Commodity fetishism and domination: the contributions of Marx, Lukács, Horkheimer, Adorno and Bourdieu
- Authors: Lloyd, Gareth
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Marx, Karl, 1818-1883 Lukács, György, 1885-1971 Horkheimer, Max, 1895-1973 Adorno, Theodor W., 1903-1969 Bourdieu, Pierre, 1930-2002 Commodity fetishism Capitalism Consumption (Economics) Marxian economics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2795 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003005
- Description: This thesis seeks to trace domination theory back to the influential work done by Marx on commodity fetishism. Marx's work proves to be an original account of domination that explains how the dominated many accept the rule of the privileged few. The theory of commodity fetishism develops the idea that individuals come to adopt beliefs that bolster and reproduce the status quo of capitalism. For Marx, the way that individuals experience capitalism is different from the way that it actually works because, in fact, lived experience is actually false. Oppression, inequality and exploitation are thus hidden and the main source of conflict between the oppressed many and the privileged few is obscured. I seek to develop this insight of Marx's into a more comprehensive account of how dominating capitalism self maintains. Lukács' theory of reification explains how capitalism has become all-embracing because capitalism has developed its own type of rationality. This specific rationality shapes thought, which in turn, generates false beliefs that favour the continuation of the status quo. Horkheimer and Adorno argue that capitalism extends its influence by means of its deep involvement in modern culture. Today, culture has become an massive industry which inculcates the logic and principles of capitalism into individuals. For these theorists, capitalism has penetrated all areas of life; experience, knowledge and thought have become extensions of capitalism itself. Marx, Lukács, Horkheimer and Adorno give accounts of how false beliefs are put into practice. Hence the importance of the work of Bourdieu. Bourdieu's theory of distinction describes how the status quo in capitalism is maintained by the behaviour of individuals through their daily acts of consumption. I argue that the consumption of commodities reproduces the status quo in two ways: firstly, establishing an upper-class which takes the lead in patterns of consumption, and, secondly, by creating a middle class that follows its example. Finally, I relate Bourdieu's insights to the theories of Marx, Lukács, Horkheimer and Adorno and Bourdieu in order to arrive at a more inclusive account of how.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Conceptualisations of 'the community' and 'community knowledge' among community radio volunteers in Katutura, Namibia
- Authors: Ellis, Hugh
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Katutura Community Radio Community radio -- Namibia Radio broadcasting -- Namibia Radio stations -- Namibia Radio journalism -- Namibia Volunteers -- Namibia Radio in community development -- Namibia Mass media -- Social aspects -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3428 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002882
- Description: Community radio typically relies on volunteers to produce and present stations’ programming. Volunteers are generally drawn from stations’ target communities and are seen as “representatives” of those communities. It is with such volunteers and their role as representatives of stations’ target communities that this study is concerned. It poses the question: “what are the central concepts that typically inform volunteers’ knowledge of their target community, and how do these concepts impact on their perception of how they have gained this knowledge, and how they justify their role as representatives of this community?” The dissertation teases out the implications of these conceptualisations for a volunteer team’s ability to contribute to the establishment of a media environment that operates as a Habermasian ‘critical public sphere’. It argues that this can only be achieved if volunteers have detailed and in-depth knowledge of their target community. In order to acquire this knowledge, volunteers should make use of systematic ways of learning about the community, rather than relying solely on knowledge obtained by living there. In a case study of Katutura Community Radio (KCR), one of the bestknown community radio stations in Namibia, the study identifies key differences in the way in which different groups of volunteers conceptualise “the community”. The study focuses, in particular, on such difference as it applies to those who are volunteers in their personal capacity and those who represent non-governmental and community-based organisations at the station. It is argued that two strategies would lead to significant improvement in such a station’s ability to serve as a public sphere. Firstly, the station would benefit from an approach in which different sections of the volunteer team share knowledge of the target community with each other. Secondly, volunteers should undertake further systematic research into their target community. It is also argued that in order to facilitate such processes, radio stations such as KCR should recognise the inevitability of differences between different versions of “community knowledge”.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Contextual obstacles to the delivery of effective psychological treatment of PTSD in a South African community setting
- Authors: Swartz, Kerry
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Post-traumatic stress disorder -- Treatment -- South Africa Rape victims -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychic trauma -- Treatment HIV infections -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002577
