A history of the South African police in Port Elizabeth, 1913-1956
- Authors: Watson, Kelvin Innes
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Police -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape South African Police -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- History Police -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2570 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002423
- Description: This thesis investigates the policing activities of the South African Police (SAP) in Port Elizabeth from the formation of the SAP in 1913 to the creation of two separate police districts in the city in 1956. It begins with the recruitment and training of police personnel, outlining the difficulty in obtaining sufficient white recruits for most of the period while at the same time stressing the ease with which the Force was able to obtain black recruits. The preponderance of Afrikaner policemen serving in Port Elizabeth from the 1920s onwards is made clear, as is the para-military nature of the SAP, which was maintained and reinforced as a result of training methods and the process of socialisation. As state servants, police personnel were expected to serve loyally and obediently a state becoming increasingly repressive towards its black citizens. Generally inadequate conditions of service remained the norm throughout the period yet the SAP’s commitment to the state never wavered, bar one isolated, short-lived incidence. The administration and functioning of policing in Port Elizabeth is explored by focussing on specific organisational features pertinent to the city and the changes wrought by the police hierarchy to deal with the city’s demographic and spatial expansion. The SAP tended to employ three different forms of policing in the city as a result of its apartheid-driven agenda which compelled it to differentiate between the various population groups in terms of maintaining law and order. The privileged white community experienced routine, civil policing whereas the black community was policed largely in a socially and politically oppressive manner; this was in line with government policy. On the whole, however, the more brutal and sinister nature of policing was yet to come to the fore although this thesis does point towards the increasingly repressive nature of policing in South Africa during the apartheid era.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Watson, Kelvin Innes
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Police -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape South African Police -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- History Police -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2570 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002423
- Description: This thesis investigates the policing activities of the South African Police (SAP) in Port Elizabeth from the formation of the SAP in 1913 to the creation of two separate police districts in the city in 1956. It begins with the recruitment and training of police personnel, outlining the difficulty in obtaining sufficient white recruits for most of the period while at the same time stressing the ease with which the Force was able to obtain black recruits. The preponderance of Afrikaner policemen serving in Port Elizabeth from the 1920s onwards is made clear, as is the para-military nature of the SAP, which was maintained and reinforced as a result of training methods and the process of socialisation. As state servants, police personnel were expected to serve loyally and obediently a state becoming increasingly repressive towards its black citizens. Generally inadequate conditions of service remained the norm throughout the period yet the SAP’s commitment to the state never wavered, bar one isolated, short-lived incidence. The administration and functioning of policing in Port Elizabeth is explored by focussing on specific organisational features pertinent to the city and the changes wrought by the police hierarchy to deal with the city’s demographic and spatial expansion. The SAP tended to employ three different forms of policing in the city as a result of its apartheid-driven agenda which compelled it to differentiate between the various population groups in terms of maintaining law and order. The privileged white community experienced routine, civil policing whereas the black community was policed largely in a socially and politically oppressive manner; this was in line with government policy. On the whole, however, the more brutal and sinister nature of policing was yet to come to the fore although this thesis does point towards the increasingly repressive nature of policing in South Africa during the apartheid era.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Grahamstown: a socio-ecological study of a small South African Town
- Authors: Watts, Hilstan Lett
- Date: 1958
- Subjects: Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Buildings , Grahamstown (South Africa) -- History , Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Social conditions , Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3386 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013424
- Description: Little is known at present about the development, structure, and functions of small towns in the Union of South Africa, and there is a need to fill this gap in our knowledge. A study has been made of Grahamstown, a small South African town. This study is monographic and intensive in character, and heuristic in aim. Ad hoc hypotheses have been formulated on the basis of the findings of the study, and these must be tested by subsequent studies of other small towns. Grahamstown, the subject of the study, was chosen largely for reasons of convenience, and also because of its interesting development. It is suggested that in many ways the town is possibly a typical small town, but at this stage we cannot know if this is so. Only the white population of the town was investigated, as it was necessary to limit research to manageable proportions, and in addition several studies have already been made of the non-white populations of the town. The analysis has been described as socio-ecological, as basically the methodological approach used is an attempt to wed the methods of the urban demographer and the social ecologist. Time and space are used as the two co-ordinates for the analysis, so that both a social historical and an ecological-demographic analysis of the town have been made. The historical analysis of the development and functions of Grahamstown relies heavily on material collected from the early newspapers of the town. Grahamstown, once the most important town in the Eastern Cape Province, known as the ''Emporium" and ''Metropolis" of the Eastern Cape, and the most progressive town in the Colony, is to-day a small static town with, on the whole, relatively restricted influence. This fundamental change in the historical development of the town, hitherto unexplained, is the result of the changes in the socioecological make-up of the region around the town. Founded in 1812 as a strategic outpost on the frontier of the Colony, Grahamstown dominated a wide region; as the gateway to and the supply centre for, the frontier, the town flourished and reigned supreme. From the mid 19th Century onwards the region began to change to a developed one, with the frontier more and more inland. Grahamstown, no longer a strategic outpost in a frontier region, lost its dominant ecological position to Port Elizabeth, the natural supply base for, and gateway to, the new settled region. As one town among many in the new settled region, Grahamstown gradually lost many of its former functions, and began to stagnate. The town is to-day mainly known for its important educational function. This function, a relic from the days of the town's zenith, has saved the town from complete stagnation. The town is what it is to-day largely because of the socio-ecological regional influences which have operated on it since its foundation. To-day Grahamstown is located within the Port Elizabeth metropolitan district. The town is the centre of a wide variety of regional services of an ad hoc type, and the modal region served seems to be that settled by the 