Community engagement in theory & practice
- Authors: Paphitis, Sharli A
- Date: 2019?
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/98052 , vital:31534
- Description: The position of universities within our society has never been simultaneously more vulnerable nor important. Globally, the purpose and value of higher education in the twenty first century, is being seriously challenged more than ever before. Locally, we are confronted with social and economic problems that continue to plague the previously excluded and marginalised in South Africa. This fact is clearly evident in the location of Rhodes University, situated, as it is, in the midst of poverty, in a town with high unemployment and in one of the poorest and most neglected provinces in the country. This demands of us to ask the question that is currently resonating the world over: What then is the purpose of a university? And while we are attempting to answer this question, specifically for the South African context, we should be aware of the urgency to reimagine ourselves and step up, work collectively to redress the imbalances in our society. Universities do not exist in a vacuum - they exist within a particular social, economic, cultural, political and historical context and are an integral part of the community in which they exist. They shape and are shaped by the milieu in which they exist. Through their mission of knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge application, they are uniquely and ideally placed to play a critical role in the project of nation-building, social advancement and societal transformation. Given the complex and painful past of our nation that is characterised by centuries of colonialism and decades of apartheid, racial oppression and dispossession and the denial of opportunities to the majority of the citizens of this country, our universities cannot remain ‘ivory towers’ unconcerned with the daily struggles of those who were systematically excluded from opportunities to realise their full potential. It is our responsibility, indeed our duty, to ensure that we place at the service of our community and humankind the knowledge that we generate. In so doing, we will make it possible for ordinary citizens to become agents of their own emancipation and social advancement. On the occasion of my inauguration as the Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University, I pointed out that: “If we remain true and faithful to our intellectual project, as we must, we will be able to advance the higher purpose of higher education: to transform individual lives for the better, to transform societies for the better and to transform the world for the better.” Indeed, the higher purpose of higher education is to transform lives for the better. Community engagement provides universities with opportunities to deepen and broaden our understanding of the role and purpose of our universities in the creation and sustaining of a better society and a better world. It is only when we build respectful, reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships with the previously excluded communities and draw on the different kinds of knowledge that reside in these communities that our knowledge project can start to respond meaningfully and appropriately to the cause of building and sustaining a more just, a more humane, a more caring, a more equitable, a fairer, a more compassionate and more inclusive society. Our University has committed itself to four guiding principles that will drive all our endeavours as an institution of higher learning. These are: • Sustainability – we need to ensure that the principle of sustainability permeates every aspect of our academic endeavour and every decision taken by our university. In the process, we want to produce graduates with an elevated sense of awareness and responsibility in building and sustaining sustainable communities. • Simultaneous local responsiveness and global engagement – our academic endeavour should seek to respond to the pressing and urgent local challenges while simultaneously contributing to our accumulated global stock of knowledge. This will allow us to enter the global knowledge system from our position of strength. • Advancing social justice – given the painful past of our country characterized by exclusion and denial of opportunities for some segments of our society, it is vitally important that we do all we can to restore the dignity and humanity of those who were treated as less than human by the previous dispensation. • Advancing the public good purpose of higher education – our university does not exist in a vacuum. It exists within social, cultural and economic milieu and has an important role to play in lifting the standard of living of our local community. These four principles should guide all academic endeavours in teaching, research and community engagement for the realisation of a society free of hunger, want, inequality and despair. And may it serve as a significant stepping stone towards placing community engagement on a more solid philosophical and moral footing. This publication is packed with a number of exciting and innovative case studies that amply demonstrate that Rhodes University is at the forefront of engaged scholarship and the nurturing of young, talented, committed and engaged citizens. All these initiatives are anchored on the five important pillars of community engagement – mutual respect, reciprocity, mutual benefit, co-creation, and sustainability. We thank all our colleagues and students who go above and beyond the call of duty to contribute in a very meaningful way in transforming the lives of our local community for the better. We are deeply grateful to our Community Engagement Office for enabling and facilitating the interaction between the Rhodes University staff and students and our local community. A word of deep gratitude and sincere appreciation to our community partners who are ever prepared to welcome us with open arms and are always ready to offer our staff and students a different kind of education to the one available within the walls of a lecture room. Our sincere appreciation and gratitude also to our Communications & Advancement Division for seeing to the production of this fabulous publication. I have no hesitation in strongly recommending this publication to all who share our vision of a better society and a better world and are committed to working with courage and conviction to the realisation of a society and a world of our dreams.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Paphitis, Sharli A
- Date: 2019?
