"I don't think it's the whole story!": a case study of the linguistic face management strategies of dyslexic adults
- Authors: Henderson, Layle
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Dyslexia Case studies Dyslexia -- Social aspects Dyslexia -- Psychological aspects Politeness (Linguistics) Sociolinguistics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2347 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002629
- Description: Dyslexia is primarily a neurobiological disorder and much research has been conducted on this (see for example Coltheart 1996; Shaywitz and Shaywitz 2000 and 2004). However, little has been done which investigates the social construction of dyslexia. Because dyslexia affects reading, writing and spelling to varying degrees, although it may originate from genetic inheritance, it manifests itself in social spheres. Brown and Levinson‟s (1987) Face Theory states that people use strategies to minimise the damage to the positive face of others. My research focuses on how dyslexic individuals use linguistic strategies to minimise potential face-threatening acts or FTAs against themselves and in so doing preserve their own positive face. Using elements of Face Theory and APPRAISAL I constructed a typology reflecting these linguistic face management devices of adults with dyslexia. With this research I hope to contribute to the field in an innovative and meaningful manner through an exploration of the linguistic face management strategies used in the management of positive face.
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"Rape and cable theft on the increase": interrogating Grocott's Mail coverage of rape through participatory action research
- Authors: McLean, Nicolene Cindy
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Rape in mass media Rape -- South Africa Women -- Crimes against -- South Africa Violence in mass media Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalistic ethics -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Action research Sexism in mass media Journalism -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Newspapers -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Stereotypes (Social psychology) in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3466 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002921
- Description: This study investigates Grocott’s Mail’s rape reporting through a participatory action research process. It draws on feminist cultural studies, sociology of news, and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The participatory action research process explored three areas with the journalists at Grocott’s Mail: their understanding of the community they serve and their own professional identity as a community of practice, roles of the media in society which inform reporting, and rape as a social issue and problem. Through this process the study found that the pervasiveness of rape in the Grahamstown community, the complexities around rape reporting which include the significant legal challenges, the personal impact rape cases have on journalists, and the journalistic roles and approaches employed in rape reporting all influence how the paper covers rape. In analysing these matters the study found that the primary factor inhibiting a successful strategy for managing rape reporting was that Grocott’s Mail does not place gender-based violence on their news agenda as an issue requiring attention in order to develop the community they serve.
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"Tell me how you read and I will tell you who you are": children's literature and moral development
- Authors: Van der Nest, Megan
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Children's literature -- Philosophy Children's literature -- Moral and ethical aspects Children's literature -- History and criticism Literature and morals Ethics in literature Reader-response criticism Moral conditions in literature Literature -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2722 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002852
- Description: It is a common intuition that we can learn something of moral importance from literature, and one of the ways in which we teach our children about morality is through stories. In selecting books for children to read a primary concern is often the effect that the moral content of the story will have on the morality of the child reader. In this thesis I argue in order to take advantage of the contribution that literature can make to moral development, we need to teach children to read in a particular way. As a basis for this argument I use an account of moral agency that places emphasis on the development of moral skills - the ability to critically assess moral rules and systems, and the capacity to perceive and respond to the particulars of individual situations and to choose the right course of action in each - rather than on any particular kind of moral content. In order to make the most of the contribution that literature can make to the development of these skills, we need to teach children to immerse themselves in the story, rather than focusing on literary criticism. I argue that, contrary to the standard view of literary criticism as the only form of protection against possible negative effects, an immersed reading will help to prevent the child reader from taking any moral claims made in the story out of context, and so provide some measure of protection against possible negative moral effects of the story. Finally I argue that there are certain kinds of stories - recognisable by features that contribute to a high literary quality - that will enrich the experience of an immersed reading, and will therefore make a greater contribution to moral development than others.
