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River systems on a global level are heavily degraded by various human activities and impacts. The Elands River in Mpumalanga is just one of these river systems that is under constant threat. The Elands River, a major tributary of the Crocodile River, rises in a gently sloping highveld zone near the town of Machadodorp. There are various anthropogenic activities in the area, including the Sappi Ngodwana Mill, situated near the confluence of the Elaads and the Ngodwana Rivers. An effluent spill in 1989 caused major fish mortalities and changed invertebrate assemblages. Other anthropogenic activities include nutrient loading (due to the inadequate treatment of the sewage), various agricultural activities and the presence of exotic fish that has either been released into the river or entering the river from the dam that has been constructed on the Ngodwana River. The aim of the study was to determine whether the fish communities of the Elands and the Crocodile Rivers are affected due to unthropogenic activities. In general, fish communities and individuals have various qualities that make them useful in biological monitoring. Fish in general have a long lifespan and would thus be able to reflect changes in the integrity of the system over long periods of time. Two sampling surveys, representing high and low-flow periods, were undertaken in March and June 2005 respectively. The habitats sampled (when present) include shallow and deep section of the river in fast and slow flowing water. Sampling techniques include the use of seine nets, gill nets and electroshocking. A medium size seine net was hauled through the pooled areas and gill nets were placed in some of these pools. The technique most commonly applied in the study was electroshocking as it proved to be the most effective. This technique was applied at all the sites in the study. Linking community structure and environmental variables are possible when enough data is available. For this particular study, enough site specific data was available to make such an assessment. Results indicate that the fish communities of the Elands and Crocodile Rivers appear to be in a largely natural state. A change in community characteristics may have taken place at some sites downstream of the Ngodwana mill, but species richness and presence of sensitive species indicate little modification. This change was brought about largely by changes in water quantity and not water quality. During both flow regimes, Barbus argenteus dominated the community structure at some sites downstream of the Mill. The fact that this species of fish is sensitive to water quality changes (based on its perceived tolerance to water quality changes) is a good indication that this species of fish does not dominate the community structure due to pollution. This further supports the assumption that changes to flow at some site may be driving the community structure. This change in flow was brought about by the increase in water quantity from springs situated near the Mill and this increase can be linked to the activities of the Mill. One of the biggest concerns regarding the fish communities sampled during the study was the low numbers of Chiloglanis bifurcus recorded in the community. This critically endangered species occurs in the Elands River and has a high preference for clean, fast-flowing water through all its life stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's fiscal cliff: A reflection on the appropriation of government resources In the title of this paper the meaning of the words "fiscal cliff" differs from the meaning attached to these words when used with regard to the fiscal situation in the United States of America (USA). In this paper these words imply the danger that the South African government might run out of income to cover growing government expenditure, while they are used in the USA to depict a ceiling on the borrowing capacity of the federal government. This paper compares the South African government's expenditure on social grants and civil service remuneration since 2008 with government revenue over the same period. Social grants have grown at a substantial rate since 2008, amounting to some R105 billion in the 2012/13 fiscal year. Social grants as percentage of total government revenue increased from 12,6 per cent in the 2007/08 fiscal year to 14,2 per cent in the 2011/12 fiscal year. This analysis does not take into consideration the envisaged phasing-out of the means test for qualification for the old-age grant. Between 2008 and 2012 total employment in the civil service (central government and provincial governments) increased by 13,0 per cent. At the same time the total civil service remuneration bill increased by 76,1 per cent. Civil service remuneration as percentage of total government revenue increased from 31,7 per cent in the 2007/08 fiscal year to 42,2 per cent in the 2011/12 fiscal year. In 2008 social grants and civil service remuneration accounted for 44,3 per cent of total government revenue. This increased to 56,4 per cent at the end of the 2011/12 fiscal year. This analysis also shows that these two expenditure items will account for all government income by 2026, should current growth trends in these expenditure items continue, and assuming average nominal government revenue growth of 9,9per cent (2012-2017), 9,7per cent (2018- 2030) and 8,6 per cent (2031-2050) per annum. In an attempt to avert this fiscal cliff in 2026, structural one-off increases in government revenue were considered. A one-off increase in revenue can amount to R47,4 billion, based in the main on: the imposistion of two additional marginal personal income tax brackets (45 per cent on taxable income above R1 000 000 per annum and 50 per cent on taxable income above R2 000 O00 per annum, and on an assumption that these tax rates will not change the behaviour of these high-income earners); * an increase of one percentage point in VAT from 14 per cent to 15 per cent; * an increase of three percentage points to 31 per cent in the company tax rate; and * an increase often per cent in the fuel levy and excise duties. These increases in taxes will postpone the fiscal cliff from 2026 to 2028, but will not avert it. As a further drastic measure, a 72 per cent marginal tax rate (a level used in the early 1970s) on taxable income above R2 000 O00 per annum (and on the same assumption as before) will simply divert the fiscal cliff by one additional year to 2029. The conclusion is that social grants and civil service remuneration have reached a level where further real increases are unsustainable, even if taxes are increased. South Africa faces a fiscal cliff that can only be avoided if the South African government is prepared to take drastic steps in the interest of the country, rather than in the interest of the ruling party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both Dutch and Afrikaans display three periphrastic progressive constructions, which indicate that an action is going on at a particular moment of time: (i) a prepositional construction with aan het/ die + zijn/wees, (ii) a construction with posture verbs (zitten/staan/liggen) with a to-infinitive (Dutch) or a coordinating verb (Afrikaans) and (Hi) a construction with bezig/besigyo/Zowec/ by a to-infinitive (see, among others, Bertinetto, Ebert & De Groot 2000; Breed 2012; Donaldson 1993). This paper focuses on the latter of these constructions, which until now has only received little attention in the grammatical literature. In the instances in (1) below, the bezig/besig-construction is used to express that a volitional action is/was going on for a certain amount of time. (1a) Sowat elf brandweerwaens was tot in die vroeë oggendure nog besig om die brand te blus. (Die Burger, 12/01/1998) lit. "About eleven fire engines were busy extinguishing the fire until long into the night. " (1b) Brandweerlieden zijn druk bezig een man te bevrijden uit defel gehavende personen- wagen. (Gazet van Antwerpen, gva2) lit. "The firemen are busy rescuing a man from the heavily damaged car. " However, progressive besig can also be used to express ongoing processes which do not involve a volitional agent - as shown in (b), Dutch bezig is hardly an option in such contexts. (2a) 'n Groot chaos is besig om onder sy neus te ontwikkel. (Die Burger, 06/02/1998) (2b) ??Een grote chaos is bezig om zich voor zijn neus te ontwikkelen. lit. "A great chaos is busy developing right under his very nose. " (3a) Haar nuutste album is besig om goed te verkoop. (Die Burger, 06/02/1998) (3b) ??Haar nieuwste album