A sociological analysis of the experiences of acceptance of Christian gay men within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) in Grahamstown
- Authors: Sipungu, Thoko Andy
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3961 , vital:20573
- Description: Buffington, Luibhéid, & Guy (2014: 1) argue that “in the contemporary world, our own sexuality and our sense of the sexualities of others colour all aspects of contemporary life, from interpersonal relations to foreign affairs.” In line with this statement, this study provides an account of how a person’s gay sexuality can possibly colour that person’s experience of acceptance by the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) in Grahamstown. Samuel Hill (2008: 6) notes that there is an urgent need to create a dialectic between religious and secular discourse with regards to furthering our understanding of sexuality. Thus this thesis seeks to contribute to the body of scholarship that explores and discusses the disjuncture between one’s homosexual identity and one’s religious identity. Barton (2012: 2) notes that “gay people are often talked about but seldom listened to; rarely are they asked about their own oppression and the individuals and institutions oppressing them.” While adopting a qualitative approach utilising interviews to explore the stories of the respondents, this study applies Bourdieu’s concepts of field, habitus, social capital and symbolic violence in order to analyse the experiences of acceptance of gay men within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) in Grahamstown. With regard to the use Bourdieu’s concepts in the analysis of the experiences, the following dimensions were considered: i) construction of a gay identity within the field of Christianity as represented by the MCSA in this context, ii) the impact the field has on the ‘gay habitus’, iii) Social capital as an advantageous strategy in constructing a gay identity within the church, and iv) symbolic violence that gay men experience within the church. In analysing the conditions of the acceptance that gay men receive within the church, this study also uses Jacques Derrida’s concept of hospitality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Sipungu, Thoko Andy
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3961 , vital:20573
- Description: Buffington, Luibhéid, & Guy (2014: 1) argue that “in the contemporary world, our own sexuality and our sense of the sexualities of others colour all aspects of contemporary life, from interpersonal relations to foreign affairs.” In line with this statement, this study provides an account of how a person’s gay sexuality can possibly colour that person’s experience of acceptance by the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) in Grahamstown. Samuel Hill (2008: 6) notes that there is an urgent need to create a dialectic between religious and secular discourse with regards to furthering our understanding of sexuality. Thus this thesis seeks to contribute to the body of scholarship that explores and discusses the disjuncture between one’s homosexual identity and one’s religious identity. Barton (2012: 2) notes that “gay people are often talked about but seldom listened to; rarely are they asked about their own oppression and the individuals and institutions oppressing them.” While adopting a qualitative approach utilising interviews to explore the stories of the respondents, this study applies Bourdieu’s concepts of field, habitus, social capital and symbolic violence in order to analyse the experiences of acceptance of gay men within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) in Grahamstown. With regard to the use Bourdieu’s concepts in the analysis of the experiences, the following dimensions were considered: i) construction of a gay identity within the field of Christianity as represented by the MCSA in this context, ii) the impact the field has on the ‘gay habitus’, iii) Social capital as an advantageous strategy in constructing a gay identity within the church, and iv) symbolic violence that gay men experience within the church. In analysing the conditions of the acceptance that gay men receive within the church, this study also uses Jacques Derrida’s concept of hospitality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Livelihood strategies of female-headed households in the Coloured community of Sunningdale in Harare, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Wadi, Chenai C
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3839 , vital:20547
- Description: The turbulent economic and political situation that has plagued Zimbabwe over the past two decades has had a dire effect on its urban population. The country’s tempestuous situation has not only threatened urbanites’ access to basic necessities but has also rendered many households and particularly female-headed households vulnerable to poverty and deprivation. Thus the primary objective of this study was to analyse and understand how coloured female-headed households in Sunningdale, Harare, Zimbabwe are surviving in the context of the current economic and political crises in the country. Essentially the study sought to achieve the three main objectives. The first objective was to identify and document the current livelihood strategies that a small sample of coloured female-headed households have adopted; the second was to explore the challenges and problems faced by female-headed households in their daily lives and lastly, the third was to establish what support mechanisms were available to these households to cope with the challenges and problems they face in generating an income and catering to their household needs. Methodologically the study employed a qualitative research approach with in-depth semi-structured interviews being used to collect data from five female-headed households. The data was then analysed using an interpretive approach and presented textually. Essentially the study found that in terms of the first research objective that coloured female-headed households engaged in a range of livelihood activities in order to earn a living, with informal trading being the main livelihood activity that the participants relied on to acquire an income to support their households. With regards to the second objective, it was revealed that the female heads interviewed faced numerous challenges ranging from economic to social problems that limited their ability to develop sustainable livelihoods, thereby increasing their risk to fall into poverty and validating their feminization of poverty. In terms of the third and last objective, the study found that the female heads did not have many reliable support mechanisms available to them thereby limiting their ability to achieve financial and social empowerment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Wadi, Chenai C
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3839 , vital:20547