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"The secret rapport between photography and philosophy" considering the South African photographic apparatus through Veleko, Rose, Goldblatt, Ractliffe and Mofokeng
- Authors: Mountain, Michelle Fiona
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Veleko, Nontsikelelo Rose, Tracy Goldblatt, David Ractliffe, Jo 1961- Mofokeng, Santu, 1956- Photographers -- South Africa Photography -- Philosophy Photography -- Social aspects -- South Africa Apartheid in art Documentary photography -- South Africa Space (Art) -- South Africa South Africa Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2415 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002211
- Description: This thesis is an attempt at understanding South African photography through the lens of Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko, Tracy Rose, David Goldblatt, Jo Ractliffe and Santu Mofokeng. Through the works discussed this thesis intends to unpack photography as a complex medium similar to that of language and text, as well as attempt to understand how exploring South African experiences and spaces through the lens of photography shapes and mediates them. Furthermore it also attempts to understand how these experiences and spaces conversely affect the discourse of photography or at the very least our perception of it. Through these photographers and their works it is hoped that ultimately the interconnected relationship of exchanging codes that takes place between photography and society will be highlighted. The example of connectivity or dialogue I believe exists between the medium of photography and the physical/social and psychological spaces it photographs will be mediated through Deleuze and Guattari‟s conception of “the wasp and the orchid” where “the wasp becomes the orchid, just as the orchid becomes the wasp...an exchanging or capturing of each other‟s codes”. Other theorists I will be looking at include Vilém Flusser, focusing in particular on his book Towards a Philosophy of Photography, as well as Susan Sontag, Roland Barthes and others. The main aims and objectives of this thesis are to understand the veracity of the documentary image and whether or not the image harbours any objective truth, as well as whether truth, if it can truly be said to exist in the world, resides between the camera and the seen world. This dichotomy is further complicated by the matter of subject-hood and technical and philosophical understandings of the camera as an apparatus. At no point do I aim to be conclusive, rather it is hoped that by developing the dynamic tension between the theory and the image world that I will be able to bring fresh insight into the reading of a changing South African condition and the subject position of the photographer in relation to this condition.
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A critical discourse analysis of the coverage of operation "Restore Order" (Operation Murambatsvina) by Zimbabwe's weekly newspapers, the state-owned The Sunday Mail and the privately owned The Standard, in the period 18 May to 30 June 2005
- Authors: Mukundu, Rashweat
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Operation Murambatsvina, Zimbabwe, 2005- Political persecution -- Zimbabwe Mass media -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe Press and politics -- Zimbabwe Freedom of the press -- Zimbabwe Newspapers -- Objectivity -- Zimbabwe Journalistic ethics -- Zimbabwe Critical discourse analysis Sunday Mail (Zimbabwe) The Standard (Zimbabwe)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3470 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002925
- Description: On May 16 2006 the government of Zimbabwe embarked on a clean-up programme of urban centres, destroying informal human settlements and informal businesses. This operation, which the government called operation "Restore Order", resulted in the displacement of nearly one million people and left thousands of families homeless. This study is a discussion and an analysis of the coverage of the clean-up operation by two of Zimbabwe's leading Sunday newspapers, The Sunday Mail and The Standard. The Sunday Mail is owned by the Zimbabwe government and The Standard is privately owned and perceived to be oppositional to the current Zimbabwe government. The two newspapers, therefore, covered the clean-up operation from different perspectives and often presented conflicting reports explaining why the clean-up operation was carried out and the extent of its impact on the lives of millions of Zimbabweans. The chosen research approach is the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework as developed by Fairclough (1995). Using CDA, this study seeks to find out and expose the underlying ideological struggles for hegemony between different social and political groups in Zimbabwe and how the newspapers became actors in this process. This process is made possible by looking at how news reporting is organised in the two newspapers, issues of language use, sourcing and external factors that influenced the coverage of the operation.