is bezig om goed te verkopen. lit. "Her newest album is busy selling well. " The aim of this paper is to examine the use of this construction in detail from the perspective of the grammaticalization theory, based on corpus data from six Dutch and two Afrikaans newspapers. Firstly, we show that besig in Afrikaans is used more often in a progressive construction than Dutch bezig. As is well-known, grammaticalization goes hand in hand with an increasing frequency (see, among others, Bybee 2003). Secondly, we show that the besig-progressive is more broadly applicable semantically than bezig in Dutch (host-class expansion, Himmelmann 2004). A semantic categorization of the types of verbs and subjects that are used with the construction indicates that the besig-progressive is used more frequently with verbs and subjects which seem incompatible with the basic "busy, acting"-semantics of the adjective besig; process verbs and inanimate subjects. It appears that besig has bleached from its etymological, "busy activity " meaning and is used as an aspectual marker denoting that something is going on, without focusing on the (complexity of the) activity, while Dutch bezig has to a large extent retained its "activity " semantics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper disaggregates reasons for recent growth in civil service (central government and provincial governments) remuneration in South Africa. This paper draws on an earlier paper published in this journal in 2010 (Padayachee & Rossouw 2010), but has a different emphasis. Padayachee & Rossouw (2010) assessed the relative remuneration levels of two civil service positions in comparison to one another and compared the nominal purchasing power of the remuneration of one of these positions over time, compared to the nominal prices of items purchased by households. This paper reports a first dissemination of the reasons for the overall increase in the civil service remuneration bill over the period of comparison (2005 to 2012); something that has not been done in South Africa before. The selection of civil service positions used for comparative purposes in this paper was determined by the availability of historic and current remuneration information over the period of comparison, as well as the remuneration structures applicable to these positions. The available information made possible a comparison on the basis of cost-to-company remuneration. This is the only suitable approach, given the introduction of amendments to tax legislation and other changes in remuneration practices, rendering salaries of positions as a basis of comparison obsolete. The main objective of this paper is to disaggregate reasons for South Africa's growing public sector remuneration bill over the period 2005 to 2012. To this end this paper tests five hypotheses, namely (i) remuneration is compared with inflation over the period 2005 to 2012 to ascertain the degree in which inflation and real adjustments explain the increase in the remuneration bill; (ii) in comparing remuneration in 2005 and in 2012, possible structural remuneration changes are assessed; (iii) civil service employment figures are analysed as a possible explanation of the increase in the remuneration bill; (iv) higher remuneration levels for existing staff owing to notch adjustments, promotions and new appointments (i.e. employment growth) at more senior levels are analysed as possible contributors to the growth in the remuneration bill over the period of comparison; and (v) the creation of new government departments at national level is considered as a possible factor contributing to the growth in the remuneration bill over the period of comparison. All the hypotheses are confirmed. The analysis shows that the nominal remuneration bill in the civil service increased by 145, 6 per cent over the period 2005 to 2012. Adjustments to compensate for inflation, changes in remuneration notches, promotions and appointments at more senior levels, and a structural adjustment in remuneration in favour of more senior staff in the civil service all made contributions to the increase in the remuneration bill. The relative contributions of these aspects can be expressed as: ΔL = f(Π, ΔS, ΔW, ΔPV, ε)...(1) with ΔL = change in civil service remuneration; f = a function of (or is determined by); Π = inflation; ΔS = structural changes in civil service remuneration; ΔW = changes in civil service employment at national and provincial level; ΔPV = changes owing to notches, job level increases and promotions (including senior appointments from outside the civil service); and ε = stochastic residual to account for possible unidentified factors that could have influenced the change in remuneration. The contribution of each component in equation (1) is used in equation (2) to assess the increase in remuneration. The relevant values are: ΔW = 145,6 per cent, the increase in remuneration between 2005 and 2012; Π = 53,9 per cent, the rate of inflation between March 2005 and March 2012; ΔS = 26,8 per cent, the structural increase in remuneration between 2005 and 2012; ΔW = 27,3 per cent, the percentage increase in civil service employment between 2005 and 2012; and ΔPV = 39,1 per cent, the contribution to the increase in civil service remuneration emanating from notches, job level increases and promotions. 145,6 = (53,9 + 26,8 + 27,3 + 36,4 + e)…(2) => 145,6 - 53,9 - 26,8 - 27,3 - 39,1 = ε => - 1,5 = ε The analysis shows that the variables identified by the hypotheses explain some 101 per cent (i.e. more than 100 per cent of the total increase) of the change in civil service remuneration over the period 2005 to 2012. This implies that one or more of the variables have been marginally overestimated, as is reflected in the residual (-1,5 per cent). The analysis in this paper shows possible steps that the government can take to limit the growth in civil service remuneration. Inflation should be contained, changes in remuneration notches, job levels and promotions should be limited, and structural adjustments should be avoided. If these aspects are not controlled, a moratorium on new appointments will at best only make a marginal difference to the growing civil service remuneration bill. It is also shown that recent growth trends in civil service remuneration are unsustainable, as similar future growth will not be affordable from an economic perspective. A continuation of the recent growth trend will "crowd-out" other public sector spending priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current debate on land reform cannot take place meaningfully without taking into account the historical course of land distribution in South Africa. After having studied the history of land tenure in South Africa, one arrives at the conclusion that land tenure and the segregation of the two main population groups were to a large extent unavoidable. The unequal distribution of land between black and white can be traced back to the earliest years of contact and the different, irreconcilable views of land tenure of that time. Judgement of the events of a hundred years or more ago cannot take place from a modern point of view. Yet, over the years, the authorities made mistakes in the application of the policy of segregation which resulted in friction and conflicts and action by the authorities which the black nations perceived as humiliating. The authorities failed in their efforts to effect peaceful segregation. We need to find a solution to this problem. There are lessons to be learned from what happened in the past and there are lessons to be learned from what happened in other countries where land reform policies were applied. Ever since the current government came into power various suggestions have been made to try to solve the land issue. From the inception of the land reform process, there were those who called for the government first to transfer to prospective black farmers the land already available before taking away land from successful white farmers. In 2008 the cabinet in principle passed a draft bill to enable land expropriation. Consequently, the opposition parties in parliament reacted strongly when the legislation was tabled. By the end of August, it became known that the government had decided to withdraw the bill for the time being. However, everybody realised that this only meant that the bill would not be tabled in the current session of parliament and would possibly be raised again after the next election. After the threat of the proposed expropriation law, the next shock was the announcement that the government was considering to declare all