Alcohol use among women attending antenatal care in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Bredenkamp, Petrus Johannes
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234358 , vital:50188
- Description: Alcohol use during pregnancy is known to cause neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). High prevalence of FASD has been observed in certain parts South Africa, but many areas of the country remain unstudied, and factors contributing to drinking among pregnant women are poorly understood. This study surveyed 1099 women attending antenatal care at public primary healthcare facilities in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Area in the Eastern Cape. Data was collected using the Alcohol Use Identification Test, a 10-item self-report measure of drinking behaviour in isiXhosa, English, and Afrikaans. Factors associated with alcohol use, risky drinking, binge drinking, and hazardous/harmful drinking were identified using logistic regression. A minority of the sample reported alcohol use (64%). Among those reporting alcohol use, most reported occasional binge drinking (63%) and met criteria for risky drinking (59%) and hazardous/harmful drinking (52%). Living with a regular drinker was significantly associated with alcohol use (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.51 – 2.58), risky drinking (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.49 – 2.76), binge drinking (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.64 – 2.97), and hazardous/harmful drinking (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.41 – 2.99). However, women who were married/cohabiting were less likely to report alcohol use (OR .71, 95% CI .53 - .95). Experiencing intimate partner violence during the current pregnancy was associated with alcohol use (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.38 – 4.27) and hazardous/harmful drinking (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.32 – 5.22). In this study, women who identified as Coloured were more likely to report alcohol use than Women who identified as African (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.4 – 5.36). These findings simultaneously provide evidence of problematic drinking among pregnant women in a previously understudied area and show that external factors affect women’s drinking behaviour during pregnancy. Interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of FASD should consider alcohol use by pregnant women in the context of their lived experiences. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bredenkamp, Petrus Johannes
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234358 , vital:50188
- Description: Alcohol use during pregnancy is known to cause neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). High prevalence of FASD has been observed in certain parts South Africa, but many areas of the country remain unstudied, and factors contributing to drinking among pregnant women are poorly understood. This study surveyed 1099 women attending antenatal care at public primary healthcare facilities in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Area in the Eastern Cape. Data was collected using the Alcohol Use Identification Test, a 10-item self-report measure of drinking behaviour in isiXhosa, English, and Afrikaans. Factors associated with alcohol use, risky drinking, binge drinking, and hazardous/harmful drinking were identified using logistic regression. A minority of the sample reported alcohol use (64%). Among those reporting alcohol use, most reported occasional binge drinking (63%) and met criteria for risky drinking (59%) and hazardous/harmful drinking (52%). Living with a regular drinker was significantly associated with alcohol use (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.51 – 2.58), risky drinking (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.49 – 2.76), binge drinking (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.64 – 2.97), and hazardous/harmful drinking (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.41 – 2.99). However, women who were married/cohabiting were less likely to report alcohol use (OR .71, 95% CI .53 - .95). Experiencing intimate partner violence during the current pregnancy was associated with alcohol use (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.38 – 4.27) and hazardous/harmful drinking (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.32 – 5.22). In this study, women who identified as Coloured were more likely to report alcohol use than Women who identified as African (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.4 – 5.36). These findings simultaneously provide evidence of problematic drinking among pregnant women in a previously understudied area and show that external factors affect women’s drinking behaviour during pregnancy. Interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of FASD should consider alcohol use by pregnant women in the context of their lived experiences. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
- Full Text:
Diski 9 Nine and Other Stories (and Things)
- Authors: Mahlabe, Stoffel Seshia
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , South African essays (English) 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) 21st century , Portuguese fiction History and criticism , African literature (English) History and criticism , Ghanaian fiction (English) History and criticism , South African fiction (English) History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232283 , vital:49978