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A Foucauldian critique of neo-liberalsim
- Authors: Sachikonye, Tawanda
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Neoliberalism Political science -- Philosophy Philosophy, Marxist Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 Socialism Capitalism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2828 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003038
- Description: This study attempts to make a contribution to the critique of contemporary capitalism. This has been conceptualised through a Foucauldian critique of neo-liberalism, that is, Foucault’s concepts of power and governmentality have been used to criticise neo-liberalism. The study argues that neo-liberalism is a hegemonic and oppressive politico-economic social system. This has occurred in two ways; firstly, neo-liberalism came to dominate the global economy and, secondly, neo-liberalism has become the dominant politico-economic discourse. An attempt is made to expose the discourses and institutions that buttress the neo-liberal project by undertaking a Foucauldian critique. According to Foucault, knowledge shapes the social space through its ‘mechanisms’, discourses and institutions. In order to critique neo-liberalism, it is necessary to expose its power-knowledge base, which is what gives it legitimacy. By analysing and exposing neo-liberalism’s power-knowledge base, its oppression becomes clear through an observation of the material effects of neo-liberal ideology and policy. This study also evaluates to what extent Marxism is a viable alternative to neo-liberalism, in order to ascertain what Foucault adds to already existing critiques of capitalism, and neo-liberalism, in particular. It concludes by arguing that even though Marxism provides a useful framework in which to understand neo-liberal domination, its labour based social theory is somewhat outdated in our contemporary age of the information society. Therefore, it is Foucault’s concept of power-knowledge that is most pertinent in providing an effective critical theory of neo-liberalism in the age of the information society, as it focuses on the primacy of power-knowledge in matters of domination.
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A narrative analysis of young black South African women's stories about the recent divorce of their parents
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Divorce -- South Africa Divorce -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa Children of divorced parents -- South Africa Families -- South Africa Divorce therapy -- South Africa Adolescent psychotherapy -- South Africa Youth, Black -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychology -- Biographical methods -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002520
- Description: The global rise in divorce since the 1960s has brought into question the idealised view of the nuclear family which has for centuries been awarded special status in western societies and has been regarded as the primary social institution. According to contemporary research parental divorce has become a reality for every one in six children in South Africa. Until recently, little consideration had been given to how divorce affects black South African families, as it was considered to be an occurrence which only took place in white, mainly middle-class, families. The proportion of black South African couples divorcing has been increasing over the past decade, and in 2008 was said to contribute to 35% of all divorce in South Africa. Most research to date on the children of divorce has focused on young white children and adolescents and is largely concerned with those who have found parental divorce particularly difficult, and are manifesting adjustment and other behavioural problems. The research which has been done on the effects of parental divorce on young adults focuses mainly on clinical studies with middle-class families based either in the United States or in the United Kingdom. This research, using an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach, explores the stories which young black South African adult women between the ages of 18 and 25 tell, to give account to the ways in which recent parental divorce has affected their lives, views on family life, and what it has meant to them. The use of an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach allows for a process of rupture, acceptance and re-storying to be accounted for, as the participant’s narrative shifts from past, to present and the future. Five young black women from a South African university each participated in two narratively sequenced semi-structured interviews based on McAdams’ personal narratives protocol, which includes six core themes, namely: Key Events, Significant People, Stresses and Problems, Personal Meanings and Life-Lessons, Future Script, and Life Theme. Crossley’s narrative analysis was then used to identify emergent themes and images in each individual narrative, after which they were woven together into a coherent story linked to previous literature. This study found that divorce involves a highly complex transition and reconfiguration process perhaps not fully accounted for in the existing idea and images associated with it. Despite being young adult women who had moved away from home and were engaged in their own lives, it became apparent that parental divorce was still a difficult and complicated experience, but that it is possible to tell both pessimistic and optimistic stories of parental divorce and its consequences.
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A study of intra-African relations an analysis of the factors informing the foreign policy of Malawi towards Zimbabwe
- Authors: Njoloma, Eugenio
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Malawi -- Foreign relations -- Zimbabwe Zimbabwe -- Foreign relations -- Malawi Malawi -- Politics and government -- 20th century Malawi -- Politics and government -- 21st century Southern African Development Community
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2818 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003028
- Description: There has been only limited scholarly analysis of Malawi’s foreign policy since its independence in 1964 with key texts focusing primarily on the early years of the new state. Perhaps due to its relatively small stature – economically, politically and militarily – in the region, very little attention has been paid to the factors informing Malawi’s apparently uncritical foreign policy response to the Zimbabwe crisis since it began in the late 1990s. This thesis addresses this deficit by locating its understanding of Malawi’s contemporary foreign policy towards Zimbabwe in the broader historical and contemporary context of bilateral relations between the two states and the multilateral forum of SADCC and SADC. It is argued that the Malawi’s long-standing quest for socio-economic development has forced it to manoeuvre a pragmatic but sometimes contentious foreign policy path. This was also evident until the end of the Cold War and the concomitant demise of apartheid in South Africa in the early 1990s. Malawi forged deliberate diplomatic and economic relations with the region’s white-ruled Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia) and South Africa in pursuit of its national economic interests while the majority of southern African states collectively sought the liberation of the region by facilitating the independence of Zimbabwe and countering South Africa’s apartheid and regional destabilization policies. In the contemporary era, there has been a convergence of foreign policy ambitions in the region and Malawi now coordinates its regional foreign policy within the framework of SADC, which itself prioritizes the attainment of socio-economic development. However, to understand Malawi’s response to the Zimbabwe crisis only in the context of SADC’s “quiet diplomacy” mediation efforts obscures important historically rooted socioeconomic and political factors that have informed relations between Malawi and Zimbabwe and which cannot, it is argued, be ignored if a holistic understanding of Malawi’s position is to be sought. This study argues that the nature of historical ties between Malawi and Zimbabwe and the role of Malawi’s leaders in driving its long-standing quest for socioeconomic development have not only informed its overall foreign policy behaviour in the region but underpin its contemporary relations with Zimbabwe.
