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The pursuit of excellence in preparing student teachers for the teaching profession is a never-ending endeavour. This study aimed at investigating the value of teaching practice as perceived by the participants, how they determined such value using human judgement and whether value judgement can be used as a form of reflection during teaching practice by PGCE students. Human judgement can be used as a tool to promote reflection and an evaluation strategy which promotes a culture of observation and critical thinking about one's practice. The qualitative study involved 25 participants, all of whom were Postgraduate Certificate in Education students and had completed the practical teaching period. In this study we applied Kant's theory to analyse the data gathered by means of narratives. The results, which were based on self-reported values on teaching practice, revealed that the participants viewed teaching practice as valuable and pointed out that it benefitted them and others by enabling them to gain valuable experience in the classroom and in general school management. The participants based their judgement on three components of value judgement, both negative and positive: emotions, attitudes and experiences.

Extensive research has been done on the implementation of cooperative learning (CL) in a face-to-face classroom. However, only a few studies could be found on the implementation of CL in a blended learning environment. The implementation of CL in such an environment is a challenging goal for facilitators. It requires a commitment to change and the willingness to take risks, it takes time and requires planning. This article reports on research done to develop a holistic blended learning (BL) design model. The development of the model was based on a synthesis of a number of pedagogical models, which focus specifically on the integration of technology. The model was then used as a tool to design a module with the integration of CL in a BL environment. It was evident from the findings of the qualitative data that the students' intrinsic motivation (IM) improved after implementing the CL--BL module design.

Background: An outbreak of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacter cloacae infections in a neonatal ward within a tertiary hospital in South Africa resulted in the mortality of 10 patients within six months. In this work, the genomic epidemiology of and the molecular factors mediating this outbreak were investigated. Methods: Bacterial cultures obtained from clinical samples collected from the infected neonates underwent phenotypic and molecular analyses to determine their species, sensitivity to antibiotics, production of carbapenemases, complete resistance genes profile, clonality, epidemiology, and evolutionary relationships. Mobile genetic elements flanking the resistance genes and facilitating their spread were also characterized. Results: The outbreak was centered in two major wards and affected mainly neonates between September 2019 and March 2020. Most isolates (n = 27 isolates) were K. pneumoniae while both E. coli and E. cloacae had three isolates each. Notably, 33/34 isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR), with 30 being resistant to at least four drug classes. All the isolates were carbapenemase-positive, but four blaOXA-48 isolates were susceptible to carbapenems. BlaNDM-1 (n = 13) and blaOXA-48/181 (n = 15) were respectively found on IS91 and IS6-like IS26 composite transposons in the isolates alongside several other resistance genes. The repertoire of resistance and virulence genes, insertion sequences, and plasmid replicon types in the strains explains their virulence, resistance, and quick dissemination among the neonates. Conclusions: The outbreak of fatal MDR infections in the neonatal wards were mediated by clonal (vertical) and horizontal (plasmid-mediated) spread of resistant and virulent strains (and genes) that have been also circulating locally and globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with subclinical tuberculosis (TB) have microbiological evidence of disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but either do not have or do not report TB symptoms. The relationship between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and subclinical TB is not yet well understood. We estimated the prevalence of subclinical pulmonary TB in household contacts of index TB patients in two South African provinces, and how this differed by HIV status. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of baseline data from the intervention arm of a household cluster randomised trial. Prevalence of subclinical TB was measured as the number of household contacts aged ≥ 5 years who had positive sputum TB microscopy, culture or nucleic acid amplification test (Xpert MTB/Rif or Xpert Ultra) results on a single sputum specimen and who did not report current cough, fever, weight loss or night sweats on direct questioning. Regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between HIV status and subclinical TB; adjusting for province, sex and age in household contacts; and HIV status in index patients. Results: Amongst household contacts, microbiologically confirmed prevalent subclinical TB was over twice as common as symptomatic TB disease (48/2077, 2.3%, 95% CI 1.7–3.1% compared to 20/2077, 1.0%, 95% CI 0.6–1.5%). Subclinical TB prevalence was higher in people living with HIV (15/377, 4.0%, 95% CI 2.2–6.5%) compared to those who were HIV-negative (33/1696, 1.9%, 95% CI 1.3–2.7%; p = 0.018). In regression analysis, living with HIV (377/2077, 18.2%) was associated with a two-fold increase in prevalent subclinical TB with 95% confidence intervals consistent with no association through to a four-fold increase (adjusted OR 2.00, 95% CI 0.99–4.01, p = 0.052). Living with HIV was associated with a five-fold increase in prevalent symptomatic TB (adjusted OR 5.05, 95% CI 2.22–11.59, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Most (70.6%) pulmonary TB diagnosed in household contacts in this setting was subclinical. Living with HIV was likely associated with prevalent subclinical TB and was associated with prevalent symptomatic TB. Universal sputum testing with sensitive assays improves early TB diagnosis in subclinical household contacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media has become a central arena for debates around feminism and gender in South Africa. One recent example can be found in the hashtag #MenAreTrash, which has been a trending topic multiple times on South African Twitter. However, despite the prevalence of gender-based violence in the country, these conversations have also come under strong criticism, especially from men. Existing literature on social media expressions of misogyny and anti-feminism has primarily focused on North American and European case studies. This article expands existing literature by analyzing men's reactions to the #MenAreTrash hashtag and highlighting the role and backlash against feminism in South Africa. Based on a thematic analysis of 600 tweets, this article explores the discursive strategies employed by South African cisgender men on Twitter in response to the #MenAreTrash hashtag. Beyond some marginal yet relevant examples of reflexibility and allyship, the overwhelmingly negative response from men online, as found by the study, reflected a lack of self-reflection about their masculinity. The article provides additional insights into the role of digital feminist activism in shaping networked masculinities in the South African context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, research has become a key driver for the achievement of status and the procurement of funding for higher education institutions. Although there is mounting pressure on institutions to become research active, many institutions are rooted in a strong tradition of teaching. These institutions find it challenging to develop research capacity and produce research outputs. This study investigates the differences in research management practices between a research active and a research non-active institution. A framework that places higher education institutions in two research development phases, namely instilling and broadening, as well as a postulated third phase, termed honing, is developed. The framework provides an indication of the types of management philosophies and research cultures that are evident for each phase. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

A qualitative study was undertaken to explore the perceptions of youth regarding their wilderness rites of passage experience and its value for their lives. The researchers operated in an interpretive / constructivist paradigm and employed a qualitative research methodology. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, and individual interviews, documents, records, observations and reflections were used to collect data. Data were analysed by means of content analysis. We argue that participation in a wilderness rites of passage programme can contribute to the personal growth and development of youth at risk of experiencing or manifesting emotional or behavioural difficulties in schools. The research findings indicate that wilderness rites of passage programmes can contribute significantly towards school support for young people. The findings also highlight the fact that young people in the South African context are in need of caring school communities and adult mentorship. Young people are in need of support, discipline and guidance, as well as experiences of trust, love and care. School environments should change from being places of disappointment to being places of safety and growth. Such a culture of care could possibly curb the anger, resentment and distrust of the youth and support learners who are experiencing or manifesting emotional or behavioural difficulties in schools.