1820 Settlers - basically the town is mainly a supply centre for its surrounding rural areas. The demographic structure of the town reveals a static population. Growth of the white population has been practically static since about 1880, and the age structure is that of a stationary population. Particularly noticeable is the under-representation of the young working group in the population, and it is suggested that due to the lack of economic opportunities in the town, the young workers of the town, especially the unmarried males, migrate to larger urban areas to seek employment, and advancement. The sex-ratio of the population shows an excess of females, and this may be due to migration out of an excess of young males, and possibly migration in of older spinsters. Retired persons definitely migrate to the town to settle. The town, a predominantly English speaking one, has practically no industries, and so the population contains a majority of workers engaged in professional, administrative, and commercial activities. This stresses the service and supply functions of the town. The ecological analysis delineated various natural areas and zones in the town. The pattern approximates to patterns revealed by studies of American towns. Although the areas involved were relatively small, ecological differentiation was marked. The spatial distribution of demographic and other social phenomena was studied in detail. The results of the study have allowed several ad hoc hypotheses concerning the development, functions, and structures of small towns in South Africa to be formulated. These may be tested by subsequent studies, and so ultimately knowledge and theories about our small towns may be built up.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1958
- Authors: Watts, Hilstan Lett
- Date: 1958
- Subjects: Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Buildings , Grahamstown (South Africa) -- History , Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Social conditions , Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3386 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013424
- Description: Little is known at present about the development, structure, and functions of small towns in the Union of South Africa, and there is a need to fill this gap in our knowledge. A study has been made of Grahamstown, a small South African town. This study is monographic and intensive in character, and heuristic in aim. Ad hoc hypotheses have been formulated on the basis of the findings of the study, and these must be tested by subsequent studies of other small towns. Grahamstown, the subject of the study, was chosen largely for reasons of convenience, and also because of its interesting development. It is suggested that in many ways the town is possibly a typical small town, but at this stage we cannot know if this is so. Only the white population of the town was investigated, as it was necessary to limit research to manageable proportions, and in addition several studies have already been made of the non-white populations of the town. The analysis has been described as socio-ecological, as basically the methodological approach used is an attempt to wed the methods of the urban demographer and the social ecologist. Time and space are used as the two co-ordinates for the analysis, so that both a social historical and an ecological-demographic analysis of the town have been made. The historical analysis of the development and functions of Grahamstown relies heavily on material collected from the early newspapers of the town. Grahamstown, once the most important town in the Eastern Cape Province, known as the ''Emporium" and ''Metropolis" of the Eastern Cape, and the most progressive town in the Colony, is to-day a small static town with, on the whole, relatively restricted influence. This fundamental change in the historical development of the town, hitherto unexplained, is the result of the changes in the socioecological make-up of the region around the town. Founded in 1812 as a strategic outpost on the frontier of the Colony, Grahamstown dominated a wide region; as the gateway to and the supply centre for, the frontier, the town flourished and reigned supreme. From the mid 19th Century onwards the region began to change to a developed one, with the frontier more and more inland. Grahamstown, no longer a strategic outpost in a frontier region, lost its dominant ecological position to Port Elizabeth, the natural supply base for, and gateway to, the new settled region. As one town among many in the new settled region, Grahamstown gradually lost many of its former functions, and began to stagnate. The town is to-day mainly known for its important educational function. This function, a relic from the days of the town's zenith, has saved the town from complete stagnation. The town is what it is to-day largely because of the socio-ecological regional influences which have operated on it since its foundation. To-day Grahamstown is located within the Port Elizabeth metropolitan district. The town is the centre of a wide variety of regional services of an ad hoc type, and the modal region served seems to be that settled by the 1820 Settlers - basically the town is mainly a supply centre for its surrounding rural areas. The demographic structure of the town reveals a static population. Growth of the white population has been practically static since about 1880, and the age structure is that of a stationary population. Particularly noticeable is the under-representation of the young working group in the population, and it is suggested that due to the lack of economic opportunities in the town, the young workers of the town, especially the unmarried males, migrate to larger urban areas to seek employment, and advancement. The sex-ratio of the population shows an excess of females, and this may be due to migration out of an excess of young males, and possibly migration in of older spinsters. Retired persons definitely migrate to the town to settle. The town, a predominantly English speaking one, has practically no industries, and so the population contains a majority of workers engaged in professional, administrative, and commercial activities. This stresses the service and supply functions of the town. The ecological analysis delineated various natural areas and zones in the town. The pattern approximates to patterns revealed by studies of American towns. Although the areas involved were relatively small, ecological differentiation was marked. The spatial distribution of demographic and other social phenomena was studied in detail. The results of the study have allowed several ad hoc hypotheses concerning the development, functions, and structures of small towns in South Africa to be formulated. These may be tested by subsequent studies, and so ultimately knowledge and theories about our small towns may be built up.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1958
An explication of the dual nature of narcissism in Patrick White's novel The solid mandala
- Authors: Watts, Jacqueline Anne
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: White, Patrick, 1912-1990. The Solid Mandala White, Patrick, 1912-1990 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2907 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002072