- Description: The present study presents three individual cases; all three clients had endured a traumatic event, namely rape, and all three met the criteria for PTSD. Despite the fact that each of the clients was initially assessed as being a suitable candidate for psychological treatment, none of the cases proceeded to the therapy phase of treatment. A number of obstacles, both personal and contextual, were encountered during treatment implementation, preventing or limiting a successful outcome of psychological treatment in each case. An examination of these cases highlights a few of the many obstacles frequently faced when delivering psychological treatment to the South African context. In so doing, this research provides an opportunity to consider the possible reasons for the limited documentation of treatment efficacy within the South African context, as well as to enhance our understanding of and sensitivity towards the cultural and contextual factors playing a role in psychological treatment.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Corporeal tales : an investigation into narrative form in contemporary South African dance and choreography
- Authors: Parker, Alan Charles
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Sichel, Adrienne Krouse, Matthew Dance -- South Africa Choreography -- South Africa Choreographers -- South Africa Dance criticism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2157 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007658
- Description: In the years following the fall of Apartheid in South Africa, dance and choreography have undergone considerable transformation. This investigation stems from one observation relative to this change that has been articulated by two of South Africa's most respected dance critics, Adrienne Sichel and Matthew Krouse. Both critics have noted a growing concern for narrative in South African contemporary choreography, coupled with an apparent propensity for narratives of a distinctly personal and 'autobiographical' nature. In Part One: 'Just after the beginning', the proposed preoccupation with narrative in South African contemporary choreography is discussed in light of the relationship between narrative and the notion of personal identity. The use of the performed narrative as a medium to explore questions about identity is offered as one explanation underpinning this increased proclivity, where the interrogation of the form of the danced narrative provides a site for exploration of personal identity. Part Two: 'Somewhere in the middle' interrogates the notion of form through an in-depth discussion of the experimentation with form within theatrical and antitheatrical dance traditions over the last fifty years. Specific works by three selected South African choreographers (Ginslov, Maqoma and Sabbagha) are discussed in terms of their general approach to narrative form. This provides an illustration of some of the approaches to narrative form emergent in contemporary South African choreographic practices. Part Three: 'Nearing the end' offers Acty Tang's Chaste (2007) as a case study to illustrate the practical application of the dance narrative as a means to interrogate questions relating to personal identity. A detailed analysis of Tang's particular approach to forming the narrative of Chaste is conducted, exposing the intertextual, multimedia and multidisciplinary approach to creating the danced narrative.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Cross-cultural normative indicators on the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) associate learning and visual reproduction subtests
- Authors: Fike, Lauren
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Wechsler Memory Scale -- Cross-cultural studies Memory -- Testing Memory -- Cross-cultural studies Memory Assessment Scales Short-term memory -- Testing Long-term memory -- Testing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2975 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002484
- Description: A comprehensive battery of commonly used neuropsychological tests, including the WMS Associate Learning and Visual Reproduction subtests, forming the focus of this study, were administered to a southern African sample (n = 33, age range 18-40). This sample composed of black South African, IsiXhosa speakers with an educational level of Grade 11 and 12, derived through DET and former DET schooling. The gender demographics were as follows; females n = 21 and males n = 12. This sample was purposefully selected based on current cross-cultural research which suggests that individuals matching these above-mentioned demographics are significantly disadvantaged when compared to available neuropsychological norms. This is due to the fact that current norms have been created in contexts with socio-cultural influences; including culture, language and quantity and quality of education distinctly dissimilar to individuals like that composed in the sample. Hence the purpose of this study was fourfold namely; 1) Describe and consider socio-cultural factors and the influence on test performance 2) Provide descriptive and preliminary normative data on this neuropsychologically underrepresented population 3) Compare test performance between age and gender through stratification of the sample and finally to 4) Evaluate the current norms of the two WMS subtests and assess their validity for black South Africans with DET and former DET schooling with comparisons to the results found in the study. Information derived from the statistical analyses indicated that a higher performance in favour of the younger group over the older age range was consistently found for both WMS subtests. With regards to gender, some higher means were evident for the male population in the sample than was produced by the female group. Lastly, due to the fact that most scores derived from the sample were considerably lower when compared to the available norms, it is felt that socio-cultural factors prevalent to this population are a significant cause of lower test performance and thus warrant the development of appropriate normative indicators.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Depressogenic cognitive schemas, levels of depression and hopelessness among individuals diagnosed with unipolar mood disorder
- Authors: Du Preez, Shereen
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Neuropsychiatry , Depression, Mental -- South Africa , Depressed persons -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9899 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1074 , Neuropsychiatry , Depression, Mental -- South Africa , Depressed persons -- South Africa
- Description: While mood disorders rank within the top ten disabilities worldwide, there has been limited research done on cognitive schemas and the role they play in the development of mood disorders in South Africa. Cognitive conceptualisations of depression typically emphasize the schema-based automatic processing of information. Beck (1967, 1976 & 1987) suggested that schematically driven automatic thinking is a key element in depressive disorders. Research in the field of depression has identified cognitive schemas as a factor which increases an individual’s diathesis to depression. The primary aim of this research is to explore and describe maladaptive cognitive schemas, hopelessness and levels of depression amongst individuals diagnosed with Unipolar Mood Disorder. A further aim of the research has been to explore the relationship between maladaptive cognitive schemas and hopelessness as a diathesis to depression. In order to achieve the objectives, data was collected from a sample of 50 inpatients diagnosed with Unipolar Mood Disorder. The following measures were used: Young’s Schema Questionnaire, Beck's Depression Inventory – 2nd edition and Beck’s Hopelessness Scale. The research is quantitative in nature and takes the form of an exploratory-descriptive study. Data has been analysed by means of descriptive statistics in order to identify the mean, ranges and standard deviation of the measures used. Cross-tabulations have been used to further explore the relationship between the variables mentioned above. It was found that a statistically significant correlation exists between the BDI, BHS and YSQ. Maladaptive cognitive schemas were found to have a strong positive correlation 4 to depression, whereas hopelessness was found to have a less significant role in Unipolar Mood Disorder. The most significant schemas found in relation to hopelessness, were the Social Isolation, Unrelenting Standards and Pessimism schemas. With regards to depression, the most significant schemas were found to be Mistrust, Practical Incompetence, Vulnerability, Subjugation, Self-Sacrifice, Emotional Inhibition, Unrelenting Standards, Entitlement, Insufficient Self-Control, Admiration, Pessimism and Self-Punitiveness. All the above mentioned variables proved to have a statistically significant relationship. The findings of this research study are for the most part consistent with the literature on depression, hopelessness and cognitive vulnerabilities, and all of the above mentioned concepts have been found to be related.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Experiences and coping resources of the suicide negotiation staff at the Van Staden's Bridge
- Authors: Botha, Miranda
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Adjustment (Psychology) , Negotiation , Suicide -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9926 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/656 , Adjustment (Psychology) , Negotiation , Suicide -- Prevention
- Description: The Van Staden’s Bridge has claimed 67 lives since its construction on 11 November 1971. A team of police officials, trained as negotiators who deal with suicide and hostage negotiation, are involved with the task of convincing suicidal persons who turn to the bridge to take their own lives, not to resort to suicide. They are responsible for persuading at least three people per week to reconisider suicide at this notorious bridge. The goal of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and coping resources of the SAPS suicide negotiation staff at the Van Staden’s Bridge, Thornhill, Port Elizabeth. A mixed methods study combining both the quantitative and qualitative approaches was implemented. An exploratory-descriptive design was used, because the topic is still a relatively under-researched area in South Africa. Two data collection measures, that is, the Coping Resources Inventory (CRI) and semi-structured interviewing were employed. The researcher conducted a pilot study to enhance the trustworthiness of the study. Non-probability, purposive sampling was employed to obtain research participants from the research population (suicide negotiation team), consisting of 12 members. Eight members participated voluntary in the quantitative data collection and of these a total of five participated in the qualitative research interviews. Six themes emerged from the results of the in-depth, semi-structured interviews: (1) experiences of SAPS suicide negotiators, (2) aspects that hinder the negotiation process, (3) characteristics of a negotiator, (4) important aspects of the negotiation process, (5) coping mechanisms of SAPS negotiators and (6) recommendations for rendering support to SAPS negotiators. The results from the CRI suggested that the participants have average coping resources with the cognitive domain being the lowest and both the social and physical domains being the highest. The limitations and the value of the study were outlined and finally, recommendations for future research were made.
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- Date Issued: 2008
First and second born twins: a comparative study utilizing the Graffiths mental development scales - extended revised
- Authors: Davidson, Gabrielle
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Griffiths Scales of Mental Development , Twins -- Intelligence testing -- South Africa , Preschool children -- Intelligence testing -- South Africa , Mental development -- Testing , Psychological tests for children
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9921 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/669 , Griffiths Scales of Mental Development , Twins -- Intelligence testing -- South Africa , Preschool children -- Intelligence testing -- South Africa , Mental development -- Testing , Psychological tests for children
- Description: Despite the concept of twins and twinning being a highly explored area of research for many years, limited research has been conducted on the comparison of first and second born twin development. The nature of twins leads people to believe that twins will present with similar characteristics, however, this study explores the possibility that due to their ordinal position they could in fact present with differing characteristics and could differ developmentally. The early holistic development of a child influences the rest of their lives. Concerning twins, the development of individuality and self-knowledge is especially important. Theorists, such as Piaget (1950), propose that child development takes place in stages and that although the order in which children proceed through these stages is the same, the pace at which this takes place can vary. The necessity of monitoring the child’s journey through these stages highlights the value of child developmental assessment. This form of assessment needs to be holistic, needs to involve a multidisciplinary team of professionals and needs to utilize assessment measures that are valid, reliable, culture-fair and standardized. The Griffiths Mental Development Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) is one such measure. This study, focusing on twin development, aimed to contribute and provide valuable information to a larger research project that is currently under way aiming to increase the applicability of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) in the South African context. The primary aim of the study, however, was to explore and compare the performance of normal first born and second born twins, aged between 2 and 8 years 4 months old, on the GMDS-ER. The purpose of the study was to generate information on the relationship between first born twins’ general development and second born twins’ general development. An exploratory, descriptive quantitative design was used. Participants were selected through a combination of non-probability purposive, convenience and snowball sampling. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and dependent sample t-tests were employed to compare the General Quotients (GQ’s) of the first and second born twins in the sample. Results showed that no significant differences were found between the first and second born twins’ general development. Information generated from this study contributed to 1) child development research; 2) twin developmental research within a South African context; and 3) a greater group of studies on the GMDS-ER, currently underway in the United Kingdom and South Africa, aiming to contribute to the international credibility of this measure
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- Date Issued: 2008
Journalists' appropriation of ICTs in news-gathering and processing: a case study of Grocott's Mail
- Authors: Dugo, Habtamu Tesfaye
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalists -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Electronic news gathering -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Data processing -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Information technology -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Reporters and reporting -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Communication and technology -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002881
- Description: This study set out to investigate Grocott’s Mail journalists’ appropriation of information and communication technologies in news-gathering and processing using the social shaping of technology as a theoretical lens. It mainly focuses on digital ICTs that journalists use in news-gathering and processing including the Internet, electronic mail, and mobile telephony. Grocott’s Mail is a small-scale newspaper based in Grahamstown, South Africa. Using qualitative research method and the case study as its sub-method, the research reveals that Grocott’s Mail journalists’ appropriation of ICTs involves various opportunities and challenges in news-gathering and processing. In terms of the state of the existing technological infrastructure, the study reveals that since it embraced the digital ICTs in 2003, Grocott’s Mail boasts an adequate ICT infrastructure for a small-scale African newspaper with 30 PCs and one laptop, and professional software for 28 permanent employees. On the other hand, the research reveals serious constraints with the existing ICTs: a huge need for staff training and capacity building to fully utilise the ICTs, and the need to look for ways of raising funds to either upgrade or replace the existing ICTs. Grocott’s Mail journalists use the Internet to do background research on news stories, to verify the accuracy of information, and to check competition across other media. These are the merits of the Internet in news-gathering and processing. On the other hand, there are specific unintended consequences of the Internet such as wasting the company’s working time, and its use leading to lazy/press release journalism. Informants unanimously indicate that the main problems of the Internet are heavy dependence on other online news-sources and wasting time on online entertainment. In terms of using email in news-gathering, the research finds email technology as having advantages such as being a tool of flexibility and speed, a tool for email interviews, and as a technology that promotes participatory journalism. On the other hand, challenges related to email include its limitations because of what interviewees view as its supplementary and small-scale use because of its low contextual richness as opposed to face to face interviews. In terms of cellular telephony, the study finds that regardless of the ubiquity of cell phones and cell phone networks, they have not yet been deployed in news-gathering and processing due to various constraints. These are cell phones not being a big factor in reporting, lack of a proper funding and refunding scheme, prevalence of negative attitudes towards cell phones, and lack of a business model. Thus, cellular phones seem to have little or no relevance in news-gathering and processing at Grocott’s Mail presently.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Locating the border the development of the framing device in Western art
- Authors: Leathem, Kevin Wolhuter
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Picture frames and framing Mural painting and decoration Art museums -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2408 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002204
- Description: A frame can be understood to act as something both complementary and even intrinsic to the work it houses. But the frame also acts as more than just a physical object. It serves as a guiding principle, perhaps even a controlling device, in the sense that it provides a context for the work as well as informing the way in which a work is read. Acting with the image it surrounds, it links the artwork to the surrounding space as well as the viewer. In this study, I explore these various functions and effects by providing an overview of framing devices that have been used by artists in the West as well as referring to guiding principles that some museums in South Africa have used when making choices about the ways in which they frame works in their collections. This examination provides a context for my paintings. Based on photographs of the walls of various small galleries in the Eastern Cape, my works take as their subject the notion of the ‘frame’ as both a physical object and the marker of a historically contextualized viewpoint.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Melanie Klein: a psychobiographical study
- Authors: Espinosa, Marianna J
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Klein, Melanie Psychology -- Biographical methods Psychoanalysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2971 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002480
- Description: The objective of psychobiography is a better understanding of individuals, and psychobiographical case studies add meaning and value to research (Runyan, 1988a). Melanie Klein was chosen for this study through a purposive sampling method due to her contributions to the discipline of psychology, which placed her in a distinguished position regarding twentieth century psychoanalysis. Furthermore, no other psychobiography has been written on Klein. The primary aim of this study was to present the reader with a basic description of her life, and a secondary aim was to accomplish an in-depth description of Klein within her social and historical context. Due to these aims and the nature of psychobiography, it may be said that this is a qualitative study based on a single case method, described as explorative and descriptive. Data was analysed according to Huberman and Miles’ (1994) approach which consists of data reduction, display and verification. This study was guided by Levinson’s (1996) theory of Adult Development in Women. The theory allowed for an in-depth description of Klein’s experiences and social and historical contexts by merely illuminating her life. Finally, it may be said that this study contributed to the limited amount of psychobiographical research in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Microfinance sustainability versus development objectives: an assessment of the South African environment
- Authors: Hoskinson, Brenda
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Microfinance -- South Africa South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991- Poor -- Finance, Personal Microfinance -- South Africa Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2782 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002992
- Description: In a world where almost half of the population lives in poverty, the alleviation of poverty is a serious developmental challenge for many states. Microfinance has grown in popularity as a means for achieving poverty reduction all over the world. Due to the success of microfinance institutions, such as the Grameen Bank, in achieving self-sufficiency and improving the lives of its clients, the expectations for similar institutions are high. MFIs attempt to find a balance between business and development goals. It is not necessarily a contradiction to be a business seeking profit as well as being an institution committed to development. However, the values coupled with these two objectives are sometimes conflicting. Thus it is important to see how equilibrium can be achieved and to note what sacrifices must be made in order to reach a balance. This thesis will focus on examining and assessing the challenges faced by South African MFIs in balancing development goals while at the same time having to be self-sufficient. The Small Enterprise Foundation will be used as a case study to consider the particular experiences of a South African MFI. The evaluation of the unique challenges that the South African landscape presents will provide a context in which to understand microfinance operations and a clearer understanding of the particular problems and challenges faced by the South African micro-finance industry in balancing the achievement of development goals against the imperative to be self sustainable in providing services to the poor. Through that understanding the common conception of what makes a “successful” MFI will also be challenged.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Negotiated cultural influence : a qualitative study of second year Chinese students at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in 2007 with specific reference to internet usage
- Authors: Yu, Yuanyuan
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Internet in education , Internet -- Social aspects , Students, Foreign -- South Africa , Computer networks -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8375 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/801 , Internet in education , Internet -- Social aspects , Students, Foreign -- South Africa , Computer networks -- Social aspects
- Description: This study aims to investigate the possible influence of Western culture on second-year Chinese students at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in 2007 by focusing on their Internet usage. Roland Robertson’s theory of glocalization is employed as the theoretical framework in this study. The research design is qualitative in nature. Individual semi-structured interviews are the method of collecting research data while a thematic analysis is the means of analysing and interpreting the research data. The sample comprises twelve second-year Chinese students who are studying at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in 2007 and have access to the Internet. This study has found that Western culture has exerted multi-faceted influences on the Chinese students through their Internet usage, and that they always negotiate such influences by selecting, adapting and appropriating what is useful in Western culture in an eclectic manner.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Newsroom convergence at the Mail & Guardian: a case study
- Authors: Van Noort, Elvira Esmeralda
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Mail & Guardian Convergence (Telecommunication) Journalism -- Management -- South Africa Mass media -- Management -- South Africa Journalism -- Technological innovations -- South Africa Online journalism -- South Africa Broadcast journalism -- South Africa Mass media -- Ownership Digital media -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3490 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002945
- Description: This case study researches newsroom convergence as a process at the Mail & Guardian newspaper and their online edition the Mail & Guardian Online. It focuses on the reporters’ and editors’ attitudes towards newsroom convergence and on cultural resistance against change; one of the major challenges in the process. With structured interviews, observations and questionnaires it was analysed that communication problems between the newsrooms, different production cycles and time management issues are other prominent difficulties. The case study furthermore provides a snapshot of the convergence phenomenon as a process in a particular South African news organisation. The outcomes could not only assist other news companies with convergence plans but also be used as a pilot study for further research on converged newsrooms in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2008
No other world: the poetry of Don Maclennan
- Authors: Robinson, Brendon Kimbale
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Maclennan, Don Maclennan, Don -- Criticism and interpretation South African poetry (English) -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2221 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002264
- Description: This is a study of the poetry of Don Maclennan in four chapters. Chapter One explores the poetry's deep involvement with the immediate world, and with the being that encounters it. Chapter Two examines the corpus's mistrust of abstract thought, and its suggestions for alternative ways of intepreting (or at least approaching an interpretation of) our existential situation. Chapter Three deals with Maclennan's writing on the subject of death, while the final chapter looks at the response of the poetry to the fact of death: put simply, this is to learn to love the situation we are in, and to record our thoughts for future generations, thus reaching beyond death to share with others the necessarily unique experience of our one and only life.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Performance of Mhande song-dance: a contextualized and comparative analysis
- Authors: Rutsate, Jerry
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Karanga (African people) -- Music Shona (African people) -- Music Folk music -- Zimbabwe Music -- Zimbabwe Folk songs, Shona Mhande Dance music -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2655 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002321
