Academic research
LitNet Akademies is LitNet's accredited academic journal. An extended English abstract is published with every article.
The future of Taiwan: strategic realities and the nuclear option
2022-12-19"Ultimately, as Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen has conceded, Taiwan will do whatever it takes to ensure its survival. While the government in Taipei might prefer various paths, including dialogue and negotiation, to the nuclear one, the external environment hardly lends itself to such avenues today."
Various structures commemorating the Afrikaans language and one Afrikaans Language Museum
2022-12-14"This research highlights the fact that the Afrikaans Language Monument in Paarl is not the only commemorative structure for Afrikaans, but merely the best-known structure. One of the aims of article is to raise public awareness of the existence of several Afrikaans language memorial structures and the Afrikaans Language Museum."
Possibility and reality. Why is South Africa (still) unable to realise the dream of an inclusive society?
2022-12-14"Possibility becomes reality through action. It is already happening at grassroots level when fellow citizens reach across existing divides to create new bonds in respect for and the strengthening of the common humanity they all share."
Efficiency of collaborative experiential learning tasks during training of lecturers in distance higher education
2022-12-14"This mixed methods research aimed to investigate the efficiency of collaborative experiential learning tasks to understand how my practice could be improved."
What we (don’t) know about fok
2022-12-13"The purpose of this article is to give an exemplary summary of the existing linguistic descriptions and lexicographic treatments of the contemporary Afrikaans fok (“fuck”), and other related words, such as befok (fucking A), fokken (fucking), fokkol (fuck-all), and opfok (to fuck up), with a view to formulating a research agenda for Afrikaans swearword research."
Running Records as a reading assessment strategy to support reading instruction in South African Foundation Phase classrooms
2022-12-09"RR was found to provide reliable, valid and consistent information to use for reading instruction if implemented correctly and consistently."
Sociophonetic aspects of the Afrikaans of "coloured" South African speakers
2022-12-05"By and large, the results of this sociophonetic study clearly show that Bruinafrikaans is a relatively homogeneous entity, as well as a very stable variant, in which few differences are found regarding the sociolinguistic factors of geographic location, age and gender."
The distinguishing style features of the SMS Afrikaans of Generation X and the contribution of these features to the creation of social meaning
2022-11-29"The distinguishing features serve as linguistic resources through which the participants create social meaning, which manifests as establishing online social identities and maintaining social relationships."
A discussion of certain theistic mystical characteristics with reference to selected poems from Jerusalem tot Johannesburg by I.L. de Villiers
2022-11-24"The conclusion is reached that although no ecstatic mystical encounter is described, these poems deal with man’s intense awareness of God, his effort to comprehend the divine, and his realisation of the brokenness of this worldly existence."
The future of anti-corruption strategies in South Africa: the National Development Plan 2030
2022-11-24"The article concludes that only strengthening the current approach will not be enough to reach the objectives because from the start, South Africa did not effectively implement the multi-agency approach."
Afrikaans Home Language teachers’ self-directed preparation of youth literature
2022-11-23"The aim of this article is to provide practicable, practical and constructivist recommendations to Afrikaans Home Language teachers, which can empower them to prepare youth literature in a self-directed manner."
Resistance against a phallocentric world: a psychoanalytical interpretation of ’n Hart is so groot soos ’n vuis as a bildungsroman
2022-11-23"This article also confirms the value of P.P. Fourie’s novel within the Afrikaans literary system, as it confronts current issues concerning gender and violence against women and children, as well as the experience and processing of trauma, in an authentic, unsentimental way."
Mathematical support for isiXhosa-speaking learners in the foundation phase
2022-11-22"To better understand how to use teaching and learning strategies to improve isiXhosa-speaking learners’ understanding of mathematics in English Grade 1 classrooms, the focus of this article was to explore, describe, and understand Grade 1 teachers’ perceptions on this topic."
Masculinity, demonology and the health of the soul in John Chrysostom’s rhetoric on the bishop-martyr Babylas against the Roman emperors
2022-11-14"In his accounts of Babylas, Chrysostom uses three emperors to show how the new Christian standard of masculinity can also be applied to the highest authority in the empire. Where the emperor was often, in the past, the epitome of conventional Roman masculinity, the figure of the bishop or martyr replaces this position."
What do Afrikaners eat? An exploration of the ingredient recipe network in Afrikaans recipes
2022-10-31"It was found that there are an average of 10 ingredients per recipe, with salt, egg, oil, pepper, butter, water, sugar, cheese, milk and cream appearing in the largest number of recipes. The ingredients that appeared in most recipes belong to the spices category, followed by dairy, plant products, vegetables and meat. Nuts, alcoholic drinks and seafood occurred in the smallest number of recipes."
Martin Versfeld’s (1909–1995) interpretation and application of medieval philosophy at the University of Cape Town (1937–1972) – Part 1
2022-10-27"This two-part article explores South African philosopher Martin (Marthinus) Versfeld’s (1909–1995) interpretation (shown to belong within the discipline of the history of ideas) and application (indicated as modern-critical) of medieval philosophy during his uninterrupted career as a lecturer and professor of philosophy at the University of Cape Town (UCT) from 1937 to 1972."
Martin Versfeld’s (1909–1995) interpretation and application of medieval philosophy at the University of Cape Town (1937–1972) – Part 2
2022-10-27"By analysing his writings on medieval philosophy for the period 1937 to 1972 according to these criteria it is shown that although Versfeld’s work in several other philosophical disciplines could on justifiable grounds be considered profoundly original, this is not the case regarding his interpretation of the intellectual Middle Ages."
Persian poetry and politics in Iran: The thinking of Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei
2022-10-24"Poetry forms part of Iran’s soft power and wider identity complex in its neighbouring regions, which serves as a counter to Western cultural and political influence. Khamenei has expressly stated the wish that Persian as a language of wisdom and science, and Iran as a Shia nation, thus command a leadership role in the Islamic world."
The connection between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): A theoretical analysis from the political economy of trade and regional integration
2022-10-19"It is true that BRI infrastructure projects increase trade, attract more Chinese investment and alleviate poverty, but there are also drawbacks in that the cost of new infrastructure for certain projects exceeds the benefits – the high debt burden and non-completion of economic corridors being examples."
Windows and frames: The beginning and end of Marlise Joubert’s poetry volume grondwater ("ground water") as textual frame with a codifying and mythological function
2022-10-19"The most important symbols are present both in the frame and the 'inner text'. On the one hand, the symbols in the frame load the 'inner text' with meaning, but the symbols in the 'inner text' also expand the meaning of the 'frame' and thus form a cyclical structure."