- Description: My thesis is a collection of short stories that reflects the everyday lives of ordinary people. They touch on issues of morality within the current context, in such a way as to both entertain and educate. As a child I learned to imitate the wildly comical, sometimes dark dinoonwane and dithamalakwane stories I heard from elders. In my thesis, I draw on Amos Tutuola’s exuberant style of retelling Yoruba folktales and balance this with the languid candour of Jose Saramago’s Blindness. Stories such as Bessora’s The Milka Cow, and Micah Dean Hicks’s Crawfish Noon have impressed me deeply for their incredible, wild narrative strategies that still, however, emulate realism. Dambudzo Marechera and Can Themba are also present influences. Both have sprinklings of erudition in their writing, but in an earthy kind of way. Their writing contains transliterations that have a ring of the vernacular languages, an idiom that Africanises the English language. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mahlabe, Stoffel Seshia
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , South African essays (English) 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) 21st century , Portuguese fiction History and criticism , African literature (English) History and criticism , Ghanaian fiction (English) History and criticism , South African fiction (English) History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232283 , vital:49978
- Description: My thesis is a collection of short stories that reflects the everyday lives of ordinary people. They touch on issues of morality within the current context, in such a way as to both entertain and educate. As a child I learned to imitate the wildly comical, sometimes dark dinoonwane and dithamalakwane stories I heard from elders. In my thesis, I draw on Amos Tutuola’s exuberant style of retelling Yoruba folktales and balance this with the languid candour of Jose Saramago’s Blindness. Stories such as Bessora’s The Milka Cow, and Micah Dean Hicks’s Crawfish Noon have impressed me deeply for their incredible, wild narrative strategies that still, however, emulate realism. Dambudzo Marechera and Can Themba are also present influences. Both have sprinklings of erudition in their writing, but in an earthy kind of way. Their writing contains transliterations that have a ring of the vernacular languages, an idiom that Africanises the English language. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages, 2022
- Full Text:
Magnitude
- Authors: Seddon, Deborah Ann
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Zimbabwean poetry (English) 21st century , Diaries -- Authorship , Polish literature 21st century History and criticism , English poetry 20th century History and criticism , English literature Irish authors History and criticism , American poetry 21st century History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234400 , vital:50192
- Description: My thesis is a collection of lyric, narrative, and prose poetry directed towards two forms of death – physical death and the disavowal of the self. Many poems focus on the death of my mother, and the work required after loss to sort through a family’s life in my Harare childhood home. This associative exploration draws together childhood memories, encounters with physical objects, letters, and songs, as well as with the city and its people. Tadeusz Rózewicz’s Mother Departs has influenced my approach to writing of my mother’s death, particularly how to grant her a voice in the telling. I also draw on the poetry of Harmony Holiday and Pascal Petite, in their attention to the complexities and emotional dangers of the mother-daughter bond. Other poems draw on the work of Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Judy Grahn, Ocean Vuong, and Saeed Jones, in terms of imagining queer life into poetry, the use of the erotic as a means of empowerment, and developing a queer political identity, to examine various aspects of queer love, including the heartaches associated with self-denial. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Seddon, Deborah Ann
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Zimbabwean poetry (English) 21st century , Diaries -- Authorship , Polish literature 21st century History and criticism , English poetry 20th century History and criticism , English literature Irish authors History and criticism , American poetry 21st century History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234400 , vital:50192
- Description: My thesis is a collection of lyric, narrative, and prose poetry directed towards two forms of death – physical death and the disavowal of the self. Many poems focus on the death of my mother, and the work required after loss to sort through a family’s life in my Harare childhood home. This associative exploration draws together childhood memories, encounters with physical objects, letters, and songs, as well as with the city and its people. Tadeusz Rózewicz’s Mother Departs has influenced my approach to writing of my mother’s death, particularly how to grant her a voice in the telling. I also draw on the poetry of Harmony Holiday and Pascal Petite, in their attention to the complexities and emotional dangers of the mother-daughter bond. Other poems draw on the work of Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Judy Grahn, Ocean Vuong, and Saeed Jones, in terms of imagining queer life into poetry, the use of the erotic as a means of empowerment, and developing a queer political identity, to examine various aspects of queer love, including the heartaches associated with self-denial. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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Needs assessment for gender-sensitive training in substance use disorder treatment for gender-nonconforming people
- Authors: Tao, Lane