- Description: The turbulent economic and political situation that has plagued Zimbabwe over the past two decades has had a dire effect on its urban population. The country’s tempestuous situation has not only threatened urbanites’ access to basic necessities but has also rendered many households and particularly female-headed households vulnerable to poverty and deprivation. Thus the primary objective of this study was to analyse and understand how coloured female-headed households in Sunningdale, Harare, Zimbabwe are surviving in the context of the current economic and political crises in the country. Essentially the study sought to achieve the three main objectives. The first objective was to identify and document the current livelihood strategies that a small sample of coloured female-headed households have adopted; the second was to explore the challenges and problems faced by female-headed households in their daily lives and lastly, the third was to establish what support mechanisms were available to these households to cope with the challenges and problems they face in generating an income and catering to their household needs. Methodologically the study employed a qualitative research approach with in-depth semi-structured interviews being used to collect data from five female-headed households. The data was then analysed using an interpretive approach and presented textually. Essentially the study found that in terms of the first research objective that coloured female-headed households engaged in a range of livelihood activities in order to earn a living, with informal trading being the main livelihood activity that the participants relied on to acquire an income to support their households. With regards to the second objective, it was revealed that the female heads interviewed faced numerous challenges ranging from economic to social problems that limited their ability to develop sustainable livelihoods, thereby increasing their risk to fall into poverty and validating their feminization of poverty. In terms of the third and last objective, the study found that the female heads did not have many reliable support mechanisms available to them thereby limiting their ability to achieve financial and social empowerment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
A sociological analysis of the production, marketing and distribution of contemporary popular music by Zambian musicians
- Authors: Kazadi, Kanyabu Solomon
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Popular music -- Zambia , Musicians -- Zambia , Sound recording industry -- Zambia , Popular music -- Production and direction -- Zambia , Popular music -- Marketing , Intellectual property -- Zambia , Copyright -- Royalties -- Zambia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3404 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018933
- Description: The purpose of this research was to gather information about the production, marketing and distribution of Zambian contemporary music by Zambian musicians. Very little information has been documented about the development of the Zambian music industry, particularly from the perspective of those within the industry. As a result this study attempted to add to this knowledge. To achieve this Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts of ‘fields’ and ‘habitus’ were used to gain an understanding of what affects the creation of art forms such as music as well as the structures and underlying processes within the music industry. The concept of ‘fields’ usefully framed an explanation of the struggles and connections within the various fields in the industry and a view of the Zambian music industry in relation to the international industry. To gather the data necessary for this research a qualitative approach was utilised involving semistructured in-depth questionnaires from twenty-three interviewees. These interviewees were selected from various sectors of the music industry in an attempt to gain a holistic perspective of the industry in the 21st century. There were four subgroups: the artists (singers, rappers and instrumentalists), managers, radio DJs, and a miscellaneous group made up of the remaining participants, a Sounds Arcade manager, a music journalist, the National Arts Council Chairperson, a Zambia Music Copyright Protection Society (ZAMCOPS) administrator, and the then President of the Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM). With the limited exposure to formal musical, instrumental and production training, musicians, instrumentalists, managers and studio production personnel interviewed had had to learn their craft on-the-job. This limited knowledge appears to add to the hindrance of the development of careers and the industry, particularly in terms of how to register and distribute music correctly to earn royalties and protect their intellectual property against piracy. From an institutional level piracy is being addressed more forcefully with the introduction of holograms and the tightening of policies and structures to do with the music industry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Kazadi, Kanyabu Solomon
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Popular music -- Zambia , Musicians -- Zambia , Sound recording industry -- Zambia , Popular music -- Production and direction -- Zambia , Popular music -- Marketing , Intellectual property -- Zambia , Copyright -- Royalties -- Zambia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3404 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018933
- Description: The purpose of this research was to gather information about the production, marketing and distribution of Zambian contemporary music by Zambian musicians. Very little information has been documented about the development of the Zambian music industry, particularly from the perspective of those within the industry. As a result this study attempted to add to this knowledge. To achieve this Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts of ‘fields’ and ‘habitus’ were used to gain an understanding of what affects the creation of art forms such as music as well as the structures and underlying processes within the music industry. The concept of ‘fields’ usefully framed an explanation of the struggles and connections within the various fields in the industry and a view of the Zambian music industry in relation to the international industry. To gather the data necessary for this research a qualitative approach was utilised involving semistructured in-depth questionnaires from twenty-three interviewees. These interviewees were selected from various sectors of the music industry in an attempt to gain a holistic perspective of the industry in the 21st century. There were four subgroups: the artists (singers, rappers and instrumentalists), managers, radio DJs, and a miscellaneous group made up of the remaining participants, a Sounds Arcade manager, a music journalist, the National Arts Council Chairperson, a Zambia Music Copyright Protection Society (ZAMCOPS) administrator, and the then President of the Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM). With the limited exposure to formal musical, instrumental and production training, musicians, instrumentalists, managers and studio production personnel interviewed had had to learn their craft on-the-job. This limited knowledge appears to add to the hindrance of the development of careers and the industry, particularly in terms of how to register and distribute music correctly to earn royalties and protect their intellectual property against piracy. From an institutional level piracy is being addressed more forcefully with the introduction of holograms and the tightening of policies and structures to do with the music industry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A sociological analysis of the provision of extended studies as a means of addressing transformation at a historically white university
