Browsing by Author "Freeman, Laura"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The African warlord revisited
    (Taylor & Francis, 2015-11-08) Freeman, Laura
    To date, warlordism in Africa has been viewed solely negatively. This has come about, in part, because of the analytical lenses that have been used. Typically, warlordism has been examined at the state level; and behavioural traits, rather than definitionally necessary components, have been the focus. In effect, ‘warlord’ has been confused with other violent actors. I suggest here a reconceptualisation ‘from below’, which takes into account variation in types of warlordism, and which allows for both positive and negative effects of warlordism on society and the state.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    From Marginal to Mainstream: An Argument for Locating Education Development in the Academic Department
    (UNISA Press, 2015) Duthie, Shawn; Freeman, Laura
    This article contends that core responsibility, formation and execution of education development (ED) initiatives should occur in the academic department. For too long, ED has been handed off to peripheral bodies within South African universities. These programmes are limited in their reach, relevance and usefulness to students. through reporting on a case study of ED in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Cape town, South Africa, the authors argue that ED within the academic discipline has three major benefits, namely: (i) initiatives can develop based on effective identification of student need; (ii) ED can be normalised and its stigma can be reduced; and (iii) ED becomes discipline-specific and properly contextualised to student learning.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Politics Writing Centre
    (2012-11) Eaton, Liberty; Freeman, Laura; Heard, Pasqua; Matlhaga, Tshimologo; Mulaudzi, Masana
    The lesson plans can be divided into roughly four-five categories: parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation and rules surrounding the English language: 1. The parts of speech section is designed to help students refine their understanding of nouns, adjectives, adverbs and the basic parts of speech that create sentences. These ground rules are essential for understanding how to create sentences, which is the next section, sentence structure. These lesson plans are tailored to teach students how to write sentences and include exercises to help students apply what they have learned. 2. Within sentence structure students will be taught how to write complex and compound sentences that are often characteristic of academic writing. In addition, they will be taught how to vary sentence styles in order to avoid tedious writing that is difficult to read. 3. Punctuation is important for students who use it incorrectly and includes a series of lesson plans on commas, semi-colons and apostrophes. Often, students make errors when using this punctuation because they do not understand the rules that govern their use. These lesson plans address this issue. 4. The lesson plans on the rules when writing in English cover topics such as the difference between you’re and your or how to write in active and passive voice. 5. Lastly, the comprehension lesson plan aims to bring together all of the above to test the student’s understanding. Despite their relationship to one another, lesson plans are designed to be able to stand alone. This means that if a student only struggles with using comas, then that can be the only lesson the consultant uses. Once a consultant has identified the different challenges faced by a student, they are meant to create a collection of the lesson plans that best address that student’s needs. Where appropriate, lessons have been numerically organised according to a logical flow, e.g. the lesson plan on types sentences comes before the lesson on fragments. This ordering is merely a suggestion of how you might order the lessons. The Centre is meant to be a ‘fluid’ organization that adapts its teaching material to what students need when it comes to learning English. This is the great advantage of the one-on-one consultations. This series of lesson plans aims to help students who struggle with certain aspects of language and grammar. They have been developed with the Political Studies department at UCT and, as such, contain examples and illustrations from within the field. The nature of the plans means that they can, however, be adapted and used much more widely. The plans should be used selectively to suit the needs of the individual students. The plans are designed for one-on-one or small group consultations.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Skills development lectures
    (2012-09) Freeman, Laura; Goodman, Rachel; Marchant, Michael; Nkomo, Mandisi; Wirtjes, Sylvia; Lekalake, Rorisang Nikiwe.
    The lectures have been designed in such a way that one lecture is given per week. The lectures track the progression of the course and the skills that need to be refined. As such, the lectures are sensitive to coursework submissions and provide guidance within that context. The lectures are presented most commonly by the postgraduate team of tutors. This enables students to ask questions more freely. The lectures aim to be interactive – with tutors roaming the lecture space and encouraging participation (be it through questions, class or group exercises). This lecture series is aimed to help undergraduate students (in particular, those in senior years of study) to navigate through the academic challenges they face. The series focuses on more sophisticated forms of reading and research. It also aims to assist students in writing longer and more complex pieces. The series offers both theoretical/conceptual and practical guidance. The lecture series programme is as follows: 1. Concept, theory, case: seeks to differentiate between areas of analysis, and instil an understanding of concepts and theories as contested, changing, and often part of wider debate; 2. Building an argument: encourages students to think about their writing more critically and to form strategies for improving their argumentation; 3. Finding Your Academic Voice: this lecture aims to show students how they can source more effectively. It goes on to discuss how students can evaluate sources and the importance of not losing their own voice/argumentation in their writing; 4. Acting on Feedback: discusses how students can discern the meaning of feedback and respond accordingly; 5. The Merit of Methodology: touches on approaches to research and the need to consider methodology when developing research questions; 6. Writing a Research Proposal: discusses the use of a research proposal as well as the practicalities of putting one together; 7. Research Essay: Research, Think, Write: emphasises the need to plan and research before writing; 8. Research Essay: Structure, Argumentation, Originality and Etiquette: discusses the challenges and pressures of writing a longer academic piece; 9. Tests and Exams: revision and exam tips.