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Discrimination in mental health services , Substance abuse Psychological aspects , Substance abuse Social aspects , Substance abuse Treatment , LGBTQ+ people Psychology , LGBTQ+ people Mental health services , Gender mainstreaming , Psychiatric ethics
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234339 , vital:50187
- Description: Research suggests that queer people face both general discrimination and inadequate support in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. One recommendation made by scholarship to address this is to improve the treatment capabilities of practitioners, thus improving practitioner readiness and reducing access barriers for a potentially at-risk population. The purpose of this study is to explore SUD treatment practitioners’ experiences of treating queer clients and identify their training needs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven registered mental healthcare practitioners operating in Cape Town, South Africa. Data was analysed via thematic analysis, using a social constructionist approach to gender and practitioner knowledge. The findings reflect a strong interest in gender-sensitive training to better prepare practitioners for treating queer clients. Participants provided feedback on areas in need of improvement and made recommendations on how training should be conducted. Findings indicate that queer clients may enter treatment with a high burden of trauma due to discrimination, and that healthcare structures abiding by a binary approach to gender may not be able to address queer people’s diverse needs. Recommendations for future research are made, with particular emphasis on including queer people in surveillance data. Target areas for training programmes are described, with emphasis on terminological understanding and accessibility of training. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Tao, Lane
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Discrimination in mental health services , Substance abuse Psychological aspects , Substance abuse Social aspects , Substance abuse Treatment , LGBTQ+ people Psychology , LGBTQ+ people Mental health services , Gender mainstreaming , Psychiatric ethics
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234339 , vital:50187
- Description: Research suggests that queer people face both general discrimination and inadequate support in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. One recommendation made by scholarship to address this is to improve the treatment capabilities of practitioners, thus improving practitioner readiness and reducing access barriers for a potentially at-risk population. The purpose of this study is to explore SUD treatment practitioners’ experiences of treating queer clients and identify their training needs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven registered mental healthcare practitioners operating in Cape Town, South Africa. Data was analysed via thematic analysis, using a social constructionist approach to gender and practitioner knowledge. The findings reflect a strong interest in gender-sensitive training to better prepare practitioners for treating queer clients. Participants provided feedback on areas in need of improvement and made recommendations on how training should be conducted. Findings indicate that queer clients may enter treatment with a high burden of trauma due to discrimination, and that healthcare structures abiding by a binary approach to gender may not be able to address queer people’s diverse needs. Recommendations for future research are made, with particular emphasis on including queer people in surveillance data. Target areas for training programmes are described, with emphasis on terminological understanding and accessibility of training. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
- Full Text:
Pink Concrete
- Authors: Curr, Jill Alexandra
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , South African fiction (English) 21st century , English fiction History and criticism , Nigerian fiction (English) History and criticism , Argentine fiction History and criticism , Angolan fiction (Portuguese) History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232388 , vital:49987
- Description: (From Reader Report Reflection) - I started this course believing I was not a writer. I knew that I loved to write, I knew that it was innate to how I perceived the world. I had written a novel previously, it was an outpouring, uncontrollable imagination spew. I was often scared and doubted myself throughout writing it, but I took comfort in my reading. I picked up all the classics, modern and old, rewriting the words into notebooks alongside my own, retracing the sounds, the rhythms, the symbols and their little links, the pauses. I collected pieces rereading them with reverence, my fingers curling over the lines sunken into the page. I didn’t understand what I was doing, it felt natural to hide in the skirts of other writers peering behind the curtain to see how they built the illusion. And yet, even after finishing my novel I still didn’t think I was a writer; it was a hobby, it was something extra to me, a backpack I could take off and on. I denied what was innate, and said it was not that important to me. I applied for this Master’s in Creative Writing (MACW)7 course because I wanted external validation on my first novel and an application was probably the only way, I was going to get someone to read it. It is sad and stunted that I needed this external validation to believe I could try, to believe that I could learn to control this compulsion, to believe that I could become a writer. In our first