- Description: The focus of this thesis has been to engage in a hermeneutic dialogue with Patrick White's novel The solid mandala, to provide an explication of the dual nature of narcissistic wounding. To this end a brief review of Patrick White's novels is given, which traces a thematic development of the hero's strivings to attain wholeness and merger with an idealized image. This struggle is understood to reflect man's strivings to return to a state of omnipotent fusion with the maternal image, be it God, nature, the idealized other, or the self. Literature which reflects the dual nature of narcissistic wounding is reviewed, and the concept of narcissism is traced from the historical roots of Freud, to current understandings of the function and experience of narcissism. Emphasis is given to understanding the experiential nature of narcissistic wounding. As such it is implied that narcissism is a normal developmental component which requires the facilitation of containment and reflection for its transformation into appropriate adult functioning. The importance of the maternal environment is discussed, together with the various theoretical conceptualizations of the consequences of failure of the environment. The hermeneutic dialogue with the novel's description of the experiences of the twins, Waldo and Arthur provides the basis for an amplification of the experience of narcissistic wounding. This amplification is used as clinical material from which a number of psychoanalytic formulations are drawn. These formulations are supported by a number of clinical examples from the researcher's own practice. There appears to be evidence for the value of focusing on the dual nature of the experience of narcissistic wounding. This focus reveals two aspects of experience, a damaged, positive, libidinal aspect and a defensive, pathological destructive aspect. Amplification of these two aspects of experience contribute to further the understanding of the conflictual experience of narcissistic wounding, and suggest the necessity for such an understanding for effective therapeutic intervention
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1989
- Authors: Watts, Jacqueline Anne
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: White, Patrick, 1912-1990. The Solid Mandala White, Patrick, 1912-1990 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2907 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002072
- Description: The focus of this thesis has been to engage in a hermeneutic dialogue with Patrick White's novel The solid mandala, to provide an explication of the dual nature of narcissistic wounding. To this end a brief review of Patrick White's novels is given, which traces a thematic development of the hero's strivings to attain wholeness and merger with an idealized image. This struggle is understood to reflect man's strivings to return to a state of omnipotent fusion with the maternal image, be it God, nature, the idealized other, or the self. Literature which reflects the dual nature of narcissistic wounding is reviewed, and the concept of narcissism is traced from the historical roots of Freud, to current understandings of the function and experience of narcissism. Emphasis is given to understanding the experiential nature of narcissistic wounding. As such it is implied that narcissism is a normal developmental component which requires the facilitation of containment and reflection for its transformation into appropriate adult functioning. The importance of the maternal environment is discussed, together with the various theoretical conceptualizations of the consequences of failure of the environment. The hermeneutic dialogue with the novel's description of the experiences of the twins, Waldo and Arthur provides the basis for an amplification of the experience of narcissistic wounding. This amplification is used as clinical material from which a number of psychoanalytic formulations are drawn. These formulations are supported by a number of clinical examples from the researcher's own practice. There appears to be evidence for the value of focusing on the dual nature of the experience of narcissistic wounding. This focus reveals two aspects of experience, a damaged, positive, libidinal aspect and a defensive, pathological destructive aspect. Amplification of these two aspects of experience contribute to further the understanding of the conflictual experience of narcissistic wounding, and suggest the necessity for such an understanding for effective therapeutic intervention
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1989
Competitive strategy implementation in microfinance organisations in Kenya
- Authors: Waweru, Ruth Wambui
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Microfinance -- Kenya , Financial institutions -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DBA
- Identifier: vital:8888 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020815
- Description: Poverty is a major challenge in most developing countries. Key challenges of the government are to alleviate poverty and propel citizens toward wealth creation through development of enterprises across all sectors and to address the problem of unemployment. In Kenya, the SME sector comprises of about 99% of private sector enterprises and is prolific in employment and wealth creation. Despite this critical role played by SMEs in growing the economy, they remain outside the formal banking sector, especially in Africa. Although the number of MFOs since the 1980s has increased, the demand for financial services is largely unmet. However, MFOs are increasingly experiencing competition from new entrants and commercial banks that have developed financial models to target SMEs. MFOs are required to formulate and implement competitive strategies to enable them achieve sustainable growth and compete with commercial banks. However, strategy implementation is generally accepted as a challenge across organisations and it is often easier to formulate strategies than implementing it. Despite the need to address strategy implementation challenges across organisations, there is a greater focus by practitioners and researchers regarding strategy formulation than implementation. Consequently, this study aimed at assessing the level of strategy implementation in MFOs and factors that affect strategy implementation in MFOs. The ultimate objective was to develop a hypothetical model that could be used to improve strategy implementation in microfinance organisations in Kenya. This quantitative study used purposive sampling to select MFOs that are members of the Association of Microfinance Institutions (AMFI) in Kenya, completing a selfadministered structured questionnaire. In total, 135 MFOs were involved in this study and a total sample size of 300 managers was used in this study. This study considered fourteen factors to have an influence on the level of strategy implementation of MFOs in Kenya and hence fourteen null-hypotheses were formulated and tested. The content factors included stakeholder involvement in strategy development and the quality of strategies. The context factors included organisational structure and culture, strategic leadership and alignment of strategy to market conditions. The operational process factors included operational planning, monitoring and review of progress, teamwork, resources allocation, people-strategy fit, effective communication, strategic and management control systems and information resources. It is assumed that if all these critical strategy implementation factors are addressed, MFOs should be able improve their level of strategy implementation, ultimately leading to improved performance. The outcome factors considered were improved financial sustainability and outreach of MFOs. Advanced statistical analyses were used to analyse the data, such as factor analysis, regression and correlation analysis to assess the hypothesised relationship between the dependent and independent variables of this study. The empirical results revealed that the level of strategy implementation in MFOs in Kenya is moderate to high and content, context and operational factors do have an influence on the level of strategy implementation. However, operational factors have a more significant positive linear relationship with level of strategy implementation than the other two factors. There is also a positive relationship between the level of strategy implementation and financial sustainability and outreach by MFOs. This study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge by developing a hypothetical model that can be utilised by MFOs as well as other organisations to improve the level of strategy implementation resulting in better performance. The findings of the study can also inform strategy formulation and implementation of MFOs in Kenya, but also in other developing countries, to become more competitive. This study could also help MFOs and other organisations to put in place structures, systems, people and other resources required to attain a high level of strategy implementation. This study provides useful and practical guidelines in dealing with content, context and operational factors affecting strategy implementation in any organisational setting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Waweru, Ruth Wambui