The role of digitally mediated networked publics in the coproduction and negotiation of contemporary masculinities has not been widely researched in an African context. This paper explores networked masculinities on South African Black Twitter via the hashtag #MensConference, a fictional conference organized by men as a humorous rejection of Valentine's Day. Drawing on a critical thematic analysis of a selection of tweets through the lens of critical masculinity studies, we uncover a wide range of masculinity discourses under the hashtag, across the traditional-liberal spectrum. While expressions of sexism and misogyny were widespread throughout the sample, men also upheld alternative and progressive models of manhood. The affordances of social media provided men with a space to express themselves, but also to police and contest notions of masculinity through in-group dynamics that worked to reinforce patriarchal hegemony. However, the interactions between black South African men on Twitter were defined by their specific social, economic and cultural context. The analysis demonstrates the critical role of social media, and Black Twitter in particular, as a key vehicle for both the reproduction and contestation of hegemonic masculinities in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, tabloid newspapers are routinely surrounded by a moral and cultural panic. They are criticised for lowering standards of journalism and privileging sensation above substance, diverting readers from serious news to entertainment, or foregoing ethical principles. However, scholarship about tabloids have also highlighted the ways in which these papers are frequently better attuned to their readers' everyday lived experience. In South Africa, tabloid newspapers have also received much criticism in the past for their perceived superficial treatment of important news. This article examines South African tabloid newspapers' coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, focussing specifically on a case study of the national newspaper the Daily Sun. The national Daily Sun newspaper boasts the country's largest circulation figures. Through a quantitative content analysis of 1050 online news stories in the Daily Sun, we found that unlike mainstream front-page news reporting which was largely episodic, negative and alarmist, the majority of Daily Sun coverage was thematic and neutral. Daily Sun news coverage countered Covid-19 related misinformation and provided contextual coverage, with a large focus on the social impacts of Covid-19. The analysis concludes that despite the popular discourse of the reporting, Daily Sun reporting on Covid-19 provided readers with access to information and a focus on the micro aspects of the pandemic versus broader political issues and the views of political or scientific elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite a high paediatric tuberculosis (TB) burden globally, sensitive and specific diagnostic tools are lacking. In addition, no data exist on the impact of pulmonary TB on long-term child lung health in low- and middle-income countries. The prospective observational UMOYA study aims (1) to build a state-of-the-art clinical, radiological, and biological repository of well-characterised children with presumptive pulmonary TB as a platform for future studies to explore new emerging diagnostic tools and biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment response; and (2) to investigate the short and long-term impact of pulmonary TB on lung health and quality of life in children. Methods: We will recruit up to 600 children (0–13 years) with presumptive pulmonary TB and 100 healthy controls. Recruitment started in November 2017 and is expected to continue until May 2023. Sputum and non-sputum-based samples are collected at enrolment and during follow-up in TB cases and symptomatic controls. TB treatment is started by routine care services. Intensive follow-up for 6 months will allow for TB cases to retrospectively be classified according to international consensus clinical case definitions for TB. Long-term follow-up, including imaging, comprehensive assessment of lung function and quality of life questionnaires, are done yearly up to 4 years after recruitment. Discussion: The UMOYA study will provide a unique platform to evaluate new emerging diagnostic tools and biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment response and to investigate long-term outcomes of pulmonary TB and other respiratory events on lung health in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wonderfonteinspruit, South Africa, is highly impacted by a century of gold mining activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the physico-chemical properties of the Wonderfonteinspruit and the receiving Mooi River system, the levels of antimicrobial (metals and antibiotics) resistance characteristics and heterotrophic bacteria levels in these water systems. Various physico-chemical parameters were determined. R2A agar and R2A agar supplemented with antimicrobials were used to enumerate heterotrophic bacteria. Morphologically distinct antimicrobial-resistant isolates were purified and screened for antibiotic susceptibility by a disc diffusion method. Selected isolates were identified, and minimum inhibitory concentration ranges determined. Among the antimicrobial resistant isolates, 87% were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Of these, almost 50% were resistant to more than 3 antibiotic classes. A large proportion was resistant to all 7 antibiotics tested. Phyla detected were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteriodetes. High MIC levels for metals and antibiotics were detected among all the genera. Results demonstrate potential impacts of physico-chemical properties on levels of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Metal-resistant bacteria were also resistant to multiple antibiotics, suggesting that metal pollution from mining may be responsible for co-selection and maintenance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in this aquatic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In high-risk individuals in Johannesburg, during the Delta coronavirus disease 2019 wave, 22% (125/561) were positive, with 33% symptomatic (2 hospitalizations; 1 death). During Omicron, 56% (232/411) were infected, with 24% symptomatic (no hospitalizations or deaths). The remarkable speed of infection of Omicron over Delta poses challenges to conventional severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Household contact tracing for tuberculosis (TB) may facilitate diagnosis and access to TB preventive treatment (TPT). We investigated whether household contact tracing and intensive TB/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening would improve TB-free survival. Methods Household contacts of index TB patients in 2 South African provinces were randomized to home tracing and intensive HIV/TB screening or standard of care (SOC; clinic referral letters). The primary outcome was incident TB or death at 15 months. Secondary outcomes included tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity in children ≤14 years and undiagnosed HIV. Results From December 2016 through March 2019, 1032 index patients (4459 contacts) and 1030 (4129 contacts) were randomized to the intervention and SOC arms. Of intervention arm contacts, 3.2% (69 of 2166) had prevalent microbiologically confirmed TB. At 15 months, the cumulative incidence of TB or death did not differ between the intensive screening (93 of 3230, 2.9%) and SOC (80 of 2600, 3.1%) arms (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI],.66–1.24). TST positivity was higher in the intensive screening arm (38 of 845, 4.5%) compared with the SOC arm (15 of 800, 1.9%; odds ratio, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.07–4.72). Undiagnosed HIV was similar between arms (41 of 3185, 1.3% vs 32 of 2543, 1.3%; odds ratio, 1.02; 95% CI,.64–1.64). Conclusions Household contact tracing with intensive screening and referral did not reduce incident TB or death. Providing referral letters to household contacts of index patients is an alternative strategy to home visits. Clinical Trials Registration ISRCTN16006202. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's rivers are frequently used by communities lacking proper sanitation infrastructure for domestic purposes; however, these surface waters may pose a health risk to immunocompromised individuals due to the presence of opportunistic pathogenic fungi in the polluted water. Although only a few studies have focused on the presence of clinically relevant fungal species in South African rivers, many known opportunistic pathogenic species were found to be predominant in these waters. Furthermore, strong evidence exists that increased numbers of clinically relevant species may be observed in future due to fungi acquiring thermotolerance in response to the global increase in temperature. Thermotolerance is a major factor contributing to pathogenesis in fungi, due to the generally low tolerance of most fungi toward mammalian body temperatures. It is therefore contended that combinatorial effects of water pollution and rising environmental temperatures could lead to an increase in the incidence of mycoses in South Africa. This is especially concerning since a relatively large population of immunocompromised individuals, represented mostly by HIV-infected people, resides in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the conflict management styles (CMSs) adopted by managers in an FET college in South Africa and the extent to which they were implemented. It contributes to the body of literature regarding the importance of advancement of conflict management skills to reduce the major barriers affecting the delivery of skills development in FET colleges. The research design and methodology were quantitative in nature, using a stratified sampling method yielding two strata of data: lecturers (junior and senior); and managers (heads of departments and managers at selected colleges). A structured questionnaire, with closed-ended questions, was administered to elicit information from 300 participants. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics. The empirical findings revealed poor communication about conflict, a strong preference and over reliance on two CMSs which seemed to have resulted from lack of conflict management skills. In addition, the procedures and processes used in the two CMSs were perceived ineffective. The results also suggest that the efforts of the management in resolving conflict were thwarted by lack of communication. This study intensifies the discourse on conflict management in FET Colleges in South Africa which still grapple with inadequacy in providing quality and efficient service. The conclusion for this study is that there is a need to augment our understanding of CMSs and processes that influence how managers move from efforts to eliminate conflict. The role requirements of a manager require the use of different conflict management styles in order to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the soil bacterial diversity in the Portulacaria afra-dominated succulent thicket vegetation of the Albany Subtropical Thicket biome; this biome is endemic to South Africa. The aim of the study was to compare the soil microbiomes between intact and degraded zones in the succulent thicket and identify environmental factors which could explain the community compositions. Bacterial diversity, using 16S amplicon sequencing, and soil physicochemistry were compared across three zones: intact (undisturbed and vegetated), degraded (near complete removal of vegetation due to browsing) and restored (a previously degraded area which was replanted approximately 11 years before sampling). Amplicon Sequence Variant (ASV) richness was similar across the three zones, however, the bacterial community composition and soil physicochemistry differed across the intact and degraded zones. We identified, via correlation, the potential drivers of microbial community composition as soil density, pH and the ratio of Ca to Mg. The restored zone was intermediate between the intact and degraded zones. The differences in the microbial communities appeared to be driven by the presence of plants, with plant-associated taxa more common in the intact zone. The dominant taxa in the degraded zone were cosmopolitan organisms, that have been reported globally in a wide variety of habitats. This study provides baseline information on the changes of the soil bacterial community of a spatially restricted and threatened biome. It also provides a starting point for further studies on community composition and function concerning the restoration of degraded succulent thicket ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has led to unprecedented media coverage globally and in South Africa where, at the time of writing, over 20,000 people had died from the virus. This article explores how mainstream print media covered the COVID-19 pandemic during this time of crisis. The news media play a key role in keeping the public informed during such health crises and potentially shape citizens' perceptions of the pandemic. Drawing on a content analysis of 681 front-page news stories across eleven English-language publications, we found that nearly half of the stories used an alarmist narrative, more than half of the stories had a negative tone, and most publications reported in an episodic rather than thematic manner. Most of the stories focused on impacts of the pandemic and included high levels of sensationalism. In addition, despite the alarmist and negative nature of the reporting, most of the front-page reports did not provide information about ways to limit the spread of the virus or attempt to counter misinformation about the pandemic, raising key issues about the roles and responsibilities of the South African media during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study shows that South African newspaper coverage of COVID-19 was largely negative, possibly to attract audience attention and increase market share, but that this alarmist coverage left little possibility for citizens' individual agency and self-efficacy in navigating the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focused on personal narratives of four school principals from different school contexts, how they experienced the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) crisis and how that experience influenced their leadership. The main question that guided the research, was how these principals made sense of their leadership during the COVID-19 crisis in their different South African contexts. International and national research confirm that policy implementtation during crisis situations is sometimes compounded by complexities and contradictions such as inappropriate policies, poor leadership and corruption, among other things. The research used a narrative inquiry, in which participants told their stories, to take a fresh look at existing ideas, which in this case is leadership in crisis situations. The research data was analysed within the broad framework of participants' lived experiences, expressed in their different contexts. The reresearch findings confirmed that principals - as departmental officials - must be policy implementers or 'conveyor belts' for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) - though under different