course contact week,8 lecturers and supervisors kept saying again again that we were already writers, that this is what we are. I was scared of this, that they would find out I was not really meant to be here. Writing, taking those solitary thoughts that are too much for my skull and making them real, something tangible; this is how I move through my existence. I take pieces of myself and paste them to the page, otherwise the thoughts build up like snow around a car until you are suffocating in an icebox. And by removing this part of myself to just a hobby, a silly backpack that I can pick up and put down, was just me running away. This MACW course gave me the tools to tap into what I am, that I have a why that I must write to and that I have an audience for this why. By sharing pieces of myself, I make them real again, something I can study, tracing their edges, their dark underbelly, the light hillocks. I sat with my fear for two years slowly, piece by piece, cracking it open. I learnt to love my voice and believe in it without needing external validation, without needing the gold star of acceptance, because I accept and love what I am trying to build with my writing. , Thesis (MACW) -- Faculty of Arts, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Curr, Jill Alexandra
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , South African fiction (English) 21st century , English fiction History and criticism , Nigerian fiction (English) History and criticism , Argentine fiction History and criticism , Angolan fiction (Portuguese) History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232388 , vital:49987
- Description: (From Reader Report Reflection) - I started this course believing I was not a writer. I knew that I loved to write, I knew that it was innate to how I perceived the world. I had written a novel previously, it was an outpouring, uncontrollable imagination spew. I was often scared and doubted myself throughout writing it, but I took comfort in my reading. I picked up all the classics, modern and old, rewriting the words into notebooks alongside my own, retracing the sounds, the rhythms, the symbols and their little links, the pauses. I collected pieces rereading them with reverence, my fingers curling over the lines sunken into the page. I didn’t understand what I was doing, it felt natural to hide in the skirts of other writers peering behind the curtain to see how they built the illusion. And yet, even after finishing my novel I still didn’t think I was a writer; it was a hobby, it was something extra to me, a backpack I could take off and on. I denied what was innate, and said it was not that important to me. I applied for this Master’s in Creative Writing (MACW)7 course because I wanted external validation on my first novel and an application was probably the only way, I was going to get someone to read it. It is sad and stunted that I needed this external validation to believe I could try, to believe that I could learn to control this compulsion, to believe that I could become a writer. In our first course contact week,8 lecturers and supervisors kept saying again again that we were already writers, that this is what we are. I was scared of this, that they would find out I was not really meant to be here. Writing, taking those solitary thoughts that are too much for my skull and making them real, something tangible; this is how I move through my existence. I take pieces of myself and paste them to the page, otherwise the thoughts build up like snow around a car until you are suffocating in an icebox. And by removing this part of myself to just a hobby, a silly backpack that I can pick up and put down, was just me running away. This MACW course gave me the tools to tap into what I am, that I have a why that I must write to and that I have an audience for this why. By sharing pieces of myself, I make them real again, something I can study, tracing their edges, their dark underbelly, the light hillocks. I sat with my fear for two years slowly, piece by piece, cracking it open. I learnt to love my voice and believe in it without needing external validation, without needing the gold star of acceptance, because I accept and love what I am trying to build with my writing. , Thesis (MACW) -- Faculty of Arts, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
- Full Text:
Service dogs for Autism Spectrum Disorder: the experiences of caregivers in South Africa
- Authors: Martin, Emma Jeanne
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Autism spectrum disorders South Africa , Service dogs South Africa , Animals Therapeutic use South Africa , Caregivers South Africa , Animals Therapeutic use Public opinion , Animal welfare South Africa , Children with autism spectrum disorders South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232855 , vital:50032
- Description: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, most frequently diagnosed in childhood, with symptoms including deficits in social communication and interaction as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviours, interests and activities. There is no known cure for ASD, with current treatment methods focussing upon reducing symptom severity. One such treatment method is the use of autism service dogs. Internationally, autism service dogs have been available for over two decades, while in South Africa they have only been available since 2015. A fair amount of internationally published data is available on autism service dogs, however, at the time of this research study, no data was available within South Africa. This study aimed to provide a baseline for research on autism service dogs within South Africa, by documenting the experiences