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Microfinance -- Kenya , Financial institutions -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DBA
- Identifier: vital:8888 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020815
- Description: Poverty is a major challenge in most developing countries. Key challenges of the government are to alleviate poverty and propel citizens toward wealth creation through development of enterprises across all sectors and to address the problem of unemployment. In Kenya, the SME sector comprises of about 99% of private sector enterprises and is prolific in employment and wealth creation. Despite this critical role played by SMEs in growing the economy, they remain outside the formal banking sector, especially in Africa. Although the number of MFOs since the 1980s has increased, the demand for financial services is largely unmet. However, MFOs are increasingly experiencing competition from new entrants and commercial banks that have developed financial models to target SMEs. MFOs are required to formulate and implement competitive strategies to enable them achieve sustainable growth and compete with commercial banks. However, strategy implementation is generally accepted as a challenge across organisations and it is often easier to formulate strategies than implementing it. Despite the need to address strategy implementation challenges across organisations, there is a greater focus by practitioners and researchers regarding strategy formulation than implementation. Consequently, this study aimed at assessing the level of strategy implementation in MFOs and factors that affect strategy implementation in MFOs. The ultimate objective was to develop a hypothetical model that could be used to improve strategy implementation in microfinance organisations in Kenya. This quantitative study used purposive sampling to select MFOs that are members of the Association of Microfinance Institutions (AMFI) in Kenya, completing a selfadministered structured questionnaire. In total, 135 MFOs were involved in this study and a total sample size of 300 managers was used in this study. This study considered fourteen factors to have an influence on the level of strategy implementation of MFOs in Kenya and hence fourteen null-hypotheses were formulated and tested. The content factors included stakeholder involvement in strategy development and the quality of strategies. The context factors included organisational structure and culture, strategic leadership and alignment of strategy to market conditions. The operational process factors included operational planning, monitoring and review of progress, teamwork, resources allocation, people-strategy fit, effective communication, strategic and management control systems and information resources. It is assumed that if all these critical strategy implementation factors are addressed, MFOs should be able improve their level of strategy implementation, ultimately leading to improved performance. The outcome factors considered were improved financial sustainability and outreach of MFOs. Advanced statistical analyses were used to analyse the data, such as factor analysis, regression and correlation analysis to assess the hypothesised relationship between the dependent and independent variables of this study. The empirical results revealed that the level of strategy implementation in MFOs in Kenya is moderate to high and content, context and operational factors do have an influence on the level of strategy implementation. However, operational factors have a more significant positive linear relationship with level of strategy implementation than the other two factors. There is also a positive relationship between the level of strategy implementation and financial sustainability and outreach by MFOs. This study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge by developing a hypothetical model that can be utilised by MFOs as well as other organisations to improve the level of strategy implementation resulting in better performance. The findings of the study can also inform strategy formulation and implementation of MFOs in Kenya, but also in other developing countries, to become more competitive. This study could also help MFOs and other organisations to put in place structures, systems, people and other resources required to attain a high level of strategy implementation. This study provides useful and practical guidelines in dealing with content, context and operational factors affecting strategy implementation in any organisational setting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
An erosion hazard assessment technique for Ciskei
- Authors: Weaver, Alex van Breda
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: Soil erosion -- South Africa -- Ciskei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4792 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001892
- Description: The study examines the relationship between the spatial variation in soil erosion and various natural and anthropogenic attributes of the region between the coastal plateau and the Winterberg escarpment of Ciskei. A raster-based geographical information system is derived for four separate study catchments and data on soil erosion and various soil erosion hazard indices are read into a computerised data matrix. The independent variables (soil erosion hazard indices) used in the study are selected on the basis of a review of the literature and on the availability of data in the Ciskei region. Multivariate analyses of the relationship between soil erosion and the various independent variables reveals that the primary variables affecting the spatial variation in soil erosion are land use, dominant soil type, geology, veld type and mean annual precipitation. All of these variables are readily quantifiable at the regional scale for large areas of Ciskei. An erosion hazard assessment model for use in central Ciskei is developed based on the results of the statistical analyses. The model is tested in separate study areas and is shown to provide an efficient method of identifying areas of differing susceptibility to soil erosion. The derived model is simple to operate and has input requirements which are easily met. It can be applied without the aid of computers, or where large areas are to be mapped it is well suited to computerisation
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1989
- Authors: Weaver, Alex van Breda
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: Soil erosion -- South Africa -- Ciskei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4792 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001892
- Description: The study examines the relationship between the spatial variation in soil erosion and various natural and anthropogenic attributes of the region between the coastal plateau and the Winterberg escarpment of Ciskei. A raster-based geographical information system is derived for four separate study catchments and data on soil erosion and various soil erosion hazard indices are read into a computerised data matrix. The independent variables (soil erosion hazard indices) used in the study are selected on the basis of a review of the literature and on the availability of data in the Ciskei region. Multivariate analyses of the relationship between soil erosion and the various independent variables reveals that the primary variables affecting the spatial variation in soil erosion are land use, dominant soil type, geology, veld type and mean annual precipitation. All of these variables are readily quantifiable at the regional scale for large areas of Ciskei. An erosion hazard assessment model for use in central Ciskei is developed based on the results of the statistical analyses. The model is tested in separate study areas and is shown to provide an efficient method of identifying areas of differing susceptibility to soil erosion. The derived model is simple to operate and has input requirements which are easily met. It can be applied without the aid of computers, or where large areas are to be mapped it is well suited to computerisation