contexts of uncertainty, fear and disillusionment during the COVID-19 crisis. This brought many challenges where principals needed to decide whether they should follow their personal feelings and experiences as the school's principal, or blindly obey the departmental creeds. The significance of these research findings is that a context-based, collaborative and inclusive leadership approach during a crisis - together with availability to modern channels of communication - could be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, isiZulu is a dominant language, yet it is not used as the language of teaching and learning in schools. The linguistic rights of isiZulu-speaking learners continue to be violated as long as schools force them to be assessed in English only. The pedagogical practice based on a monolingual language policy is believed to be a hindrance to good classroom practice and does not promote the ideals of a multilingual and multicultural society as advocated by the Constitution of South Africa. The analysis of written responses provided in open-ended questionnaires indicates that pedagogical translanguaging could ease the academic woes of isiZulu- speaking learners in KwaZulu-Natal. The model advocated is not monoglot bilingual or multilingual education where isiZulu and English are used as separate and independent languages of teaching and learning. Instead, a model is proposed which aims at expanding the existing language repertoires of learners in a form of multilingual pedagogical translanguaging, which is the theory framing the argument raised in this investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Twitter use by audiences of the popular South African television show, Our Perfect Wedding. We argue that the show's Twitter feed provides an extension of South Africa's 'Black Twitter' facilitating a space for recognition and group identity for Black South African television viewers. Such a space is significant since Black audiences have been neglected in the short history of South African television broadcasting. On Our Perfect Wedding, broadcast on a satellite television service DStv to paying subscribers, questions of class and race are salient for an audience group prized as an emerging market of Black middle-class viewers. Through qualitative analysis of a sample of tweets featuring the hashtag, #OPWMzansi (Our Perfect Wedding South Africa), we demonstrate how Twitter is used for the performance and negotiation of class and race for the audience. The comedy of the show's Twitter commentary is largely dependent upon judgements around class, taste and language. While the Twitter feed features creative user contributions, the #OPWMzansi network reveals that much of the communication is prompted and networked back to the official programme Twitter site, demonstrating the centrality of the traditional television broadcaster to Twitter interactions with the text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the extent to which South African households have deleveraged, since the global financial crisis of 2007/2008. We extend the official South African Reserve Bank business cycle methodology to date financial cycles, from which we identify the peaks and troughs of the South African financial cycle going back to 1966. Our composite financial cycle index peaks in April 1974, January 1984 and May 2007; it has bottomed out in July 1979 and February 1999. Thus, we still await the trough. We further compare and contrast the deleveraging process in the current downward phase to the experiences from previous financial cycles. We find that the average period of the financial cycle in South Africa is much longer (approximately 17.3 years) than that of the business cycle (approximately 5.8 years), and that deleveraging has not yet matched the degree of deleveraging seen in previous downward phases. Our results suggest that further deleveraging is necessary, before we can expect to turn the financial corner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Household contacts of patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) often have latent TB infection, and are at risk of progression to disease. We set out to investigate whether index TB case HIV status was linked to a higher probability of latent TB infection among household contacts. Materials and methods: Data were collected prospectively from participants in the intervention arm of a household cluster-randomised trial in two South Africa provinces (Mangaung, Free State, and Capricorn, Limpopo). In intervention group households, TB contacts underwent HIV testing and tuberculin skin testing (TST). TST induration was estimated at two cut-offs (≥5mm, ≥10mm). Multilevel Bayesian regression models estimated posterior distributions of the percentage of household contacts with TST induration ≥5mm and ≥10mm by age group, and compared the odds of latent TB infection by key risk factors including HIV status index case age and study province. Results: A total of 2,985 household contacts of 924 index cases were assessed, with most 2,725 (91.3%) undergoing TST. HIV prevalence in household contacts was 14% and 10% in Mangaung and Capricorn respectively. Overall, 16.8% (458/2,725) had TST induration of ≥5mm and 13.1% (359/2,725) ≥10mm. In Mangaung, children aged 0–4 years had a high TST positivity prevalence compared to their peers in Capricorn (22.0% vs. 7.6%, and 20.5% vs. 2.3%, using TST thresholds of ≥5mm and ≥10mm respectively). Compared to contacts from Capricorn, household contacts living in Mangaung were more likely to have TST induration ≥5mm (odds ratio [OR]: 3.08, 95% credibility interval [CI]: 2.13–4.58) and ≥10mm (OR: 4.52, 95% CI: 3.03–6.97). There was a 90% and 92% posterior probability that the odds of TST induration ≥5mm (OR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.56–1.14) and ≥10mm (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.53–1.10) respectively were lower in household contacts of HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative index cases. Conclusions: High TST induration positivity, especially among young children and people living in Mangaung indicates considerable TB transmission despite high antiretroviral therapy coverage. Household contact of HIV-positive index TB cases were less likely to have evidence of latent TB infection than contacts of HIV-negative index cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following evidence of HIV RNA re-suppression on DTG-based regimens, we assess the re-suppressive capacity of ADVANCE participants on TAF/FTC+DTG, TDF/FTC+DTG, and TDF/FTC/EFV. Viraemic participants were able to re-suppress within 3 follow-up visits of protocol-defined virological failure (PDVF) in 77/121 (64%), 85/126 (67%), and 44/138 (32%) cases respectively (DTG regimens vs. TDF/FTC/EFV; P < 0.001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of apartheid, there has been a steady rise in community protests in South Africa. Many of these protests - often cumulatively grouped under the rubric of 'service delivery protests' are not only about the delivery of basic services, but equally about the closing down of democratic/institutional space and process when communities try to raise issues related to services and corruption. If protests are a way for the poor and the marginal to let their voices be heard, these protests should be seen as a form of communication from below with the aim of attaining greater social transformation and inclusion for those sections of society who still feel excluded from the democratic public sphere more than two decades after the arrival of formal democracy in South Africa. The coverage of these protests that the mainstream media provides, the way they are framed and the discourses constructed