EWS2601/101/3/2024

Tutorial Letter 101/3/2024

Engaging with Society

Meeting the Challenges of a Changing
World

EWS2601
Semester 1 and 2

Department of Sociology

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please register on myUnisa, activate your myLife e-mail account and
make sure that you have regular access to the myUnisa module
website, EWS2601-2024-S1/S2, as well as your group website.

Note: This is a fully online module. It is, therefore, only available on myUnisa.
 CONTENTS

Page

1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................. 4
2 MODULE OVERVIEW.......................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Purpose............................................................................................................................................. 5
2.2 Outcomes.......................................................................................................................................... 5
3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION................................................................................................... 5
4 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS........................................................................................... 6
4.1 Lecturer(s) ......................................................................................................................................... 6
4.2 Department ....................................................................................................................................... 6
4.3 University .......................................................................................................................................... 7
5 RESOURCES ...................................................................................................................................... 7
5.1 Prescribed book(s) ............................................................................................................................ 7
5.2 Recommended book(s) ..................................................................................................................... 7
5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves) ................................................................................................. 7
6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES ........................................................................................................ 8
6.1 First-Year Experience Programme..................................................................................................... 9
7. STUDY PLAN ................................................................................................................................... 10
8. ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................................. 11
8.1 Assessment criteria ..........................................................................................................................11
8.2 Assessment plan ..............................................................................................................................11
8.3 Assessment due dates ....................................................................................................................11
8.4 Submission of assessments ........................................................................................................... 12
8.4.1 Types of assignments and descriptions ........................................................................................ 13
8.5 The assessments ............................................................................................................................ 14
8.6 The examination ............................................................................................................................. 14
8.6.1 Invigilation/proctoring .................................................................................................................... 14
9. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY ............................................................................................................... 15
9.1 Plagiarism ....................................................................................................................................... 15
9.2 Cheating.......................................................................................................................................... 15
9.3 For more information about plagiarism, follow the link below: .......................................................... 15
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10. STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES ...................................................................................... 16

11. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 16
12. IN CLOSING ................................................................................................................................... 16

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1 INTRODUCTION
Dear Student

Welcome to the module EWS2601: Engaging with Society. The module is offered and
coordinated fully online; thus, study material will be uploaded and accessible online, all
assignments and examination will be completed online.

We are pleased to have you as a student and trust you will find the study of sociological
research methodology content, arguments and issues tackled to be of interest and relevant
to you now and in the near future. We will do our best to make your study of this module
successful. You will also reap excellent results should you work hard and consistently
throughout the semester. Thus, it is important to regularly read the study guide, complete
and submit assignments on time, and participate in online group discussion forums on
myUnisa. This module is one of the fundamental modules of the BA degree.

Unisa is a comprehensive open distance e-learning (CODeL) higher education institution.

The comprehensiveness of our curricula encapsulates a range of offerings, from strictly
vocational to strictly academic certificates, diplomas, and degrees. Unisa's "openness" and
its distance eLearning character result in many students registering at Unisa who may not
have had an opportunity to enrol in higher education. Our CODeL character implies that
our programmes are carefully planned and structured to ensure success for students
ranging from the under-prepared but with potential to the sufficiently prepared.

Teaching and learning in a CODeL context involve multiple modes of delivery ranging from
blended learning to fully online. As a default position, all post graduate programmes are
offered fully online with no printed study materials, while undergraduate programmes are
offered in a blended mode of delivery where printed study materials are augmented with
online teaching and learning via the learner management system – myUnisa. In some
instances, undergraduate programmes are offered fully online as well.

Furthermore, our programmes are aligned with the vision, mission, and values of the
University. Unisa's commitment to serve humanity and shape futures combined with a clear
appreciation of our location on the African continent, Unisa's graduates have distinctive
graduate qualities which include.

• independent, resilient, responsible, and caring citizens who are able to fulfil and serve
in multiple roles in their immediate and future local, national, and global communities

• having a critical understanding of their location on the African continent with its
histories, challenges, and potential in relation to globally diverse contexts

• the ability to critically analyse and evaluate the credibility and usefulness of
information and data from multiple sources in a globalised world with its
everincreasing information and data flows and competing worldviews

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• how to apply their discipline-specific knowledges competently, ethically, and

creatively to solve real-life problems

• an awareness of their own learning and developmental needs and future potential

This module is offered online (all information is available via the internet), we use myUnisa
as our virtual campus. This is an online system that is used to administer, document, and
deliver educational material to you and support engagement with you. Look out for
information from your lecturer as well as other Unisa platforms to determine how to access
the virtual myUnisa module site. Information on the tools that will be available to engage
with the lecturer and fellow students to support your learning will also be communicated
via various platforms.