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1989
Civil society engagement with water governance at a local government scale in South Africa
- Weaver, Matthew James Thanduxolo
- Authors: Weaver, Matthew James Thanduxolo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Government accountability -- South Africa , Civil Society -- South Africa , Political participation -- South Africa , Local government -- South Africa , Water supply -- Management , Water resources development -- South Africa , Water quality management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/151316 , vital:39051
- Description: The South African state’s ideological commitment to a participatory approach to managing water resources and delivering services in a way that includes all stakeholders warrants critical analysis.Realising this ideological commitment has proved challenging, due largely to the complex historical, political, social, and environmental context of integrated water resource management (IWRM) in South Africa. The overarching aim of this study was to explore and expand the learning of civil societyparticipating in water governance processes at a local government scale. To address this aim a single, in-depth, four-year case study into civil society participation in water governance in the Makana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa was conducted between 2014 and 2018. The case study comprised two research phases. Both phases of the research were conducted using an adaptive transdisciplinary and participatory action research approach underpinned by General Complexity Theory. Located at the research-practice interface, the study sought to be transformative and advance both scientific research and societal goals. Qualitative research methods and inductive and deductive modes of inference were used to collect and analyse the data respectively. In the first phase of the study, a Communities of Practice theoretical framing was adopted to investigate the emergence, practice and learning of a civil society organisation (CSO), Water for Dignity (WfD), in response to household water service delivery issues in the municipality. This phase served to build an understanding of factors that enabled and constrained the practice of WfD in addressing local water service issues, and of their role as social learning agents in building water-related knowledge in their community. As participation with the first civil society organisation fragmented, the opportunity arose for local government, the National Department of Water and Sanitation and civil society to co-engage. This opened up the second phase of the research during which the role of a multi-stakeholder platform, the Makana Water Forum (MWF), in enabling democratic water governance was investigated. The MWF was South Africa’s first catchment management forum with an integrated water service and water resource management agenda. In this phase, the study drew on interventionist methodology, Change Laboratory, from Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to 1) describe the historical development, composition and shared purpose of the MWF multi-activity system constellation; and to 2) guide participants through seven learning actions (expansive learning cycle) to identify, analyse, model and implement remedial actions to problematic aspects (contradictions) of the MWF practice. Participants of the Change Laboratory workshops built their individual and collective transformative agency (deliberate actions to transform a problematic situation) as they navigated the expansive learning process. The development of this agency was identified through a micro-analysis of agentive talk. The two phases served to advance the exploration of civil society participation from informal participation to address water issues, to formal participation in water governance processes at a local government scale. Findings from the first phase of the research revealed that dedicated and sustained support of partners with distributed expertise and the highly motivated core members of WfD enabled the practice and emergence of the civil society organisation. However, factors such as poor internal leadership, power dynamics between supporting partners, socio-economic constraints and a deeply embedded lack of agency were found to be key constraining factors to WfD’s practice. Findings revealed that learning at WfD team level occurred in four ways, through learning as belonging, learning as doing, learning as experiencing and learning as becoming. The WfD CSO was able to catalyse social learning related to personal water rights; and best practices for improving water quality and water conservation in their wider community of practice. Social learning was fostered mainly through structured citizen engagements offered by WfD. The research provides evidence that civil society organisations can play an important role in bridging water-related knowledge gaps and can foster active citizenship in South African communities. However, despite significant inputs of support and resources through the engaged transdisciplinary research process, the practice and learning outcomes of WfD had a marginal transformative impact on improving the citizen’s every-day water service experiences. Findings from the second phase of the study revealed the MWF to resemble a multi-activity system constellation with a multiple, partially overlapping. interests related to the management of water. The establishment, function and contradictions constraining the function of the MWF were influenced by past cycles of participatory water governance-related activity and practice at national and local scales. Through the Change Laboratory process, 25 contradictions were identified that appeared to constrain the ability of the MWF to enable inclusive and meaningful participatory water governance. Through a process of expansive learning, participants sought to overcome three sets of contradictions grouped as Problem Themes: lack of clear focus of the MWF; representation, representivity and nonattendance; and the MWF relationship with the Makana Local Municipality. Remedial actions modelled and those enacted have improved aspects of the function of the MWF (such as diversified modes of engagement and a more focussed agenda) but have only resulted in incremental shifts towards enabling improved participatory practice, most markedly in building a collaborative relationship and trust between the MWF members, municipal and government officials. The microanalysis of agentive talk revealed seven different expressions of transformative agency. Constraining socio-economic and political conditions and the limited capacity of the coordinating committee of the MWF hindered the development of transformative agency to the extent to which concrete actions were implemented. Findings further revealed that contextualising a Change Laboratory process within the adaptive cycle of a complex social-ecological system, and the particular opportunity context the system presents, could inform the enactment of agency and its potential impact on the transformation of the system. The intervention with the MWF was too short a process to clearly observe the effects of transformative actions on the sustainability of the Makana Local Municipality water system. However, long-chain transformative agency through the development of one-on-one engagements, learning journeys and a reflexive component to the MWF engagements could support transformative pathways to sustainability in the municipality and water management system. The study contributes in-depth insight into the key role of learning as a catalyst in transformative processes. Learning improves the collaborative and adaptive capacity of people, and therefore, water management institutions, to manage explicitly for the complexity inherent in “complex” socialecological systems. It provides empirical evidence as to what enables and constrains “real” participation and learning in grass-roots water governance processes in the context of a shifting national drive towards a more adaptive and developmental Integrated Water Resource Management approach. It further provides methodological contributions to 1) the application of the Change Laboratory method with multi-activity system constellations in developing world contexts and 2) value and limitations of extended and engaged transdisciplinary research. Lastly, it provides practical recommendations to the establishment and sustainable function of both community-based CSOs and multi-stakeholder platforms engaging in water governance processes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Weaver, Matthew James Thanduxolo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Government accountability -- South Africa , Civil Society -- South Africa , Political participation -- South Africa , Local government -- South Africa , Water supply -- Management , Water resources development -- South Africa , Water quality management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/151316 , vital:39051