- Description: This thesis is an investigation of the significance of Mhande song-dance in two performance contexts: the Mutoro ritual of the Karanga and the Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Competition. In addition, I undertake comparative analysis of the structure of Mhande music in relation to the structure of selected genres of Shona indigenous music. The position of Mhande in the larger context of Shona music is determined through analysis of transcriptions of the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic elements of chizambi mouth bow, karimba mbira, ngororombe panpipes, ngano story songs, game, hunting, war, and love songs. Mhande is an indigenous song-dance performed for the mutoro ceremony, the annual rain ritual of the Karanga. The Mhande repertoire consists of distinctive songs and rhythms used for communicating with the majukwa rain spirits. The rain spirits in turn communicate with God (Mwari) the provider of rain, on behalf of the Karanga. Mhande song-dance is performed exactly the same way in the annual Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Competitions as in the ritual context of the mutoro ceremony. However, in the context of the Competition, it is used for the expression of joy and as a form of cultural identity. The Competition is a forum in which Karanga songdance traditions such as Mhande, compete with other Shona song-dance traditions such as mbakumba, shangara and chinyambera. I contextualize and analyse Mhande song-dance by using the ‘Matonjeni Model’, which in terms of Karanga epistemology, is culture specific. This Model is grounded in description, interpretation and analysis; the primary methods in my research process.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Pilates for postural stability in computer users
- Authors: Strydom, Lana
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Pilates method , Human beings -- Attitude and movement
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10094 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/867 , Pilates method , Human beings -- Attitude and movement
- Description: The impact of computer use is evident in every day life (Harrington, Carter, Birrell and Gompertz, 2000:264). Lind (2002:18) explains that global trends continue to show that the most severe work-related health problems that exist amongst computer users are musculoskeletal disorders. As technology has lead to increases in automation, so it has lead to increases in work-related illnesses. Although studies have explored the effects of ergonomics (Thibodeau, 1995:322) in static working positions there has been little evidence supporting a solution in overcoming poor occupational postures. Many health practitioners argue that occupationally caused, or aggravated, musculoskeletal disorders are steadily increasing. Thus, even though computers have improved productivity and made work easier for the population in general, they have adverse effects as well. Designing the proper tools or a setup of the work place is of prime importance for the elimination of chronic diseases attributed to sedentary lifestyles. Regular physical activity had long been regarded as an important component of a healthy lifestyle. This notion has recently been reinforced by scientific evidence linking regular physical activity with a wide array of physical and mental health benefits, synonymous with an improvement in wellness (Pratt, Macera, and Wang, 2000:63). According to Pratt et al. (2000:63) higher direct medical costs associates with physical inactivity. Further cross-sectional epidemiologic studies and controlled experimental investigations conducted by Okura, Nakata and Tanaka (2003:1131) had demonstrated that physically active adults, in contrast to their sedentary counterparts, tend to develop and maintain higher levels of physical fitness. These studies had not only demonstrated the positive results of physical activity, such as an improvement in blood lipid profile, body composition, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, but had also shown that participation in such activity decreased the risk of developing several chronic hypokinetic diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, non-insulin dependant diabetes mellitus (type II), osteoporosis, colon cancer, anxiety and depression. In addition, low levels of habitual physical activity and the subsequent low levels of physical fitness were associated with a marked increase in all-cause mortality rates. Okura et al. (2003:1131) confirm that effects of exercise intensity on physical fitness and risk factors for coronary Herat disease.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Ray Charles: a psychobiographical study
- Authors: Biggs, Ilze
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Charles, Ray, 1930-2004 Psychology -- Biographical methods -- Case studies Jazz singers -- Biography Blind entertainers -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2933 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002442
- Description: Psychobiography is the formulation of an individual's narrative according to a psychological theory. Psychobiographical researchers face a number of challenges. One pertinent challenge is the limited amount of psychobiographical research conducted at academic institutions, including South Africa. Although a number of studies had been completed in the past decade, the impact of psychobiographical research remains negligible. Although much has been written about Ray Charles, none of the existing literature adopted a specific psychological focus. Charles developed from a young boy in a poverty stricken, racially segregated society into an exceptionally successful musician who worked productively until he died at the age of 73. He was selected as the subject on the basis of interest value, uniqueness and significance of life achievements. The primary aim of this study was to explore and describe the development of Charles according to Levinson's (Levinson, et. ai, 1978) theoretical framework. Levinson's theory of adult development identifies and describes the important changes that occur throughout the lifespan of an individual. A secondary aim was to provide an understanding of Charles within the social, economic and historical context in which he lived. The data collection and analysis was conducted according to Yin's (2003) 'analytic generalization'. The data was analysed according to three linked sub-processes proposed by Huberman and Miles (1994).