productive agricultural land a national asset. The possibility of 40% sharecropping was also raised. In July 2011 the long-awaited green paper on land reform was made public. In studying this document, one realises that, inter alia, it implies that the state will retain ownership of land transferred to black farmers. These farmers will then hire the land from the state on a land-lease basis. Further, a limit will be imposed on the amount of land a white commercial farmer or company may own. These farmers will, however, keep their ownership and strict limitations will be applied on foreigners' tenure of agricultural land. Apart from negative reaction to this document, there are also those who believe that with certain adjustments this proposal should be seriously considered as a possible solution to the land issue. The problem offair land distribution has actually become more complex than what it ever was because the population has increased drastically and the land has not. Just as the land policy of the successive white governments was a race driven policy, so is the current policy on land reform. The principal motive in the policies of the white governments of the past was to secure the white man's position. The principal objective of the current government is to benefit black people. Land reform in South Africa can only succeed if it is implemented objectively, fairly and honestly, if the provisions of the constitution are complied with, and if there is no deviation from the regulations for the enforcement of the law. Everybody should realise that land reform has to take place, but also that all the citizens of the country, irrespective of race, are entitled to own land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the movement in the nominal and real remuneration of two selected positions in the South African public sector over the period 1984 to 2008. Over this period a divergent trend is discernible in the nominal and real remuneration of these two positions. The choice of positions in the public sector was determined by the availability of historic and current remuneration information and by the fact that the designations and responsibilities of these positions seemingly remained homogeneous over the period of comparison. South Africa has suffered considerable "job title" inflation over this period, thereby rendering numerous positions unsuitable for comparative purposes. In comparing the remuneration of these two positions in real terms; on a gross and after tax basis; and in terms of increases in prices of selected goods, this paper tests a hypothesis that cost-of-living adjustments in remuneration kept abreast of inflation and of general price increases over the period 1984 to 2008. The comparison confirms the hypothesis in one instance, but refutes it in another instance. This comparison confirms that periodic remuneration adjustments are necessary under conditions of sustained inflation to take account of cost-of-living increases. Without such adjustments incumbents would increasingly experience declines in their standards of living and would be tempted to leave the public sector for better paying positions in the private sector. One-off structural adjustments are required to re-align relative remuneration of positions once adjustments have not kept abreast of inflation. In as much as the remuneration of one of the groups used for comparative purposes declined in real terms (i. e. did not keep pace with inflation), it is obvious that the remuneration adjustments of this group did not take any cognisance of possible improvements in productivity. Any compensation for productivity improvements during a period of sustained inflation (albeit more moderate towards the second half of the period of comparison) as was the case in South Africa between 1984 and 2008, would have been reflected in a real improvement in remuneration over this period. Compensation for productivity improvements are outside the scope of this paper. The comparison of the prices of selected goods purchased by a typical household shows considerable changes in relative prices. During a period of sustained inflation, as South Africa suffered from 1984 to 2008 (albeit more moderate from the middle of the 1990s), price movements reflecting relative price changes are often confused with general price inflation. This impedes the ability of consumers to adjust their spending patterns to reflect changes in relative prices. Over time this inability could contribute to a misallocation of resources in an economy. The methodology developed in this paper can be used for similar comparisons of nominal and real remuneration outside the public sector. The only conditions for such comparisons are the availability of current and historic remuneration information, positions that remained relatively homogeneous in terms of job title and responsibility over the period of comparison, and inflation figures reflected in some or another price index. Likewise, the only conditions for price comparisons are historic and current price data and a relevant price index. The final conclusion is that some restructuring of remuneration in the public sector could be required to ensure the retention of suitably qualified staff. The methodology applied in this paper can be used to calculate the magnitude of structural adjustments required in the public sector to eradicate real declines in remuneration. This methodology can also be used by negotiators to calculate fair and reasonable remuneration adjustments. The fields of application of this methodology developed from the perspective of the economic science are therefore in general management, the management of human resources and organised labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant number of people in South Africa who are accommodated within the social welfare system, display a lack of understanding of financial matters and are therefore financially vulnerable. In South Africa, social welfare policy initiatives are directed by the White Paper for Social Welfare and are primarily focussed on the socio-economic needs of all South Africans, specifically those of the previously disadvantaged and poor people of the country. This White Paper which supplies a macro-policy framework for poverty alleviation, is based on social development theories, combining social and economic objectives. Practitioners of social development however, deal with financially vulnerable people on a daily basis, and within the social development paradigm, must attempt to set into operation the development goals on the micro-practice level. This matter informs the objective of this article, namely to construct an approach to financial vulnerability reduction within a social development paradigm. This could make a contribution to the country's strategy against poverty. In this article the South African social development paradigm will be placed in its proper context, after which financial vulnerability and financial literacy education will be explored and described and also examined as a practice reality by means of an instrumental qualitative case study. Participants in the case study consisted of ten registered social workers employed at an established non-government organisation (NGO). Purposive non-probability sampling was used to select the participants, as these social development practitioners could offer expert opinions on the subject. This particular NGO delivers social development services in several provinces and like other NGOs should adhere to the financial policy of the Department of Social Development. The aim of the case study was to explore how development practitioners perceive and experience the financial vulnerability of their service users (clients) within a social development paradigm as practice reality in South Africa. This goal was attained through the explorative and descriptive nature of the study. Semi-structured interviews were used as research instrument in order to elicit comments most effectively from the participants. Themes arising from the comments were processed and presented in synthesised form in the article, based on and integrated with the literature study, to ensure validity through triangulation. The case study was thus directed towards reaching the goal as set out in the article, as the findings are to be construed as key elements of financial literacy education as an approach to reduce financial vulnerability within the local social development paradigm. The findings show that financial vulnerability reduction by means of financial literacy education is an appropriate micro-practice approach by