- Authors: Tanyanyiwa, Precious
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Rhodes University , Articulation (Education) , Articulation (Education) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Educational equalization -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Discrimination in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Bourdieu, Pierre, 1930-2002 , Sen, Amartya, 1933-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3370 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012655
- Description: Foundation provisioning has a long history in South Africa, and is central to the transformation agenda, particularly the broadening of successful participation in higher education (HE). As access initiatives underpinned by various conceptualisations, foundation programmes evolved from peripheral, to semi-integrated and finally fully integrated curricular models in the form of current Extended Studies Programmes (ESPs). Underpinning the provision of Extended Studies is the acknowledgment that students who enter institutions are essentially ill equipped to cope with the demands of higher education studies, “leaving institutions themselves free of the responsibility of student failure” (Akoojee & Nkomo, 2007:391). This under-preparedness has been attributed to the ‘articulation gap’ between secondary and higher education, which in turn contributes to low retention and graduation rates (CHE, 2013:17). Situated within an overarching commitment to access and success, the Extended Studies Programme attempts to systematically address the ‘articulation gap’. This study evaluated the extent to which the Rhodes University Humanities Extended Studies Programme is achieving its objectives from a transformation perspective, specifically the broadening of successful participation in higher education. The majority of previous works on the evaluation of foundation programmes focused on measurable dimensions of student access and success – that is retention and graduation rates. This thesis considered both the measurable outcomes of the programme as well as the actual teaching and learning process. Given the shifts that have taken place in foundation provisioning, the evaluation of the current model of foundation provisioning necessitated their location in history. Therefore, the evaluation of the Rhodes University Humanities Extended Studies Programme was undertaken in view of the shifts, achievements, challenges and critics of its predecessor programmes. Specifically, the following dimensions were considered in the evaluation of the programme: i) assumptions underpinning the design and purpose of the programme, ii) teaching and learning practices in the programme, iii) student and staff perceptions of the programme, iv) students’ experiences of the programme, v) the validity of the programme in the broader institution, and vi) the measurable outcomes of the programme − that is retention and graduation rates of students enrolled in the programme. The triangulation of qualitative data collection techniques provided access into the different layers of institutional relations, processes and structures, which not only affect teaching and learning in the programme, but also determine students’ engagement with different academic and social aspects of the broader university. The theoretical insights of Pierre Bourdieu and Amartya Sen were integrated in order to provide analytical tools for both understanding the causes of inequalities in higher education, and evaluating institutional processes and structures that perpetuate or transform inequalities. Whilst Bourdieu’s social reproduction thesis exposed the ways in which social structures shape educational processes and outcomes, Sen’s capability approach provided tools for evaluating both institutional arrangements and individual capabilities – that is, the freedom to achieve desired educational outcomes (Sen, 1992:48).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Tanyanyiwa, Precious
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Rhodes University , Articulation (Education) , Articulation (Education) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Educational equalization -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Discrimination in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Bourdieu, Pierre, 1930-2002 , Sen, Amartya, 1933-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3370 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012655
- Description: Foundation provisioning has a long history in South Africa, and is central to the transformation agenda, particularly the broadening of successful participation in higher education (HE). As access initiatives underpinned by various conceptualisations, foundation programmes evolved from peripheral, to semi-integrated and finally fully integrated curricular models in the form of current Extended Studies Programmes (ESPs). Underpinning the provision of Extended Studies is the acknowledgment that students who enter institutions are essentially ill equipped to cope with the demands of higher education studies, “leaving institutions themselves free of the responsibility of student failure” (Akoojee & Nkomo, 2007:391). This under-preparedness has been attributed to the ‘articulation gap’ between secondary and higher education, which in turn contributes to low retention and graduation rates (CHE, 2013:17). Situated within an overarching commitment to access and success, the Extended Studies Programme attempts to systematically address the ‘articulation gap’. This study evaluated the extent to which the Rhodes University Humanities Extended Studies Programme is achieving its objectives from a transformation perspective, specifically the broadening of successful participation in higher education. The majority of previous works on the evaluation of foundation programmes focused on measurable dimensions of student access and success – that is retention and graduation rates. This thesis considered both the measurable outcomes of the programme as well as the actual teaching and learning process. Given the shifts that have taken place in foundation provisioning, the evaluation of the current model of foundation provisioning necessitated their location in history. Therefore, the evaluation of the Rhodes University Humanities Extended Studies Programme was undertaken in view of the shifts, achievements, challenges and critics of its predecessor programmes. Specifically, the following dimensions were considered in the evaluation of the programme: i) assumptions underpinning the design and purpose of the programme, ii) teaching and learning practices in the programme, iii) student and staff perceptions of the programme, iv) students’ experiences of the programme, v) the validity of the programme in the broader institution, and vi) the measurable outcomes of the programme − that is retention and graduation rates of students enrolled in the programme. The triangulation of qualitative data collection techniques provided access into the different layers of institutional relations, processes and structures, which not only affect teaching and learning in the programme, but also determine students’ engagement with different academic and social aspects of the broader university. The theoretical insights of Pierre Bourdieu and Amartya Sen were integrated in order to provide analytical tools for both understanding the causes of inequalities in higher education, and evaluating institutional processes and structures that perpetuate or transform inequalities. Whilst Bourdieu’s social reproduction thesis exposed the ways in which social structures shape educational processes and outcomes, Sen’s capability approach provided tools for evaluating both institutional arrangements and individual capabilities – that is, the freedom to achieve desired educational outcomes (Sen, 1992:48).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