of caregivers whose ASD children had been supplied with autism service dogs, with regard to the uses, effects, accessibility and public perception of the autism service dogs, as well as recommendations for future improvements of autism service dogs within South Africa. Lastly, inquiry into the welfare of the autism service dogs was sought. This study was qualitative in nature, with eight families who had been supplied with autism service dogs having chosen to participate. Data collection was achieved through one semi-structured interview with each family, which was then transcribed and thematically analysed using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Results indicated that autism service dogs were perceived as generally accessible, useful and beneficial for ASD children and their caregivers in a variety of ways, however, they were not without their challenges, with lifestyle adjustments and public perception being especially problematic. Participants also noted recommendations for possible future improvements. Lastly, welfare concerns for the autism service dogs relating to violent behaviour exhibited by ASD children was identified, raising the question of the suitability of service dogs for the ASD population. , Thesis (MA) -- Humanities, Psychology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Martin, Emma Jeanne
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Autism spectrum disorders South Africa , Service dogs South Africa , Animals Therapeutic use South Africa , Caregivers South Africa , Animals Therapeutic use Public opinion , Animal welfare South Africa , Children with autism spectrum disorders South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232855 , vital:50032
- Description: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, most frequently diagnosed in childhood, with symptoms including deficits in social communication and interaction as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviours, interests and activities. There is no known cure for ASD, with current treatment methods focussing upon reducing symptom severity. One such treatment method is the use of autism service dogs. Internationally, autism service dogs have been available for over two decades, while in South Africa they have only been available since 2015. A fair amount of internationally published data is available on autism service dogs, however, at the time of this research study, no data was available within South Africa. This study aimed to provide a baseline for research on autism service dogs within South Africa, by documenting the experiences of caregivers whose ASD children had been supplied with autism service dogs, with regard to the uses, effects, accessibility and public perception of the autism service dogs, as well as recommendations for future improvements of autism service dogs within South Africa. Lastly, inquiry into the welfare of the autism service dogs was sought. This study was qualitative in nature, with eight families who had been supplied with autism service dogs having chosen to participate. Data collection was achieved through one semi-structured interview with each family, which was then transcribed and thematically analysed using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Results indicated that autism service dogs were perceived as generally accessible, useful and beneficial for ASD children and their caregivers in a variety of ways, however, they were not without their challenges, with lifestyle adjustments and public perception being especially problematic. Participants also noted recommendations for possible future improvements. Lastly, welfare concerns for the autism service dogs relating to violent behaviour exhibited by ASD children was identified, raising the question of the suitability of service dogs for the ASD population. , Thesis (MA) -- Humanities, Psychology, 2022
- Full Text:
Skipping stones
- Authors: Le Roux, Jade-Eden
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , South African fiction (English) 21st century , Suicide in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234389 , vital:50191
- Description: My thesis takes the form of a novella exploring suicide and the unanswered questions it leaves. The main protagonist is a young girl who struggles to come to terms with her best friend’s suicide. The work is situated in contemporary South Africa, where inequality and depression is rife, especially among young people, and social media too often provides a smokescreen to conceal emotions. My writing is motivated by my desire to explore the human condition and the world around me, through my own subjective lens of experience. By working between fact and fiction I seek to trouble conventional narratives attached to suicide and highlight the subjectivity of truth. I am influenced by Lydia Davis's ability to write obliquely about loss, and her light-handed approach to emotionally charged topics; Susan Steinberg's dark motifs, vivid imagery, and her fragmented narrative that captures the characters’ responses to trauma and interrogates the notion of truth; Lidia Yuknavitch's cinematic imagery and immediacy of tone and compact storytelling; and Kate Zambreno's poetic prose that lends itself to clear societal commentary. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Le Roux, Jade-Eden
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , South African fiction (English) 21st century , Suicide in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234389 , vital:50191