- Description: The South African state’s ideological commitment to a participatory approach to managing water resources and delivering services in a way that includes all stakeholders warrants critical analysis.Realising this ideological commitment has proved challenging, due largely to the complex historical, political, social, and environmental context of integrated water resource management (IWRM) in South Africa. The overarching aim of this study was to explore and expand the learning of civil societyparticipating in water governance processes at a local government scale. To address this aim a single, in-depth, four-year case study into civil society participation in water governance in the Makana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa was conducted between 2014 and 2018. The case study comprised two research phases. Both phases of the research were conducted using an adaptive transdisciplinary and participatory action research approach underpinned by General Complexity Theory. Located at the research-practice interface, the study sought to be transformative and advance both scientific research and societal goals. Qualitative research methods and inductive and deductive modes of inference were used to collect and analyse the data respectively. In the first phase of the study, a Communities of Practice theoretical framing was adopted to investigate the emergence, practice and learning of a civil society organisation (CSO), Water for Dignity (WfD), in response to household water service delivery issues in the municipality. This phase served to build an understanding of factors that enabled and constrained the practice of WfD in addressing local water service issues, and of their role as social learning agents in building water-related knowledge in their community. As participation with the first civil society organisation fragmented, the opportunity arose for local government, the National Department of Water and Sanitation and civil society to co-engage. This opened up the second phase of the research during which the role of a multi-stakeholder platform, the Makana Water Forum (MWF), in enabling democratic water governance was investigated. The MWF was South Africa’s first catchment management forum with an integrated water service and water resource management agenda. In this phase, the study drew on interventionist methodology, Change Laboratory, from Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to 1) describe the historical development, composition and shared purpose of the MWF multi-activity system constellation; and to 2) guide participants through seven learning actions (expansive learning cycle) to identify, analyse, model and implement remedial actions to problematic aspects (contradictions) of the MWF practice. Participants of the Change Laboratory workshops built their individual and collective transformative agency (deliberate actions to transform a problematic situation) as they navigated the expansive learning process. The development of this agency was identified through a micro-analysis of agentive talk. The two phases served to advance the exploration of civil society participation from informal participation to address water issues, to formal participation in water governance processes at a local government scale. Findings from the first phase of the research revealed that dedicated and sustained support of partners with distributed expertise and the highly motivated core members of WfD enabled the practice and emergence of the civil society organisation. However, factors such as poor internal leadership, power dynamics between supporting partners, socio-economic constraints and a deeply embedded lack of agency were found to be key constraining factors to WfD’s practice. Findings revealed that learning at WfD team level occurred in four ways, through learning as belonging, learning as doing, learning as experiencing and learning as becoming. The WfD CSO was able to catalyse social learning related to personal water rights; and best practices for improving water quality and water conservation in their wider community of practice. Social learning was fostered mainly through structured citizen engagements offered by WfD. The research provides evidence that civil society organisations can play an important role in bridging water-related knowledge gaps and can foster active citizenship in South African communities. However, despite significant inputs of support and resources through the engaged transdisciplinary research process, the practice and learning outcomes of WfD had a marginal transformative impact on improving the citizen’s every-day water service experiences. Findings from the second phase of the study revealed the MWF to resemble a multi-activity system constellation with a multiple, partially overlapping. interests related to the management of water. The establishment, function and contradictions constraining the function of the MWF were influenced by past cycles of participatory water governance-related activity and practice at national and local scales. Through the Change Laboratory process, 25 contradictions were identified that appeared to constrain the ability of the MWF to enable inclusive and meaningful participatory water governance. Through a process of expansive learning, participants sought to overcome three sets of contradictions grouped as Problem Themes: lack of clear focus of the MWF; representation, representivity and nonattendance; and the MWF relationship with the Makana Local Municipality. Remedial actions modelled and those enacted have improved aspects of the function of the MWF (such as diversified modes of engagement and a more focussed agenda) but have only resulted in incremental shifts towards enabling improved participatory practice, most markedly in building a collaborative relationship and trust between the MWF members, municipal and government officials. The microanalysis of agentive talk revealed seven different expressions of transformative agency. Constraining socio-economic and political conditions and the limited capacity of the coordinating committee of the MWF hindered the development of transformative agency to the extent to which concrete actions were implemented. Findings further revealed that contextualising a Change Laboratory process within the adaptive cycle of a complex social-ecological system, and the particular opportunity context the system presents, could inform the enactment of agency and its potential impact on the transformation of the system. The intervention with the MWF was too short a process to clearly observe the effects of transformative actions on the sustainability of the Makana Local Municipality water system. However, long-chain transformative agency through the development of one-on-one engagements, learning journeys and a reflexive component to the MWF engagements could support transformative pathways to sustainability in the municipality and water management system. The study contributes in-depth insight into the key role of learning as a catalyst in transformative processes. Learning improves the collaborative and adaptive capacity of people, and therefore, water management institutions, to manage explicitly for the complexity inherent in “complex” socialecological systems. It provides empirical evidence as to what enables and constrains “real” participation and learning in grass-roots water governance processes in the context of a shifting national drive towards a more adaptive and developmental Integrated Water Resource Management approach. It further provides methodological contributions to 1) the application of the Change Laboratory method with multi-activity system constellations in developing world contexts and 2) value and limitations of extended and engaged transdisciplinary research. Lastly, it provides practical recommendations to the establishment and sustainable function of both community-based CSOs and multi-stakeholder platforms engaging in water governance processes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Witwatersrand genesis: a comparative study of some early gold mining companies, 1886-1894