An analysis of the impact of an official diagnosis and label of ʹdyslexiaʹ on pupils’ self-concept and self-esteem : a sociological case study involving pupils in Grahamstown
- Authors: Johnson, Gwendolyn Gay
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Dyslexic children -- Education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Case studies , Dyslexic children -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Psychological aspects -- Case studies , Dyslexic children -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Case studies , Self-perception in adolescence , Emotions in adolescence , Dyslexia , Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3375 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013124
- Description: The aim of this study is to develop an understanding of how Grahamstown teenagers are affected by the label ʹdyslexiaʹ; by providing a space in which their feelings about being labelled dyslexic and their experiences can be voiced. Historically much international and local research has focussed on causation and remediation of dyslexia and has neglected the social aspects of the diagnosis. Causation and remediation are categories which form part of the medical or educational models. A social model of dyslexia needs to be applied. Due to the paucity of South African literature on the social experiences of dyslexic teenagers, this research thesis aims to add to the body of knowledge and hopefully provide an avenue for more research within the context of Sociology. This is a micro study, situated in Grahamstown Eastern Cape, South Africa, and the author recognizes that responses cannot be generalized to the greater dyslexic population. All human environments consist of objects which are given meaning through social interaction. Meaning is central to human behaviour and therefor explains the ways in which humans conduct their lives based on these meanings. For this reason George Herbert Mead’s (1934) and Herbert Blumers (1969) symbolic interactionist positions have framed the theoretical approach to this research. Qualitative methods of interviewing provide an opportunity for dyslexic individuals to discuss the meaning dyslexia gives to them, from their perspective and in their own words. The following conclusions have been arrived at: Educational psychologists in Grahamstown are reticent to diagnose individuals as dyslexic. This lack of identification hinders early intervention which can be very detrimental to individuals struggling with reading, writing and spelling as well as the associated co-morbid conditions of dyslexia. Teenagers who have had early diagnosis and intervention with support structures in place identify with their dyslexic identity more positively as they are able to make sense of their struggles of a dyslexic nature.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Johnson, Gwendolyn Gay
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Dyslexic children -- Education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Case studies , Dyslexic children -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Psychological aspects -- Case studies , Dyslexic children -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Case studies , Self-perception in adolescence , Emotions in adolescence , Dyslexia , Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3375 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013124
- Description: The aim of this study is to develop an understanding of how Grahamstown teenagers are affected by the label ʹdyslexiaʹ; by providing a space in which their feelings about being labelled dyslexic and their experiences can be voiced. Historically much international and local research has focussed on causation and remediation of dyslexia and has neglected the social aspects of the diagnosis. Causation and remediation are categories which form part of the medical or educational models. A social model of dyslexia needs to be applied. Due to the paucity of South African literature on the social experiences of dyslexic teenagers, this research thesis aims to add to the body of knowledge and hopefully provide an avenue for more research within the context of Sociology. This is a micro study, situated in Grahamstown Eastern Cape, South Africa, and the author recognizes that responses cannot be generalized to the greater dyslexic population. All human environments consist of objects which are given meaning through social interaction. Meaning is central to human behaviour and therefor explains the ways in which humans conduct their lives based on these meanings. For this reason George Herbert Mead’s (1934) and Herbert Blumers (1969) symbolic interactionist positions have framed the theoretical approach to this research. Qualitative methods of interviewing provide an opportunity for dyslexic individuals to discuss the meaning dyslexia gives to them, from their perspective and in their own words. The following conclusions have been arrived at: Educational psychologists in Grahamstown are reticent to diagnose individuals as dyslexic. This lack of identification hinders early intervention which can be very detrimental to individuals struggling with reading, writing and spelling as well as the associated co-morbid conditions of dyslexia. Teenagers who have had early diagnosis and intervention with support structures in place identify with their dyslexic identity more positively as they are able to make sense of their struggles of a dyslexic nature.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Critical evaluation of medical waste management policies, processes and practices in selected rural hospitals in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Maseko, Qondile
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Hazardous wastes -- Management -- South Africa , Radioactive waste disposal -- South Africa , Medical wastes -- Management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3373 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013107
