The Democratic Alliance is potentially in a good position to challenge the ANC, which governs South Africa, for power.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
University of the Free State
The University of the Free State (UFS) is increasingly being seen as an exciting scholarship destination, as evidenced by an unprecedented level of interest by academics and students from around the world. The changes taking place at the university continue to capture the imagination of people everywhere, including the international media and our growing base of international universities.
One of the reasons for the broader interest in the UFS is our very public commitment to the highest academic standards. In doing so, the university pursues a vision of uplifting standards for students and academics alike despite the challenges young people encounter in the school system. We believe strongly that given the opportunity, all young people can achieve the high standards set by our university. This is our academic project.
The UFS remains conscious, however, of its responsibility for public scholarship, for turning ideas into action, for making research count in the lives of ordinary people and for developing a spirit of service through scholarship among our students. These students are the next generation of leaders in South Africa, on our continent, and in this global, interconnected world. In these pursuits, the university seeks to distinguish itself from its competitors. Few universities, for example, make human reconciliation one of the foundations of its mission. This is our human project.
With its central campus situated in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State province, the UFS is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in South Africa. It opened its doors in 1904 with a mere six students in the Humanities and has since grown to more than 30 000 students spread across seven faculties. Besides the Bloemfontein Campus, the university also has a South Campus in Bloemfontein.
Bloemfontein is not only the birthplace of major political parties that shaped the political landscape in South Africa. The city has also produced some of the leading minds in teaching, medicine, agriculture, science, theology, economics, management and many other fields. We are particularly proud of the legal minds cultivated in the university and in the city, the home of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The UFS also has a vibrant Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State serving rural students from the immediate area and surrounding provinces, and a smaller South Campus in Bloemfontein that provides alternative access to higher education for promising students who obtained poor marks in their final school examinations.
The university’s seven faculties with more than 130 departments and/or schools are served by more than 1692 academic staff members, supported by a strong administrative and support staff.
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A vulnerability map could help assess the risks associated with fracking and groundwater which around 300 towns depend on in South Africa’s Karoo.
The military is not tactically trained for community protection and crime fighting and South Africa should not deploy soldiers in urban communities.
“Flipped classrooms” aren’t yet common around Africa, but a partial flip that marries technology and collaboration has real potential.
China’s presence in Africa continues to grow with its first military base in Djibouti. It wants to be a friend to Africa positioning itself as a global power while looking after its own interests.
The judgment recognises that religion plays a large role in South African society. The right to follow a religion is embedded in the constitution. This means that South Africa isn’t a secular state.
A civil society organisation, OGOD, wants South Africa’s public schools to stop calling themselves Christian and to outlaw their religious practices.
Attempts to deepen democracy in Africa by limiting presidential terms to two have not entirely quashed a culture of entitlement to rule. Glimpses of it persist, much against citizens’ wishes.
South Africa lacks a clear definition of disability – and its limited view of who should be regarded as having a disability in the labour market is at odds with international practice.
The Anthropocene is often associated with problems such as climate change and inequality. But there is also hope that it can come with positive change for the benefit of people.
Finance minister Pravin Gordhan announced that government expenditure on higher education and specifically universities will be the fastest growing expenditure items on the budget.
While some African countries have shown an improvement in press freedom and freedom of expression ratings, others, including South Africa, are seeing worrying trends and a drop in rankings.
Hillary Clinton’s political success has been partially due to a willingness to conform to certain journalistic expectations about gender.
‘Pokémon Go’ has the ability to make people wander around nature looking for fantasy creatures – but will this translate into people exploring real-life nature?
South African law requires surrogate mothers to hand infants to their legal parents without undue delay. But it doesn’t provide leave for these parents to care for their infants. That is set to change.
How did survivors of the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction adapt to their new, harsh environment? And why is that knowledge so important for modern species?
Students from poorer backgrounds feel anxious, ashamed and stressed in the middle-class environment of a university.
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Giraffes are facing a silent extinction and need conservation strategies to help them.
Authors
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Senior Lecturer of Physical Geography and GIS, University of the Free State
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Research Associate, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State
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Senior Professor (Emeritus) and Research Fellow, Department of History, University of the Free State
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Lecturer, University of the Free State
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Senior lecturer in Economics, University of the Free State
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Lecturer, University of the Free State
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Lecturer, University of the Free State
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Associate Professor, University of the Free State
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Senior lecturer in law, University of the Free State
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Associate Professor, Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of the Free State
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Lecturer in Communication Science, University of the Free State
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Research Professor, UFS History Department, University of the Free State
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Senior Lecturer Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State
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Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Studies and Governance, University of the Free State
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Professor Emeritus, University of the Free State