around them, can be considered communication from above. This paper investigates both these perspectives - from above and below - on community protests, through a three-fold methodology: a quantitative content analysis of print media coverage of community protests; qualitative in-depth interviews with journalists; and qualitative interviews with activists who were involved in the protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years South Africa has seen an increase in ‘service delivery protests’ – protests related to the inadequate provision of services – as a result of growing citizen frustration resulting from high levels of economic inequality. Unemployment, housing, water and sanitation, electricity, corruption and municipal administration, health and crime, have all been listed as reasons for the protests, often described a ‘rebellion of the poor’. Given the frustration expressed by citizens using protest as a form of communication, the question arises whether the media covered these protests in a way to contribute to democratic participation, and how they were framed in relation to the young democracy in the country. Through a combination of quantitative content and qualitative framing analysis, this article explores mainstream print newspaper coverage of the protests, which we term ‘community protests’, to include the range of different types of protest and to signal that these protests are a bottom-up engagement by citizens to demand to be listened to. Mainstream mass media often subscribe to the protest paradigm, which includes delegitimisation and demonisation, highlighting the negative consequences of protests. Given the significance of the media as sources of collective knowledge and people’s perceptions of reality, this article explores how a sample of mainstream South African newspapers portray the conflict parties, and what kind of interpretations and value judgments are offered to frame the conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is a key income generator and plays an important role in the financial sustainability of South African National Parks (SANParks), with accommodation currently being the greatest source of income. SANParks are presently operating at a 70-80% occupancy level, leaving little room for improvement or for generating more income from accommodation. Current estimations are that by 2022 operational costs will exceed tourism profits due to the unremitting increases in conservation expenses and management costs. A feasible solution to this problem was identified in the development of new adventure activities. This paper identifies the influence of tourists' socio-demographic and behavioural profile on adventure preferences in national parks in South Africa. An electronic survey was applied where the link to the questionnaire was posted on SANParks' website. Statistically significant differences were found for socio-demographic (for example age, gender, language) aspects that affect tourists' preferences for adventure activities. Behavioural aspects regarding these preferences were whether they are Wild Card holders, whether they participate in adventure and their view on whether there are sufficient adventure activities in parks. This study contributes to the development of new adventure activities for SANParks based on tourists' socio-demographics and behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on an investigation into the events surrounding the State of the Nation Address in 2015 (SONA2015), during which opposition party members interrupted proceedings to raise questions about the controversial R208-million security upgrade to South African President Jacob Zuma's personal homestead, Nkandla, in KwaZulu-Natal, using public funds. The event raised issues about the constitutionality of the use of police in the National Assembly; the use of cell phone blocking devices; and the fact that television broadcasters were not allowed to broadcast the events as they happened. The investigation drew on a quantitative content analysis of print media coverage of SONA2015, as well as qualitative interviews with members of the Right2Know (R2 K) campaign in Cape Town and Durban. It explored their activities to “take back Parliament” and calling for a “people's Parliament”. At the core of the investigation was the role of civil society in the media-politics nexus with regard to strengthening democracy and democratic participation in South Africa, through an exploration of the case study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

News media have often been criticised for framing social protests in negative ways, particular through photojournalism. While news photographs can shape the public's understanding of social and political events, research has shown that journalists often portray dramatic, violent or sensationalist images. This paper shifts the focus from mainstream news media, to explore how citizens themselves visually frame protests. The paper provides results from a qualitative analysis of the images shared by Twitter users during the national Fees Must Fall (FMF) student protests in South Africa, which began in October 2015. The paper analyses the representational strategies of the protest images tweeted, questioning how these visual images produce accounts of the social world, and further, how those accounts are constructed as “truthful” via their circulation in social media. Moreover, this analysis of the images circulated on Twitter and labelled using the hashtag Fees Must Fall (#FMF), explores the role played by images in strategic online communication within the campaign. An examination of this specific case contributes toward an understanding of social protest in an African context, particularly with respect to how new technologies and social media are increasingly being used as tools for political mobilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the South African student-led campaign known as Rhodes Must Fall, commonly referred to simply as #RMF, to explore youth activism and counter-memory via social networking site Twitter. The RMF campaign took place at the University of Cape Town and comprised student-led protests, which campaigned to remove the statue of British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes, as activists argued that it promoted institutionalized racism and promoted a culture of exclusion particularly for black students. Through a qualitative content analysis of tweets and a network analysis using NodeXL, this article argues that despite the digital divide in South Africa, and limited access to the internet by the majority of citizens, Twitter was central to youth participation during the RMF campaign, reflecting the politics and practices of counter-memory but also setting mainstream news agendas and shaping the public debate. The article further argues that the #RMF campaign can be seen a collective project of resistance to normative memory production. The analysis demonstrates how social media discussions should not be viewed as detached from more traditional media platforms, particularly, as in this case, they can set mainstream news agendas. Moreover, the article argues that youth are increasingly using social networking sites to develop a new biography of citizenship which is characterized by more individualized forms of activism. In the present case, Twitter affords youth an opportunity to participate in political discussions, as well as discussions of broader socio-political issues of relevance in contemporary South African society, reflecting a form of subactivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often assumed that a robust, free and independent media will contribute to the deepening of democracy by keeping governments