- Description: This thesis critically evaluates the policies, processes and practices of medical waste management in selected rural hospitals in the Eastern Cape. Medical Waste Management is a growing public health and environmental issue worldwide. Research shows large scale incapacity in dealing with medical waste in an efficient and sustainable fashion globally, which demonstrates that it is not merely a developing world problem alone. This study is conducted against the backdrop of an increasing medical waste crisis in South Africa. Although there are an abundance of studies on solid waste management, there is a lack of data and research particularly on medical waste management in rural hospitals. The crisis of medical waste management in South Africa is closely intertwined with the collapsing health care system and an overburdened natural environment. It is an undisputable fact that South Africa’s generation of medical waste far exceeds its capacity to handle it effectively. This thesis argues that the neglect of medical waste as an environmental-health issue and the absence of an integrated national medical waste management plan aggravate the medical waste problem in the country. In explaining the medical waste crisis, this thesis adopts a Marxist perspective which is based on the premise that industrial capitalist societies place economic growth and production at high priority at the expense of the natural environment; creating a society that is engulfed by high health risk due to the generation of hazardous and toxic waste. Industrial societies view themselves as superior and separate from the natural environment, whereas one cannot separate nature from society as they are interlinked. As society attempts to adopt a sustainable environmental approach towards environmental management, science and technology are enforced as a solution to environmental problems in order to continue developing countries’ economies whilst sustainably managing and protecting the environment, which is contradictory. This thesis emphasises that medical waste management is a socio-political problem as much as it is an environmental problem, hence the need to focus on power relations and issues of environmental and social justice. The results of the study identified gaps in policy framework nationally and institutionally on medical waste management. In addition, there were poor waste management practices due to poor training, inadequate infrastructure and resources as well as poor budget support.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Maseko, Qondile
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Hazardous wastes -- Management -- South Africa , Radioactive waste disposal -- South Africa , Medical wastes -- Management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3373 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013107
- Description: This thesis critically evaluates the policies, processes and practices of medical waste management in selected rural hospitals in the Eastern Cape. Medical Waste Management is a growing public health and environmental issue worldwide. Research shows large scale incapacity in dealing with medical waste in an efficient and sustainable fashion globally, which demonstrates that it is not merely a developing world problem alone. This study is conducted against the backdrop of an increasing medical waste crisis in South Africa. Although there are an abundance of studies on solid waste management, there is a lack of data and research particularly on medical waste management in rural hospitals. The crisis of medical waste management in South Africa is closely intertwined with the collapsing health care system and an overburdened natural environment. It is an undisputable fact that South Africa’s generation of medical waste far exceeds its capacity to handle it effectively. This thesis argues that the neglect of medical waste as an environmental-health issue and the absence of an integrated national medical waste management plan aggravate the medical waste problem in the country. In explaining the medical waste crisis, this thesis adopts a Marxist perspective which is based on the premise that industrial capitalist societies place economic growth and production at high priority at the expense of the natural environment; creating a society that is engulfed by high health risk due to the generation of hazardous and toxic waste. Industrial societies view themselves as superior and separate from the natural environment, whereas one cannot separate nature from society as they are interlinked. As society attempts to adopt a sustainable environmental approach towards environmental management, science and technology are enforced as a solution to environmental problems in order to continue developing countries’ economies whilst sustainably managing and protecting the environment, which is contradictory. This thesis emphasises that medical waste management is a socio-political problem as much as it is an environmental problem, hence the need to focus on power relations and issues of environmental and social justice. The results of the study identified gaps in policy framework nationally and institutionally on medical waste management. In addition, there were poor waste management practices due to poor training, inadequate infrastructure and resources as well as poor budget support.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Shembe religion's integration of African traditional religion and Christianity : a sociological case study
- Shange, Nombulelo Tholithemba
- Authors: Shange, Nombulelo Tholithemba
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Shembe Church Christianity and other religions -- South Africa -- Inanda Christianity and culture -- South Africa -- Inanda Independent churches -- South Africa -- Inanda Religious tolerance -- South Africa -- Inanda South Africa -- Religious life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3365 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011819
- Description: The Shembe Church's integration of African Traditional Religion and Christianity has been met by many challenges. This merger has been rejected by both African traditionalists and Christians. The Shembe Church has been met by intolerance even though the movement in some ways creates multiculturalism between different people and cultures. This thesis documents the Shembe Church's ideas and practices; it discusses how the Shembe Church combines two ideologies that appear to be at odds with each other. In looking at Shembe ideas and practices, the thesis discusses African religion-inspired rituals like ukusina, ancestral honouring, animal sacrificing and virgin testing. The thesis also discusses the heavy Christian influence within the Shembe Church; this is done by looking at the Shembe Church's use of The Bible and Moses' Laws which play a crucial role in the Church. The challenges the Shembe Church faces are another main theme of the thesis. The thesis looks at cases of intolerance and human rights violations experienced by Shembe members. This is done in part by looking at the living conditions at eBuhleni, located at Inanda, KZN. The thesis also analyses individual Shembe member's experiences and discusses how some members of the Shembe church experience the acceptance of the Shembe religion in South African society. This thesis concludes by trying to make a distinction between intolerance and controversy. I try to highlight the idea that what many Shembe followers see as discrimination and intolerance towards them is sometimes a difference in opinion from other cultural groups. Sometimes these differences are not geared towards criticising other religious groups or perpetuating intolerance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Shange, Nombulelo Tholithemba