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/98052 , vital:31534
- Description: The position of universities within our society has never been simultaneously more vulnerable nor important. Globally, the purpose and value of higher education in the twenty first century, is being seriously challenged more than ever before. Locally, we are confronted with social and economic problems that continue to plague the previously excluded and marginalised in South Africa. This fact is clearly evident in the location of Rhodes University, situated, as it is, in the midst of poverty, in a town with high unemployment and in one of the poorest and most neglected provinces in the country. This demands of us to ask the question that is currently resonating the world over: What then is the purpose of a university? And while we are attempting to answer this question, specifically for the South African context, we should be aware of the urgency to reimagine ourselves and step up, work collectively to redress the imbalances in our society. Universities do not exist in a vacuum - they exist within a particular social, economic, cultural, political and historical context and are an integral part of the community in which they exist. They shape and are shaped by the milieu in which they exist. Through their mission of knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge application, they are uniquely and ideally placed to play a critical role in the project of nation-building, social advancement and societal transformation. Given the complex and painful past of our nation that is characterised by centuries of colonialism and decades of apartheid, racial oppression and dispossession and the denial of opportunities to the majority of the citizens of this country, our universities cannot remain ‘ivory towers’ unconcerned with the daily struggles of those who were systematically excluded from opportunities to realise their full potential. It is our responsibility, indeed our duty, to ensure that we place at the service of our community and humankind the knowledge that we generate. In so doing, we will make it possible for ordinary citizens to become agents of their own emancipation and social advancement. On the occasion of my inauguration as the Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University, I pointed out that: “If we remain true and faithful to our intellectual project, as we must, we will be able to advance the higher purpose of higher education: to transform individual lives for the better, to transform societies for the better and to transform the world for the better.” Indeed, the higher purpose of higher education is to transform lives for the better. Community engagement provides universities with opportunities to deepen and broaden our understanding of the role and purpose of our universities in the creation and sustaining of a better society and a better world. It is only when we build respectful, reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships with the previously excluded communities and draw on the different kinds of knowledge that reside in these communities that our knowledge project can start to respond meaningfully and appropriately to the cause of building and sustaining a more just, a more humane, a more caring, a more equitable, a fairer, a more compassionate and more inclusive society. Our University has committed itself to four guiding principles that will drive all our endeavours as an institution of higher learning. These are: • Sustainability – we need to ensure that the principle of sustainability permeates every aspect of our academic endeavour and every decision taken by our university. In the process, we want to produce graduates with an elevated sense of awareness and responsibility in building and sustaining sustainable communities. • Simultaneous local responsiveness and global engagement – our academic endeavour should seek to respond to the pressing and urgent local challenges while simultaneously contributing to our accumulated global stock of knowledge. This will allow us to enter the global knowledge system from our position of strength. • Advancing social justice – given the painful past of our country characterized by exclusion and denial of opportunities for some segments of our society, it is vitally important that we do all we can to restore the dignity and humanity of those who were treated as less than human by the previous dispensation. • Advancing the public good purpose of higher education – our university does not exist in a vacuum. It exists within social, cultural and economic milieu and has an important role to play in lifting the standard of living of our local community. These four principles should guide all academic endeavours in teaching, research and community engagement for the realisation of a society free of hunger, want, inequality and despair. And may it serve as a significant stepping stone towards placing community engagement on a more solid philosophical and moral footing. This publication is packed with a number of exciting and innovative case studies that amply demonstrate that Rhodes University is at the forefront of engaged scholarship and the nurturing of young, talented, committed and engaged citizens. All these initiatives are anchored on the five important pillars of community engagement – mutual respect, reciprocity, mutual benefit, co-creation, and sustainability. We thank all our colleagues and students who go above and beyond the call of duty to contribute in a very meaningful way in transforming the lives of our local community for the better. We are deeply grateful to our Community Engagement Office for enabling and facilitating the interaction between the Rhodes University staff and students and our local community. A word of deep gratitude and sincere appreciation to our community partners who are ever prepared to welcome us with open arms and are always ready to offer our staff and students a different kind of education to the one available within the walls of a lecture room. Our sincere appreciation and gratitude also to our Communications & Advancement Division for seeing to the production of this fabulous publication. I have no hesitation in strongly recommending this publication to all who share our vision of a better society and a better world and are committed to working with courage and conviction to the realisation of a society and a world of our dreams.
- Full Text:
Integrating writing development in curricula: writing intensive project case studies
- Authors: Thomson, Carol I
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59580 , vital:27628
- Description: These case studies come from work done in the Writing Intensive Project (WIP) from its inception in 2013 until 2016 when formal funding from a Teacher Development Grant from the National Department of Higher Education ended. The project was unique for Rhodes University as it was the first time an intervention of this kind had ever been directed specifically at undergraduate writing development and support in the disciplines, and secondly, that participation by discipline-based academics in the project was entirely voluntary, thereby exemplifying a significant level of agency.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Thomson, Carol I
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59580 , vital:27628
- Description: These case studies come from work done in the Writing Intensive Project (WIP) from its inception in 2013 until 2016 when formal funding from a Teacher Development Grant from the National Department of Higher Education ended. The project was unique for Rhodes University as it was the first time an intervention of this kind had ever been directed specifically at undergraduate writing development and support in the disciplines, and secondly, that participation by discipline-based academics in the project was entirely voluntary, thereby exemplifying a significant level of agency.