accountable and broadening citizen participation in deliberative democratic debates. But in new democracies such as South Africa, the deepening and broadening of democratic participation is often curtailed by challenges such as unequal access to the media, the orientation of mainstream media towards elite audiences and renewed attempts by sources of power to control the free flow of information. Despite the promise of a peaceful, equitable and democratic society after the end of apartheid, conflicts continue to erupt due to continued social polarisation, vast socio-economic inequalities and new struggles for power. In South Africa these conflicts include social protests on a daily basis, repeated outbreaks of xenophobic violence and disruptions to the parliamentary process. This paper probes the role of the media in these conflicts from the perspective of journalists who have reported on these issues. The paper explores ways in which journalists critically reflect on their abilities to perform the roles expected of them within a normative framework informed by the Habermasian ideal of deliberative democracy. The reasons they offer for not fulfilling these roles, and the conditions underpinning these failures, lead them to question the ability of the South African media to contribute to an emerging democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the agreement between measured height, and height predicted from ulna length using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) equations, in adult patients admitted to government hospitals in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional survey. Setting: Medical, surgical, pulmonary, orthopaedic, cardiovascular and general wards at Pelonomi, Universitas and National Hospitals in Bloemfontein. Subjects: All patients between 19 and 60 years, admitted during a two-week period in March 2015, who gave written informed consent, and were able to stand upright and unassisted, were included. Outcome measures: Standing height (via stadiometer; referred to as reference height), weight and ulna length were measured. Predicted height and body mass index (BMI) were calculated from ulna length using MUST equations, and compared with reference height and BMI by 95% confidence intervals (CI) and Bland–Altman analysis. Results: The sample comprisedn= 200 participants (48% female; median age: 42 years: 32–51 years). The median height estimated from ulna length (170.2 cm; range: 154.2–213.0 cm) was statistically significantly (95% CI [7.1; 7.7]) longer than the median reference height (163.9 cm; range: 145.1–188.4 cm). The Bland–Altman analysis indicated that the 95% limits of agreement between the two methods ranged from –19.8 to 5.7 cm. Median BMI based on estimated height (20.1 kg/m2) was significantly (95% CI [–1.9; –1.6]) lower than median BMI calculated from reference height (21.8 kg/m2). Conclusion: Height predicted from ulna length with the MUST equations overestimated height in this population. This may be related to high prevalence of stunting in the South African population. The discrepancy may have clinical implications particularly for critically ill patients. Strong message: Estimations of height based on upper body long-bone measurements may not be reliable in populations with a high prevalence of stunting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Academic research reveals a quantitative and qualitative underrepresentation of women in news production and content. This article presents findings of a qualitative study, exploring the experiences of women journalists in Cape Town, South Africa. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews, the research found that most journalists did not feel that their gender impacted daily newsroom routines, with many seeing their predominant coverage of 'soft' news items as a personal preference and not a structural constraint, even though they sometimes felt restricted by the dominance of normative news values. Concerns over personal safety were foregrounded, and some respondents highlighted the use of sexuality by women journalists to gain leverage with editors or sources. While the experiences of women journalists cannot be generalized, particularly since this study provides findings from a limited regional sample, it creates room for further studies in this area at national level and in other developing nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with residents at an old-aged home in Cape Town, South Africa, this study examines the main uses and gratifications elderly people get from computers. While the research focus in Africa has been on the health of elderly people, particularly with respect to HIV/AIDS, there is little research into their adoption of new technologies, as the re - search focus with respect to that topic has been primarily on youth. This study found that the participants use email and social media to maintain contact with family and friends outside of, and sometimes even within the neighborhood. Furthermore, keeping in contact involved not only communication, but also observation of activities -- like news, photographs and discussions. Using a uses and gratifications framework, this study found that participants felt connected with society both through their communication with and observation of people, and through keeping themselves informed about news and current interest topics. By using the Internet the elderly people communicated with more people than they had before. Some of the participants felt less isolated and lonely because of their computer use. Nevertheless, use of computers did not weaken their interpersonal contact outside of computer use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study draws on in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews to explore the relationships between black female domestic workers and their white, female employers in Cape Town's wealthy Southern suburbs through the lens of culture, class, race and gender. The majority of domestic workers in South Africa are black women and formalizing work conditions has been difficult because they work in private households. Despite the birth of democracy with the country's first non-racial elections in 1994, South Africa remains one of the world's most unequal societies. The study is particularly concerned with the personal nature of the relationship between the so-called 'maids' and 'madams,' which is explored via a convenience sample of pairs of employers and employees who were interviewed. The article concludes that there are three categories of relationship: distant, maternal and friendship. These relationship categories are examined in terms of the aesthetic features of the relationship such as dress; the diction employed in verbal interactions, such as how parties address one another; and redress, which involves the manner in which employers attempt to deal with apartheid-wrongs. The article also explores issues related to perceived cultural differences. The study revealed a wide variety in the types of relationships between 'maids' and 'madams', informed in varying degrees by issues of class race and culture, unique to the South African context. While employers were very conscious of their power and status as 'madams', and in some cases consciously sought ways to compensate for the unequal power relationship, the study reveals that domestic work by black women in white households continues to reinforce social constructions of the household as a feminized and racialised space, while distinct power asymmetries reflect ongoing issues of race, class and gender in contemporary South Africa. This kind of racialised domestic labour arrangement thus represents in some ways the last 'bastion' of apartheid, with the