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- Date Issued: 2008
Reading nonsense : a journey through the writing of Edward Lear
- Authors: Pendlebury, Kathleen Sarah
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Lear, Edward, 1812-1888 Lear, Edward, 1812-1888 Criticism and interpretation English poetry -- 19th century -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2206 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002249
- Description: In this thesis I have addressed some of the problems that have arisen in critical approaches to the nonsense works of Edward Lear from the late nineteenth century. I have entitled it “Reading Nonsense” because my central concern is with how best to apprehend the paradoxes inherent in literary nonsense, which inevitably raises interpretative questions. Because nonsense is a “basic type of communication” whose essence is “unresolved tension between [the] presence and absence of meaning” (Tigges, Anatomy 51), we are called upon either to “make sense of” that which claims to offer up no meaning or to surrender ourselves to meaninglessness. Broadly, critical approaches to nonsense fall into two classes: those that maintain that nonsense is not, in fact, “not sense”, but rather a kind of symbolic language that can be reconciled into meaning; and those which uphold the nonsensicality of nonsense, maintaining that certain ambiguities and paradoxes cannot be accounted for, and it is inappropriate to try to do so. In addition, Lear’s texts are situated in various traditions of writing for children and adults and in the distinctive setting of the Victorian era; and these cultural and literary influences play an important role in the interpretation and misinterpretation of nonsense. My first chapter comprises a mise en scène of the genre of literary nonsense; while in Chapter 2 I turn to the cultural backdrop of Lear’s nonsense in particular, and examine one of the claims frequently made in nonsense criticism: that Lear’s literary nonsense is distinctively “Victorian”. Chapter 3, “How to Read a Learian Limerick”, rests on the exegesis of nonsense that appears in Chapter 1, for here I propose a technique for reading Lear’s limericks that preserves both their “sensical” and nonsensical elements in contrast to critical analyses that attempt to reconcile the nonsense into a code. In Chapter 4 I examine Lear’s songs from the critical perspectives of nonsense and of romanticism. Finally, in conclusion, I consider the role and significance of humour in nonsense, and gesture towards further possible explorations, including in the appendix my essay on the nonsense poetry of South African writer Philip de Vos.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Reflective accounts of childhood inter-species experiences in a Southern-African context: a phenomenological-hermeneutic exploration
- Authors: Rump, Samantha
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Child psychology -- South Africa Child development -- South Africa Human-animal relationships -- South Africa Children and animals -- South Africa Animal psychology -- South Africa Hermeneutics Phenomenology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3045 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002554
- Description: The aims of this research were to describe in rich phenomenological detail the recollected childhood experiences described by three South African adults of growing up with animals in the context of a traditionally African cultural perspective in South Africa; as well as to document the emotional, physical and social effects of inter-species relationships as described by these participants, in order to explore and situate these experiences in relation to broad international perspectives on the contribution of animals to human development. The question of how these described experiences correlate with broad international perspectives on the contribution of animals to human development comprised the hermeneutic of the study. Here it was found that the experiences of these South African individuals were generally in keeping with the trends found in the literature. Participants attributed to their childhood relationships with animals a variety of benefits. These benefits occur on a range of levels, from the physical to the cognitive, and the psychosocial. The emotional attachment of the participants to animals with whom they had interacted in childhood correlated with the nature of interspecies relationships as anticipated by the literature. Cultural differences in the conceptualisation of inter-species relationships, between western and traditionally African ideologies, appeared to influence the moral and ethical positions assumed by the participants, while the subjective nature of the described attachment between participants and animals remains qualitatively similar across cultures, when explored in relation to international research. The similarities between the experiences of the participants and international research findings lend credence to Wilson’s hypothesis that all human beings are potentially able to connect in deep and profound ways with their natural environment, and that this connection contributes to the development of social and cognitive skills, as well as constituting emotional support and stability. The research concludes with an examination of its own limitations and suggestions are made for further research.
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- Date Issued: 2008