- Full Text:
Curriculum in the context of transformation: reframing traditional understandings and practices
- Authors: Voster, Jo-Anne
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59557 , vital:27626
- Description: Curriculum is central to the pedagogic project of the university, and like all aspects of education, it is underpinned by values, beliefs and ideologies. Curriculum choices are made based on what disciplines and professions value and what academic departments and / or individual academics find interesting and believe to be useful for students to learn and know. Decisions about how to teach and assess curriculum knowledge is very often made on the basis of lecturers’ preferences and beliefs about good teaching and learning. At the current conjuncture, academics in South African higher education are also called upon to take into account a number of transformation imperatives when making curriculum choices. The case studies in this collection present examples of how some lecturers at Rhodes University are thinking about curriculum in the context of cur - rent educational concerns and show some of the ways in which they attempt to ensure that greater epistemological access becomes a reality for more students.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Voster, Jo-Anne
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59557 , vital:27626
- Description: Curriculum is central to the pedagogic project of the university, and like all aspects of education, it is underpinned by values, beliefs and ideologies. Curriculum choices are made based on what disciplines and professions value and what academic departments and / or individual academics find interesting and believe to be useful for students to learn and know. Decisions about how to teach and assess curriculum knowledge is very often made on the basis of lecturers’ preferences and beliefs about good teaching and learning. At the current conjuncture, academics in South African higher education are also called upon to take into account a number of transformation imperatives when making curriculum choices. The case studies in this collection present examples of how some lecturers at Rhodes University are thinking about curriculum in the context of cur - rent educational concerns and show some of the ways in which they attempt to ensure that greater epistemological access becomes a reality for more students.
- Full Text:
Teaching and learning with technology: reframing traditional understandings and practices
- Authors: Tshuma, Nompilo
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59569 , vital:27627
- Description: This publication is a collection of case studies outlining examples of how lecturers at Rhodes University have carefully considered and selected technologies to address a range of teaching and learning challenges. In each case, the selection of the learning technology has been driven by a particular learning challenge, with student engagement and enhancement of learning as the main goals. The lecturers have utilised technology as one of several tools in the learning process. Each case study emphasises that even with students’ technological abilities and the masses of information readily available online, the teacher is still indispensable (Laurillard, 2013) for planning, facilitating, guiding and scaffolding learning with technology. For the sake of clarity, some of the details in the case studies may have been omitted or slightly changed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Tshuma, Nompilo
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59569 , vital:27627
- Description: This publication is a collection of case studies outlining examples of how lecturers at Rhodes University have carefully considered and selected technologies to address a range of teaching and learning challenges. In each case, the selection of the learning technology has been driven by a particular learning challenge, with student engagement and enhancement of learning as the main goals. The lecturers have utilised technology as one of several tools in the learning process. Each case study emphasises that even with students’ technological abilities and the masses of information readily available online, the teacher is still indispensable (Laurillard, 2013) for planning, facilitating, guiding and scaffolding learning with technology. For the sake of clarity, some of the details in the case studies may have been omitted or slightly changed.
- Full Text:
Assessment in higher education: reframing traditional understandings and practices
- Clarence, Sherran, Quinn, Lynn, Vorster, Jo-Anne
- Authors: Clarence, Sherran , Quinn, Lynn , Vorster, Jo-Anne
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59534 , vital:27624
- Description: The case studies in this publication provide examples of lecturers who have considered the role of assessment in their courses carefully. All of them have engaged with matters related to assessment as part of the formal courses or qualifications offered by staff of the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes University. In these courses lecturers are encouraged to reflect critically on their current assessment practices, engage with some of the literature and research on assessment in higher education, and then re-conceptualise their assessment methods and approaches. These case studies were drawn from the assignments and portfolios that they completed as part of the summative assessment for the courses they attended. The purpose of the case studies is pedagogic and to illustrate a range of assessment practices and principles. For the sake of clarity some of the details have been omitted or slightly changed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Clarence, Sherran , Quinn, Lynn , Vorster, Jo-Anne
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59534 , vital:27624
- Description: The case studies in this publication provide examples of lecturers who have considered the role of assessment in their courses carefully. All of them have engaged with matters related to assessment as part of the formal courses or qualifications offered by staff of the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes University. In these courses lecturers are encouraged to reflect critically on their current assessment practices, engage with some of the literature and research on assessment in higher education, and then re-conceptualise their assessment methods and approaches. These case studies were drawn from the assignments and portfolios that they completed as part of the summative assessment for the courses they attended. The purpose of the case studies is pedagogic and to illustrate a range of assessment practices and principles. For the sake of clarity some of the details have been omitted or slightly changed.
