Featured Research: Language & Communication

Talking Point

Augmentative and alternative communication: Empowering people with disabilities

South Africa commemorates National Disability Rights Awareness Month annually between 3 November and 3 December. The Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) at the University of Pretoria (UP) plays an important role in addressing communication difficulties encountered by individuals with physical challenges or persons with disabilities.

Stories

Turn it down! Your music is damaging your hearing

Through his research, Prof Vinck has already been instrumental in the passing of legislation regulating sound exposure at music festivals in Belgium. He feels very strongly that awareness.

Story

Exploring the early origins of language

The ability to speak is often taken for granted and it is only when that ability is lost, that the true extent of our dependence on language as a method of communication is realised.

Story

'Tell and be heard'

Violence against individuals with complex communication needs very often remains undisclosed. Unfortunately this unhappy state of events is sustained by various contributing factors such as the fact that the individuals often do not have the means of communication to disclose what happened to them.

Story

Giving the defenceless a voice in court

Crimes committed against people with developmental and other disabilities are similar in scope to crimes committed against women, children and the elderly, and yet the victimisation of people with disabilities remains largely unaddressed.

Lecture

‘Great expectations and the mourning after: A literary anatomy of post-independence politics in Africa’

In 1980 there were around 5 000 analogue mobile subscribers. With the GSM digital mobile coming into play around 1988, it is predicted that by the end of 2013 there will be approximately 7 billion connections in the world. With such spectacular growth in the wireless communications industry, the next challenge is the provision of greater throughput via broadband connections that are both...