Academic research

LitNet Akademies is LitNet's accredited academic journal. An extended English abstract is published with every article.

Entertainment or resistance? An investigation into the socio-cultural role and socio-political engagement reflected in the lyrics and accompanying visual material of "Dis ’n land" (1987), and later re-creations thereof

Mathilda Smit, Ronel Foster Academic research 2023-10-03

"In 2011 this song was independently reworked by Snotkop and Van Coke Kartel. These versions reflected the new South African reality – but in totally different ways."

Karel Schoeman, Virginia Woolf and the colours in the "Irish diaries": a comparative investigation

Mercia Coetzee Academic research 2023-10-02

"[F]or writers and emerging writers, the Irish diaries can still serve as a guide in the use of light, colour, and shade to paint scenes and atmosphere using words."

Vowel spaces of the varieties of Bruinafrikaans

Daan Wissing, Andreas Baumann, Wikus Pienaar Academic research 2023-10-01

"We analysed and interpreted speech recordings of the reading of a standardised word list by 346 speakers from ten recording areas in Southern Africa to achieve the stated objective. Of these areas, four are in the Western Cape, two in the Northern Cape, a few in the Eastern Cape, one each in the Free State and North West, as well as one in Namibia."

Cultural Historical Activity Theory: a lens to explore the teaching of botany to counteract plant blindness

Amelia Abrie Academic research 2023-09-27

"Plant blindness, the inability to acknowledge the importance or plants, or even to notice plants in one’s environment, is widespread among the public and also in classrooms."

Perceptions of the effectiveness of an academic writing assistant for Afrikaans-speaking Bachelor of Education students

Candice Livingston, Pieter Boer, Amanda Swart, Wilna du Plessis Academic research 2023-08-25

"In order to ensure that preservice teachers are able to write at the correct academic level, many different writing support programmes have been developed by universities all over the world."

The search for gas resources in South African territorial waters: an environmental law perspective

Carmen Franco, Willemien du Plessis Academic research 2023-08-25

"Government is therefore obliged to ensure that the environmental impacts of gas reconnaissance, exploration and production should be considered in a holistic and integrated manner in each phase of its lifecycle."

ChatGPT: Friend and foe in the geography subject didactics classroom? Implications for practice

Christina Johanna (Christa) van Staden Academic research 2023-08-23

"Almost immediately, reports showed that the chatbot’s answers were good enough to pass a variety of postgraduate examinations, with the result that lecturers were worried that the chatbot could have a negative impact on academic integrity."

The search for a middle course in the fight against wildlife crime: a look at existing regulatory measures and the integration of additional solutions

Inge Snyman Academic research 2023-08-23

"Although the true nature and extent of wildlife crime is unknown, various species fall victim to wildlife crime and some species are even pushed to the brink of extinction as a result of it."

Cross-linguistic and -cultural early communication intervention: the lived experiences of speech-language therapists

Mariëtte Botha, Berna Gerber Academic research 2023-08-22

"In a population-diverse country like South Africa the speech-language therapist (SLT) and the client do not always represent the same language and culture. Clients are therefore often served in their second or even third language. This brings about various challenges, but also rewards ..."

A smartphone application for Afrikaans pronunciation in a blended learning and teaching environment (part 3 of a three-part series)

Jaydey Sass, Elbie Adendorff Academic research 2023-08-22

"This article is the third of three that report on research that was undertaken by the first author for a doctoral study. The first article sets out the research methodology for the study. In the second one we provide the theoretical foundation for the design of a gamified application model for pronunciation aimed at foreign language speakers of Afrikaans. In this article we focus on the model on which the gamified pronunciation application can be developed."

An analysis towards differential urbanisation as a contributing determinant for spatial development frameworks

Owen Williamson, Jako Viviers, Selna Cornelius Academic research 2023-08-18

"The effect and extent of urbanisation are simultaneously diverse and substantial, captivating the imagination of planners worldwide, specifically in Africa (Dodman, Leck, Rusca and Colenbrander 2017:13)."