social development practitioners to attain social development goals within the context of the organisation. … [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fundamental elements of what is known today as Outcome-Based Education are clearly embodied in numerous familiar models of learning, assessment, and credentialing in the non-education world that, in some cases, are many centuries old. In virtually all of these models, successful outcome performance is the clear/fixed/pre-determined/known/constant factor in the equation, and time is the flexible/variable/adaptable factor. In formal education, however, exactly the opposite pattern exists: time is the clear/fixed/pre-determined/known/ constant factor, and learning success is the flexible/variable/adaptable factor. This makes "authentic" OBE implementation extremely difficult for modern education systems to implement because they are fundamentally Time-Based -- defined, organized, and driven by the calendar, schedule, and clock -- not Outcome-Based as some profess. South Africa is no exception to this rule -- which made its enthusiastic embracing of OBE in 1997 problematic from the start. In explaining the core fundamentals of the OBE concept and how those fundamentals evolved (particularly in North America) prior to 1997, this paper makes clear that South Africa's Curriculum 2005 initiative missed the OBE mark on almost every essential count: 1) not having a clear, compelling, and operational framework of "Exit Outcomes" on which to ground the reform and the curricular changes which drove it; 2) making no reference, either in theory or practice, to OBE's Four Operating Principles -- which enable modern day educators to get as close to "real" implementation as the Time-Based paradigm of education allows; 3) missing the mark significantly on understanding and implementing what Outcomes are -- culminating demonstrations of learning -- the multiple forms they take, and the multiple ways in which they can be designed and assessed; 4) bogging down in micro content, assessments, marking, and record-keeping -- which advanced OBE implementers warn strongly against; 5) lacking the future-focused grounding of OBE designs that are legitimately called "transformational;" and 6) falling into the familiar pattern of calling its "CBO" thinking and practices "OBE." The latter relates to an almost universal constellation of practices that make educational systems virtually unchangeable from an OBE perspective: Curriculum Based Outcomes, Content Bound Objectives, Calendar Based Opportunities, Cellular Based Organization, Contest Biased Orientations, Convenience Based Operations, and Convention Bound Obsolescence. Unfortunately, Curriculum 2005 and its key advocates appeared to take these seven CBO's as givens, which made their continuous reference to OBE incongruous at best. Consequently, the paper argues that, had South Africa's key educational policy makers in 1997, and since, taken the time to understand the six key points above, they would have been able to make a more constructive choice about the educational reforms they sought to bring about. First, recognizing these major disparities between their Curriculum 2005 strategies and the fundamentals of genuine OBE, they could have chosen to bring C2005 more strongly into alignment with OBE and modified their initial course of action considerably. Or, recognizing these major disparities, they could have chosen to drop the OBE label altogether and thereby reduced or avoided a lot of the confusion generated by implying that Curriculum 2005 required significant changes in familiar practice. For example, by maintaining the very "non-OBE" Matric and annual examination systems that had always been in place, the government kept everyone locked into traditional/conventional modes of thinking about learning, curriculum, achievement, assessment, and qualifications. Conclusion: South Africa should stop referring to OBE in any form.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of its low middle latitude location and the juxtaposition of vigorous white and black communities South Africa figured prominently in the early 20th century discourse of environmental determinism, the notion especially entertained by geographers that human physique and culture were controlled by the environment Discussion in this paper focuses on the discourse around the question: was the South African climate suitable for white people? Using an approach of discourse analysis, the paper summarises the controversial answer, to this question in terms of three overlapping narratives. Firstly, that whites degenerated not only in the humid equatorial latitudes, but also in warm temperate regions, and this was the ultimate cause of the South African poor-white problem; secondly, that whites could use the higher, cooler parts of Africa more efficiently than blacks; thirdly, that South African whites were physically and mentally improved b3 evolutionary adaptation to the local climate and should therefore be segregated from the blacks on the bask of climate. These narratives lost their credibility following the Second World War, which proved that, with the necessary precautions, whites (like blacks) could live and fight anywhere in the world. In geography the paradigm of environmental determinism was displaced first by possibilism and eventually during the 1950; by spatial theory, but its conceptualisations supported apartheid which persisted for the rest of the 20t' century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the potential of the various economic sectors of the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality (DKKDM) to create.future employment, is investigated. The DKKDM encompasses a total of 15 712 l~n2, located in the North Westprovince of South Africa. It comprised the local municipalities of Matlosana (Klerksdorp), Potchefstroom (Tlokwe), Maquassi Hills (Wolmaransstad, Leeudoringstad, Makwassie and Witpoort) and Ventersdorp, including Hartbeesfontein, Stilfontein and Orkney. The economies of these local municipalities are mainly dependent on gold mining. However, the future prospects of South African goldmines are declining since gold deposits are becoming depleted. A large section of the population dependent on the mining industry will face unemployment in the near future, leading to adversity and concomitant development needs if this problem is not addressed in time. The objective of this study is to identify industries with the potential to create future jobs. The production of gold has now been declining for a long time and the trend is bound to persist. During the decade from 1996 to 2006 gold production in South Africa declined, for example, by 60.1 per cent, and with that also South Africa's share in total production of gold, which declined from 79per cent in 1970 to 19.2per cent in 2002 - a figure which is even less than it was during the early years of local production in 1894. Shift-share analysis was utilised as research methodology; a technique often applied in studies of economic geography. It provides insight into the shifts of employment and economic production in various sectors over space and time. It also provides information on employment growth of various industries and subsectors in a region, and also divides employment changes into specific elements. It indicates the effect that national trends have on the creation of jobs in a regional, as well as the effects that a region's unique industrial mix and the economic competitiveness of its various industries have on the creation of employment. It does not require much data, which is often an empirical constraint, it can quickly be applied to new data, it is analytically clear, utilises plain logic and is easy for policymakers to comprehend, apply and utilise. Between 1996 and 2010 the DKKDM region lost many job opportunities. Employment figures of goldmines declined by an annual average of 4.4 per cent during the first decade of the third millennium. Between 1999 and 2006 goldmines lost in access of 87 000jobs. It was only the region's unique combination of industries that led to the creation of new jobs and limited further job losses - especially in the services sectors. The national influence on the DKKDM was weak, but most job opportunities were lost due to the particular regions' inability to be economically competitive. The results indicate that the manufacturing subsectors with the highest employment creation potential in the DKKDM region are transport equipment, wood and paper products, metal products and furniture. The non-metallic products sector also shows