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09 December 2020
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Story UFS entral academic advising team
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Photo Pixabay
It wasn’t easy, but we all got to this point because we stayed calm and made the effort to learn on even when it was difficult.
The University of the Free State (UFS) has remained committed to supporting you in every way possible, and as you prepare for the final assessments, remember to access the support tools you will need in order to successfully complete the 2020 academic year: https://www.ufs.ac.za/toolsforsuccess
Main exams are running from 30 November to 19 December 2020
All of the best, and break a pen in your upcoming final assessments. For those of you who will be graduating, we cannot wait to see you in that graduation attire; and those who still have some way to go, we cannot wait to serve you again in 2021 as we continue the pursuit of academic success!
Below are five main study tips that you can use for final assessment success:
1. Set a realistic study schedule
You might think that studying for eight hours straight for four days before the exam, will help you get through the work in time. See final edition of the #UFSLearnOn for more information.
2. Structure and organise your work
If your notes are organised, it is also easier for your brain to recall information, even when you become nervous during exams.
3. Practise with an old exam/semester test paper
Practice makes perfect, and although the final assessments might look different in how they are administered, it will still help to practise using old tests and exams.
4. Adapt your strategies to the content
What works for one module or even one learning outcome, might not be effective for another. You need to continually adapt your note-taking and study approaches. See #UFSLearnOn final edition for different study methods.
5. Healthy body, healthy mind
Your brain needs optimal care to perform at its best, and getting physically active (even if it is by jumping in one spot if space is limited) forces your body to release neurotransmitters responsible for positive emotions, which assist in retaining information in your memory …
Download the final edition of #UFSLearnOn that points you towards the resources you’ll need to ace your final assessments and end 2020 off on a high note!
Human trafficking research demystifies juju practices
2017-10-28
Human trafficking is a practice that exists
in many countries all over the world and
whose victims are sold as commodities
into a life of servitude and sex slavery.
Photo: iStock
Human trafficking is a complex crime that transcends cultural, religious and geographical barriers. It is a practice that exists in many countries all over the world and whose victims are sold as commodities into a life of servitude and sex slavery.
Prof Beatri Kruger, Research Associate at the Free State Centre for Human Rights (FSCHR) at the UFS, has been exploring research related to the use of “juju” rituals used by perpetrators of human trafficking in South Africa and on the African continent. She joined the Centre for Human Rights in 2017, and was previously a law lecturer at the UFS Faculty of Law.
She recently co-wrote Exploring juju and human trafficking: towards a demystified perspective and response in the South African Review of Sociology, alongside Marcel van der Watt of the Department of Police Practice at the University of South Africa (Unisa).
The research explores juju and forms of witchcraft as a phenomenon, while illuminating some of the multilayered complexities associated with its use as a control mechanism.
Prof Kruger and Van der Watt’s work is a step towards understanding how the practice of juju brings on a more complicated aspect of trafficking in persons in South Africa and how agencies working to combat this crime can understand it and be better equipped to stop the crime and assist victims.
The findings of the research confirmed the use of juju as a combination of arcane methods used by Nigerian traffickers as a control measure. The term resonates with most participants, but included interchangeable references to witchcraft, voodoo, muti, black magic and curses. The victims of these rituals included women of black, coloured and Nigerian descent in South Africa.
Nigerian traffickers operating in and between Nigeria, South Africa and European countries are steadily gaining momentum; it will take a concerted effort for multiple countries involved to take steps within their legal frameworks as well as academic spaces to come together to combat the crime cross-continentally.