construction of difference shaped by racial prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to focus on the misunderstandings that hamper the graduate identity development process of black South African graduates in the first year of work. The authors introduce the role of an independent mediator in supporting identity development in a graduate development programme (GDP). The independent mediator mediates between graduate and manager when misunderstandings occur that inhibit the warranting process during professional identity development. Design/methodology/approach - In seeking to understand the graduate transition from student to professional, the authors used identity studies as the foundation from which to track a group of 21 graduates on a year-long GDP, in a financial institution in Johannesburg, South Africa. A model of emergent graduate identity was utilised to gain insight into the warranting process and associated behaviours that graduates employ in their interactions with others in the workplace. Findings - As warranting is based on people's own assumptions and beliefs about a particular situation or role, misunderstandings can occur during the warranting process when graduates are determining their professional identity, and managers are either affirming of disaffirming this identity. These misunderstandings were exacerbated by the fact that the graduates were often South African multi-cultural, first-generation professionals who lacked insight into and experience of corporate dynamics, this impacted on how they found their place in the organisation. Both graduates and managers were often not equipped to deal with cultural, racial, and other differences. When the graduate programme manager stepped in to play the additional role of independent mediator, helping to mediate misinterpretations during the identity formation process, the negative impact of misunderstandings was lessened, and graduates transitioned to a professional identity with greater ease. Managers also learned about managing multi-cultural individuals and their own, often limiting, experiences and worldviews. Practical implications - This highlights the value of a third-party intervention in graduate identity transitions, particularly in contexts where the graduate has little or no experience of what it means to be professional, and where managers are not equipped to deal with people who come from backgrounds that differ vastly from their own. Originality/value - The role of a third-party in shaping the identities of graduates during the identity warranting process, referred to as the independent mediator in this paper, has not been presented in research before. Studies of this nature would give us insight into how best to support graduate identity development and improve the design of GDPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, listeners often believe that radio stations deliberately constitute their audiences in terms of race. This article further explores this notion using commercial music station Good Hope FM as a case study. Radio creates a textured soundscape that is experienced as part of the material culture of the home; it contributes to the creation of domestic environments and it can help maintain and establish identities. These assertions are explored further through interviews with listeners. Mediated experience has long influenced self-identity, and this study explores popular conceptualizations of GHFM as a ‘coloured’ or mixed-race radio station, through these listener interviews, conducted in the home. The article explores the possibility that the symbolic arrangement of broadcast music and talk elements in one ensemble, embody and expresses group self-consciousness; and that the cultural consumption of GHFM leads to the formulation of an imagined identity based on ethnicity. Consumption of radio station content becomes a dialectical identity-forming process played out through tuning in. While GHFM listeners re-articulate normative discourses of identity and old apartheid constructions in their reflections on their media consumption, the article shows the act of tuning in as a critical part of their dialectical identity-forming process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social networking sites, Facebook in particular, are growing in popularity in South Africa. With the increasing affordability of mobile handsets, users are able to access the mobile Internet and connect via mobile social networking applications. This article explores how Facebook is used by South African youth, with particular reference to their political participation and involvement. Research has shown the declining involvement of young people in political processes, particularly since democratic elections in 1994. This is an international trend, with a general global rise of political apathy and decreased news consumption among youth. However, Facebook and other new media applications widely used by young people have been seen as a potential vehicle to re-engage youth in political debate. The potential usefulness of such applications for creating networked publics and mobilizing political action was highlighted recently during the Arab Spring; and conversely, Facebook and Twitter have been used (e.g. in the United States) to target potential youth voters. The notion of e-democracy has raised the potential of the Internet to enhance political action and activism. The article draws on a national quantitative survey and Cape Town-based focus groups with South African youth in order to explore the links between Facebook use and political participation. The article argues that youth are engaging with alternative forms of political subactivism that work at the margins of the dominant public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely agreed that the mainstream mass media play an important role in the climate change debate by providing coverage and thus placing the issue on the public agenda; by providing their audiences with the key aspects of the debate and information related to mitigation and adaption; and, to a lesser extent, by driving policy agendas. Much research on media coverage of climate change is located in the North; and ‘the media’ is often taken to mean mainstream print newspaper media. As the body of literature exploring links between the media and climate change grows, there is a glaring absence of studies about and from the global South, and of a focus on ‘new’ forms of journalism and social media. With the global decline of newspaper circulation internationally and in South Africa, this article argues for an increased focus on digital journalism in the examination of the media coverage of climate change. Journalists’ blogs on the Mail & Guardian newspaper's Thought Leader site, and Twitter newsfeeds are analysed qualitatively to argue that while there is some similarity in the coverage between print and online media, the latter has the potential to reach audiences more effectively and immediately, with the growth of the mobile Internet in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the active involvement of private security contractors (PSCs) in armed conflicts in South Africa. It recalls the growth of PSCs since the end of the Cold War due to the growth of the outsourcing of military and security functions in the sector. It also investigates the role of the PSCs in armed conflicts and examines the response of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) on the issue. However, it suggests the need for the government to properly categorized PSCs when they contact them to assist their armed forces and provide non-lethal services to prevent them from participating directly in hostilities and restrict their activities to defensive.