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Shembe Church Christianity and other religions -- South Africa -- Inanda Christianity and culture -- South Africa -- Inanda Independent churches -- South Africa -- Inanda Religious tolerance -- South Africa -- Inanda South Africa -- Religious life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3365 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011819
- Description: The Shembe Church's integration of African Traditional Religion and Christianity has been met by many challenges. This merger has been rejected by both African traditionalists and Christians. The Shembe Church has been met by intolerance even though the movement in some ways creates multiculturalism between different people and cultures. This thesis documents the Shembe Church's ideas and practices; it discusses how the Shembe Church combines two ideologies that appear to be at odds with each other. In looking at Shembe ideas and practices, the thesis discusses African religion-inspired rituals like ukusina, ancestral honouring, animal sacrificing and virgin testing. The thesis also discusses the heavy Christian influence within the Shembe Church; this is done by looking at the Shembe Church's use of The Bible and Moses' Laws which play a crucial role in the Church. The challenges the Shembe Church faces are another main theme of the thesis. The thesis looks at cases of intolerance and human rights violations experienced by Shembe members. This is done in part by looking at the living conditions at eBuhleni, located at Inanda, KZN. The thesis also analyses individual Shembe member's experiences and discusses how some members of the Shembe church experience the acceptance of the Shembe religion in South African society. This thesis concludes by trying to make a distinction between intolerance and controversy. I try to highlight the idea that what many Shembe followers see as discrimination and intolerance towards them is sometimes a difference in opinion from other cultural groups. Sometimes these differences are not geared towards criticising other religious groups or perpetuating intolerance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Young veterans, not always social misfits: a sociological discourse of Liberian transmogrification experiences
- Authors: Agbedahin, Komlan
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Child soldiers -- Liberia Children and war -- Liberia Liberia. Armed Forces -- Demobilization -- Social aspects Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1989-1996 Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1999-2003
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3316 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003104
- Description: This thesis examines the phenomenon of child-soldiering from a different perspective. It seeks to challenge, using a novel approach, earlier studies on the roles of former child-soldiers in post-war societies. It focuses on the subjectivity of young veterans, that is war veterans formerly associated with armed forces and groups as children during the 14-year gruesome civil war which bedevilled Liberia between 1989 and 2003. This civil war claimed roughly 250,000 lives, and saw the active participation of approximately 21,000 child-soldiers. This thesis departs from previous works which mostly painted an apocalyptic picture of young veterans, and explores the nexus between their self-agency, Foucauldian technologies of the self and their transformation in the post-war society. The majority of previous scholarly works which have dominated the field of child-soldiering dwelt on the impact of armed conflict on the child-soldiers, the negative consequences, the causes of child-soldiering, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of the young veterans after their disarmament and demobilization. What this thesis seeks to do however, is to establish that, rather than considering the young veterans simply as social misfits, distraught and dispirited human beings, it should be noted that young veterans through their agency, are capable of ensuring their reintegration into their war-ravaged societies. Sadly, these young former fighters’ self-agency and technologies of the self in defining their civilian trajectories have often been overshadowed by vaunted humanitarian aid and multilayered war-profiteering. This study is underpinned by interpretive constructivism, symbolic interactionism, social identity theory, sociometer theory and expectancy theory, and sheds light on how young veterans’ self-agency, instrumental coalitions, and decision-making processes, synergistically shifted the negative identities foisted on them as a result of their participation in the war.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Agbedahin, Komlan
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Child soldiers -- Liberia Children and war -- Liberia Liberia. Armed Forces -- Demobilization -- Social aspects Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1989-1996 Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1999-2003
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3316 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003104
- Description: This thesis examines the phenomenon of child-soldiering from a different perspective. It seeks to challenge, using a novel approach, earlier studies on the roles of former child-soldiers in post-war societies. It focuses on the subjectivity of young veterans, that is war veterans formerly associated with armed forces and groups as children during the 14-year gruesome civil war which bedevilled Liberia between 1989 and 2003. This civil war claimed roughly 250,000 lives, and saw the active participation of approximately 21,000 child-soldiers. This thesis departs from previous works which mostly painted an apocalyptic picture of young veterans, and explores the nexus between their self-agency, Foucauldian technologies of the self and their transformation in the post-war society. The majority of previous scholarly works which have dominated the field of child-soldiering dwelt on the impact of armed conflict on the child-soldiers, the negative consequences, the causes of child-soldiering, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of the young veterans after their disarmament and demobilization. What this thesis seeks to do however, is to establish that, rather than considering the young veterans simply as social misfits, distraught and dispirited human beings, it should be noted that young veterans through their agency, are capable of ensuring their reintegration into their war-ravaged societies. Sadly, these young former fighters’ self-agency and technologies of the self in defining their civilian trajectories have often been overshadowed by vaunted humanitarian aid and multilayered war-profiteering. This study is underpinned by interpretive constructivism, symbolic interactionism, social identity theory, sociometer theory and expectancy theory, and sheds light on how young veterans’ self-agency, instrumental coalitions, and decision-making processes, synergistically shifted the negative identities foisted on them as a result of their participation in the war.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A social realist analysis of collaborative curriculum development processes in an academic department at a South African university