You are encouraged to log into the module site on myUnisa regularly (that is, at least twice
per week).

Because this is a fully online module, you will need to use myUnisa to study and complete
the learning activities for this module. Visit the website for EWS2601 on myUnisa frequently.
The website for your module is EWS2601-2024-S1/S2.

We wish you every success with your studies!

2 MODULE OVERVIEW

2.1 Purpose

The purpose of this module is to increase your understanding of how the world is changing and what
these changes may mean for us.

2.2 Outcomes

For this module, you will have to master several outcomes:

o Specific outcome 1: Situate self and others as part of a changing physical,

social and cultural environment. o Specific outcome 2: Differentiate between
the specificity of the local, African, and South African context on the one hand
and the universal, global context on the other.
o Specific outcome 3: Interrogate notions of both difference and commonalities
in society.

o Specific outcome 4: Respond appropriately to common challenges such as

globalisation, poverty, and sustainable development.
3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION
Unisa has implemented a transformation charter, in terms of which the university has placed
curriculum transformation high on the teaching and learning agenda. Curriculum
transformation includes student-centred scholarship, the pedagogical renewal of teaching
and assessment practices, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the infusion of
African epistemologies and philosophies. All of these will be phased in at both programme
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 and module levels, and as a result of this you will notice a marked change in the teaching and
learning strategy implemented by Unisa, together with the way in which the content is
conceptualised in your modules. We encourage you to embrace these changes during your
studies at Unisa in a responsive way within the framework of transformation.

4 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS

4.1 Lecturer(s)

The primary lecturer for this module is Mr T Maake:

Department: Sociology Telephone: 0124296576
E-mail: [email protected]

The secondary lecturer for this module is Ms B Smith:

Department: Sociology
E-mail: [email protected]

For specific themes in the study guide, you may contact the lecturers as follows:
STUDY GUIDE DEPARTMENT LECTURER CONTACT DETAILS

[email protected]
Introduction Sociology Mr. T Maake [email protected]
Ms. B Smith 012 429 6576
Anthropology and [email protected]
Us and Them Archaeology Dr M Manaka 012 429 6477

Mr. T Maake [email protected]

Wealth and Status Sociology [email protected]
Ms. B Smith 012 429 3275
Society and the Mr. T Maake Ms
[email protected]
Challenge of Criminality Sociology B Smith
012 429 6576
[email protected]
Living Sustainably History Mr. N Southey 012 429 6044

4.2 Department

You can contact the Department of Sociology as follows:

Ms. L Msiza

Telephone number: 0124298764

E-mail: [email protected]

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4.3 University

Contact addresses of the various administrative departments are included in Study @

Unisa, which you receive with your study package. The university’s official contact details are
as follows:

Physical address Postal address

University of South Africa University of South Africa

PO Box 392 Preller Street
Unisa Muckleneuk
0003 Pretoria, City of Tshwane
0003
Contact addresses of the various administrative departments appear on the Unisa website:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Contact-us/Student-enquiries.

Please include the student number in all correspondence

5 RESOURCES
5.1 Prescribed book(s)

There are no prescribed books for this module.

5.2 Recommended book(s)

There are no recommended books for this module.

5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)

There are no electronic reserves for this module.

5.4 Library services and resources

The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources. The library has
created numerous library guides, available at http://libguides.unisa.ac.za

Recommended guides:

• For brief information on the library, go to https://www.unisa.ac.za/library/libatglance

• For more detailed library information, go to
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library
• Frequently Asked Questions, visit
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Frequently-AskedQuestions
• For research support and services such as the Personal Librarian service and the
Information Search Librarian's Literature Search Request (on
your research topic) service, visit

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 http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Libraryservi
ces/Research-support.
• For library training for undergraduate students, visit
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Libraryservices/Training
• Lending Services
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Libraryservices/Lending-services
• Services for Postgraduate students
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Services-for-Postgraduates
• Support and Services for students with disabilities
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Services-for-students-withspecial-
needs
• Library Technology Support -https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/techsupport
• Finding and using library resources and tools http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/Research_skills
• A–Z list of library databases – https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/az.php

Important contact information:

• Technical problems encountered in accessing library online services:
[email protected]
• General library-related queries: [email protected]
• Queries related to library fines and payments: [email protected]
• Interlibrary loan service for postgraduate students: [email protected]
• Literature Search Service: [email protected]
• Social media channels: Facebook: UnisaLibrary and Twitter: @UnisaLibrary

6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

The Study @ Unisa brochure is available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies
This brochure contains important information and guidelines for successful studies through
Unisa.