- Full Text:
Evaluation of teaching and courses: reframing traditional understandings and practices
- Authors: Belluigi, Dina Z
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59546 , vital:27625
- Description: This anthology outlines case studies which have emerged from an approach to evaluation which enables individual academics to practice a degree of autonomy in how they determine their own evaluation agendas, methods and approaches. This has enabled individual cases of both rigour and creativity when it comes to the collection of data and generation of feed- back on their teaching and/or courses, particularly in relation to transforming curricula responsively; enabling student voice and increasing student ownership; and creating spaces for practices to be challenged. The purpose of the case studies is pedagogic and to illustrate a range of practices and principles. For the sake of clarity some of the details have been omitted or slightly changed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Belluigi, Dina Z
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59546 , vital:27625
- Description: This anthology outlines case studies which have emerged from an approach to evaluation which enables individual academics to practice a degree of autonomy in how they determine their own evaluation agendas, methods and approaches. This has enabled individual cases of both rigour and creativity when it comes to the collection of data and generation of feed- back on their teaching and/or courses, particularly in relation to transforming curricula responsively; enabling student voice and increasing student ownership; and creating spaces for practices to be challenged. The purpose of the case studies is pedagogic and to illustrate a range of practices and principles. For the sake of clarity some of the details have been omitted or slightly changed.
- Full Text:
South African hopes and fears twenty years into democracy: a replication of Hadley Cantril's pattern of human concerns
- Moller, Valerie, Roberts, Benjamin J
- Authors: Moller, Valerie , Roberts, Benjamin J
- Date: 2014-05
- Subjects: Cantril, Hadley, 1906-1969
- Language: English
- Type: text , Book
- Identifier: vital:546 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017240 , ISBN 9780868104850
- Description: Fifty years have elapsed since Hadley Cantril (1965) published his work on the Pattern of Human Concerns. His line of inquiry has stood the test of time. In late 2012, the nationally representative South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) replicated Cantril’s 1960s questions and methodology to elicit South Africans’ hopes and aspirations and worries and fears for self and country and their ratings of where self and country stood – past, present and will stand in future. Although Cantril’s ‘ladder‐of‐life’ scale is still regularly used as a measure of subjective well‐being, to our knowledge his full line of preliminary questioning has not been fielded again to date. Our study found that South African aspirations for self were mainly material ones for a decent standard of living and the means to achieve this goal. Hopes for the nation concentrated on economic and political progress to consolidate South Africa’s democracy. A large number of personal and national hopes were mirrored in fears that these aspirations might not be met. Cantril’s method also allowed us to review the main concerns and ratings across the diverse groups of citizens that make up the ‘rainbow nation’. There was a substantial degree of consensus on top hopes and fears but levels of standing on the Cantril ladder of life were still graded according to apartheid‐era inequalities with black South Africans scoring lower than other race groups. Nonetheless, the majority of South Africans rated their present life better than five years ago and projected life to get better in future. Such optimism may place considerable pressure on the state to deliver on personal and societal hopes as the country enters its third decade of democracy.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Moller, Valerie , Roberts, Benjamin J
- Date: 2014-05
- Subjects: Cantril, Hadley, 1906-1969
- Language: English
- Type: text , Book
- Identifier: vital:546 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017240 , ISBN 9780868104850
- Description: Fifty years have elapsed since Hadley Cantril (1965) published his work on the Pattern of Human Concerns. His line of inquiry has stood the test of time. In late 2012, the nationally representative South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) replicated Cantril’s 1960s questions and methodology to elicit South Africans’ hopes and aspirations and worries and fears for self and country and their ratings of where self and country stood – past, present and will stand in future. Although Cantril’s ‘ladder‐of‐life’ scale is still regularly used as a measure of subjective well‐being, to our knowledge his full line of preliminary questioning has not been fielded again to date. Our study found that South African aspirations for self were mainly material ones for a decent standard of living and the means to achieve this goal. Hopes for the nation concentrated on economic and political progress to consolidate South Africa’s democracy. A large number of personal and national hopes were mirrored in fears that these aspirations might not be met. Cantril’s method also allowed us to review the main concerns and ratings across the diverse groups of citizens that make up the ‘rainbow nation’. There was a substantial degree of consensus on top hopes and fears but levels of standing on the Cantril ladder of life were still graded according to apartheid‐era inequalities with black South Africans scoring lower than other race groups. Nonetheless, the majority of South Africans rated their present life better than five years ago and projected life to get better in future. Such optimism may place considerable pressure on the state to deliver on personal and societal hopes as the country enters its third decade of democracy.
