Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
01 September 2021 | Story Rulanzen Martin
As in previous years, the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies (SASL) – a pioneering force within deaf studies – will embark on a broader campaign to create much-needed awareness of the deaf. 

This year’s #UFSDeafAwarenesscampaign aims to inform and contribute to an inclusive society, not only among the UFS community, but also among the public. The department, together with the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support, provides exceptional support to the 16 deaf and hard of hearing students at the UFS. 

Jani de Lange, Lecturer in Deaf Studies at the UFS, says the deaf forms part of the diverse South African community – “however, there are still many misconceptions about the deaf world. Therefore, deaf awareness plays an important role in facilitating a bridge between hearing and deaf people”.  

Awareness, duty, and social responsibility collide 

Many of the staff in the department considers themselves part of the deaf community. “They play a major role in educating others through our academic programmes, as well as continuous workshops and short learning programmes,” says De Lange. She continues, saying that by celebrating Deaf Awareness Month, “we are reminded of our role and responsibility towards the deaf.” 

The department also has a long-standing relationship with Mimosa Mall in Bloemfontein, with conversational students displaying their final group projects in the centre of the shopping mall.  Mimosa is also a partner in school-based projects, such as the Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind in Thaba Nchu. “Every year, the department, together with our student association, Signals, and all interested Sign Language students, visits Bartimea, where we host a variety of activities with the children and also help the school with small maintenance projects. In 2019 – the last time we were able to visit the school – we repainted parts of the Foundation Phase’s playground,” De Lange says.

“We hope that the public will take the time to read about deafness, Sign Language, and the deaf community to understand the exciting traditions of the culture.”  The end goal is to encourage a greater understanding that ‘you do not need hearing to listen’. 

Getting the community involved 

To get people involved in the campaign, the department invites UFS staff to participate in a competition where they can learn how to introduce themselves in SASL. The department is also planning an informal training session for staff and students on 7 September 2021. 


The Department of SASL and Deaf Studies also presents a FREE Introduction to SASL short learning programme. 

→  Click here for more information 


 #UFSDeafAwarenessMonth #DeafAwareness #DeafCommunity

                     


News Archive

Research at the UFS on the acceptability and modern use of earth building in newly settled urban areas can help the poorest of the poor to acquire hou
2003-08-26

The University of the Free State and the Technische Universiteit van Eindhoven in the Netherlands received a research bursary of R316 000 from SANPAD (South African Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development).

The aim of the research is to determine the public acceptability of sustainable, high quality, earth constructed public and private buildings as an alternative to the conventional way of building with bricks and steel.

“European countries like the Netherlands are far advanced with studies in earth construction and this is why the partnership was formed with the Technische Universiteit van Eindhoven,” says Prof Das Steÿn, Head of Urban and Regional Planning at the UFS and project leader.

Although research regarding mapping, typology and availability of natural and local resources has been done on a national level, little research has been done on the acceptability and the modern use of earth building in newly settled urban areas.

“South Africa has a large housing shortage and traditional methods such as earth building techniques are not used in urban informal housing. Preference is given to corrugated iron sheets and plastic,” says Prof Steÿn.

The use of upgraded earth construction might be more sustainable as far as the environment and the economy is concerned. “If we can make a breakthrough in the development and propagating of these methods it will help the poorest of the poor to acquire housing of a better quality.”

The research team from the UFS consists of Prof Steÿn, Ms Petria Jooste-Smit, Head of the Unit for Earth Construction in the Department of Architecture and Mr Gerhard Bosman of the Department of Architecture.
 

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept