I won’t be long
- Authors: Mhlambi, Ntombi Kayise Millicent
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- South Africa , South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , South African poetry (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63603 , vital:28446
- Description: My thesis is a weave of short stories, flash fiction and vignettes of prose-poetry. It uses lyrical, scenic and explorative modes to explore the stories of women, past, present and future, from all walks of life. These women, young and old, struggle to find their way within a ‘world’ characterised as Salithambo (the pink castle) whose structures and survival preys on their bodies. The stories explore the themes of girlhood and maturation, violence (specifically against women), animality, scatology, time, gender roles and expectations, and their rejection. I draw inspiration, stylistically, from Irenosen Okojie’s depiction of beauty and terror in the same sentence; Selah Saterstrom’s fragmented plot and directorial stroke; Taban Lo Liyong & Amos Tutuola’s avant-gardism and amplification of language; Adania Shibli’s sensorial and spare prose, Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Lily Hoang & Carol Oates’ normalized magic spell, Athena Villaverde & Espido Freire’s imaginative overload of childhood; Shelley Jackson & Chevisa Woods’ construction of body parts as bearing texts or as texts themselves.
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Judging psycholegal reporting in civil court proceedings in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Marais, Claire Anne
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Court proceedings -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Evidence, Expert -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Forensic psychology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Quality Rating Scale (QRS) , Psycholegal reporting -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62999 , vital:28352
- Description: Purpose: The primary purpose for this research was to evaluate the quality of psycholegal reports, and the qualification of the authors. Previous research had revealed generalised poor practices in psycholegal report writing and the authors seemed unqualified as expert witness. This negatively influenced the impression and usefulness of expert psychological opinion in South African courts. The secondary purpose was to compare the results to those determined by Ireland (2012), which was a useful benchmark study in the UK as her findings corresponded with the literature. Method: This archival research analysed a hand-search sample of 20 reports written by 20 psychologists based nationally. These reports were submitted as expert opinion in civil proceedings in the Grahamstown Division of the Eastern Cape High Court between 2011 and 2016. Ireland and Pinschof’s (2009) measure ‘Quality Rating Scale’ was adapted for a South African context and used to evaluate quantitatively the reports. Focus was on the reports’ contents (fact and opinion), methods, process and overall rating, and the qualification of the authors. Results: Overall, two-thirds of the reports were rated as ‘good’ and ‘very good’. The results were generally more positive than Ireland’s (2012) findings. However, there were practices in the report writing that were deemed detrimental to the quality of the expert’s opinion. This included vague referral questions and unclear basis for concluding opinions and diagnosis. There was also a lack of discussions surrounding the scientific trustworthiness of testing methods and absent ethical considerations. Lastly, the specialised expertise of the experts was not adequately documented. Conclusion: The findings painted a more positive picture of psycholegal reporting in South Africa than illustrated in previous research, which seemingly relied on anecdotes and subjective surveys. This study used a systematic and objective measure. The findings of this study, previous research and ethical Rules of Conduct were used to consider recommendations for psycholegal report writing, and the improvement of the field of psycholegal work. Lastly, the focus of future research was discussed.
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Malume’s bones
- Authors: Mokhele, Sizakele
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- South Africa , South African poetry (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63132 , vital:28366
- Description: My poetry is about real stories: poverty, love, politics, past pains and healing. I try to follow the example of Amiri Baraka who says his poetry is whatever he thinks he is, that he makes poetry with “what can be saved out the garbage of our lives”. My collection also preserves and embraces demotic language, which is also a part of who I am. I am influenced by Baraka’s and Ike Muila’s use of demotics, and the way that poets such as Antonio Jacinto, Costa Andrade and Mafika Gwala tackle political matters in a colourful and powerful way. I have also been inspired by ancient Chinese poets to explore love and eroticism, particularly how it plays out in the eyes of my people.
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Mna, Nosigidi
- Authors: Matyobeni, Simthembile
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- South Africa , Xhosa poetry -- 21st century , South African poetry (English) -- 21st century
- Language: Xhosa , English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64412 , vital:28541
- Description: This thesis is a collection of poems. These are lyric poems. Animystic poets like Christopher Okigbo and Wole Soyinka are the principal models in terms of style. Animystic poetry projects ideas and emotions in a hallucinatory and profoundly visionary manner. The collection has a variety of themes such as marginality, identity, history, and domestic abuse. Diverse language registers are used in the poems in order that the setting of each poem, whether historical or contemporary, is realised. , Le thesisi ngumbongo omde osekelezelwe kumlinganiswa oyintloko, uNosigidi. Esi simbo sokuyila isihobe siva ngomlimandlela owenziwa ziimbongi ezifana noJ. R. R. Jolobe no‐Aime Cesaire. Indumasiso ethi “UThuthula” kaJolobe inefuthe kwimo yokwakhiwa kweminye imibongo edibanisa le mbali. Asiyiyo yonke imibhalo yezi mbongi ethe ncakasana ukungqamana nale mbali‐sihobe kaNosigidi. Imibongo ekuthiwa yi‐‘Animystic poetry’ isetyenzisiwe kakhulu kule mibongo. Sigqaliwe kunye nesihobe nesikaSappho, kuba yimbongi ebhale kakhulu ngamandla elizwi lamanina. USappho ngakumbi ubhala kakhulu kwisihobe sakhe ngamanina athandana namanye. Owona mxo walo mbongo kukugqala ibali koNosigidi okhule esazi kamhlophe ukuba yena uthandana namanye amanina. Isizathu soku kukuba nabo obu bomi kuyafuneka kubhaliwe ngabo ngendlela enenkathalo kuncwadi lwesiXhosa. Nasekusabeleni ubizo lwakhe kwintwaso uNosigidi uya enamathidala, de obo bomi bentumekelelo abamkele ngazo zozibini.
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Participation in the anti-sexual violence silent protest: a sexual citizenship perspective
- Authors: Chitiki, Elizabeth
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Sex crimes Campus violence -- South Africa -- Prevention Rape victims -- Services for -- Political aspects -- South Africa Anti-rape movement Rape -- Case studies Sexual orientation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62917 , vital:28310
- Description: There is a growing body of research on sexual citizenship that focuses attention on gender and which bridges the gap between public and private life in order to rethink citizenship from a feminist perspective. This is in contrast to understandings of citizenship that promote policies of sexual regulation and a heteronormative ideal of citizenship. My research takes the form of a qualitative case study. Using data from two focus group discussions, fifteen personal diaries, as well as social media posts, I analyse participation in the Silent Protest, an annual anti-rape protest, through the lens of sexual citizenship. I look at how participation in the protest promotes or inhibits inclusive and process-based understandings of sexual violence and sexualities issues. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and the results of the analysis are presented into two parts. The first part of the analysis discusses the politics of affect and witnessing as two processes through which allies’ understandings of sexual violence are shaped. The second part of analysis shows that the Silent Protest contributes to people’s knowledge and understandings of sexual violence in relation to sexualities in a range of ways. Examples of inclusive understandings are: (1) insights about rape in relation to gender and heteronormative inequalities, culture and patriarchal dominance; (2) understanding of critical sexual citizenship in relation to sexual violence; and (3) understanding of politics of recognition (the need for recognition of the importance of safe spaces for formal and informal support for victim-survivors and recognition of victim-survivors’ identities). However, some of the understandings are limited to emotion and affect dynamics. In some ways, therefore, the Silent Protest fails to promote understandings significant to inclusive citizenship, including understandings of entitlements to non-discriminatory sexual health care services and legal services.
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Performing the township: pantsula for life
- Authors: Van Niekerk, Heather Elizabeth
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Pantsula (Dance) South Africa Johannesburg , Pantsula (Dance) South Africa Makhanda , Dance Social aspects South Africa , Sophiatown (Johannesburg, South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/57874 , vital:26998
- Description: Pantsula dance is a performing art born from the townships of Johannesburg. It is a dance form performed across South Africa, in a variety of contexts; in theatres, music videos and competitions in community halls, on national and international stages and on television, and in the streets of townships, cities and suburbs across South Africa and abroad. Its performance is widespread, but it has its beginnings as a dance form born in areas created to marginalise and oppress. There is a scarcity of academic scholarship related to pantsula dance. This thesis aims to be a contribution to that pre-existing body of knowledge in the hope that there can be further engagement on this important, and increasingly mainstream, art form. I have focused my thesis on analysing pantsula dance as a performance of 'the township'. This has been attempted through an ethnographic engagement with pantsula dancers based in different township areas of Johannesburg and Graha mstown: various members of Impilo Mapantsula, Via Katlehong, Intellectuals Pantsula, Via Kasi Movers, Dlala Majimboz and the cast of Via Katlehong's Via Sophiatown. The research was conducted between 2013 and 2016 and serves to represent various moments within the ethnographic research process, while coming to understand various aspects of pantsula dance. An engagement with notions of 'the township', the clothing choices of the pantsula 'uniform', the core moves, inherent hybridity in the form itself, and the dedication to the dance form as a representation of the isipantsula 'way of life', are addressed throughout the thesis. As well as engaging with the memory and representation of Sophiatown as an important component to pantsula dance. Pantsula dance, an intrinsically South African dance form, provides a celebratory conception of 'the township' space and allows people from different backgrounds to engage in an important part of South Africa's past, present and future.
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Photosensitizer, pH sensing and optical limiting properties of BODIPY dyes
- Authors: May, Aviwe Khanya
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Dyes and dyeing -- Chemistry , Halogenation , Photochemotherapy , Bromination , Photosensitizing compounds , Nonlinear optics , BODIPY dyes
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63964 , vital:28515
- Description: A series of BODIPY dyes have been successfully synthesised and structurally characterised to examine the effect of halogenation at the 2,6-positions and the introduction of styryl and vinylene groups at the 3,5-positions. The photophysical properties were studied, to assess the effect of the enhancement of the rate of intersystem crossing through halogenation on the fluorescence properties and the generation of reactive oxygen species. This is important in the assessment of the suitability of applying these molecules as photosensitizer dyes for photodynamic therapy and photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy. Upon bromination, the dyes showed moderately high singlet oxygen quantum yields. The inclusion of BODIPY dyes into cyclodextrins was explored since it makes them water soluble and hence suitable for biomedical applications, but no singlet oxygen was detected in aqueous media for the inclusion complexes. In order to red-shift the main spectral band of the BODIPY dyes into the therapeutic window, styryl groups were introduced at the 3,5-positions via a modified Knoevenagel condensation reaction. Since the main spectral band lies well above 532 nm, the second harmonic of the Nd:YAG laser, there is relatively weak absorbance at this wavelength. The 3,5-distyryl and 3,5-divinylene BODIPY dyes were assessed for their potential utility for application in nonlinear optics (NLO), and they demonstrated typical nonlinear absorption behaviour characterised by reverse saturable absorption (RSA) in z-scan measurements. Furthermore, the dyes possess excellent optical limiting parameters, such as their third-order suspectibility and hyperpolarizability values, in a wide range of solvents. One dye containing dimethylamino moieties on styryl groups attached at the 3,5-positions was assessed for potential application as an on/off fluorescence sensor. The dye proved to be successful, since intramolecular charge transfer in the S1 state was eliminated in the presence of acid and this results in a fluorescence “turn on” effect. This process was found to be reversible with the addition of a base.
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Poem to be sung
- Authors: Ndyoko, Nomtha
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- South Africa , South African poetry (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63592 , vital:28444
- Description: My collection of poems expresses the complexities that exist beneath the surface of my life – my tongue, our bleak country, the politics of having a dark skin, my ancestors who speak to me in unexplainable ways, and the speech of nature – the wind, the sea, death, birds. It is in writing poems and songs that I make a space to be alive, a space to meet my ancestors and to say the unsayable. The poems move between the ordinary, the magical, the abject, and the spiritual, often expressing the contradictions that exist within life. The main influence on my poetry has come from music, from African jazz musicians such as Zim Ngqawana, Thandiswa Mazwai and Msaki Mvana. Literary influences have come from Spanish poets such as Juan Ramón Jiménez, whose strong imagery and short lines capture profound emotion, and from ancient Chinese poetry that moves in a fluid and minimal way. I have also been inspired by the African spirituality expressed in Mazisi Kunene’s poetry and the down-to-earth associative poetry of Mangaliso Buzani and Mxolisi Nyezwa.
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Pregnant women’s construction of social support from their intimate partners during pregnancy
- Authors: Bottoman, Phathiswa Esona
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Pregnant women -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Relations with men Pregnancy -- Psychological aspects Pregnant women -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62560 , vital:28207
- Description: There is a growing body of research aimed at understanding social support during pregnancy in South Africa. Pregnancy is constantly referred to as one of the challenging and stressful periods affecting women’s physical and psychological well-being. Various research studies on social support argue that social support is paramount at this stage. Research on social support indicates that having adequate and quality social support impacts on how pregnant women experience pregnancy. My interest in social support comes in the wake of absent fathers in South Africa and with the emerging trend of “new” fathers. Although there is a volume of research on social support, it tends to be realist. Using a social constructionist framework, I explore other ways of talking about social support in an attempt to expand the discourse around social support. I explore how pregnant women talk about social support during pregnancy from their intimate partners in the small rural municipality of Elundini, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Intimate partner support was limited to heterosexual partners regardless of their marital status. The sampling procedure followed a non-probability sampling method. Participants of the study were between 24 and 32 years old. Their gestational age ranged between five and eight months. Fourteen in-depth interviews using photo-elicitation were conducted with seven participants and were analysed using a social constructionist informed thematic analysis. The major theme that emerged from the analysis was partner involvement and absence during pregnancy. The analysis of results suggests that expectant father presence translates to social support. Participants constructed his presence as reassurance in the context of possible abandonment. Absence was constructed in different ways: participants constructed absence as unjust and unfair, absence and marriage, temporary absence in the form of cultural phenomenon of ukwaliswa/ukubukubazana, absence as normal but burdening to the pregnant women’s social network. Participants reported that social support from the expectant father affected pregnancy wantedness.
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Slanting the light
- Authors: Marais, Shirley
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: South African poetry (English) -- 21st century , Creative writing (Higher education) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63558 , vital:28440
- Description: Through my poetry I attempt to make sense of my encounters with myself by bringing to creative expression my experiences of and felt responses to people, places and situations. Among the poets who have had a significant influence on my work are Robert Berold, for his quiet assertion of intense, dramatic images; Frank O’Hara for his disciplined sense of mischief; Joan Metelerkamp for her meticulous attention to form and the way she makes a poem breathe; Robert Creeley for his ability to create free-floating meaning; and Mangaliso Buzani, for his fierce, honest poetics.
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Still
- Authors: Hall, Leila
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63638 , vital:28450
- Description: This thesis is a novella in fragments set in contemporary Lesotho. It tells the story of a Mosotho woman in her 30s who has spent a long time living out of the country. She returns to search for a former lover who she hasn’t seen for 15 years. The nonlinear narrative follows her journey, exploring a range of themes, including sexuality, gender and class relations, memory and time, relationship to place, non-conformity and defiance in the face of societal pressure and conformism. The style of writing is inspired by a diverse range of writers, including Sonallah Ibrahim for his understated, sparse and minimalist prose, Tina May Hall for her ability to tell a story in fragmented vignettes, Noy Holland for her understanding of time as synchronous and non-linear, and Ayi Kwei Armah for his skill in evoking the feelings, textures and specificities of a place.
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Stories in watercolour
- Authors: Molefhe, Wame Miriam
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63552 , vital:28436
- Description: Expected release date-April 2020
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Teacher-in-role as a problem-posing method for learners in a special needs school in South Africa
- Authors: Hellemann, Phemelo Cordelia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Special education -- Activity programs -- South Africa , Special education -- South Africa , Drama in education -- South Africa , Drama -- Therapeutic use -- South Africa , Children with mental disabilities -- Life skills guides , Kuyasa School (South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62549 , vital:28205
- Description: Paulo Freire’s problem-posing pedagogy urges for a creative and collaborative educational environment between learners and teachers that encourages critical thinking and engagement. This research explores how special needs pedagogical approaches in South Africa can transform their classroom practices to embrace creative and collaborative teaching methods such as drama. Drama-in-education (D-i-E) is an area where the learner and teacher relationship is characterised by creativity and engagement. This qualitative study considers the uses of drama as a teaching and learning method for learners in the Skills Phase class at Kuyasa Special School, Grahamstown. The research aimed to provide learners with intellectual barriers to learning with access to D-i-E. This was done through a series of practical drama lessons, which broadly aimed to enhance life skills and work environment competencies such as communication, problem-solving and interpersonal relations. The lessons followed a cross- curricular approach that integrated aspects of the Life Orientation (Grade 10-12) curriculum and the Drama (Creative Arts Grade 7-9) curriculum. This practice-led study reflects on how Dorothy Heathcote’s teacher-in-role (t-i-r) drama technique was implemented to teach topics and themes extracted and adapted from the Life Orientation learning area. This drama-based pedagogy employs three elements of Freire’s problem-posing education model, which are learner-centred, problem-posing and liberated pedagogy. The study discusses how these elements manifested in the lessons conducted, and how this approach benefited and improved the learners’ critical thinking skills, self-esteem and confidence. This study therefore provides a broad understanding of the possibilities of a drama-based pedagogy within a South Africa context of learning disability, proposing an alternative pedagogical approach in South African special schools. The findings contribute to the academic literature on D-i-E in South Africa and advocate for the inclusion of learners with learning disabilities within the performing arts education.
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The changing face of Rhodes University: exploring aspects of visuality, sexuality and protest between the apartheid and postapartheid periods
- Authors: Stein, Jonathan Harry
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Rhodes University , Apartheid South Africa , Post-apartheid era South Africa , College students Attitudes , Student movements South Africa , Decolonization South Africa , Aesthetics Political aspects South Africa , Sex Political aspects South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60530 , vital:27790
- Description: This thesis seeks to provide an historical overview of changing trends within specific spheres of the institutional and student culture of Rhodes University between the apartheid and post-apartheid periods. In particular, this thesis seeks to examine changes and developments within the visual and aesthetic culture of the university, and within the sphere of sexual norms and relations within the Rhodes student community. The historical dimensions of these two spheres of the university’s culture will be explored in light of the #RhodesMustFall protest of 2015 and the #RUReferenceList protest of 2016, which drew attention to a perceived lack of institutional transformation related to these two areas.
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The development and implementation of a psychoeducational programme: a case study on mental toughness in a novice triathlete
- Authors: Coertzen, Marlé
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Sports -- Psychological aspects , Triathletes -- Mental health , Toughness (Personality trait) , Triathlon -- Psychological aspects , Achievement motivation , Mental discipline , Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63010 , vital:28354
- Description: As an academic and applied discipline, sport psychology is interested in identifying, understanding, measuring and developing the various mental constructs that interact with physical factors, aiming to produce optimum performance and enhance athletes’ experience of sport participation. The programmes developed within sport psychology are not only applicable to sport, but have applicability within other areas, such as the performing arts, business and professions that are considered high risk, such as the military. Using a mixed methods approach and a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques, the goal of this research was to document the process of developing and implementing a psychoeducational mental toughness programme and to evaluate the programme through exploring the participant’s subjective experience of such a programme. The aim of the research was to contribute to the existing literature on mental toughness programmes. This was attained through administering the Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ) and a semi-structured interview, which informed the development and implementation of a psychoeducational mental toughness programme relative to the idiosyncrasies of the participant and grounded in strengths-based approaches to mental toughness development. Results were obtained based on post-implementation data collected through a second administration of the SMTQ and a semi-structured interview. The participant experienced the programme as positive and results were indicative of changes in his experiences of self-confidence and control, related to the global themes of mindset, flexibility and mindfulness.
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The English East India Company and the British Crown: c. 1795-1803, the first occupation at the Cape of Good Hope
- Authors: Jordan, Calvin
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: East India Company , East India Company -- Influence , Cape of Good Hope (Colony) , Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) -- History -- 1795-1872 , Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) -- Politics and government -- 1795-1872 , British -- South Africa -- History -- 19th century , Great Britain -- Colonies -- Commerce , Great Britain -- Colonies -- Administration -- History -- 19th century , Merchant marine -- Great Britain -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63164 , vital:28369
- Description: My thesis aims to investigate the relationship between the English East India Company (EEIC) and the British colonial administration at the Cape of Good Hope during the first British occupation (1795 to 1803). Studies and literature that concern the EEIC have rarely gone beyond the surface, detailing the presence of the EEIC at the Cape, and neglecting the Company’s involvement in the administration thereof. My thesis draws on prior works but attempts to address both temporal and spatial gaps in this literature on the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, and the history of the EEIC. This study takes note of the seaborne related activity around the ports, bays and islands at the Cape – including the regulation of these spaces and issues related to securing British trade and colonial possessions more generally. I question the framing of the Cape primarily as a constituent of a national unit by locating the colony within a broader global and maritime context. A key interest is to determine the degree to which the EEIC influenced and participated in the British governance of the Cape, particularly by exploring the maritime dimensions of the relationship between the EEIC and colonial governance during this particular period. This involves understanding the embeddedness of the Cape in British (Crown and Company) networks and the constitution of a ‘British maritime zone’. This study uses archival sources drawn from the British colonial government records, Company records, and the private diaries and letters of Lady Anne Barnard that relate to the Cape. It is shown that a uniquely configured governance convention was constituted to secure the mutual commercial and imperial interests of both Crown and Company. By keeping the Cape secure, the British sought to keep their greater seaborne Empire secure. This study reveals that the EEIC was significantly involved in and influenced the way the British administration governed the Cape.
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The experiences of recently diagnosed HIV-positive individuals, as shared on an online forum
- Authors: Wylde, Charlotte Anne
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: HIV-positive persons Social networks , HIV infections Diagnosis Psychological aspects , HIV infections Social aspects , HIV infections Electronic discussion groups , Internet Social aspects , Stigma (Social psychology) , Phenomenological psychology
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60222 , vital:27756
- Description: An HIV-positive diagnosis can be an overwhelming and traumatic experience. This study explores the experiences of receiving an HIV-positive diagnosis. Employing an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a sample of the initial posts from threads on an online forum, was collected and explored, in order to determine the dominant themes from the experiences expressed in the posts, as well as the support sought from the forum. The online forum was accessed as an unobtrusive observer, and posts from January to December 2015 were explored. The online forum provides a platform for disclosure following an HIV-positive diagnosis, when anxiety and fear of stigma can impact on an individual’s ability to disclose to their social support network of family and friends. The experiences expressed on the online forum reflect the emotional, mental and physical impact of an HIV-positive diagnosis on an individual. The findings in this study reflected themes of shock, guilt and hopelessness, and concerns and fears regarding disclosure and stigma associated with HIV, as well as the importance of social support for the coping mechanisms of individuals after receiving an HIV-positive diagnosis. This research demonstrates the importance of Internet accessibility for information and support for chronic illnesses, such as HIV, and the role of the online forum platform for providing a safe environment for individuals recently diagnosed HIVpositive.
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The power of mysticism: understanding political support for President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Manzira, Rufaro Coucou Annette
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mysticism -- Psychology , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980- , Mugabe, Robert Gabriel, 1924-2019 , Allegiance -- Zimbabwe , Political capital -- Zimbabwe , Political psychology -- Zimbabwe , ZANU-PF (Organization : Zimbabwe) , Apotheosis , Zimbabwe -- Kings and rulers -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63693 , vital:28472
- Description: Significant debate exists within Zimbabwean studies about the basis for which people support on an ongoing basis the ruling Zimbabweans African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) under the leadership of Robert Mugabe. In academic literature, the party and state president (Mugabe) is typically seen as an oppressor such that any support for Mugabe is understood based on compulsion rather than consent. Genuine support for the ruling party though implies that Mugabe is a liberator. In drawing upon Zimbabwean academic literature which seeks to understand why Mugabe might be understood as a liberator, this thesis seeks to provide an innovative sociological analysis focusing on the mysticism surrounding the person and ruler-ship of Mugabe. The mysticism portrays Mugabe as being blessed by the ancestors and spirits, as having divine and sage-like qualities, as speaking for the bones of the dead heroes, and as acting as a modern day national chief who cares for his national subjects and defends his chiefdom against enemies from within or without. This portrait of Mugabe resonates with many Zimbabweans as it speaks to their everyday experiences and their longings for nation-building and national belonging. Hence, it should not be strictly understood as a ruling party ideology foisted upon citizens as a means of political deception. This is explored through interviews with a small number of ZANU-PF supporters.