- Authors: Vorster, Jo-Anne
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Rhodes University -- Curricula Journalism -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Curriculum planning -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3339 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004314
- Description: This study reports on a social-realist analysis of collaborative curriculum development in a journalism and media studies (JMS) department at a South African university. Archer's social-realist meta-theoretical framework is used to theorise about mechanisms that influence collaborative curriculum development within the context of the JMS Department. The thesis examines the cultural, structural and agential conditions that influenced the process of developing a JMS curriculum that aimed to integrate theory and practice. Bernstein's theories of knowledge recontextualisation and disciplinary knowledge structures are used in the analysis. Bernstein argues that knowledge recontextualisation constitutes a site of struggle. This thesis is an examination of the "struggles" for the epistemic-pedagogic device (Maton's elaboration of Bernstein's epistemic device) during the recontextualisation process that aimed to integrate media studies (MS) and media production (MP) in the JMS curriculum. Traditionally academic work has been an individual endeavour. However, given the growing need to work in disciplinary and inter-disciplinary teams, it is imperative to develop knowledge of the mechanisms that influence such practices. This thesis is a contribution to knowledge of collaborative processes at the level of an academic department in a university. It contributes to knowledge of cultural, structural and agential mechanisms that enable or constrain collaborative curriculum development within a particular kind of context. In addition it contributes to knowledge of the nature of leadership that may be necessary to facilitate productive collaborative relationships and practices in such a context. The curriculum development project reported on in this thesis was initiated in 2003; however, data collection for the study was conducted in 2006 when the curriculum for the fourth year (JMS 4) of the Bachelor of Journalism degree was developed. Since the JMS course prepares students to work as journalists or media workers it is necessary for the curriculum and pedagogy to be oriented both towards the academy and towards the media industries. The aim of the JMS degree is to develop students who will be critically reflexive journalists or media workers. As such the course is both theoretical (MS) and practical (MP). One of the findings of this research project is that the integration of MS and MP is a complex project given that the knowledge of the two disciplines is structured differently. MS is concept-dependent and some aspects of it can be applied to journalism and media practice, while MP is practical and thus context-dependent, though underpinned by theory. A further finding is that both the collaborative work and the integration project required different identity shifts from the lecturers in the JMS Department. Some were more able to make the shifts than others. The thesis shows that the knowledge recontextualisation struggles in the curriculum development processes of the Department of JMS centred around, inter alia, the setting of boundaries between the department and the media and journalism industries, between MS and MP and between MS theory and journalism theory. In addition, existing boundaries between MS and MP lecturers had to be traversed. These boundaries were circumscribed by, amongst other things, unequal power relations emanating from the higher status traditionally accorded to theoretical knowledge by universities, the tensions around the nature of journalism education and training and the differential properties and powers of the various lecturers within the department. The existence of a strong regulative discourse was found to be an important unifying mechanism in a tension-ridden context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Vorster, Jo-Anne
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Rhodes University -- Curricula Journalism -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Curriculum planning -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3339 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004314
- Description: This study reports on a social-realist analysis of collaborative curriculum development in a journalism and media studies (JMS) department at a South African university. Archer's social-realist meta-theoretical framework is used to theorise about mechanisms that influence collaborative curriculum development within the context of the JMS Department. The thesis examines the cultural, structural and agential conditions that influenced the process of developing a JMS curriculum that aimed to integrate theory and practice. Bernstein's theories of knowledge recontextualisation and disciplinary knowledge structures are used in the analysis. Bernstein argues that knowledge recontextualisation constitutes a site of struggle. This thesis is an examination of the "struggles" for the epistemic-pedagogic device (Maton's elaboration of Bernstein's epistemic device) during the recontextualisation process that aimed to integrate media studies (MS) and media production (MP) in the JMS curriculum. Traditionally academic work has been an individual endeavour. However, given the growing need to work in disciplinary and inter-disciplinary teams, it is imperative to develop knowledge of the mechanisms that influence such practices. This thesis is a contribution to knowledge of collaborative processes at the level of an academic department in a university. It contributes to knowledge of cultural, structural and agential mechanisms that enable or constrain collaborative curriculum development within a particular kind of context. In addition it contributes to knowledge of the nature of leadership that may be necessary to facilitate productive collaborative relationships and practices in such a context. The curriculum development project reported on in this thesis was initiated in 2003; however, data collection for the study was conducted in 2006 when the curriculum for the fourth year (JMS 4) of the Bachelor of Journalism degree was developed. Since the JMS course prepares students to work as journalists or media workers it is necessary for the curriculum and pedagogy to be oriented both towards the academy and towards the media industries. The aim of the JMS degree is to develop students who will be critically reflexive journalists or media workers. As such the course is both theoretical (MS) and practical (MP). One of the findings of this research project is that the integration of MS and MP is a complex project given that the knowledge of the two disciplines is structured differently. MS is concept-dependent and some aspects of it can be applied to journalism and media practice, while MP is practical and