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Design activism in South Africa : design interventions as invented spaces to encourage activist citizenship
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2024) Cassim, Fatima
Design as a vehicle for social and political intervention is not a recent invention. There are many historical precedents of design interventions as reform or resistance, specifically during times of social unrest and economic instability. The call for design reform by the likes of William Morris at the turn of the twentieth century and later Buckminster Fuller and Victor Papanek serve as important milestones in this regard.1 Similarly, antidesign movements in Italy during the 1960s and 1970s, Ken Garland’s First Things First manifesto, and the work of Adbusters in the 1990s speak to the notion of design as advocacy. Moreover, since the so-called reflective turn in design from the 1980s, the discipline has witnessed a broader conceptualization. No longer defined solely as a material practice that results from rational problem-solving activities, design’s political power is being harnessed more intentionally to lead sustainable social change. The implication for designers is that they are not concerned merely with the functional and aesthetic sensibility of their work when innovating solutions but are increasingly concerned with the relationships and interactions of their design outcomes in the broader social, economic, ecological, and political contexts in which they exist. This stance highlights design as a situated practice in the real world, which in turn emphasizes design’s particular and probable nature that lends itself to tackling wicked problems in more relevant and appropriate ways.
The automatic determination of translation equivalents in lexicography : what works and what doesn't?
(European Association for Lexicography, 2024-12) Denisova, Michaela; De Schryver, Gilles-Maurice; Rychly, Pavel
Cross-lingual embedding models act as facilitator of lexical knowledge transfer and offer many advantages, notably their applicability to low-resource and non-standard language pairs, making them a valuable tool for retrieving translation equivalents in lexicography. Despite their potential, these models have primarily been developed with a focus on Natural Language Processing (NLP), leading to significant issues, including flawed training and evaluation data, as well as inadequate evaluation metrics and procedures. In this paper, we introduce cross-lingual embedding models for lexicography, addressing the challenges and limitations inherent in the current NLP-focused research. We demonstrate the problematic aspects across three baseline cross-lingual embedding models and three language pairs and outline possible solutions. We show the importance of high-quality data, advocating that its role is vital compared to algorithmic optimisation in enhancing the effectiveness of these models.
Skryfvaardighede vir leerlinge met leerprobleme : die rekenaar kan help!
(South African Association for Language Teaching, 1994-12) Mostert, El-Marie
Pupils with learning difficulties often experience severe language problems, especially with regard to reading and writing. To be able to remediate these problems teachers should be able to use all the available resources. One medium which is totally underutilized in South African schools is the computer.
Probleemgebaseerde leer as 'n altematiewe metode in die onderrig van toegepaste taalkursusse op gevorderde vlak : 'n gevalstudie
(South African Association for Language Teaching, 2000-04) Snyman, M.M.M. (Maria Magdalena Margaretha)
In this case study the possibilities of problem-based learning (PBL) was investigated as an alternative teaching strategy in an applied language course. It was found that the students experienced the concept of PBL very positively. This impacted on their quality of learning. In their evaluation of the course they indicated that the course opened new employment opportunities and improved their self-image.
Although critics of PBL maintain that less material are covered in a PBL course than in a traditional course, the findings of this study supports the hypothesis that in PBL "the material which is relevant to the 'problem' is generally dealt with in more depth than in a conventional course (Cawley 1991 :56). It was indicated that PBL had additional benefits like inherent motivational characteristics, increased class involvement, a better relationship between students and lecturer and an improvement in the communication skills of students.
The author concludes with the suggestion that PBL would perhaps be best accommodated in South African universities by adopting a middle ground to retain benefits of the traditional curriculum while gaining some advantages of problem-based learning (Schwartz e.a. 1993:619).
Ontoereikende taalbegrip as aspek van probleme wat ontoereikende prestasie in Wiskunde onderlê
(South African Association for Language Teaching, 1997-04) Maree, J.G. (Kobus)
Concern regarding the extent of underachievement in Mathematics (in South Africa, but, also, world-wide) has been expressed by many authors. The role of language related factors as a causal factor in this regard has often been neglected. In this article, a number of factors pertaining to the phenomenon "language related factors in the Mathematics classroom" are discussed. In addition, the fact that second language teaching in Mathematics classrooms in South Africa is contributing to the extent of the problem, is exemplified by the results from an empirical investigation into pupils' study orientation. An attempt is made to show that optimal achievement in Mathematics could remain an elusive ideal, unless these factors are addressed properly. Strategies aimed at remediation, emphasising a problem-centred approach, are put forward.