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Achieving a realistic utopia: Rawls, realization, and the task of political philosophy
- Authors: Terlazzo, Rosa Elizabeth
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Rawls, John, 1921-2002 Political science -- Philosophy Justice -- Philosophy Utopias -- Philosophy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2721 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002851
- Description: In this thesis I argue that the tradition of political philosophy which follows in John Rawls's footsteps is obligated to concern itself not only with the realizability, but also with the realization, of justice. Although Rawls himself expresses a commitment only to the former of these, I argue that the roles which he assigns to political philosophy require him to take on the further commitment to realization. This is because these roles are meant to influence not only political philosophers, but the citizens of the wider community as well. The realistically utopian role, which I take to be the central one, requires political philosophy to inspire in that population a hope which I argue that realizability alone cannot provide. Given the deep revisions regarding the political nature of justice as fairness which Rawls made on the basis of realizability concerns, I argue that his theory must in this case be committed to a similar revision. The hope which political philosophy is meant to provide is simply not realizable until the discipline concerns itself centrally with the task of realization.
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An examination of how organisational policy and news professionalism are negotiated in a newsroom: a case study of Zimbabwe's Financial gazette
- Authors: Gandari, Jonathan
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Financial gazette Journalism -- Zimbabwe Journalism -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe Journalistic ethics Journalists -- Zimbabwe Newspapers -- Zimbabwe Mass media -- Political aspects -- Zimbabwe Mass media -- Law and legislation -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3430 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002884
- Description: The construction of journalistic professionalism in Zimbabwe has stirred debate among scholars. Critics have argued that professionalism has been compromised by the stifling media laws in Zimbabwe as well as the extra legal measures the state has enforced to control the press. Some have also argued that a new kind of journalism must be emerging in the Zimbabwean newsroom as journalism try to cope with the political and economic pressures bedeviling the country. Much of this criticism however, has not been based on close interrogation of professionalism from the perspective of the journalists in any particular newsroom. It is against this background that this study examines the constructions of professionalism at the Financial Gazette. In particular it explores the meaning of professionalism through interrogating the journalistic practices the journalists consider during the process of news production in the context of overwhelming state power. In undertaking this examination, the study draws primarily on qualitative research methods, particularly observation and multi-layered individual in-depth interviews. As the study demonstrates, the interrogation of professionalism from the perspective of newsroom practices uncovers the complex manner in which professionalism is negotiated in the Gazette’s newsroom located in a country undergoing transition in Democracy. The study establishes that when measured against normative canons of journalistic professionalism the Gazette is deviating from such tenets as public service and watchdog journalism. As the study indicates, perhaps unbeknown to the respondents, the ruling ZANU PF party hegemony is reproduced at the Gazette through choice of news values such as sovereignty and patriotism all euphemisms for ruling party‘s slogans.