- Description: My thesis takes the form of a novella exploring suicide and the unanswered questions it leaves. The main protagonist is a young girl who struggles to come to terms with her best friend’s suicide. The work is situated in contemporary South Africa, where inequality and depression is rife, especially among young people, and social media too often provides a smokescreen to conceal emotions. My writing is motivated by my desire to explore the human condition and the world around me, through my own subjective lens of experience. By working between fact and fiction I seek to trouble conventional narratives attached to suicide and highlight the subjectivity of truth. I am influenced by Lydia Davis's ability to write obliquely about loss, and her light-handed approach to emotionally charged topics; Susan Steinberg's dark motifs, vivid imagery, and her fragmented narrative that captures the characters’ responses to trauma and interrogates the notion of truth; Lidia Yuknavitch's cinematic imagery and immediacy of tone and compact storytelling; and Kate Zambreno's poetic prose that lends itself to clear societal commentary. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
- Full Text:
Talk in online video games: study of how the use of jargon, social interaction, and representation in Overwatch affects the ability of women to immerse themselves in these spaces
- Authors: Stander, Emily
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Internet games Social aspects , Video gamers Language , Women video gamers , Cyberbullying , Online hate speech , Online trolling , Online chat groups , Women Social conditions , Women Sociological aspects , Overwatch (Video game) , Internet games Sex differences , Sex discrimination against women
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232477 , vital:49995
- Description: This thesis investigates the impact on women of aggressive, demeaning and blaming talk in the online video game* space. The objective is to understand how players talk to each other and how this kind of talk presents issues for women trying to enter the online gaming sphere and become recognised as players. The main method was participatory observation and interviews with women who have experienced such talk. Key results which came from this research is that the process of keeping specific people out of communities through different means of talk - gatekeeping, women being viewed as objects of sexual gratification for men through bad representation in video games and media and using women as scapegoats for frustration and blame in the competitive online video game space, are the main issues which arise from the way players communicate with each other. In conclusion, the research presented that there needs to be an effective system of unlearning and relearning these behaviours in communities and a change in the way women are represented and seen in media is necessary in order to change the behavioural patterns which exist in gaming culture. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Stander, Emily
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Internet games Social aspects , Video gamers Language , Women video gamers , Cyberbullying , Online hate speech , Online trolling , Online chat groups , Women Social conditions , Women Sociological aspects , Overwatch (Video game) , Internet games Sex differences , Sex discrimination against women
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232477 , vital:49995
- Description: This thesis investigates the impact on women of aggressive, demeaning and blaming talk in the online video game* space. The objective is to understand how players talk to each other and how this kind of talk presents issues for women trying to enter the online gaming sphere and become recognised as players. The main method was participatory observation and interviews with women who have experienced such talk. Key results which came from this research is that the process of keeping specific people out of communities through different means of talk - gatekeeping, women being viewed as objects of sexual gratification for men through bad representation in video games and media and using women as scapegoats for frustration and blame in the competitive online video game space, are the main issues which arise from the way players communicate with each other. In conclusion, the research presented that there needs to be an effective system of unlearning and relearning these behaviours in communities and a change in the way women are represented and seen in media is necessary in order to change the behavioural patterns which exist in gaming culture. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
The mountain’s calling
- Authors: Mabeba, Motlatjo Ahsley
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , Short stories, South African (English) 21st century , South African fiction (English) 21st century , Homosexuality in literature , Rejection (Psychology) in literature , Spiritual healing in literature , South African essays (English) 21st century , Nigerian fiction (English) History and criticism , English fiction History and criticism , South African fiction (English) History and criticism , Angolan fiction (Portuguese) History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232613 , vital:50007
- Description: My thesis is a collection of prose – in the form of short stories, flash fiction and fragments – which explore the silences around living as a queer black South African who has been called to spiritual healing. I draw on lived experiences, dreams, imagination, and my grandmother’s folk tales to tell the stories I would love to have read when growing up. In my narratives, queer men navigate different spaces in urban Johannesburg and rural Limpopo. I am inspired by Bettina Judd’s words: “Writing is attached to the body… it is my Black woman, queer-identified, round-bodied hand that puts pen to paper, to keyboard, and creates whatever I create.” In retelling my grandmother’s folk tales with a queer twist, I learn from contemporary fairy tale writers like Kate Bernheimer, Angela Carter and Taisia Kitaiskaia. And in writing about the trauma of rejection by family and community, I am influenced by Bessie Head’s A Question of Power. , Thesis (MACW) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mabeba, Motlatjo Ahsley
