Project on swearing produces scientific knowledge
"To my mind, the project has progressed exceptionally well. Not only have technology and infrastructure been established for sound research in the years ahead, but we have also gained a large number of registered users." These are the words of the NWU's Prof Gerhard van Huyssteen, professor in Afrikaans and Dutch Linguistics, a year after the unique multidisciplinary research project on Afrikaans swear words was launched. He says the project not only produced new multidisciplinary insights into Afrikaans swear words and swearing behaviour, but also developed effective ways of presenting scientific knowledge in up-to-date ways.
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Pre-traumatic stress disorder and the Covid-19 conundrum
The impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on our mental health cannot be understated. From a South African perspective, months of a hard lockdown has changed the way we live, the way we work and the very way we operate. Mentally we have not escape unscarred. A new study by Afriforte and the WorkWell research unit at the NWU, in conjunction with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group and Mindful Revolution, investigated the psychological effects of the lockdown. According to a survey conducted among 1 656 employees, 46% of the respondents are experiencing high levels of psychological distress during the epidemic.
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People solve problems and anthropology is the right place to be
The NWU Anthropology subject group is growing from strength to strength, and aims to make the NWU one of the top universities at which to study this field. "Recognising that the complicated problems of our society can only be solved with people, the subject group has embarked on a process of recurriculation linked to cutting-edge research, and will soon be expanding," says Dr Jess Auerbach, who recently joined the subject group in the School of Social Sciences. Since arriving at the NWU in July, she has worked closely with colleagues to consolidate a culture of research and knowledge production. read more |