If you need assistance with regard to the myModules system, you are welcome to use the
following contact details:

• Toll-free landline: 0800 00 1870 (Select option 07 for myModules)

• E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
You can access and view short videos on topics such as how to view your calendar, how to
access module content, how to view announcements for modules, how to submit assessment
and how to participate in forum activities via the following link:
https://dtlsqa.unisa.ac.za/course/view.php?id=32130

Registered Unisa students get a free myLife e-mail account. Important information, notices and
updates are sent exclusively to this account. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours for your
account to be activated after you have claimed it. Please do this immediately after registering
at Unisa, by following this link: [email protected]
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Your myLife account is the only e-mail account recognised by Unisa for official correspondence
with the university and will remain the official primary e-mail address on record at Unisa. You
remain responsible for the management of this e-mail account.

6.1 First-Year Experience Programme

Many students find the transition from school education to tertiary education stressful. This is
also true in the case of students enrolling at Unisa for the first time. Unisa is a dedicated open
distance and e-learning institution, and it is very different from face-to-face/contact
institutions. It is a mega university, and all our programmes are offered through either blended
learning or fully online learning. It is for this reason that we thought it necessary to offer first-
time students additional/extended support to help them seamlessly navigate the Unisa
teaching and learning journey with little difficulty and few barriers. We therefore offer a
specialised student support programme to students enrolling at Unisa for the first time – this
is Unisa’s First-Year Experience (FYE) Programme, designed to provide you with prompt and
helpful information about services that the institution offers and how you can access
information. The following FYE services are currently offered:

FYE Website Email Support

www.unisa.ac.za/FY E [email protected]

FYE1500
Post
myUnisa; Study
Registration
Referrals to Skills; Academic &
Orientation Digital Literacies;
other support
services i.e., etc
Counselling;
Reading & Writing
workshops

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 To ensure that you do not miss out on important academic and support communication
from the SRU, please check your myLife inbox regularly.

7. STUDY PLAN
You will be required to complete 2 assignments per semester. The first assignment is a
multiple- choice questions (MCQs) assignment and must be completed and submitted
online at the website EWS2601/101 provided. The second assignment consists of writing
short, logical, and well- reasoned paragraphs based on a set of questions provided. You
will immediately need to commence with reading of the study guide at the start of the
semester in order to do and complete the assignments in time and well.

The second assignment is a written assignment that can also preferably be typed in 12
point Arial or Times New Roman fonts with 1.5 line spacing and leave at least 2.5cm for
margins on the left and right for the lecturer’s comments. This assignment should be
submitted online. Please take note of the due dates and begin reading your study guide
and consulting recommended sources in advance of these due dates. Assignment two
will comprise of questions that require answers to be explained in paragraphs, substantial
discussion and giving definitions of concepts. You will have to do some indepent research
for this assignment. Plan ahead so as to progress successfully!

It is very important that you attend to this module in a conscientious, regular, and
systematic way. Success in this module requires the understanding and application of a
variety of definitions of basic terms and concepts. Most of all, this module calls for careful
thinking, logical reasoning, and the ability to apply the information that you learn to real
examples. Thinking and intelligent application can be time-consuming, so do not take this
as an easy or light credit. You will need to spend real time completing the module to be
successful.

Since this is a second-level Sociology module, you are required to devote at least 120
hours of study in the semester in which you enrol to complete the module. A semester is
roughly 15 weeks and therefore you need about ± 8 hours of study per week. You can
easily fit this into 5 or 7 days per week. It is totally doable and fair to your other modules
for your degree – and it will be beneficial if you do so before you put in extra hours for
examination preparation. This means that you should work at this module for at least 10
to 12 hours per week to pass it well.

Use your Study @ Unisa brochure for general time management and planning skills.

Your lecturers will gladly assist you to improve your understanding of the study material.
You should thus feel free to write (via e-mail) to them if you require help. You can also and
in fact are encouraged to form study groups but with the sole intention of discussing
information on the topics in your study guide and not copying from each other. myUnisa
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discussion forums are also a platform for you to engage your lecturers and communicate
about the module with your peers in the module. When you contact us, we will expect you
to:

1. provide us with questions you have on the module and its contents; and

2. provide us with your attempts (preferably in coherent written form) at answers to that
question/s

8. ASSESSMENT
8.1 Assessment criteria

You must submit the first assignment to gain exam admission. This assignment
does not contribute to the year mark. You must submit the second assignment to
get semester mark (credit) which contribute 20% to your final mark. (The exam
carries the other 80% of the final mark to pass the module).
8.2 Assessment plan

• To complete this module, you will be required to submit two assignments (01-MCQ
and 02 essay type assignment) per semester.