Theoretical foundation for the design of a pronunciation application model aimed at foreign language speakers of Afrikaans (part 2 of a three-part series)

Jaydey Sass, Elbie Adendorff Academic research 2023-08-11

"This article is the second of three which reports on research that was undertaken by the first author for a doctorate study. The first article sets out the research methodology for this study. In the third article we focus on the model on which the gamified pronunciation application can be developed. In this article we provide the theoretical foundation for the design of a gamified application model for pronunciation aimed at foreign language speakers of Afrikaans."

Behind the screen: Research methodology for the design of a pronunciation application model aimed at foreign language speakers of Afrikaans (part 1 of a three-part series)

Jaydey Sass, Elbie Adendorff Academic research 2023-08-11

"This article is the first of three which reports on research that was undertaken by the first author for a doctorate. It sets out the research methodology for this study. The second article provides a theoretical background of a gamified pronunciation application model for English-speaking students learning Afrikaans as a foreign language. In the third article we focus on the model on which development of the gamified pronunciation application can be based."

Living conditions of slaves in the Boland (Western Cape), 1816 to 1834: a reassessment of currently held perspectives based on a new Boland slave database

Hans Friedrich Heese Academic research 2023-08-04

"What follows is an attempt to examine closely the living conditions of slaves in the rural Boland district, taking as a point of departure the well-documented period of 1816 to 1834, and presenting a reassessment of traditionally held perspectives, based on a recently constructed Boland slave database by this author."

Pasverskyn: Deelfontein deur Nicole Jaekel Strauss

LitNet Boeke en skrywers 2023-08-01

In 1900 reis die Britse dokter Oliver Glenville na Deelfontein in die Karoo om by ’n Britse veldhospitaal vir offisiere aan te sluit. Daar beland beseerde Britse soldate én Boerekrygers op sy operasietafel. Klara Grootboom, ’n skoonmaker, rig ’n versoek aan hom wat teen sy beginsels indruis, maar dis asof sy hom in ’n vangnet van haar eie het. Meer as ’n honderd jaar later skep ’n opkomende Kaapse kunstenaar ’n uitstalling uit Deelfontein se gegewens en ontdek ’n onverwagse familieband.

History, nature and general revelation in the Christian-historical thought of Groen van Prinsterer

J.A. Schlebusch Academic research 2023-08-01

"At the heart of Groen’s Christian-historical philosophy therefore lies the belief that true wisdom, justice and morality are exclusively rooted in divine revelation, primarily in the Bible and secondarily in history interpreted in light of this revelation."

Kidney failure and an organ transplant in Met ’n ompad by Berna Ackerman – a legal-literature investigation

Melodie Labuschaigne, Magda Slabbert Academic research 2023-07-21

"The novel’s depiction of the complex and sensitive medical topic of organ transplants, a field in need of significant legal reform, will hopefully attract the attention of the legislator soon."

An investigation into the bionomics, morphology, distribution and control of the Still Bay midge (Leptoconops demeilloni [Diptera: Ceratopogonidae])

Gideon J. Begemann Academic research 2023-07-12

"Leptoconops demeilloni, also known as the Still Bay midge, is a notorious bloodsucking pest in the Fynbos biome. The pest is considered to be of economic importance especially to the tourism industry in the coastal town of Still Bay."

The need for the cultured person in a time of performance servitude

Hercules Boshoff Academic research 2023-07-07

"The result of the speed required to keep up with this feedback and oversaturation of our drives is exhaustion and burnout, the psychological by-product of our times."

Foucault, the “professional historians” and the Middle Ages: Augustine in Histoire de la sexualité 4 (Les aveux de la chair) as case study

Johann Beukes Academic research 2023-06-26

"[A]lthough Foucault’s references to the Middle Ages in this work again played a crucial analogical and indeed rhetorical role in his critique of modernity, he also expanded the existing body of knowledge on the early Middle Ages, and hence contributed to medieval studies as such."

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