potential. The study also compared the potential ability of sectors to create jobs, in relation to the size of the particular industries, but that did not significantly change the results. A similar study was conducted andpublished using the gross value-added or gross regional products of the various sectors in the SDM region and similar results were obtained. The service sectors outperform manufacturing, agriculture and mining by far. The service sectors are extensive and are growing fast. Their performance did not decline during the two economic crises that the worldJaced during 1998 and 2008. In the service sectors of the DKKDK most jobs are created due to the national share and industrial mix effects, but the region's sectors are not competitive. Among the service sectors the major job creators are property, motor vehicle and fuel sales and maintenance, other businesses and other services, closely followed by wholesale, retail and repair services. These sectors merit priority treatment in future development programmes for this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ham/Nimrod story has been used to oppress Black people in South Africa and the USA. This paper looks afresh at Nimrod and attempts to restore his dignity and that of black people. This will be done in five stages below. Firstly, we briefly highlight the identity of Noah's children in order to place into context Nimrod, who is the focus of this study. Secondly, we examine the negative portrayal of Nimrod by certain scholars. Thirdly, we discuss the use of Ham/Nimrod's story in the oppression or enslavement of black people. Furthermore, we will critique such a use of the story to oppress black people. Fourthly we discuss Nimrod's achievements. The focus here will be on his three major achievements as a great ruler, mighty hunter and builder. The aim of this section is to counter the negative interpretation that Nimrod has previously received. In addition, we will offer a positive interpretation of the curse on Ham/Cush/Nimrod. Fifth and, finally, we will spell out the significance of the Nimrod story for those who have been oppressed and enslaved on the basis of this text. The focus here will be on South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Search engines are web-based systems used for retrieving information from the Internet. They have economic power because of their positioning between information providers and information seekers. Search engines can influence the flow of information -- possible business transactions -- by the way information is indexed, stored, and portrayed as search results. If a search engine provides good coverage of website content from one group of information providers (grouped by country or language) to the detriment of another group, it will have economic implications for both groups. It is known that certain developed countries and the language(s) of these countries, have better coverage than other developed countries and their languages. This study investigates for the first time the website coverage of a developing country, South Africa, and one of its indigenous languages, Afrikaans. What does the existence of search engine country bias and/or linguistic bias imply for developing countries such as South Africa? South African information providers would have reason for concern if information seekers' attention were continually routed abroad by biased search engines. South African information seekers would also be done an injustice if they cannot find local web content (or content in their indigenous languages) due to poor search engine coverage. Biased search results guide them away from cheaper, more convenient local information due to poor coverage of local content. Search engines are negatively impacted in turn, when users become tired of the poor local coverage and unwanted international search results and turn to other tools, such as local search engines, for information retrieval. How severe are the effects of search engine bias on developing countries such as South Africa? The body of knowledge discussing search engine bias is very limited, and this study is motivated by stating that, given the possibility of negative economic implications of such bias for developing economies, more research on this topic is justified and urgently needed. The study revealed that Western website content enjoys better coverage than South African website content. After further investigation it was also found that English website content enjoys better coverage than website content in Afrikaans. There is, therefore, a proven search engine bias in favour of Western developed countries and the English language. Website visibility is also studied as a possible cause of search engine bias. It would seem plausible that a relationship may exist between the coverage of websites by search engines and how visible these websites are to a search engine's crawlers. For the determination of website visibility, the number of inlinks towards each sample domain was determined. This study shows that the higher visibility of websites from developed countries is a cause of search engine bias in favour of these websites. With website visibility proven as a cause of bias, the study indicates that South Africa, and possibly other developing countries, is lagging far behind in the race to create highly visible websites surrounded by well-covered hyperlink structures -- the kind of websites most likely to be covered by search engine crawlers. It is the responsibilty of information providers from developing countries to create more hyperlinks between websites from their countries, as well as creating visible website content in their indigenous languages. Search engine coverage bias has negative economic implications for developing countries such as South Africa. This paper investigates the severity of country related coverage bias against websites from the South African domain(s) and the correlation between website coverage and website visibility. Other possible causes of coverage bias found in literature include indexing algorithms, ranking algorithms and lexicons struggling with non-English content. Information providers' lack of knowledge about website coverage and search engine tools is discussed as another possible cause of country bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literacy results show that only 15% of all grade 3 learners and less than 10% of all grade 6 learners performed at an appropriate level (WCED 2009). According to education specialists the results of these tests show that we do not practise quality teaching (Bloch 2009). Many researchers argue that the problem starts in the foundation phase where learners fail to acquire the basic skills in literacy (Jansen 2008; Yeld 2009). This article wil focus on one of the possible reasons for the deterioration of literacy in South Africa despite considerable efforts by die Education Department to rectify the situation. The didactics used by teachers when teaching reading will be investigated as we believe that this aspect is one of the main reasons for the poor literacy results. Focus will be placed on the methodologies used by teachers in most schools, as it is believed that they rely mainly on the traditional approach of teaching reading. The article will argue that teachers need to change the way they think about teaching reading. The methodologies of teaching reading and the role of the teacher in this process will be described in a framework according to the schema-model. This is followed by a discussion of the traditional way of teaching reading according to the bottom-up and the top-down approaches. As opposed to the traditional bottom-up or top-down approaches an interactive approach is recommended. The article also gives a framework of what learners should be taught and assessed on within the interactive model. Although individual teachers can inspire their students to great achievements, the needs of the nation's huge number of poor readers call for systemic change. Low levels of adolescent literacy is not a problem that can be solved in isolation with some extra tutoring or supplementary programmes for those unable to read well -- it will take a concerted nationwide policy and an execution thereof that reaches deep into districts and the instructional practices of teachers across the curriculum. Change must occur at the classroom level, as well as at the school, district and government levels. It is only through both a change in perspective -- by looking for new ways to teach reading -- and a change in practice -- where all teachers regard themselves as reading teachers -- that we will be able to make a sustained difference in the lives of struggling readers. The paper concludes therefore that with the interactive model we can improve the performance of most struggling readers (Albright & Luke 2008). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siegfried Passarge's career as an earth scientist passed through three segments of space-time: his education in arch-conservative Prussia between 1875 and 1892; the fieldwork in Southern Africa between June 1896 and January 1899 which made him the leading German arid geomorphologist of the time; and, finally, his stay in Hamburg where he was a controversial professor of geography from 1908 to beyond retirement in 1935. This paper is primarily concerned with the results of his brief sojourn in Southern Africa. In 1896 Passarge was contracted by a British firm to search for minerals in the northwest of Bechuanaland Protectorate. Diligently performing his duties Passarge regarded himself a scientist rather than a prospector, gathered extensive data on the Kalahari environment and people and, back in Germany, published his research results in three benchmark monographs: Die Kalahari (1904), a massive physiography of 822 pages, Die Buschmänner der Kalahari (1907), a concise ethnography, and Südafrika (1908), the first regional study of the subcontinent by a professional geographer. As a reconnaissance Die Kalahari opened up the themes which still dominate the Southern African geomorphological discourse: climate change, fossil drainage systems, inselberg landscapes, duricrusts and the stratigraphy of the Kalahari Sequence. Südafrika was ingeniously structured but its geomorphology was coarse in resolution and its interpretations facile. Nevertheless Passarge's work left a long trail in the South African earth sciences. W.M. Davis based his arid cycle on Passarge's explanation of the plateau plains, A.L. du Toit included his five-fold division of the Kalahari sediments in The Geology of South Africa, while John Wellington's Southern Africa was an intentional successor to Südafrika. At Hamburg University during the 1920s and 1930s Passarge exchanged the earth sciences for "Landschaftskunde" and as a result became an embarrassment to the German community of geographers because of his virulent support of the National Socialist regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A distributed knowledge-based system for the optimum utilisation of South African wool This article describes the concept and development of a knowledge-based advisory system for the optimum utilisation of South African wool for the benefit of present and potential investors and other interested parties. Wool is a natural animal fibre produced in varying quantities around the world. The wool fibre is far from homogenous; its type and quality, such as fineness and length, depending on the breed of sheep and the environmental conditions prevailing during its growth. Wool is used in a variety of end uses, ranging from fine worsted suiting, to hand knitting yarn, carpets, blankets and aircraft upholstery, its use depending largely on its fibre fineness and length. The wool industry is one of the oldest agricultural industries in South Africa, playing an important economic role as an earner of foreign exchange, and providing a living to many people. Wool is produced in many parts of South Africa under extensive, semi-extensive or intensive conditions, and is largely an export commodity. It is produced and traded in a sophisticated free market business environment into the international market place, where supply and demand forces determine price levels. More than 90% of locally produced wool is exported in an unprocessed or semi-processed form which detrimentally affects employment, foreign exchange and income-generating opportunities associated with value-addition prior to export. To reduce the amount of wool exported in unprocessed or semi-processed form, wool-processing enterprises need to be established to produce internationally marketable end products. Therefore, South Africa needs to attract investors into the wool sector, who will set up manufacturing mills in an economically sustainable manner. Potential and present investors in the South African (S.A.) wool industry need easily accessible and up-to-date information on the production statistics, processing properties and end-use applications of the wool they need for the particular end-products they manufacture or could manufacture. To achieve this and ensure accessibility to such continuously updated information, it is essential to develop an integrated computer-based system. It is with the above in mind that a knowledge-based system for the optimum utilisation of South African wool has been developed, which is described here. This paper reviews relevant work in this field and covers wool production statistics in South Africa, the end uses of the wool fibre versus the diameter of the fibre, the advantages of distributed architectures, and the flow of processes in a wool utilization system. It then sets out the concept and development of the proposed system, including the architecture of the proposed expert system, the associated analysis and finally the conclusions. The components of the expert system, namely the knowledge base, inference engine, knowledge acquisition component, and explanation system are described.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate about the place of Afrikaans and English as mediums of instruction at the University of Stellenbosch has been generating more heat than light since its beginning in 2002. In this paper, an attempt is made to analyse the debate and to establish where and why the protagonists differ. For reasons of brevity, three representatives of both sides -- those who fight for Afrikaans as the sole pre-graduate medium of instruction and those who are in favour of bilingual instruction in Afrikaans and English respectively -- are compared. They are, on the one hand, Professors Hermann Giliomee and Pieter Kapp (both retired historians) and Mr Christo van der Rheede (CEO of the Foundation for Empowerment through Afrikaans), and on the other Professors Chris Brink and Fanie Cloete (Rector at the time of the debate and political scientist respectively), as well as Dr Edwin Hertzog (Chairman of the University Council). The first group maintains on the strength of research in South Africa and elsewhere in the world that double medium necessarily leads to the demise of the weaker language, in this case Afrikaans; that the University in fact does not even practise the minimum conditions for bilingualism in the class room; that the bilingual project is ideologically driven; and that it neglects the interests of the poor (Coloured) Afrikaans speaking students. The second group is of the opinion that a university's task is not to protect a language, but to foster academic excellence; that unilingual Afrikaans instruction places the university on a slippery slope towards parochialism and isolation; that a multicultural approach is better than cultural apartheid; and that the move towards English is necessary for racial transformation, given South Africa's apartheid past. The arguments are then weighed, and it is found that while the "unilingualists" base their arguments in the main on academic and pedagogic grounds, the "multiculturalists'" approach is largely ideological. The two sides therefore reason on different levels, which also explains why almost no middle ground could be reached during the debate. It is also established that the bilingual approach at Stellenbosch is practised in such a way that the end product is, more likely than not, a unilingual English situation. It appears that the "unilingualists" are academically on more solid ground than the "multiculturalists". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of the Afrikaans conjunction "wanneer" (when) in subordinate clause embedding The Afrikaans conjunction "wanneer" (when) originated in Dutch with the meaning "at which time". This paper describes the use of "wanneer" in subordinate clause embedding. A follow-up article will discuss hypotactic combining. The description follows the cognitive grammar paradigm. In accordance with that paradigm real examples of actual usage are quoted. Relationships between form and meaning are explored with the understanding that there are no clear boundaries between syntactic and semantic categories. A wide variety of examples was obtained by examining a large corpus of documents obtained from the Internet. Table 1 specifies the usage categories observed. Two important categories, i.e. embedding of a subordinate clause as a constituent in the main clause and embedding in a constituent are discussed in depth. As background the usage of "wanneer" as adverb and the transition from adverb to conjunction are briefly discussed. Examples are quoted where "wanneer" is a pure adverb and further examples where "wanneer" is transformed into a conjunction. For example, by using reported speech or by answering questions "wanneer" can be transformed from an adverb to a conjunction. As a conjunction "wanneer" is a typical subordinating conjunction that is followed by the typical Afrikaans subordinate clause ordering. Syntactically "wanneer" introduces a subordinate clause, but semantically the subordination is not always valid as is the case with other subordinating conjunctions. The difference between embedding and hypotactic combining is explained following Taylor, using "participants" and "circumstances". Participants are inherent entities that are complements of the main verb. Circumstances are optional modifiers; they can be omitted in a sentence. In embedding as constituent the subordinate clause introduced by "wanneer" is a complement of the main verb. It is therefore a participant and cannot be omitted. In the corpus the following types of incorporation as a constituent were observed: object, subject, predicate and complement of an intransitive verb. Subordinate "wanneer" clauses as objects of transitive verbs were observed following "communication" verbs. When "wanneer" clauses were observed as subjects the use of an empty "dit" (it) as temporary subject was also seen. In copula constructions, "wanneer" clauses were found as copulative predicates. Sometimes an author mixes the references to time and space, using time as a metaphoric space. Complements of intransitive verbs using "wanneer" were found in sentences with verbs like "plaasvind" (take place), "gebeur" (happen), "ontstaan" (originate) and "voorkom" (occur). Huddleston and Pullum describe a similar phenomenon in English with the verbs "happen", "live", "occur" and "take place" which take complements of temporal location. Embedding in a constituent represents a deeper kind of embedding. The "wanneer" clause now forms a post qualifier to a plethora of words or word groups. This article discusses nouns, noun clauses, prepositions, comparatives and infinitives. "Wanneer" clauses used as post qualifiers to nouns, show similarities to relative clauses. Following Ponelis they can be called adverbial relative clauses. The "wanneer" clause can be restrictive or appositional. The antecedent of the restrictive "wanneer" clause is a time indicator like "dag" (day), "maand" (month), "jaar" (year), "geleentheid" (occasion), "oomblik" (instant), "moment" (moment), "punt" (point) and "dag en datum" (day and age). In some cases "wanneer" can be replaced by "waarop" (whereupon). An appositional adverbial subordinate clause provides further information about the antecedent. The connection between the main clause and the subordinate clause is weaker and is usually reflected by punctuation.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People are, more than ever before, dependent on the unreliable media-industry for information. The possibility, therefore, exists that the media can manipulate the way in which people experience reality. In view of the current discourse on the role of the media in South Africa, this article explores how selected daily newspapers in Gauteng represent the crime reality of South Africa. By taking as a departure point the relation between reality and the represented reality as portrayed by the media (and newspapers specifically) the important role of mediation in representation is discussed as well as the various techniques that can be used to manipulate represented reality in news texts. Journalists subjectively select and organise reality in order to represent it in media texts. Three newspapers, namely Beeld, The Star and Sowetan were selected and then collected during June 2007. Using content analysis, information about the frequency of crime stories, the types of crime, the race of crime victims and the place where the crimes took place were used as criteria to determine which type of reality the three newspapers represent to their target readers. Discourse analysis was used to determine underlying patterns and meanings. The findings indicate that all three papers represent a reality that matches the world view of their different target audiences, each representing a fraction of the South African crime reality. It is argued that this polarises the South African population and prevents a cohesive society. The question of how South African citizens must make sense of a partially portrayed reality remains unanswered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital divide is both a matter of having access to technology and being able to use it. There are several initiatives to roll out Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in public places in South Africa, but the question arises as to whether people will be able to use it effectively. Is the backlog with regard to general education and training not so insurmountable that people from disadvantaged communities are not educable for computer usage? This paper reports on the experiences and observations of instructors during a word processing training course for people from such communities. An interaction model that incorporates user and interface limitations with the difficulties experienced, serves as framework for the discussion. It became clear that most of the difficulties that attendees experienced were related to lack of technological experience, a limitation that can be eliminated through practice and perseverance. Enough practice might also result in an attenuation of the effects of some psychological limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution and habitats of Ceratophallus natalensis (Mollusca: Planorbidae) in South Africa Species of the genus Ceratophallus are known only from some islands in the western Indian Ocean and Africa, where they occur in Eritrea and the area extending southwards and westwards into the Western Cape of South Africa. The most recent classification recognises nine species of this genus of which only two, namely Ceratophallus natalensis (Krauss) and Ceratophallus gibbonsi (Nelson) occur in South Africa. Although partially sympatric, C. gibbonsi is largely associated with a tropical climate and perennial water-bodies while C. natalensis is fairly common in cooler areas and are often found in ephemeral rain pools. This article focuses on the geographical distribution and habitats of C. natalensis, the most widespread species of the genus, as reflected by the data on record in the National Freshwater Snail Collection (NFSC). Details pertaining to the habitats of 1 797 samples of C. natalensis as recorded at the time of collection were extracted from the database of the NFSC. In view of the finding of Brown¹ that C. natalensis and C. gibbonsi are partly sympatric, but that the latter is associated with fully tropical climatic areas, samples of Ceratophallus collected in loci (1/16th square degrees) that fall within the altitude interval ranging from 0-500 m, were selected for closer investigation. A number of 153 samples from 64 loci falling within this altitude interval was subsequently identified as C. natalensis. The number of loci in which the 1 797 collection sites were located, was distributed in intervals of mean annual air temperature and rainfall, as well as intervals of mean altitude, to illustrate the frequency of occurrence within specific intervals. A temperature index was calculated for all mollusc species in the database from their frequencies of occurrence within selected temperature intervals and the results were used to rank them in order of their association with low to high climatic temperatures. Chi-square values were calculated to evaluate the significance of the difference between the frequency of occurrence in, on, or at the different options for each variable. Additionally, an effect size value was calculated to determine the significance of the effect of all the different variables discussed in this paper on the geographical distribution of C. natalensis in South Africa. A multivariate analysis in the form of a decision tree was also constructed. This is a statistical model that enables the selection and ranking of those variables that can maximally discriminate between the frequency of occurrence of a given species under specific conditions as compared to all other mollusc species in the database. The 1 797 samples of C. natalensis of which the collection sites could be located on a 1:250 000 topo-cadastral map series of South Africa were spread over 334 loci. This species was recovered from all types of water-bodies represented in the database but the largest percentage was reported from dams (31.2%), streams (22.2%) and rivers (15.7%). The majority of samples came from habitats with perennial (60.0%), standing (62.9%), clear (63.8%) and fresh (76.7%) water, while 42.1% of the samples were recovered from habitats with a muddy substratum. More than 95% of the samples were reported from sites that fell within the temperature interval ranging from 16-20°C and the majority of samples (64.8%) came from sites falling within the rainfall interval ranging from 601-900 mm.