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Item Open Access Learning from previous experiments: readability in national mathematics assessments(University of the Free State, 2013) Bansilal, Sarah; Khan, MumtazEnglish: This article aims to investigate the challenges associated with understanding the instructions in the Common Tasks for Assessment (CTA) by a Grade 9 mathematics class of second-language English speakers. The design of the CTA was such that a series of tasks was set using an extended context. The Flesch-Kincaid readability test judged the instructions of some tasks to be beyond the readability levels of an average Grade 9 learner. Some instructions had high lexical density, showing that these were difficult to understand. It is recommended that education authorities note the challenges associated with contextualised assessment such as the CTA, and ensure that the challenges associated with understanding instructions in national assessment should not outweigh the benefits of accessing the mathematics in different settings.Item Open Access Food for body and soul: tourism development opportunities in the Western Cape(University of the Free State, 2013) Van der Merwe, JohannesEnglish: This article applies spatial multiple criteria evaluation (MCE) by weighted linear combination of factor layers in a computerised geographical information system (GIS) to aid development of spatial policy and planning of cultural and food and wine tourism in the Western Cape. It explains spatial tourism development policy, tourism marketing and expressed tourist preferences that translate into suitability indicators or attraction features for capture in a spatial resource database. Two sets of tourism attractions are conceptually defined, captured in spatial format as mapped variables and statistically weighted for MCE modelling. The fine-scale outcomes in map format allow comparisons to be made of the effects of variable MCE execution rules for the two products. The application can be replicated for entrepreneurial and regulatory planning.Item Open Access Tourists’ perceptions on whether South African national parks are environmentally friendly(University of the Free State, 2013) Du Plessis, Liezel; Van der Merwe, Peet; Saayman, MelvilleEnglish: The increasing number of tourists to South African national parks raises concern about the effect these tourists have on the environment. This article aims to investigate how SANParks manage environmentally friendly South African national parks in order to reduce the impact of tourism on the environment. To examine these concerns, a survey was conducted to measure tourists’ perceptions of the environmental impacts of tourism in these parks. A web-based survey was carried out via the official SANParks website to collect data. The findings of this study will help SANParks to manage the environmental impacts of tourism in the national parks more effectively.Item Open Access Healing and reconciliation after violent conflict: the role of memory in South Africa and Rwanda(University of the Free State, 2013) Wielenga, CoriEnglish: Memory after violent conflict is a contentious issue. The way in which the past has been remembered has often been the impetus for renewed violence rather than healing and reconciliation. Exploring individual and collective memory in the Rwandan and South African contexts, this article argues that how we remember is more important than what we remember, if the process of remembering is to contribute positively to the post-conflict recovery process. This article considers some preliminary thoughts related to memory after violent conflict by comparing how South Africa and Rwanda have remembered their violent pasts. A significant difference between these two countries is that South Africa has allowed for contending narratives about the past to be in dialogue with one another, whereas Rwanda has chosen the route of preferring one narrative over others. Some possible implications of this will be explored in this article.Item Open Access Insights from returning teachers’ exposure to curriculum change and professional development(University of the Free State, 2013) Du Plessis, ElizeEnglish: The continuous professional development of teachers is vital for the well-being of any education system. This article reflects on the adoption and implementation of the National Curriculum Statement with its outcomes-based education approach by teachers who returned to teaching after having been out of the education system for a number of years. Systems theory was used as a theoretical framework for this research. The research was done in 2010, with follow-up interviews during 2012 to include the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. These teachers responded to 12 items in an open-ended questionnaire on issues related to the changing curriculum and professional development as part of the education system. The article suggests that the professional development of teachers (in particular those who have been out of the system for some years) needs to be improved in order to ensure that the new curriculum is adopted and does not remain merely a policy document that is inefficiently implemented in its entirety.Item Open Access Managing the moderation of school-based assessment at Grade 12 level in Gauteng(University of the Free State, 2013) Grobler, Bennie; Loock, Coert; Govender, PremEnglish: In 2000, the National Minister of Education mandated the inclusion of school-based assessment (SBA) as a component of the Senior Certificate (Grade 12) assessment. This study examines how managing the moderation of SBA could improve the quality of assessment at Grade 12 level. The literature study elucidates the underlying dimensions of managing SBA and the quantitative study investigates the perceptions of educators regarding these dimensions. The findings are consolidated into an enhanced model that calls for continuous moderation of assessment tasks at school level, based on the principles of systems theory.Item Open Access Personality traits of successful music entrepreneurs(University of the Free State, 2013) Van Zuilenburg, Paul LoebEnglish: It is internationally accepted that music entrepreneurship presents an alternative form of employment for music graduates. The question that inadvertently arises concerns the suitability of this occupation for musicians. During this study, musicians and successful music entrepreneurs were interviewed in order to identify their critical personality traits. These were compared with the documented personality traits of entrepreneurs and the findings showed a strong correlation between the character traits of both groupings, but with critical differences apparent. The article presents a typology of personality traits and concludes that not all musicians are suited to a career in music entrepreneurship.Item Open Access Lingual primitives and critical discourse analysis: a case of gender ideology in Cosmopolitan(University of the Free State, 2013) Conradie, MarthinusEnglish: This article investigates the utility of combining critical discourse analysis with the framework of lingual primitives advanced by Weideman (2011), in a critical analysis of gender ideology in the women’s lifestyle magazine Cosmopolitan. More specifically, two elementary linguistic concepts are combined with the critical discourse analysis methodology in order to analyse a sample of feature articles from Cosmopolitan. The results are illustrated on the basis of a case study that is representative of this larger sample. The findings suggest that the abuse of power in this magazine is best conceptualised as the abuse of lingual trust.Item Open Access World view, philosophy, and the teaching of arithmetic(University of the Free State, 2013) Strauss, DanieEnglish: Dilthey’s emphasis on the relativity of world and life views inspired Spengler to speak of different worlds of number. Yet, within Greek culture, Greek mathematics switched from arithmeticism to a geometrisation of mathematics. Since the Renaissance the ideal of sovereign human reason, which viewed human understanding as the (a priori formal) law-giver of nature, gave rise to the notion of construction. Avoiding the stance of both Platonism and constructivism, an acknowledgement of the ontic status of numbers (in their distinctness and succession), accounted for in terms of the distinction between law and subject, illustrates the influence of an underlying world view.