Previously, cellphone ownership in South Africa was for a privileged few, but today it has become an essential part of the adolescent fashion accessory. Similarly, access to the internet is more widespread with the rise of the mobile internet, and online social networking applications are very popular in South Africa, particularly among young people across all social classes. This study explores young women's use of mobile and online social networking sites, with specific reference to expressions and experiences of sexual identity via their mobile phones and popular application Facebook. Through a qualitative approach, this study argues that Facebook and MXit provide a space for play, especially for those whose freedom of movement is limited by parental concerns about safety. Online social networks create a cult of femininity and reflect women's role in society and also socialise young women into these roles. Gender and sexuality are lived social relations and ongoing performative processes that are continuously being negotiated. The micro-narratives and practices highlighted in this study present a snapshot of the lived practices of young women and indicate similarities with global trends in terms of online youth cultures. Young women's use of online and mobile social networking resonates with a global youth culture, with tensions around relationships, self-presentation and sexuality located firmly at the centre. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite several attempts by the Antipiracy Foundation in South Africa, piracy and counterfeiting of movies on DVD is still widespread. This paper explores piracy in Hanover Park, a Cape Flats township, as an expression of a politics of resistance to racism and racial disadvantage, but more specifically as a routine social practice deeply embedded within the lived reality of community members. The research questions were guided by a desire to explore qualitatively the processes by which consumers in this low-income neighbourhood practise and understand their purchase. and consumption of pirated goods, particularly films on DVD. The study found that the consumers of Hanover Park engage in a complicated process of bricolage, often recontextualising what they view to communicate new meanings, appropriating African-American and gang films as a form of political cultural resistance. Because of group and familial viewing practices, social networks are solidified and piracy often becomes a form of political bricolage against a perception of racial and class marginalisation. We find that both the 'reworking' of community and expression of resistance unfortunately seem to occur primarily in the arena of leisure, where the practice of piracy is routinised as an integral part of the lived experiences of community members. Globality' is experienced through a preference for Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters; and a media-saturated globalised national context meets the unequal purchasing power and economic constraints of the local context, while resulting in little moral concern over the practice of piracy, which lends a political dimension to everyday practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores and evaluates the growth of digital journalism in South Africa, within the context of increased use of online social media in the field. Increasingly, local activists are using mobile and online social networking to promote their events and causes, and reach their constituencies. Similarly, journalists are using digital media to practise their craft, reach new audiences, and sometimes even to change the notion of who practises journalism, as in the case of citizen journalism. South African journalists, via community media and sometimes even tabloid newspapers, have long embraced the notion of civic or community journalism, framing news 'in a way that facilitates people thinking about solutions, not just problems and conflict' (Hoyt 1995). With the rise of Web 2.0 and increased access to the Internet, digital journalism in South Africa has spread to include a strong focus on user-generated content, with traditional news media using Twitter and other social media to generate reader feedback. Similarly, the Mail & Guardian 'Thoughtleader' blog, originally designed for socalled J-bloggers, is another example of the 'convergence' between journalism and social media. The article provides an overview of emerging trends and theories in the South African context, focusing particularly on the public sphere created by bloggers, the citizen journalism of MyNews24.com and journalists' engagement with online social media. Furthermore, the article reflects on the possibility that online news sites and blogs may represent a space for the creation of online public spheres in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A complex variety of casts of sand cracks occurs at two study areas near Pretoria, within mature, thin sandstone beds of the c. 2.1 Ga Magaliesberg Formation (Pretoria Group, Transvaal Supergroup). This formation is ascribed to deposition within the littoral, sandy portions of a low-energy epeiric sea, then covering much of the Transvaal preservational basin. Reticulate networks of these sand crack casts (which equate to petee ridges) and lesser vermiform geometries, the latter commonly associated with ripple troughs (cf. Manchuriophycus), reflect a degree of cohesiveness which is difficult to envisage in sands unless there were either thin muddy interbeds between sandy strata, or the sandy beds were bound by microbial mats growing in their upper portions. In the absence of any observed mudstone interbeds, a genetic role for microbial mats can be supported. Several of these inferred microbially-induced sand cracks appear to have "healed", presumably having become overgrown by re-establishment of a new mat following partial desiccation of an earlier one. Associated "oncolites", found at one of the sites, confirm this general model of microbially-mediated "sand-cracking" having taken place. Such microbial mat features appear to be relatively widespread within the Magaliesberg Formation, most likely reflecting the shallow epeiric marine palaeoenvironment which would have favoured their preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a large-coverage, computational morphological analyser for Zulu requires the modelling not only of the regular phenomena often associated with word formation, but also the idiosyncratic behaviour that may occur in Zulu morphology. This paper discusses the application of an existing rule-based, finite-state morphological analyser prototype ZulMorph in semi-automating the mining of available Zulu language corpora for idiosyncratic behaviour. The semi-automated procedure makes provision for bootstrapping the morphological analyser to include newly extracted information from corpora. Of particular interest is also the central role that the machine-readable lexicon plays. The procedure is applied to a Zulu development corpus of 30 000 types and the results are given and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the Children's Radio Production Workshop (CREW) project in Cape Town, South Africa. A brief historical overview of children in South Africa and Bush Radio is presented, along with a description of CREW and two radio programs in the region. Different components of CREW play an important role in validating the voices of the youth in South Africa. One of the challenges faced by the CREW project is the lack of progress in audience development.

The South African social transition was accompanied by widespread media reform. Community radio stations were for the first time, set up to empower communities previously without access to the media. More than a hundred radio stations were licensed, and further provision was made for community television, even if it was nearly a decade later before there was any discernible movement in the area of community television. The paper addresses concerns about media, politics and identity struggles, viewed through the lens of community radio. While there is a wealth of literature analysing the development of various aspects of the South African media over the last decade, few, if any, studies specifically consider the role of community media. Set up after elections in 1994, expressly to create spaces for the articulation of marginal or "disadvantaged" groups, the community radio sector in South Africa has mushroomed, with nearly a hundred stations currently licensed. This paper will explore the ways in which community radio has facilitated the construction of new identities. Adopting a case-study approach, the paper considers community radio station Bush Radio, discussing how the station interpellates diverse identities through its programming. In the Pink, for example, creates a space for the articulation of various gay identities, while the Children's Radio Education Workshop becomes a mediated space for youth in the new political dispensation to form a generational consciousness. The intersection of class, culture and language at Bush Radio, and on its airwaves, often results in the constant (re)negotiation of identities. Furthermore, the paper also reflects on the religious or community-of-interest community radio stations, and argues that these stations further serve the purpose of identity building. The resultant listener loyalty results in increased sustainability; they serve the purpose of therapy or confession, giving listeners an outlet for frustrations; and finally, religious community radio stations become a virtual church, transcending physical boundaries and resulting in instantaneous religious community building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trends emerging in the natural language processing (NLP) of African languages spoken in South Africa, are explored in order to determine whether research in and development of such NLP is keeping abreast of international developments. This is done by investigating the past, present and future of NLP of African languages, keeping especially the multidisciplinary nature of the field and the role of the linguist in mind. A Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) report of 1986, expressed concern about the backlog in South Africa regarding NLP, and celled for dynamic action. As computational power increased and became less expensive, more interest began to be shown in NLP in South Africa. Pockets of expertise that have developed at various institutions over the past 20 years are discussed and the importance of cooperation in the field, across disciplines, is illustrated in this paper. In order to facilitate coordinated action and prevent the duplication of language resources and the development of basic enabling technologies, the implementation of the concept of the Basic Language Resource Kit (BLARK) is recommended, while a new project, which aims to create a platform for WordNet development for African languages, is cited as prime example of international collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]