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An investigation into the journalistic identities of news workers at the state owned Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today Newspaper
- Authors: Kotele, Mothepane
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today Mass media -- Economic aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Social aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Employees Journalists -- Lesotho Sotho newspapers Journalistic ethics -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3449 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002903
- Description: Informed by the political economy framework and the public service role of media in democracy, the main objective of the study was to use in-depth semi-structured interviews to understand news-workers’ professional journalistic identities in relation to their status as government employees and the understanding of their public service role as outlined in the paper’s mission statement. The main interest was to understand the complexity of negotiating these role identities. Through reference to the theories of journalism professionalism, the study highlighted the extent to which news-workers in the small newsroom of Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today see themselves as public service journalists in a democratic country. The interest was borne partly out of the views of the paper’s critics who see it as not serving the public but rather promoting the activities and policies of the government of the day, thus falling short of its democratic role. The contention of the study was that as a public service newspaper, the paper should have news-workers who do impartial journalism and reflect the public’s right to know in their reporting. The findings of the study suggests that news-workers at Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today continuously have to strive to negotiate the potential conflict between being a professional and working for a government-controlled newspaper. While they sometimes lay claim to being journalists, the reality is that in their political coverage they end up adopting the role of government mouthpieces.
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Becoming a business journalist in Malawi: a case study of The Daily Times and The Nation newspapers
- Authors: Manjawira, Ellard Spencer
- Date: 2010 , 2013-07-17
- Subjects: Journalists -- Malawi Journalism -- Study and teaching -- Malawi Journalists -- Training of -- Malawi Journalists -- Education -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007440
- Description: In the past few decades, the proportion of business news compared to general news has increased tremendously across all media platforms in Africa. While the critical role played by business journalism is recognised, little is known about the people who write and report such news. Most studies on business reporting have tended to focus on analysing the content of business news, rather than the specific processes through which business journalists are socialized and trained. The findings of this study are drawn mainly from in-depth interviews with business reporters and editors at two leading newspapers in Malawi, The Daily Times and The Nation. Three major findings emerge trom the study data. First, business journalists vary in their educational and professional backgrounds, as well as the reasons for working on this beat. Second, the majority of them have no prerequisite formal education and training in business journalism and, therefore, have little knowledge and skills about what constitute good business journalism. Third, professionalism in the sub-field is constrained by a host of factors, influence of advertisers being the critical one. The study recommends that business reporting become an integral component of journalism education and training programmes to adequately prepare future generations of business journalists. In addition there is need for media houses to devise strategies to counter obstacles that business journalists face for them to effectively contribute to political economy debate. , KMBT_363
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Beyond Afrocentricism and Orientalism contemporary representations of transnational identities in the works of Nontsikelelo "Lolo" Veleko and Tracy Payne
- Authors: Pycroft, Hayley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Veleko, Nontsikelelo -- Criticism and interpretation Payne, Tracy, 1965- -- Criticism and interpretation Afrocentrism Orientalism Art and race Art and society Gender identity in art Art -- Political aspects Photographers -- South Africa Painters -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2420 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002216
- Description: South African photographer Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko and South African painter Tracy Payne explore different ways of communicating African realities. The visual imagery of these two artists focuses a lot on movement, challenging the rigidity of boundaries set by Western social constructs. In their work, Veleko and Payne critique the limitations of terms such as “authenticity.” It is extremely difficult to portray shifting notions of contemporary African identity in light of the stain of colonial philosophies which have, in times past, exoticised and appropriated the African body and ascribed conventions of “authenticity” to African representations. Undermining the burden of Western boundaries1, Veleko and Payne redefine what it means to operate in Africa today. Veleko seeks additional cultural realities to complicate her identity as a woman living in Africa while Payne uses concepts of movement to question the validity of structures which advocate an either/ or binary such as “East” and “West” and “masculinity” and “femininity”. By subtly merging aspects of these binaries in their representations, Veleko and Payne bring transnational possibilities to light by undermining the restrictions inscribed in the social and political history of (South) Africa with regard to collective and individual identities. Constructs of gender have contributed to a heightened sense of “African” “masculinity,” forming a stereotype of the African body which is difficult to break free from. Considering the notion of transnationalism and the issue of moving beyond boundaries, borrowing aspects of different cultures in attempt to better define a sense of self, Veleko and Payne engage in the sampling of different lifestyles and perspectives to better define their individualities. This thesis seeks to provide an analysis of the visual language used by Veleko and Payne to promote fluid “African” identities.