• All information about when and where to submit your assessments will be made
available to you via the myModules site for your module.
• Due dates for assessments, as well as the actual assessments are available on the
myModules site for this module.
• To gain admission to the examination, you will be required to submit 01 assignment
(MCQ).
• The assessment weighting for the module is 20%-year mark and 80% examination
mark.
• You will receive examination information via the myModules sites. Please watch out
for announcements on how examinations for the modules for which you are registered
will be conducted.
• The examination will count 80% towards the final module mark.
8.3 Assessment due dates

• There are no assignment due dates included in this tutorial letter.

• Assignment due dates will be made available to you on the myUnisa landing page for
this module. We envisage that the due dates will be available to you upon registration.

• Please start working on your assessments as soon as you register for the module.

• Log on to the myUnisa site for this module to obtain more information on the due dates
for the submission of the assessments.

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8.4 Submission of assessments

• Unisa, as a comprehensive open distance e-learning institution (CODeL), is moving

towards becoming an online institution. You will therefore see that all your study
material, assessments and engagements with your lecturer and fellow students will
take place online. We use myUnisa as our virtual campus.

• The myUnisa virtual campus will offer students access to the myModules site, where
learning material will be available online and where assessments should be
completed. This is an online system that is used to administer, document, and deliver
educational material to students and support engagement between academics and
students.

• The myUnisa platform can be accessed via https://my.unisa.ac.za. Click on the

myModules 2024 button to access the online sites for the modules that you are
registered for.

• The university undertakes to communicate clearly and as frequently as is necessary

to ensure that you obtain the greatest benefit from the use of the myModules learning
management system. Please access the announcements on your myModules site
regularly, as this is where your lecturer will post important information to be shared
with you.

• When you access your myModules site for the module/s you are registered for, you
will see a welcome message posted by your lecturer. Below the welcome message
you will see the assessment shells for the assessments that you need to complete.
Some assessments may be multiple choice, some tests, others written assessments,
some forum discussions, and so on. All assessments must be completed on the
assessment shells available on the respective module platforms.

• To complete quiz assessments, please log on to the module site where you need to
complete the assessment. Click on the relevant assessment shell (Assessment 1,
Assessment 2, etc.). There will be a date on which the assessment will open for you.
When the assessment is open, access the quiz online and complete it within the time
available to you. Quiz assessment questions are not included in this tutorial letter
(Tutorial Letter 101) and are only made available online. You must therefore access
the quiz online and complete it online where the quiz has been created.

• It is not advisable to use a cell phone to complete the quiz. Please use a desktop
computer, tablet or laptop when completing the quiz. Students who use a cell phone
find it difficult to navigate the Online Assessment tool on the small screen and often
struggle to navigate between questions and successfully complete the quizzes. In
addition, cell phones are more vulnerable to dropped internet connections than other
devices. If at all possible, please do not use a cell phone for this assessment
type.
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• For written assessments, please note the due date by which the assessment must be
submitted. Ensure that you follow the guidelines given by your lecturer to complete the
assessment. Click on the submission button on the relevant assessment shell on
myModules. You will then be able to upload your written assessment on the
myModules site of the modules that you are registered for. Before you finalise the
upload, double check that you have selected the correct file for upload. Remember, no
marks can be allocated for incorrectly submitted assessments.

8.4.1 Types of assignments and descriptions

All assignments are defined as either optional, mandatory, compulsory, or elective.

• Elective assignments
- If not submitted, the student gets no mark for this item. - The best of the required
submissions will count.
• Mandatory assignments
- If not submitted, the student gets no mark for this item.
• Compulsory assignments
- If not submitted, the result on the student’s academic record will be absent.
• Optional assignments – You are encouraged as a student to do optional
assignment so that it may benefit your learning.

I. Elective assignments
a. the student is given a choice of which assignments within an identified group to
submit, only the best result(-s), the number of which is specified in advance, will
contribute towards the year mark.
b. elective assignments must also be grouped into an elective group.
c. for the student to select which assignment to submit, the elective assignments
must be grouped together. For such an elective group, relevant information must
be provided to the student, such as how many of the assignments must be
submitted and how many of the assignment marks should be combined into the
year mark.
d. The selection criteria define how marks received for assignments in an elective
group are to be combined into the year mark. Three different criteria may be used
for calculating the year mark: • The best mark should be used, or
• If the student submits fewer than the required number of assignments per group
or no assignment in a group, a mark of 0% will be used.
• 0% is awarded to all non-submitted or unmarked assessments. A best mark is
then calculated from all items.