- Full Text:
Living in Rhini : a 2007 update on the 1999 Social Indicators Report
- Authors: Moller, Valerie
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:541 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010770 , ISBN 9780868104461
- Description: [From the preface]: This report is a sequel to ‘Living in Grahamstown East/Rini – A Social Indicators report’ published by the Institute of Social and Economic Research in 2001 as Number 6 in its Research Report series. The No. 6 monograph was based on results of a sample survey of householders conducted in May 1999 in the area of Makana generally known as Grahamstown East or Rini at that time. This report is based on information collected in November 2007 in the same area. The ‘Living in Rhini’ project takes its title from a series of reports on social indicators initiated by Statistics South Africa (then Central Statistical Services). The popular series aimed to communicate to ordinary people the statistics on living conditions in various parts of the country. The 1999 sample survey conducted among 862 households from all neighbourhoods of Grahamstown East/Rini was a large survey by most standards. The 2007 sample similarly comprises over 1000 households spread over all neighbourhoods of Rhini including the ones developed since 1999.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Moller, Valerie
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:541 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010770 , ISBN 9780868104461
- Description: [From the preface]: This report is a sequel to ‘Living in Grahamstown East/Rini – A Social Indicators report’ published by the Institute of Social and Economic Research in 2001 as Number 6 in its Research Report series. The No. 6 monograph was based on results of a sample survey of householders conducted in May 1999 in the area of Makana generally known as Grahamstown East or Rini at that time. This report is based on information collected in November 2007 in the same area. The ‘Living in Rhini’ project takes its title from a series of reports on social indicators initiated by Statistics South Africa (then Central Statistical Services). The popular series aimed to communicate to ordinary people the statistics on living conditions in various parts of the country. The 1999 sample survey conducted among 862 households from all neighbourhoods of Grahamstown East/Rini was a large survey by most standards. The 2007 sample similarly comprises over 1000 households spread over all neighbourhoods of Rhini including the ones developed since 1999.
- Full Text:
Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science: research report series 19
- Authors: Jones, C L W , Pattrick, P
- Date: 2007
- Language: English
- Type: text , Book
- Identifier: vital:7161 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011935
- Full Text:
- Authors: Jones, C L W , Pattrick, P
- Date: 2007
- Language: English
- Type: text , Book
- Identifier: vital:7161 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011935
- Full Text:
South Africa’s new democrats : a 2002 profile of democracy in the making
- Authors: Moller, Valerie , Hanf, T
- Date: 2007
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:539 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010768
- Description: [From the introduction]: South Africa’s dramatic conversion to democracy has been heralded as a modern-day miracle. In former Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Tutu’s words, it was ‘touch and go’ whether all conflicting parties would participate in the first non-racial elections in April 1994. The ‘rainbow nation’, as the new South Africa liked to call itself in the first years of democracy, was heralded as a beacon of hope and enlightenment for Africa and the world. Since 1994, South Africa has successfully conducted two further national elections that have been declared essentially free and fair. The country has emerged as a leading representative of the economic and political interests of developing countries and the South in the international arena. The question is whether living under democracy has influenced the manner in which South Africans see themselves, their country and the world around them. This report seeks to document how South Africans think and feel some eight years into democracy about issues that are important in their own lives and have significance for the future of their society. The study covers personal experiences, attitudes and beliefs, and the aspirations and fears of ordinary people. It seeks to identify the sentiments and collective experiences that may contribute to or hinder the consolidation of democracy in years to come. The report is based on an inquiry conducted in March 2002 among over two thousand South African adults over 16 years of age in a nationally representative MarkData survey that included all regions of the country. , Lettres de Byblos / Letters from Byblos. A series of occasional papers published by UNESCO Centre International des Sciences de l’Homme International Centre for Human Sciences
- Full Text:
- Authors: Moller, Valerie , Hanf, T
- Date: 2007
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:539 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010768
- Description: [From the introduction]: South Africa’s dramatic conversion to democracy has been heralded as a modern-day miracle. In former Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Tutu’s words, it was ‘touch and go’ whether all conflicting parties would participate in the first non-racial elections in April 1994. The ‘rainbow nation’, as the new South Africa liked to call itself in the first years of democracy, was heralded as a beacon of hope and enlightenment for Africa and the world. Since 1994, South Africa has successfully conducted two further national elections that have been declared essentially free and fair. The country has emerged as a leading representative of the economic and political interests of developing countries and the South in the international arena. The question is whether living under democracy has influenced the manner in which South Africans see themselves, their country and the world around them. This report seeks to document how South Africans think and feel some eight years into democracy about issues that are important in their own lives and have significance for the future of their society. The study covers personal experiences, attitudes and beliefs, and the aspirations and fears of ordinary people. It seeks to identify the sentiments and collective experiences that may contribute to or hinder the consolidation of democracy in years to come. The report is based on an inquiry conducted in March 2002 among over two thousand South African adults over 16 years of age in a nationally representative MarkData survey that included all regions of the country. , Lettres de Byblos / Letters from Byblos. A series of occasional papers published by UNESCO Centre International des Sciences de l’Homme International Centre for Human Sciences
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Interesting times, 1954-2004: a short history of the Institute of Social and Economic Research, Rhodes University
- Authors: Whisson, Michael G., 1937-
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Research institutes -- South Africa -- History -- 20th century , Social sciences -- Research , Economics -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:553 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020595 , ISBN 0868104051
- Description: On entering the Rhodes University Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at 6 Prince Alfred Street, visitors are confronted by a glass cabinet in which is displayed the four volumes of the Keiskammahoek Rural Survey (1947-1952); six of the volumes which emanated from the Border Regional Survey (1956-1964) of which three are the Xhosa in Town trilogy, and a modest paperback From Reserve To Region (1997), which records the changes which took place in Keiskammahoek between the birth of apartheid in 1948 and its demise in 1994. Together these may be seen as the charter documents of the ISER - rooted in empirical research in the Eastern Cape, multidisciplinary, substantial works of scholarship and, in the case of The Xhosa in Town trilogy, at least, of international repute.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Whisson, Michael G., 1937-
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Research institutes -- South Africa -- History -- 20th century , Social sciences -- Research , Economics -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:553 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020595 , ISBN 0868104051
- Description: On entering the Rhodes University Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at 6 Prince Alfred Street, visitors are confronted by a glass cabinet in which is displayed the four volumes of the Keiskammahoek Rural Survey (1947-1952); six of the volumes which emanated from the Border Regional Survey (1956-1964) of which three are the Xhosa in Town trilogy, and a modest paperback From Reserve To Region (1997), which records the changes which took place in Keiskammahoek between the birth of apartheid in 1948 and its demise in 1994. Together these may be seen as the charter documents of the ISER - rooted in empirical research in the Eastern Cape, multidisciplinary, substantial works of scholarship and, in the case of The Xhosa in Town trilogy, at least, of international repute.
- Full Text:
Living in Grahamstown East/Rini: a social indicators report
- Moller, Valerie, Manona, Cecil Wele, Van Hees, C, Pillay, E, Tobi, A
- Authors: Moller, Valerie , Manona, Cecil Wele , Van Hees, C , Pillay, E , Tobi, A
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:540 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010769
- Description: [From the preface]: The ‘Living in Grahamstown East/Rini’ project takes its title from a series of reports on social indicators initiated by Statistics South Africa. The popular series aims to communicate to ordinary people the statistics on living conditions in various parts of the country. The first two booklets in the series, Living in South Africa and Living in Gauteng, were based on survey data for South Africa and Gauteng Province (CSS: 1996; 1997). In similar vein, this booklet presents statistics on living conditions in Grahamstown East/Rini for ready reference by community organisations, local planning and policy-makers, scholars, and the general public. [From the introduction]: This report is intended to serve the needs of information users. The source of information is a representative sample survey of 862 Grahamstown East/Rini households conducted in May 1999. The report serves as a reference work for municipal planners and policymakers, community organisations, and interested citizens. It is hoped that the reported social indicators will be useful for drawing up business plans for community development projects. The information in this report is mainly factual. It is based on self-reports collected from households in Grahamstown East/Rini. In time, the facts contained in this report will date. They will then gain historical value for scholars with an interest in learning "how things were" to compare the situation in Grahamstown East/Rini in 1999 with later developments and changes in living conditions and lifestyles , This was edited by Valerie Møller, with contributions by Cecil W. Manona, Charlotte van Hees, Edmund Pillay and Andile Tobi , Digitised by Rhodes University Library on behalf of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Moller, Valerie , Manona, Cecil Wele , Van Hees, C , Pillay, E , Tobi, A
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:540 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010769
- Description: [From the preface]: The ‘Living in Grahamstown East/Rini’ project takes its title from a series of reports on social indicators initiated by Statistics South Africa. The popular series aims to communicate to ordinary people the statistics on living conditions in various parts of the country. The first two booklets in the series, Living in South Africa and Living in Gauteng, were based on survey data for South Africa and Gauteng Province (CSS: 1996; 1997). In similar vein, this booklet presents statistics on living conditions in Grahamstown East/Rini for ready reference by community organisations, local planning and policy-makers, scholars, and the general public. [From the introduction]: This report is intended to serve the needs of information users. The source of information is a representative sample survey of 862 Grahamstown East/Rini households conducted in May 1999. The report serves as a reference work for municipal planners and policymakers, community organisations, and interested citizens. It is hoped that the reported social indicators will be useful for drawing up business plans for community development projects. The information in this report is mainly factual. It is based on self-reports collected from households in Grahamstown East/Rini. In time, the facts contained in this report will date. They will then gain historical value for scholars with an interest in learning "how things were" to compare the situation in Grahamstown East/Rini in 1999 with later developments and changes in living conditions and lifestyles , This was edited by Valerie Møller, with contributions by Cecil W. Manona, Charlotte van Hees, Edmund Pillay and Andile Tobi , Digitised by Rhodes University Library on behalf of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER)
- Full Text:
South Africa, the prospects of peaceful change: an empirical enquiry into the possibility of democratic conflict regulation
- Hanf, Theodor, 1936-, Weiland, Heribert, 1942-, Vierdag, Gerda, Schlemmer, Lawrence 1936-2011, Hampel, Rainer, Krupp, Burkhard, Richardson, John, Orkin, Mark
- Authors: Hanf, Theodor, 1936- , Weiland, Heribert, 1942- , Vierdag, Gerda , Schlemmer, Lawrence 1936-2011 , Hampel, Rainer , Krupp, Burkhard , Richardson, John , Orkin, Mark
- Date: 1981 , 2021
- Subjects: South Africa Race relations , South Africa Politics and government 1961-1978
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179720 , vital:43164
- Description: Our aim in this book is not to tell black or white South Africans what they ought to do. Rather, we try to establish through empirical social research what the various groups would like to do, and what they are in fact able to do. The overall issue which we consider is whether conflict can be regulated both peacefully and democratically. The events of 1976 and 1977 established beyond doubt that conflict exists on a large scale in South Africa. The conflict is both open and latent. Its causes include the distribution of income and wealth between different groups, the enforced social segregation of the groups from each other, and the monopoly of power by one of the groups. This one group has used and continues to use its power to regulate the conflict, and does so unilaterally and towards its own ends. Now conflict can be regulated in this way for a considerable period of time—longer than the whites dare hope and the blacks concede. But it is unlikely that power can be exercised indefinitely without the consent of the majority. Indeed, the longer a group exercises power without consent, the more likely is violent change. Given the distribution of power in contemporary South Africa, violent change would involve enormous sacrifices all round. So we consider the chances of peaceful change. Unfortunately, the chances seem slim. A glance at history shows that minorities tend to cling obstinately to their privileges, and then lose everything in defending them. One is far less likely to find minorities who have made timely sacrifices of some things in order to hold onto others. Similarly, once the tables are turned, the majorities that have been exploited and maltreated more often give vent to their long-suppressed feelings of hate and revenge than explore the possibilities for a peaceful take-over of power. Even so, however likely such developments may be when seen from a historical perspective, there is no ‘iron law of history’ which categorically excludes the possibility of peaceful change under the conditions obtaining in South Africa. And the ‘social costs’—a euphemism in social science for human suffering—of violent change are so high that one is surely justified in exploring the constraints, however narrow they might be, within which the current system of conflict regulation in South Africa might be peacefully transformed. This consideration is even more important in the present global political situation; for change by violent means will not only endanger the parties directly concerned, but may also endanger the peace of the African continent and perhaps that of the rest of the world. We also want to know whether conflict can be regulated democratically. We assume that the rule of law, social justice, and democratic rights are not the prerogatives of wealthy Western states. We believe that all the members of a society should be able to decide freely on how they want to shape their economic, cultural, and political coexistence. This study is thus motivated by a specific interest: we want to ascertain what scope there is in contemporary South Africa for changing the existing system of domination, so as to allow the democratic regulation of conflict, more social justice, a greater diversity of cultural expression, and wider freedom for all South Africans. We stress that we are concerned with the democratic regulation of conflict. For this purpose, the context in which conflict originated in South Africa is only relevant to the extent that it may still influence the present situation. Similarly, explanations of the phenomenon of conflict will be relevant only if they let us formulate more precisely the problem of how conflict may be peacefully and democratically regulated. This problem is important not because it contributes to the progress of social science—that contribution may be modest—but because it bears on the fate of many human beings. We have tried to offer answers which can be supported by empirical inquiry. Although the literature on conflict regulation in South Africa has expanded rapidly in recent years, it is characterized by a lack of empirical data on the attitudes and opinions of the groups and individuals involved in the political process. We felt it would be useful if we lessened these gaps in our knowledge by empirical means. But data on the attitudes and opinions of black and white South Africans are hardly a sufficient basis for reliable predictions about South Africa’s future. Events in South Africa will not only be determined by the opinions and wishes of its inhabitants but also, as is becoming increasingly evident, by forces and influences outside the country. However, the latter have been expressly excluded from the present study; it is concerned, ceteris paribus, with internal South African developments. But even with respect to internal developments, what actually happens in a society is only partly determined by what the members of the society think and want. It would thus be foolhardy to base a comprehensive prognostication on opinion surveys alone. On the other hand, empirical surveys may facilitate a precise answer to the overall problem we have set ourselves. Empirical research can indicate how far white South Africans are prepared for peaceful change and democratic conflict regulation, and similarly, what change black South Africans expect and what means of conflict regulation they are prepared to accept. Does the preparedness of the whites match or fall far short of the expectations of the blacks? The question is crucial to change without violence. Thus, in respect of our motivation and of the limitations we have set on the nature of our inquiry, this study must be seen as an empirical contribution to research into conflict and peace.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hanf, Theodor, 1936- , Weiland, Heribert, 1942- , Vierdag, Gerda , Schlemmer, Lawrence 1936-2011 , Hampel, Rainer , Krupp, Burkhard , Richardson, John , Orkin, Mark
- Date: 1981 , 2021
- Subjects: South Africa Race relations , South Africa Politics and government 1961-1978
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/179720 , vital:43164
- Description: Our aim in this book is not to tell black or white South Africans what they ought to do. Rather, we try to establish through empirical social research what the various groups would like to do, and what they are in fact able to do. The overall issue which we consider is whether conflict can be regulated both peacefully and democratically. The events of 1976 and 1977 established beyond doubt that conflict exists on a large scale in South Africa. The conflict is both open and latent. Its causes include the distribution of income and wealth between different groups, the enforced social segregation of the groups from each other, and the monopoly of power by one of the groups. This one group has used and continues to use its power to regulate the conflict, and does so unilaterally and towards its own ends. Now conflict can be regulated in this way for a considerable period of time—longer than the whites dare hope and the blacks concede. But it is unlikely that power can be exercised indefinitely without the consent of the majority. Indeed, the longer a group exercises power without consent, the more likely is violent change. Given the distribution of power in contemporary South Africa, violent change would involve enormous sacrifices all round. So we consider the chances of peaceful change. Unfortunately, the chances seem slim. A glance at history shows that minorities tend to cling obstinately to their privileges, and then lose everything in defending them. One is far less likely to find minorities who have made timely sacrifices of some things in order to hold onto others. Similarly, once the tables are turned, the majorities that have been exploited and maltreated more often give vent to their long-suppressed feelings of hate and revenge than explore the possibilities for a peaceful take-over of power. Even so, however likely such developments may be when seen from a historical perspective, there is no ‘iron law of history’ which categorically excludes the possibility of peaceful change under the conditions obtaining in South Africa. And the ‘social costs’—a euphemism in social science for human suffering—of violent change are so high that one is surely justified in exploring the constraints, however narrow they might be, within which the current system of conflict regulation in South Africa might be peacefully transformed. This consideration is even more important in the present global political situation; for change by violent means will not only endanger the parties directly concerned, but may also endanger the peace of the African continent and perhaps that of the rest of the world. We also want to know whether conflict can be regulated democratically. We assume that the rule of law, social justice, and democratic rights are not the prerogatives of wealthy Western states. We believe that all the members of a society should be able to decide freely on how they want to shape their economic, cultural, and political coexistence. This study is thus motivated by a specific interest: we want to ascertain what scope there is in contemporary South Africa for changing the existing system of domination, so as to allow the democratic regulation of conflict, more social justice, a greater diversity of cultural expression, and wider freedom for all South Africans. We stress that we are concerned with the democratic regulation of conflict. For this purpose, the context in which conflict originated in South Africa is only relevant to the extent that it may still influence the present situation. Similarly, explanations of the phenomenon of conflict will be relevant only if they let us formulate more precisely the problem of how conflict may be peacefully and democratically regulated. This problem is important not because it contributes to the progress of social science—that contribution may be modest—but because it bears on the fate of many human beings. We have tried to offer answers which can be supported by empirical inquiry. Although the literature on conflict regulation in South Africa has expanded rapidly in recent years, it is characterized by a lack of empirical data on the attitudes and opinions of the groups and individuals involved in the political process. We felt it would be useful if we lessened these gaps in our knowledge by empirical means. But data on the attitudes and opinions of black and white South Africans are hardly a sufficient basis for reliable predictions about South Africa’s future. Events in South Africa will not only be determined by the opinions and wishes of its inhabitants but also, as is becoming increasingly evident, by forces and influences outside the country. However, the latter have been expressly excluded from the present study; it is concerned, ceteris paribus, with internal South African developments. But even with respect to internal developments, what actually happens in a society is only partly determined by what the members of the society think and want. It would thus be foolhardy to base a comprehensive prognostication on opinion surveys alone. On the other hand, empirical surveys may facilitate a precise answer to the overall problem we have set ourselves. Empirical research can indicate how far white South Africans are prepared for peaceful change and democratic conflict regulation, and similarly, what change black South Africans expect and what means of conflict regulation they are prepared to accept. Does the preparedness of the whites match or fall far short of the expectations of the blacks? The question is crucial to change without violence. Thus, in respect of our motivation and of the limitations we have set on the nature of our inquiry, this study must be seen as an empirical contribution to research into conflict and peace.
- Full Text:
Predikant and priest : some Calvinist and Catholic role profiles of the religious functionary in South Africa : a comment and review of two empirical studies
- Authors: Higgins, Edward
- Date: 1972
- Subjects: Clergy -- South Africa , Clergy -- Office
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:551 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020578
- Description: A revised English version of "Les roles religieux dans le contexte multi-racial sud-africain : le profil du ministere dans le calvinisme et le catholicisme"
- Full Text:
- Authors: Higgins, Edward
- Date: 1972
- Subjects: Clergy -- South Africa , Clergy -- Office
- Language: English
- Type: Book , text
- Identifier: vital:551 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020578
- Description: A revised English version of "Les roles religieux dans le contexte multi-racial sud-africain : le profil du ministere dans le calvinisme et le catholicisme"
- Full Text:
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