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Beyond coming out: lesbians' stories of sexual identity in the context of a historically white university
- Authors: Gibson, Alexandra Farren
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lesbianism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Homosexuality -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Coming out (Sexual orientation) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Sexual behavior Rhodes University College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social conditions College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Conduct of life College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social life and customs Homosexuality and education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Gender identity in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Discourse analysis, Narrative -- Psychological aspects Discursive psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002490
- Description: Substantial contributions have been made by lesbian and gay developmental theorists in understanding the development of lesbian and gay sexual identities, or what has come to be known as the coming out process. “Coming out of the closet” has become a central metaphor, in western contexts, for the recognisable process gay men and lesbians undergo in order to claim a relatively stable and enduring sexual identity, while overcoming obstacles such as heterosexism. Lesbians’ sexual identities are examined in this thesis through a Foucauldian lens which is fused with a narrative-discursive perspective. The aim of this study is not to trace a progressive development of identity, but rather to consider how lesbians in this study are located within a specific context, namely, a historically white university in post-apartheid South Africa, and how their identities are dynamic products of ever-shifting socio-historical spaces. Eight lesbians’ stories are analysed using the narrative-discursive method, which allows for a consideration for how the construction and negotiation of identities is shaped and constrained by social and discursive conditions. The women in this study do utilise the concept of coming out to some extent in their stories, but this narrative does not entirely account for their experiences. Instead, these women’s accounts reflect the way in which they personally experience heterosexism, and how they constantly negotiate their sexual identities within certain social and geographical spaces. When the nuances of lesbians’ contexts are taken into account, it becomes clear that claiming a lesbian identity is more than just about “coming out”, and rather about an on-going process of identity management.
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Business journalism ethics in Africa: a comparative study of newsrooms in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mare, Admire
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Journalism, Commercial Journalistic ethics Journalism, Commercial -- South Africa Journalism, Commercial -- Kenya Journalism, Commercial -- Zimbabwe Business Day (South Africa) Business Daily (Kenya) Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3458 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002912
- Description: This study provides an insight into the state of business journalism ethics in Africa, firstly through an examination of newsroom ethical policies and secondly through an exploration of the way in which African business journalists negotiate ethical decision-making in their day-to-day news processing practices. Thirdly, it examines how the three African media organisations have responded in their newsroom policies and practices to the debates on the Africanisation of journalism ethics. In order to collect data, the researcher employed document analysis, semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Three financial newspapers namely: Business Day in South Africa, Business Daily in Kenya and Financial Gazette in Zimbabwe were purposively chosen. In these African countries, business journalism has been steadily growing since the late 1960s, fuelled by the presence of robust stock exchanges, making the issue of business journalism ethics of central importance. Grounded in the sociology of news production paradigm, Bourdieu’s journalistic field theory and debates on Africanisation of journalism ethics, this study identifies three major issues. First, the research found that while all three newspapers had clear ethical guidelines in place, and editors and journalists recognised the importance of ethical behaviour, ethical practice did not always follow. A disconnect exists between words (codes of ethics) and actions (practice) especially in Kenya and Zimbabwe, where business journalists are more susceptible to economic and political pressures. The argument is ethical considerations notwithstanding, people need to survive. This is largely due to the precarious economic basis of news organisations, lack of effective monitoring, and a pervasive culture of unethical behaviour at some sites. Second, the study also shows that institutional factors such as advertising, powerful news sources and interference from senior management make ethical business journalism difficult to practice. Third, Africanisation remains an academic issue with little movement towards that direction in most newsrooms studied. The findings of this study demonstrate that business editors in African newsrooms are confused on what ‘Africanisation’ entails especially given their shared view that journalism practices are universal. It recommends that business journalism codes of ethics informed by African values are long overdue. In terms of enforcement and monitoring of codes, it is important to use compliance officers or ombudsperson and periodically run in-house refresher courses on ethics and professionalism. It is imperative that the financial press improve the working conditions of its employees in order to lessen incidences of corruption which are threatening the credibility of media content and media organisation themselves.
