jenniferdebeer

End of South African academic year + other news

I´ve been quiet in that I´ve not sent my weekly e-mail to friends, updating them on times here in Madrid. Partly it is because I feel the need for some quiet time, and another is that I´ve been marking student assignments for some of my courses back in South Africa. Yes, I am still on board for that, if only so that there is continuity for my students in terms of (my and general)expectations with regard to assignments. But my, does it take time. So, if you still come across my name and profile as part of the staff complement at Stellenbosch University (www.sun.ac.za/infoscience/), it is because in this, the latter sense, I am still associated with the university. And it´s not because their web site needs updating :) As indicated, the academic year is winding down now in South Africa. Final year marks need to be in, and I´ve been working to meet that deadline, whilst attempting to be a student here, as well as working on applications to do my PhD late next year... My life is never simple.

Second matter: The URL linked-to as part of the title of this entry links to a story on Wired, regarding the latest UN report on the growth in HIV infections in 2005. I quote: "Almost 5 million people were infected by HIV globally in 2005, the highest jump since the first reported case in 1981 and taking the number living with the virus to a record 40.3 million, the United Nations said on Monday. " It is nothing less than depressing. And South Africa is "front-runner" on this "scoreboard".

posted by Jennifer A. DeBeer @ 17:17