II. Mandatory assignments

a. contribute to the year mark.

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 b. If a student fails to submit a mandatory assignment, no mark is awarded and the
year mark is calculated accordingly. The student will therefore forfeit the marks
attached to this assignment when the final mark for the module is calculated.

III. Compulsory Assessment

a. when not submitted, the student will fail a Continuous Assessment module but will
be shown as absent from the examination in the case of other modules.

IV. Optional assignments – You are encouraged as a student to do optional assignment so

that it may benefit your learning.

8.5 The assessments

There are no assignments included in this tutorial letter. Assignments and due dates will
be made available to you on myUnisa for this module. We envisage that the due dates will
be available to you upon registration.

8.6 The examination

Examination information and details on the format of the examination will be made available
to you online via the myUnisa site. Look out for information that will be shared with you by
your lecturer and e-tutors (where relevant) and for communication from the university.

8.6.1 Invigilation/proctoring

Since 2020 Unisa conducts all its assessments online. Given stringent requirements from
professional bodies and increased solicitations of Unisa’s students by third parties to
unlawfully assist them with the completion of assignments and examinations, the University
is obliged to assure its assessment integrity through the utilisation of various proctoring tools:
Turnitin, Moodle Proctoring, the Invigilator App and IRIS. These tools will authenticate the
student’s identity and flag suspicious behaviour to assure credibility of students’ responses
during assessments. The description below is for your benefit as you may encounter any or
all of these in your registered modules:

Turnitin is a plagiarism software that facilitates checks for originality in students’ submissions
against internal and external sources. Turnitin assists in identifying academic fraud and ghost
writing. Students are expected to submit typed responses for utilisation of the Turnitin
software.

The Moodle Proctoring tool is a facial recognition software that authenticates students’
identity during their Quiz assessments. This tool requires access to a student’s mobile or
laptop camera. Students must ensure their camera is activated in their browser settings prior
to their assessments.

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The Invigilator “mobile application-based service does verification” of the identity of an

assessment participant. The Invigilator Mobile Application detects student dishonesty-
byproxy and ensures that the assessment participant is the registered student. This
invigilation tool requires students to download the app from their Play Store (Google, Huawei,
and Apple) on their mobile devices (camera enabled) prior to their assessment.

IRIS Invigilation software verifies the identity of a student during assessment and provides
for both manual and automated facial verification. It has the ability to record and review a
student’s assessment session. It flags suspicious behaviour by the students for review by an
academic administrator. IRIS software requires installation on students’ laptop devices that
are enabled with a webcam.

Students who are identified and flagged for suspicious dishonest behaviour arising from the
invigilation and proctoring reports are referred to the disciplinary office for formal proceeding.

Please note:

Students must refer to their module assessment information on their myModule sites to
determine which proctoring or invigilation tool will be utilised for their formative and summative
assessments.

9. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
9.1 Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas and thoughts of others and presenting them
as your own. It is a form of theft. Plagiarism includes the following forms of academic
dishonesty:

• Copying and pasting from any source without acknowledging the source.
• Not including references or deliberately inserting incorrect bibliographic information.
• Paraphrasing without acknowledging the original source of the information.
9.2 Cheating
Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Completing assessments on behalf of another student, copying the work of another

student during an assessment, or allowing another student to copy your work.
• Using social media (e.g., WhatsApp, Telegram) or other platforms to disseminate
assessment information.
• Submitting corrupt or irrelevant files, this forms part of examination guidelines
• Buying completed answers from so-called “tutors” or internet sites (contract cheating).
9.3 For more information about plagiarism, follow the link below:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa/Student-values-and-rules

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 10. STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES
The Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities (ARCSWiD) provides an
opportunity for staff to interact with first-time and returning students with disabilities.
If you are a student with a disability and would like additional support or need additional time
for assessments, you are invited to contact (name and e-mail address of the lecturer must be
inserted) to discuss the assistance that you need.

11. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Study @Unisa brochure contains an A-Z guide of most relevant study information.

12. IN CLOSING
We hope you will find this module interesting and wish you success in this module! Put in the
time and effort and you will see success. Contact your lecturers to assist you should you be
experiencing any difficulties in the module. Take note of the deadlines and plan your work
ahead so that you are not unprepared.
©
Unisa 2024

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