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Concussion in contact sport: investigating the neurocognitive profile of Afrikaans adolescent rugby players
- Authors: Horsman, Mark
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Afrikaner students -- Intelligence testing Sports -- Psychological aspects Rugby football injuries Neural computers Neuropsychological tests Brain -- Concussion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2994 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002503
- Description: A number of computerised tests have been especially developed to facilitate the medical management of the sports-related concussion. Probably the most widely used of these programmes is the ImPACT test that was developed in the USA and that is registered with the HPCSA for use in the South African context. A recent Afrikaans version of the test served as the basis of the present study with the following objectives: (i) to collect Afrikaans ImPACT normative data on a cohort of Afrikaans first language adolescent rugby players with Model C education for comparison with existing South African English first language adolescent rugby players with Private/Model C schooling, and (ii) to investigate the pre-versus postseason ImPACT neurocognitive test profiles of this cohort of Afrikaans first language adolescent rugby players versus equivalent noncontact sports controls. The results for Part 1 of the study generally demonstrate poorer performance in respect of the Afrikaans cohort, which is understood to be the result of poorer quality of education. The results for Part 2 demonstrated failure of the rugby group to benefit from practice on the ImPACT Visual Motor Speed composite score to the same extent as the control group. It is argued that this apparent cognitive vulnerability in the rugby group is due to lowered cognitive reserve capacity in association with long term exposure to concussive and sub-concussive injury.
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Contemporary left politics in South Africa: the case of the tri-partite alliance in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Hesjedal, Siv Helen
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Politics, Practical -- South Africa Social classes -- South Africa -- History Political parties -- South Africa African National Congress South African Communist Party Cosatu Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Politics and government Politics, Practical -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3295 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003083
- Description: This thesis aims to make sense of Left politics in South Africa within the Tri-partite Alliance between the ANC, SACP and COSATU. The thesis focuses on developments in the Eastern Cape, between 2000 and 2008. The thesis describes the prevalent forms of Left politics in the Eastern Cape and the tendencies in the Alliance that organise this Left. The thesis also examines the historical, social and political conditions and that shape the form and content of Left politics in the province. Based on a survey of literature on what is considered the core manifestations of Left politics globally in the 20th Century Left politics is defined as the elements of the political spectrum that are concerned with the progressive resolution of involuntary disadvantage and with a goal of abolishing class society and capitalism. Although the Alliance as a whole should be seen to be on the Left on an international political spectrum, this thesis argues that the Left/Right dichotomy is useful for understanding the politics of the Alliance, as long as the second part of this definition is taken into consideration. The Alliance Left is understood as those leaders and activists within the Alliance that have the SACP and Cosatu as their operating base. It will be argued that this Left is, in its practice, largely concerned with what insiders refer to as politics of „influence‟, rather than with politics of „structural transformation‟. It is the ANC that is the leader of the Alliance and the party in government and thus it is on the terrain of ANC strategy, policy and positions that contestation in the Alliance plays itself out. Thus, for the Left, there is strength in the idea of the Alliance. However, there are significant theoretical and political weaknesses in the Left that undermine the possibility of making good use of various corporatist platforms to pursue the agenda of the Left in the Eastern Cape. There is also increased contestation within the Alliance Left itself about the continued usefulness of this strategy.
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Control and authenticity: reflections on personal autonomy
- Authors: Paphitis, Sharli Anne
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Frankfurt, Harry G., 1929- -- Criticism and interpretation Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900 -- Criticism and interpretation Watson, Gary, 1943- -- Criticism and interpretation Self-control Authenticity (Philosophy) Autonomy (Philosophy) Self (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2717 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002847
- Description: Currently the most influential accounts of personal autonomy, at least in the Englishspeaking world, focus on providing conditions under which agents can be said to exercise self-control. Two distinct accounts of personal autonomy have emerged in this tradition: firstly, hierarchical models grounded in the work of Harry Frankfurt; and secondly, systems division models most famously articulated by Gary Watson. In this thesis I show the inadequacies of both of these models by exploring the problematic views of the self and self-control underlying each model. I will suggest that the problems faced by these models stem from the fact that they endorse a problematic fragmentation of the self. I suggest that a Nietzschean account of personal autonomy is able to avoid these problems. The Nietzschean account can largely, I show, be drawn from Nietzsche’s understanding of both the ‘man of ressentiment’ and his opposite, the sovereign individual. On this picture wholeness of self – rather than fragmentation of the self – is required in order for us to be most fully autonomous. Furthermore, this wholeness of self requires the kind of integrity which is opposed to the problematic fragmentation endorsed by Frankfurt and Watson.