- Authors: Webb, Arthur (Arthur C M)
- Date: 1982
- Subjects: Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- History Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- Witwatersrand -- History Ferreira Gold Mining Company (Firm) Witwatersrand Gold Mining Company (Firm) Simmer and Jack Gold Mining Company (Firm) Wemmer Gold Mining Company (Firm)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1029 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003725
- Description: Preface: For anyone standing on the ridge of the Witwatersrand on a spring day in September 1886 the sight immediately to the south represented a hive of activity and hope. Nearly a hundred years later ample evidence stretches away on both sides of the watershed to confirm the fulfilment of those early sentiments. It is, nevertheless, all too easy to ignore the struggles and failures which marked the beginnings of the world's greatest gold field in the light of its subsequent abundant success. Only when attention is turned to the individual companies formed to exploit the discovery does the true picture emerge of the lack of adequate technological and managerial knowledge amongst the early pioneers and of the financial frailty of their companies. The object of this thesis is to shed light on these beginnings by reviewing the histories of four of the earliest companies established to work the main reef. The approach adopted is to scrutinize the material available with a view to determining the motivations and actions of the managements of the various companies with regard to their economic environment, whether within or without the individual company. Clearly, the availability of information is a major determinant of the success of any such venture and this was particularly so in the case of the companies considered. With the exception of the Barlow Rand Limited holding of the H. Eckstein and Company Archives, which offers an integral coverage of that firm's dealings with the emerging industry, and which is certainly the most comprehensive source of information available to the researcher, little material relating to specific gold mining companies has survived. Under these circumstances it was necessary to rely heavily for information on the local press. These newspapers proved an invaluable source in this regard. As a mining camp with a limited capacity for generating newsworthy incidents, the newspapers of early Johannesburg found an eager readership for information about the industry which lay at the heart of the community. For their part, the managements of the various mining companies found in the pages of the local press an outlet for intelligence both true and false; the press was a useful vehicle for the publication of directors' and annual reports to meet a wider audience, but similarly it could be and was used to disseminate 'spectacular' reports calculated to influence the status of a company's stock on the local share market. As a research source the press has thus to be approached with caution but its value, if the warning is heeded, is in no way diminished. Beyond these two sources the next most valuable accumulation of data on the early industry is "The Gold Fields Collection" housed in the Cory Library for Historical Research at Rhodes University. As a collection it is far from complete and it is to be hoped that the donors will in future see fit to augment it with further material as this becomes available. It neverthess proved an invaluable source for the investigation of at least one of the companies of the study and for a general background to the industry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1982
- Authors: Webb, Arthur (Arthur C M)
- Date: 1982
- Subjects: Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- History Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- Witwatersrand -- History Ferreira Gold Mining Company (Firm) Witwatersrand Gold Mining Company (Firm) Simmer and Jack Gold Mining Company (Firm) Wemmer Gold Mining Company (Firm)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1029 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003725
- Description: Preface: For anyone standing on the ridge of the Witwatersrand on a spring day in September 1886 the sight immediately to the south represented a hive of activity and hope. Nearly a hundred years later ample evidence stretches away on both sides of the watershed to confirm the fulfilment of those early sentiments. It is, nevertheless, all too easy to ignore the struggles and failures which marked the beginnings of the world's greatest gold field in the light of its subsequent abundant success. Only when attention is turned to the individual companies formed to exploit the discovery does the true picture emerge of the lack of adequate technological and managerial knowledge amongst the early pioneers and of the financial frailty of their companies. The object of this thesis is to shed light on these beginnings by reviewing the histories of four of the earliest companies established to work the main reef. The approach adopted is to scrutinize the material available with a view to determining the motivations and actions of the managements of the various companies with regard to their economic environment, whether within or without the individual company. Clearly, the availability of information is a major determinant of the success of any such venture and this was particularly so in the case of the companies considered. With the exception of the Barlow Rand Limited holding of the H. Eckstein and Company Archives, which offers an integral coverage of that firm's dealings with the emerging industry, and which is certainly the most comprehensive source of information available to the researcher, little material relating to specific gold mining companies has survived. Under these circumstances it was necessary to rely heavily for information on the local press. These newspapers proved an invaluable source in this regard. As a mining camp with a limited capacity for generating newsworthy incidents, the newspapers of early Johannesburg found an eager readership for information about the industry which lay at the heart of the community. For their part, the managements of the various mining companies found in the pages of the local press an outlet for intelligence both true and false; the press was a useful vehicle for the publication of directors' and annual reports to meet a wider audience, but similarly it could be and was used to disseminate 'spectacular' reports calculated to influence the status of a company's stock on the local share market. As a research source the press has thus to be approached with caution but its value, if the warning is heeded, is in no way diminished. Beyond these two sources the next most valuable accumulation of data on the early industry is "The Gold Fields Collection" housed in the Cory Library for Historical Research at Rhodes University. As a collection it is far from complete and it is to be hoped that the donors will in future see fit to augment it with further material as this becomes available. It neverthess proved an invaluable source for the investigation of at least one of the companies of the study and for a general background to the industry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1982
The population dynamics of an indigenous Psyllid Acizzia Russellae (Homoptera: Psyllidae )with special reference to the influence of the host plant Acacia Karroo
- Authors: Webb, John Warren
- Date: 1975
- Subjects: Homoptera , Jumping plant-lice , Insect populations , Insects -- Ecology , Acacia -- Karroo
