Critical media literacy: a design for the future

[From OPENSPACE Editor Alice Kanengoni's editorial]: Professor Jeanne Prinsloo notes in her article that "In fact, it has been argued that the significance of the media in people’s lives has increased to the extent that it has been described as their primary curriculum, thereby recasting formal education as the secondary curriculum." This therefore requires an incestment in media literacy; people's ability to to understand the world around them, as represented in the media. Thus, Professor Prinsloo argues for critical media literacy, citing the role that the media played in fuelling the genocide in Rwanda, as an illustrative case in point. She states that "While we can not attribute all blame in the Rwandan scenario to the radio use, it is clear that the media mattered." She indicates that "media representations and engagements play a significant role in the way we understand the world, its people and events, and ourselves therein." As such, societies should invest in building a critical citizenry that can read and deconstruct the various ideologies that are often carries in and through the media

Where have all the fathers gone? Media(ted) representations of fatherhood.

[From the introduction]: "It is in the mundane world that media operate most significantly. They filter and frame everyday realities, through their singular and multiple representations, providing touchstones, references, for the conduct of everyday life, for the production and maintenance of common-sense (Silverstone 1999, p.6). While it is broadly accepted that the media do not reflect society, they do provide us with a repertoire of roles and images which we encounter and with which we engage." As the opening quote suggests, the media play a vital role in the circulation and mediation of ideas, attitudes and actions and their significance is commented on frequently. It is noteworthy that such commentary in South Africa identifies that men are infrequently depicted in parental roles. This is in comparison to the other roles men inhabit and in contrast to the role of women as mother. It is also suggested that the macho masculine identities that the media offer serve as proxy father roles

A note on dual giant gravitons in AdS4×CP3AdS_{4}\times \mathbb{CP}^{3}

We study some of the properties of dual giant gravitons - D2-branes wrapped on an $S^{2}\subset AdS_{4}$ - in type IIA string theory on $AdS_{4}\times \mathbb{CP}^{3}$. In particular we confirm that the spectrum of small fluctuations about the giant is both real and independent of the size of the graviton. We also extend previously developed techniques for attaching open strings to giants to this D2-brane giant and focus on two particular limits of the resulting string sigma model: In the pp-wave limit we quantize the string and compute the spectrum of bosonic excitations while in the semiclassical limit, we read off the fast string Polyakov action and comment on the comparison to the Landau-Lifshitz action for the dual open spin chain.Comment: v3 significantly changed: added coupling to RR 1-form and turned on worldvolume gauge field, computed gauge field fluctuation, added comments on closure of the sl(2) sector and re-written to improve clarity. This version published in JHE

Lexicographic treatment of kinship terms in an English/Sepedi–Setswana–Sesotho dictionary with an amalgamated lemmalist

This article describes the lemmatisation and treatment of kinship terms in a proposed English–Sotho, Sotho–English dictionary with an amalgamated lemmalist. The first requirement is to build a list of kinship terminology for the Sotho languages. Secondly, it is necessary in terms of space restriction to determine the most frequently used forms to be lemmatised in such a dictionary. Thirdly, the macrostructure and microstructure of the dictionary should be planned in terms of an amalgamated approach. A short explanation of the amalgamated model will be presented and a schematic illustration of the paternal family tree structure in the Sotho languages is given in the appendix. Specific attention is given to the compilation of the amalgamated lemmalist focusing on absolute cognates and absolute cognates with a difference in form. Finally, where the reduction of huge quantities of terms, e.g. all derived forms of a specific term in all three Sotho languages are at stake, a lexicographic convention will be suggested to sensibly reduce the number of lemmas and to combat redundancy.Keywords: Amalgamated dictionaries, kinship terms, Sotho languages, lexicographic convention, closely related languagesDie leksikografiese hantering van verwantskapsterme in 'n Engels/Sepedi–Setswana–Sesotho-woordeboek met 'n gealgameerde lemmalysHierdie artikel beskryf die lemmatisering en bewerking van verwantskapsterme in 'n voorgestelde Engels–Sotho, Sotho–Engels woordeboek met 'n geamalgameerde lemmalys. Die eerste vereiste is die samestelling van 'n lys van verwantskapsterminologie vir die Sothotale. Tweedens is dit nodig om ter wille van ruimtebesparing die mees gebruiklike vorme te bepaal wat in so 'n woordeboek gelemmatiseer moet word. Derdens moet die makro- en mikrostruktuur van die woordeboek beplan word in terme van 'n geamalgameerde benadering. 'n Kort verduideliking van die geamalgameerde model sal aangebied word en 'n skematiese voorstelling van die paterne stamboomstruktuur in die Sothotale word in die bylaag aangegee. Spesifieke aandag word gegee aan die samestelling van die geamalgameerde lemmalys met die fokus op absolute kognate en absolute kognate met 'n vormverskil. Ten slotte, waar die vermindering van groot hoeveelhede van die terme, byvoorbeeld alle afgeleide vorme van 'n spesifieke term in al drie Sothotale ter sake is, sal 'n leksikografiese konvensie voorgestel word om die aantal lemmas sinvol te verminder en redundansie te bestry.Sleutelwoorde: Geamalgameerde woordeboeke, verwantskapsterme, Sothotale, leksikografiese konvensie, nouverwante tal