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , Short stories, South African (English) 21st century , South African fiction (English) 21st century , Homosexuality in literature , Rejection (Psychology) in literature , Spiritual healing in literature , South African essays (English) 21st century , Nigerian fiction (English) History and criticism , English fiction History and criticism , South African fiction (English) History and criticism , Angolan fiction (Portuguese) History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232613 , vital:50007
- Description: My thesis is a collection of prose – in the form of short stories, flash fiction and fragments – which explore the silences around living as a queer black South African who has been called to spiritual healing. I draw on lived experiences, dreams, imagination, and my grandmother’s folk tales to tell the stories I would love to have read when growing up. In my narratives, queer men navigate different spaces in urban Johannesburg and rural Limpopo. I am inspired by Bettina Judd’s words: “Writing is attached to the body… it is my Black woman, queer-identified, round-bodied hand that puts pen to paper, to keyboard, and creates whatever I create.” In retelling my grandmother’s folk tales with a queer twist, I learn from contemporary fairy tale writers like Kate Bernheimer, Angela Carter and Taisia Kitaiskaia. And in writing about the trauma of rejection by family and community, I am influenced by Bessie Head’s A Question of Power. , Thesis (MACW) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages, 2022
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The narratives of women in South Africa who use social media to talk about gender-based violence
- Authors: Walton, Donica Jasmin
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Women Violence against South Africa , Social media and society South Africa , Internet and activism South Africa , Discourse analysis, Narrative , Internet and women South Africa , Subject positions
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232590 , vital:50005
- Description: There has been research conducted, both globally and in South Africa, on social media activism against gender-based violence (GBV). However, most research on the topic is based on participants in other parts of the world. Not much has been published on Black, African women. More specifically, not much is known about how women in South Africa experience using social media to talk about GBV. This research project draws on critical feminism and a narrative-discursive approach to explore the narratives of women in South Africa who use social media to talk about GBV. This is done by identifying the discourses women draw on to construct narratives, the subject positions utilised within these discourses, and how “trouble” and “repair” features in the narratives and positioning of women. Twelve interviews were conducted with women who volunteered and fit the inclusion criteria. The analysis of data was presented in two parts. The first set of discourses (discourses of ‘efficacy’, ‘convenience’, and ‘education’) were focused on what the use of social media achieves irrespective of the topic being discussed. These discourses speak to the idea that social media is powerful and useful because of its reach, speed, immediacy, and ability to be used to educate and be educated. The second set of discourses (discourses of ‘community and solidarity’, ‘validation’, and ‘vulnerability’) were focused on what the use of social media does for the people participating. Women have found a community and solidarity, and their experiences and thoughts have been validated on social media. Overall, the women in this research project justified their use of social media for activism against GBV, and acknowledged the tension that exists because despite its potential, there are limitations. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Walton, Donica Jasmin
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Women Violence against South Africa , Social media and society South Africa , Internet and activism South Africa , Discourse analysis, Narrative , Internet and women South Africa , Subject positions
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232590 , vital:50005
- Description: There has been research conducted, both globally and in South Africa, on social media activism against gender-based violence (GBV). However, most research on the topic is based on participants in other parts of the world. Not much has been published on Black, African women. More specifically, not much is known about how women in South Africa experience using social media to talk about GBV. This research project draws on critical feminism and a narrative-discursive approach to explore the narratives of women in South Africa who use social media to talk about GBV. This is done by identifying the discourses women draw on to construct narratives, the subject positions utilised within these discourses, and how “trouble” and “repair” features in the narratives and positioning of women. Twelve interviews were conducted with women who volunteered and fit the inclusion criteria. The analysis of data was presented in two parts. The first set of discourses (discourses of ‘efficacy’, ‘convenience’, and ‘education’) were focused on what the use of social media achieves irrespective of the topic being discussed. These discourses speak to the idea that social media is powerful and useful because of its reach, speed, immediacy, and ability to be used to educate and be educated. The second set of discourses (discourses of ‘community and solidarity’, ‘validation’, and ‘vulnerability’) were focused on what the use of social media does for the people participating. Women have found a community and solidarity, and their experiences and thoughts have been validated on social media. Overall, the women in this research project justified their use of social media for activism against GBV, and acknowledged the tension that exists because despite its potential, there are limitations. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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The self and the impossible pursuit of justice in J.M. Coetzee’s "Waiting for the barbarians, disgrace and foe”
- Authors: Swanepoel, Elbie
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Coetzee, J M, 1940- Criticism and interpretation , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Waiting for the barbarians , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Disgrace , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Foe , Ethics in literature , Deconstruction , Postmodernism (Literature) , Justice in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232294 , vital:49979
- Description: In its engagement with J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, Disgrace and Foe, this thesis explores how the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida can be used as a framework for understanding the self’s relationship with the other. In contrast to postcolonial readings of these texts, this thesis does not consider the separation between the self and the other in terms of social or cultural differences but rather the radical alterity of the other that is perceived in the face-to-face encounter. This study aims to illustrate how the engagement with alterity exposes the instability of the self’s structures of knowledge that, in these instances, are grounded in the Western metaphysical tradition. The effects of the self’s encounter with the other are seen in the personal transformation of Coetzee’s protagonists whose initial flaws and problematic worldviews are revealed in the context of the injustices done to the other. Furthermore, the study examines the extent to which the self is complicit in the suffering of the other and how this ultimately complicates their pursuit of justice for them. While the focus of this thesis is primarily on the characters, it also shows how the writer’s careful treatment of otherness functions to confront and engage the reader with the alterity of the other and the ethical dilemmas inherent in attempting to conceptualise it. The study concludes that the protagonists’ engagement with others and their subsequent confrontation with themselves lead them to consider what an ethical response to the other might be. This ethical turn results in positive change, however ambiguously, in their thoughts about and behaviours toward other beings. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, English Language and Linguistics, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Swanepoel, Elbie
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Coetzee, J M, 1940- Criticism and interpretation , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Waiting for the barbarians , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Disgrace , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Foe , Ethics in literature , Deconstruction , Postmodernism (Literature) , Justice in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232294 , vital:49979
- Description: In its engagement with J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, Disgrace and Foe, this thesis explores how the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida can be used as a framework for understanding the self’s relationship with the other. In contrast to postcolonial readings of these texts, this thesis does not consider the separation between the self and the other in terms of social or cultural differences but rather the radical alterity of the other that is perceived in the face-to-face encounter. This study aims to illustrate how the engagement with alterity exposes the instability of the self’s structures of knowledge that, in these instances, are grounded in the Western metaphysical tradition. The effects of the self’s encounter with the other are seen in the personal transformation of Coetzee’s protagonists whose initial flaws and problematic worldviews are revealed in the context of the injustices done to the other. Furthermore, the study examines the extent to which the self is complicit in the suffering of the other and how this ultimately complicates their pursuit of justice for them. While the focus of this thesis is primarily on the characters, it also shows how the writer’s careful treatment of otherness functions to confront and engage the reader with the alterity of the other and the ethical dilemmas inherent in attempting to conceptualise it. The study concludes that the protagonists’ engagement with others and their subsequent confrontation with themselves lead them to consider what an ethical response to the other might be. This ethical turn results in positive change, however ambiguously, in their thoughts about and behaviours toward other beings. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, English Language and Linguistics, 2022
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