of pregnancy for congenital or chromosomal abnormalities between 14 and 26 weeks' pregnancy duration. Management. Patients were randomly selected to receive either 1,5 mg prostaglandin E, (PGE,) gel extra-amniotically or 25 mg prostaglandin F,a (PGF,a) intra-amniotically. Patients in both groups received oxytocin to a maximum dosage of 120 IllU per minute if they had not aborted 18 hours after the original administration of either prostaglandin regimen. If abortion had not taken place 36 hours after cotnmencement of treatment, management was considered unsuccessful.Main outcome measurements. Proportion of successful inductions and complications.Results. Complications of management were rare and did not differ between the two management groups. However, there were significantly more failures in the group who receh'ed intraamniotic PGF,a (7 v. 2 patients) as well as a significantly higher need for oxytocin in this group (10 v. 4 patients).Conclusions. With· proIllising drugs such as prostaglandin analogues and anti-progesterones not universally available, methods of induction suitable to the local situation should be sought. Extra-atnniotic PGE, seems more suitable than intra-amniotic PGF,a because of a shorter induction- to-delivery time without increased morbidity

Developing district health systems in the rural Transvaal Issues arising from the Tintswalo/Bushbuckridge experience

District health systems are increasingly acknowledged as a foundation for national health services based on primary health care. Initial efforts to institute a demonstration district health system in the Bushbuckridge area of the eastern Transvaal are described. These include efforts to overcome the organisational and administrative fragmentation caused by homeland and provincial boundaries. Close attention needs to be given to districtlevel health management, the complementary roles of district and regional health authorities, working relationships and accountability among professional staff from different disciplines, involvement of the community in a district health authority and the district health system as an element oflocal government