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Deliberating the Dialogues: a critical examination of the nature and purpose of a Daily Dispatch public journalism project
- Authors: Amner, Roderick John
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Daily Dispatch (East London, South Africa) Journalism -- South Africa -- East London Citizen journalism -- South Africa -- East London
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3417 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002870
- Description: This thesis critically examines the nature and purpose of a series of four town-hall-like meetings, the Community Dialogues, held in the townships and suburbs of East London, South Africa, in 2009. They were undertaken by a mainstream, commercial newspaper, the Daily Dispatch, under the banner of the worldwide public journalism movement. Following Christians et al (2009), the thesis sets out a normative framework of media performance in a democracy, including a detailed and critical normative theory of the ‘facilitative role’ proposed and developed by Haas (2007), one of the public journalism movement’s key advocate-theorists. It also draws on a variety of theoretical frameworks and perspectives in the fields of Political Studies and Media Studies to provide an analytical overview of the complex matrix of political and media contexts – at the macro (global), meso (national) and micro (local) levels – that have helped give impetus to the Community Dialogues and also shaped their ongoing operation as a public journalism strategy in the South African context. Following a critical realist case study design, the thesis goes on to provide a narrative account of the Dialogues based on in-depth interviews exploring the motivations, self-understandings and perceptions of those journalists who originated, directed and participated in this project, as well as observation of a Community Dialogue, and an examination of some of the journalistic texts related to the Dialogues. This primary data is then critically evaluated against normative theories of press performance, especially Haas’s ‘public philosophy’ of public journalism. The thesis found that apart from their undoubted success in generating a more comprehensive and representative news agenda for the newspaper, the Dialogues often fell short of Habermas’s (1989) proceduralist-discursive notion of the ‘deliberating public’, which sees citizens share a commitment to engage in common deliberation and public problem solving. This can be attributed to a number of problems, including some important theoretical/conceptual weaknesses in the Community Dialogues’ project design, the relative immaturity of the project, the domination of civil society by political society in the South African political context, and a number of organisational constraints at the Daily Dispatch. On the other hand, the newspaper’s editorial leadership has shown clear commitment to the idea of expanding the project in the future, establishing a more a more structured programme of community engagement, and nurturing a more sustainable public sphere, including the building of a more dialectical relationship between the Dialogues and civil society.
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Developing a systematic model for the capturing and use of African oral poetry: the Bongani Sitole experience
- Authors: Mostert, André M
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Sitole, Bongani, 1937- Communication and culture Oral tradition in literature Oral tradition -- Africa Ethnoscience -- Africa Folk poetry, African
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002154
- Description: Oral traditions and oral literature have long contributed to human communication. The advent of arguably the most important technology, the written word, altered human ability to create and develop. However, this development for all its potential and scope created one of the most insidious dichotomies. As the written word developed so too the oral word became devalued and pushed to the fringes of societal development. One of the unfortunate outcomes has been a focus on the nomenclatures associated with orality and oral tradition, which although of importance, has skewed where the focus could and should have been located, namely, how to support and maintain the oral word and its innate value to human society in the face of what has become rampant technological developments. It is now ironic that technology is creating a fecund environment for a rebirth of orality. The study aims to mobilize technauriture as a paradigm in order to further embed orality and oral traditions to coherently embrace this changing technological environment. The central tenet of the study is that in order to enhance the status of orality the innate value embodied in indigenous knowledge systems must be recognized. Using the work of Bongani Sitole, an oral poet, as a backdrop the study will demonstrate a basic model that can act as a foundation for the effective integration of orality into contemporary structures. This is based on work that I published in the Journal of African Contemporary Studies (2009). Given the obvious multi-disciplinary nature of the material the work covers a wide cross section of the debate, from questions of epistemology and knowledge in general in terms of oral traditions, through the consciousness and technical landscapes, via the experience with Sitole’s material to issues of copyright and ownership. This work has also been submitted for publication together with my supervisor as a co-author. The study intends to consolidate the technauriture debate and lay a solid foundation to support further study.
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