thus context-dependent, though underpinned by theory. A further finding is that both the collaborative work and the integration project required different identity shifts from the lecturers in the JMS Department. Some were more able to make the shifts than others. The thesis shows that the knowledge recontextualisation struggles in the curriculum development processes of the Department of JMS centred around, inter alia, the setting of boundaries between the department and the media and journalism industries, between MS and MP and between MS theory and journalism theory. In addition, existing boundaries between MS and MP lecturers had to be traversed. These boundaries were circumscribed by, amongst other things, unequal power relations emanating from the higher status traditionally accorded to theoretical knowledge by universities, the tensions around the nature of journalism education and training and the differential properties and powers of the various lecturers within the department. The existence of a strong regulative discourse was found to be an important unifying mechanism in a tension-ridden context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Disjunctures within conventional knowledge of black male homosexual identity in contemporary South Africa
- Authors: Li, Xinling
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mead, George Herbert 1863-1931 , Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 , Butler, Judith, 1956- , Gay men, Black -- South Africa , Lesbians -- South Africa , Gender identity -- South Africa , Homosexuality -- South Africa , Identity (Psychology) -- South Africa , Gender identity -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3297 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003085 , Mead, George Herbert 1863-1931 , Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 , Butler, Judith, 1956- , Gay men, Black -- South Africa , Lesbians -- South Africa , Gender identity -- South Africa , Homosexuality -- South Africa , Identity (Psychology) -- South Africa , Gender identity -- Social aspects
- Description: This thesis provides a sociological understanding of how conventional knowledge of sexuality negates the identity formation of black gay men in contemporary South Africa. It investigates the coming out experiences of six black gay men in order to reveal the disjunctures between being black and being gay. The theoretical formation of disjuncture is pursued through examining a number of sociological, historical, psychoanalytical, and feminist approaches to identity, sexuality, and society; featuring specifically the theories of George Herbert Mead, Michel Foucault, and Judith Butler. The chosen research paradigm is symbolic interactionism, postulating both „pragmatist‟ and „empiricist‟ trends that lead to both interactionist and structuralist forms of argumentation. The interactionist approach to sexuality is central to the deconstruction of sexual conventions. It involves conceptualising modern sexuality in the landscapes of African colonial history and the global gay and lesbian movement. The prescribed literature on homosexuality is thus reviewed in conjunction with the South African gay and lesbian struggle, so as to spawn themes and perspectives for conducting life story interviews. The use of the life story interview favours the participants‟ own view of the studied phenomenon, yet aims to depict the structural influence on homosexual identification. Following the qualitative research tradition, the data analysis is based on the interpretation of narratives. It illustrates interpersonal relationships and microscopic experiences that lead to the self-acceptance and self-actualisation of homosexuality. Within these processes, various disjunctures that exist between the cultural sanction of lifestyle and individual choice, between parents and children, between religious belief and personal desires, and between gender identity and sexual orientation are disclosed. The findings are associated with the historical transformation of masculinity in South Africa, sex role performance, and the heterosexualisation of desire. The solution to the proposed research problem is discussed through concepts of socialisation and gender conformity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Li, Xinling
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mead, George Herbert 1863-1931 , Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 , Butler, Judith, 1956- , Gay men, Black -- South Africa , Lesbians -- South Africa , Gender identity -- South Africa , Homosexuality -- South Africa , Identity (Psychology) -- South Africa , Gender identity -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3297 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003085 , Mead, George Herbert 1863-1931 , Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 , Butler, Judith, 1956- , Gay men, Black -- South Africa , Lesbians -- South Africa , Gender identity -- South Africa , Homosexuality -- South Africa , Identity (Psychology) -- South Africa , Gender identity -- Social aspects
- Description: This thesis provides a sociological understanding of how conventional knowledge of sexuality negates the identity formation of black gay men in contemporary South Africa. It investigates the coming out experiences of six black gay men in order to reveal the disjunctures between being black and being gay. The theoretical formation of disjuncture is pursued through examining a number of sociological, historical, psychoanalytical, and feminist approaches to identity, sexuality, and society; featuring specifically the theories of George Herbert Mead, Michel Foucault, and Judith Butler. The chosen research paradigm is symbolic interactionism, postulating both „pragmatist‟ and „empiricist‟ trends that lead to both interactionist and structuralist forms of argumentation. The interactionist approach to sexuality is central to the deconstruction of sexual conventions. It involves conceptualising modern sexuality in the landscapes of African colonial history and the global gay and lesbian movement. The prescribed literature on homosexuality is thus reviewed in conjunction with the South African gay and lesbian struggle, so as to spawn themes and perspectives for conducting life story interviews. The use of the life story interview favours the participants‟ own view of the studied phenomenon, yet aims to depict the structural influence on homosexual identification. Following the qualitative research tradition, the data analysis is based on the interpretation of narratives. It illustrates interpersonal relationships and microscopic experiences that lead to the self-acceptance and self-actualisation of homosexuality. Within these processes, various disjunctures that exist between the cultural sanction of lifestyle and individual choice, between parents and children, between religious belief and personal desires, and between gender identity and sexual orientation are disclosed. The findings are associated with the historical transformation of masculinity in South Africa, sex role performance, and the heterosexualisation of desire. The solution to the proposed research problem is discussed through concepts of socialisation and gender conformity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010