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the ideological construction of group identities, as well as the psychological, social and political interests these identities might serve. More specifically the focus falls on the notion of "the Afrikaner", its supposed threatened status and the attempts in South Africa today to preserve it. In the analysis of (Afrikaner-) identity the ideas of two psychoanalytical figures are employed, namely Sigmund Freud and Slavoj Žižek. Freud's work functions as a bridge for understanding Žižek's analysis of subjectivity. His analysis of group formation is interesting as it starts to strip away some of the essentialist illusions stubbornly clinging to theories of identity. Through his work it becomes evident that a collection of people sharing certain characteristics does not constitute a group. Also, the motivation for group formation cannot be reduced to the demands of survival or to a "herd-instinct". Rather, the organizing principle with regard to groups is artificially achieved identification with the so-called "father" or leader. This notion of identification implies, for Freud, that an individual replaces his or her superego with a person who serves as ego-ideal. A group is then constituted when a collection of people share one and the same ego-ideal or leader. Using Lacanian vocabulary, Žižek replaces the Freudian father (or leader) with the master-signifier. The master-signifier is the signifier in terms of which all other signifiers (that make up the Symbolic Order or social reality) become comprehensible. In this sense it serves to close or "suture" the Symbolic Order. But it is different from the Freudian father as it is characterized by a lack of content and a conflict of interpretations. Also, the master-signifier never fully succeeds in closing off the Symbolic Order, and can never fulfil the subject's desire to coincide with itself Consequently the Symbolic Order must be understood as an ideological field in which signifiers continually contend for dominance. Žižek's use of the master-signifier (as opposed to the Freudian father) emphasizes the symbolic and ideological nature of identity, reality and subjectivity. He further illustrates how symbolic identities (and master-signifiers) always turn out, leaving us with only the traumatic void which constitutes the subject and which demands renewed symbolic identity construction, Žižek also amends and elaborates on Freud's theory of identification. According to Žižek identification takes place in all three of the Lacanian registers of mental experience (Imaginary, Symbolic and Real), and it is only when we take identification with the Real into account that a space opens for the subject's freedom, for ideology-critique and for resistance to oppression. With this in mind it is argued that the "Afrikaner" can be understood as a master-signifier in the South African political context, but one which is losing its hegemonic power in South Africa today. Although it still contends for dominance, many so-called "Afrikaners" feel uncomfortable with this signifier, and most experience it as being in a transitional phase. Understood in this way, the attempts at the resuscitation of Afrikaner-identity might represent a residue of essensialist thought regarding the notion of Afrikaner-ness. Alternatively, they are attempts to establish a questionable political platform from which to strategize in the South African context. This platform is questionable as it carries with it a heavy load of ideological baggage, and because it excludes many South African citizens who sympathize and stand to gain from the political objectives of "Afrikaner"-movements (the promotion of the Afrikaans language, for instance, and tire protection of the rights of minorities).… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper read by N.P. van Wyk Louw at the twelfth annual conferenee of the Suid-Afrikaanse Buro vir Rasse-aangeleenthede (SABRA) in Bloemfontein, "The development of a South African national character", shortly after the Union of South Africa had become the Republic of South Africa. is evaluated from the viewpoint of its intrinsic merit as well as its impact on later developments in the fields of politics and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the mismatch between official multilingualism, on the one hand, and the current hegemony of English in South African education, on the other. The specific focus is on a number of issues faced by a schooling system still struggling with a dual legacy. The first is African-language speakers' historically-induced suspicion of mother-tongue education, despite its universally-acknowledged benefits. Coupled to this is the belief that only an English-medium education can provide a quality education. Together with the state's sometimes clumsy attempts to provide access to good schools for the historically disadvantaged, black parents' aspirations to enrol their children in Afrikaans single-medium schools have put pressure on the latter to accommodate English-seeking learners, often in a parallel English-medium stream -- to the chagrin of some Afrikaans-speaking communities. This paper argues that the legitimate right to mother-tongue education should not be conflated with single-medium institutions. Furthermore, the notion of dual-medium education is explored as a viable alternative to the current delayed submersion into English, with implications for teacher training. Other aspects dealt with include the need to rehabilitate African languages via language subjects, teachers' language proficiency and the formal recognition of multilingual competence, as well as the decentralisation of schooling that has allowed schools to take pedagogically irresponsible decisions about language policy. Crucially, the realisation of a home-language based education system depends on the meeting up of language planning "from above" with progressive initiatives and pressures "from below". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, entitled ‘On the categorisation of subordinating conjunctions: some characteristics of ‘dat’ compounds’, describes the syntactic and semantic characteristics of a group of subordinating conjunctions in Afrikaans, i.e. the compound conjunctions with ‘dat’ (‘that’). Most of these compounds contain a preposition as the leading element, e.g. ‘voordat’ (‘before’), ‘nadat’ (‘after’), ‘vandat’ (‘from’), ‘totdat’ (‘until’), ‘metdat’ (‘with’), ‘omdat’ (‘for’), ‘oordat’ (‘over’), ‘deurdat’ (‘through’), ‘indat’ (‘in’) and ‘opdat’ (‘on’). A few are formed with adverbs, i.e. ‘eerdat’ (‘ere’), ‘noudat’ (‘now’), ‘sodat’ (‘so’) and ‘hoedat’ (‘how’). In the framework of cognitive grammar, this work is corpus-based. The Internet provided 557 Afrikaans documents. A total of 9 177 uses of the conjunction ‘dat’ and 1 909 uses of the ‘dat’ compounds were found. Sixty-three examples from the corpus are cited. The subordinating conjunction ‘indat’ appears six times in the corpus, but has as yet not been included in the Afrikaans dictionaries, proving the class of subordinating conjuctions to be an open class where members may be added. The greatest similarity is that all compound subordinating conjunctions with ‘dat’ lead to the same sentential order. The ‘dat’ group is, however, heterogeneous with respect to the type of subordination. Hypotactic binding was observed in the case of all the ‘dat’ compounds, except ‘hoedat’, while incorporation as a participant in the main clause was only found with ‘hoedat’ and a few cases of ‘oordat’. A variety of meaning nuances can be expressed with these compounds. These range from a more or less literal meaning of the preposition or adverb through to causal relationships used for argumentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]