Critical literacy in South Africa : possibilities and constraints in 2002

This article examines the Curriculum documents produced in South Africa since the election of a democratic government in 1994 in order to consider the possibilities they create for the inclusion of critical literacy in the teaching of home languages. This discussion is set against an analysis of the apartheid curriculum documents prior to 1994 and a consideration of the ongoing inequalities in the provision of human and material resources across the system. Despite real constraints with regard to implementation, it is argued that the new Curriculum effects a significant break with the past and makes a positive contribution to transforming language education

Direct user guidance in e-dictionaries for text production and text reception — The verbal relative in Sepedi as a case study

This article introduces a prototype of a writing (and learning) assistant for verbal relative clauses of the African language Sepedi, accessible from within a dictionary or from a word processor. It is an example of how a user support tool for complicated grammatical structures in a scarcely resourced language can be compiled. We describe a dynamic light-weight tool aimed at combining user-knowledge with text production support, i.e., user-involved interactive text pro-duction of the complicated verbal relative in Sepedi. In this article, the focus is on access in a dic-tionary use situation. Although the tool is intended as a writing assistant to support users in text production; it also satisfies text reception and cognitive needs, but its focus is on solving text pro-duction issues related with the interaction between lexical items and complex grammatical structures in the African (Bantu) languages and for learning by users and/or training users in this interaction.Keywords:Writing Tools, User-Guidance, User Support, Text Production, E-Dictionaries, African Languages, Sepedi, Complex Grammatical Struc Tures, Relative Constructio

The viability of individual oral assessments for learners: Insights gained from two intervention evaluations

It is essential for learners to develop foundational literacy skills, ideally, in the first grade of formal education. These skills are then firmly entrenched and can be expanded in the following grades to form a basis for all future academic studies. Appropriate assessment practices and tools to aid this process can inform the achievement of quality education. Assessment and the curriculum are intertwined concepts in relation to teaching and learning. Through assessment, it can be established if all learners have attained curriculum content, knowledge and proficiencies in a given year. Furthermore, assessment can assist in advising teachers on which specific areas learners are struggling with as well as provide insight for remedial measures. Together, this can offer ways to improve education. In this article, individual oral assessment using the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) tool is discussed based on two recent impact evaluations of teacher interventions. Each intervention conceptualised its own theory of change to improve learner language and literacy development. The interventions also differed in relation to the target language; English as First Additional Language and Setswana as Home Language. Despite these differences, using the EGRA tool in both intervention evaluations allowed for a discussion on its usefulness in South Africa. This was done with regard to suitability, reliability and validity, assistance to educators, amendments and suggestions to overcoming challenges related to practicalities. In conclusion, recommendations for improving education and the development of literacy in South African schools are made

Amniotiese Bande by 'n Baba na Abdominale Swangerskap

A baby, delivered by Caesarean section after a 36-week extra-uterine pregnancy, with deformities due to amniotic bands, is described. The mechanism of amniotic band deformities and the paediatric risks of extra-uterine pregnancy are briefly discussed.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 1106 (1974