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The relationships between perceived competence, goal orientation and mind sets on the motivation to participate in sport at university
- Authors: Nel, Marcus Craig
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: College sports -- South Africa -- Makhanda , College students -- Attitudes , Sports -- Psychological aspects , Motivation (Psychology) , Competition (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61592 , vital:28040
- Description: The research sought to uncover the links that exist between perceived competence, goal orientations and mind sets with the motivation to participate in sports. The research was conducted in a South African university context and was comprised of 212 participants. Data was collected through the use of Sports Motivation Scale 6, Intrinsic Motivation Inventory: Perceived Competence Subscale, Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire and the Self-Theory Questionnaire. The participants completed the questionnaires using a pen and paper technique at their various sports practices. Data was collected and analysed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient in order to demonstrate the strength and nature of the relationships that existed between the variables. Findings generally supported previous findings. Using a deductive approach, the main findings found that various types of motivation based on Self-Determination Theory demonstrated a proportional relationship with task orientation and little to no relationship was found between motivation and ego orientation. The relationships between motivation and perceived competence were mixed, with the most significant relationship occurring between integrated regulation and perceived competence. Fixed mind sets also showed little to no relationship with motivation, whereas growth mind sets showed proportional relationships with the various kinds of motivation. Further relationships between these variables were also explained. It is recommended that data collection techniques are improved in future research. This research may be useful in indicating what factors are related to motivation to play sport at university.
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The role of African languages in the South African legal system: towards a transformative agenda
- Authors: Docrat, Zakeera
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Forensic linguistics -- South Africa , Communication in law -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , Court interpreting and translating -- South Africa , African languages -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60809 , vital:27833
- Description: This interdisciplinary thesis, partly located in the emerging discipline of forensic linguistics, seeks to investigate the status and use of African languages in the South African legal system and how language can be used as a tool to transform the legal system. The research commences with an overview of the development of African languages in the legal system, pre and post Apartheid. The research proceeds to an overview of scholarly literature concerning the role of legislation, language policy and planning in regulating the use of African languages in the legal system, in order to give effect to South Africa’s constitutional provisions and enable linguistic transformation of the legal system. This research furthermore provides a critique of the constitutional language framework in relation to language rights of litigants in the legal system, when accessing justice through the medium of an African language. To this effect the research advances cases conducted in their entirety in an African language, illustrating that it is both possible and practicable. This research engages critically with the legislative and policy frameworks of the legal system, where issues concerning the equal recognition and use of African languages are highlighted. Language demographics in the form of statistics are provided, illustrative of the fact that the majority of South African’s speak an African language as their mother tongue. Additionally, the statistics provide that litigants in the legal system have poor proficiency in English, the language of record in courts. The research addresses the legislative and policy deficiencies of the non insertion of language requirements for legal practitioners and judicial officers that reflect the language demographics. Furthermore the need for linguistically competent legal practitioners and judicial officers is discussed in giving meaning to the constitutional language rights of litigants. A Canadian comparative jurisprudential case study is advanced, that can be emulated by the South African legal system. The Canadian model offers a precise and effective constitutional, legislative and policy framework where language rights are purposively interpreted in cases conducted in the official languages of the country. Furthermore the Canadian model provides that legal practitioners and judicial officers are linguistically competent in the official languages of the province in which they practice. This thesis highlights the issues hindering real transformation of the legal system, and concludes with recommendations which are both legally and linguistically sound.
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