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5894 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013415
- Description: The biology and ecology of an indigenous, non-pest insect on an indigenous host plant were investigated. The study includes a taxonomic description of this new species, an account of its general biology, monitoring of the seasonal fluctuations in numbers of the psyllid and its hymenopterous parasitoids, and a study of various aspects of the host plant, including nitrogen levels, water stress, leaf hardness, and the effect of cutting, in relation to spatial and temporal differences in insect population numbers. Natural enemies, inter- and intra-specific competition had very little determining influence on the population numbers of the psyllid. Temperature and humidity had little direct effect, but may have influenced the population dynamics via its effects on the host plant. Seasonal patterns in psyllid numbers followed fluctuations in nitrogen levels; statistically valid correlations were obtained between leaf nitrogen and psyllid numbers on individual trees at various times. These findings were supported by the results of preliminary laboratory experiments employing different fertilizer treatments. No effect of water stress or leaf hardness was clearly discerned. Cutting of trees altered the characteristics of the subsequent regenerative growth so as to allow massive psyllid infestations to develop, thus showing the tremendous importance of the host plant in determining population levels in this insect. Preliminary investigations of the nature and mechanism of this effect were conducted, and its significance is discussed. The relevance of these findings to modern concepts of regulation in insect populations and to principles of pest management is discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1975
- Authors: Webb, John Warren
- Date: 1975
- Subjects: Homoptera , Jumping plant-lice , Insect populations , Insects -- Ecology , Acacia -- Karroo
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5894 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013415
- Description: The biology and ecology of an indigenous, non-pest insect on an indigenous host plant were investigated. The study includes a taxonomic description of this new species, an account of its general biology, monitoring of the seasonal fluctuations in numbers of the psyllid and its hymenopterous parasitoids, and a study of various aspects of the host plant, including nitrogen levels, water stress, leaf hardness, and the effect of cutting, in relation to spatial and temporal differences in insect population numbers. Natural enemies, inter- and intra-specific competition had very little determining influence on the population numbers of the psyllid. Temperature and humidity had little direct effect, but may have influenced the population dynamics via its effects on the host plant. Seasonal patterns in psyllid numbers followed fluctuations in nitrogen levels; statistically valid correlations were obtained between leaf nitrogen and psyllid numbers on individual trees at various times. These findings were supported by the results of preliminary laboratory experiments employing different fertilizer treatments. No effect of water stress or leaf hardness was clearly discerned. Cutting of trees altered the characteristics of the subsequent regenerative growth so as to allow massive psyllid infestations to develop, thus showing the tremendous importance of the host plant in determining population levels in this insect. Preliminary investigations of the nature and mechanism of this effect were conducted, and its significance is discussed. The relevance of these findings to modern concepts of regulation in insect populations and to principles of pest management is discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1975
Searching for common ground: developing mathematical reasoning through dialogue
- Authors: Webb, Marie Lynette
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Mathematics teachers -- Training of -- South Africa , English language -- Usage -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: vital:9493 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1132 , Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Mathematics teachers -- Training of -- South Africa , English language -- Usage -- South Africa
- Description: In the majority of the schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, teaching and learning takes place in the second language, English, of both teachers and learners. The purpose of this research was to elicit the perceptions of teachers in multilingual mathematics classes about language issues that they encounter and to ascertain whether they could experientially learn the theory of dialogic teaching through an intervention in order to introduce dialogue in practice in their classes. The effect of the intervention on teacher practices was qualitatively observed and the effect of the teacher practices on learner reasoning competence, numeracy competence and English language competence was quantitatively tested by using validated pre- and post-tests. The study follows a mixed method concurrent triangulation design with both quantitative and qualitative results. Two cohorts of students/teachers studying for qualifications at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University centres throughout the Eastern Cape expressed their opinions about language challenges and solutions through questionnaires, reflective writing and poetry. A cohort of BEd Honours (Mathematics and Science) students experienced a semester long intervention on the theory and practice of dialogic teaching, particularly exploratory talk, and were tasked to introduce the practice into their multilingual mathematics classes in the form of reported action research. The next phase of the study focussed on the practices of three teachers and their grade seven multilingual mathematics learners who were observed and tested over a period of nine months. The following year the observations and testing were repeated with one teacher and his grade seven learners to ascertain whether the intervention would result in similar findings. iv The results enhance the validity of the Vygotskian claim concerning the relationship between language use, social interaction and reasoning development. In classes where there was evidence of dialogic practices the learners collaborated in groups using code-switching and their main language. Their reasoning, numeracy and English skills test scores improved statistically significantly. Teachers were able to give voice to their deep-felt emotions through poetry. They felt that the devaluing of isiXhosa had resulted in the loss of learners’ main language literacy competencies and consequent loss of cultural capital; however they considered it necessary to develop English competence in the learners, even if it was at the expense of developing mathematical competence. The introduction of exploratory talk in their home languages served the dual purpose of promoting the value of isiXhosa in an academic environment as well as enhancing mathematical reasoning. It appears that when teachers focus on developing language as a tool for reasoning, significant improvements in learners’ problem solving competences occur. When the language used is the main language of both teachers and learners both mathematical understanding and cultural identity are enhanced. The study concludes with a suggestion for a model for future interventions to train teachers to introduce dialogic practices in multilingual mathematics classes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Webb, Marie Lynette
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Mathematics teachers -- Training of -- South Africa , English language -- Usage -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: vital:9493 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1132 , Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Mathematics teachers -- Training of -- South Africa , English language -- Usage -- South Africa
- Description: In the majority of the schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, teaching and learning takes place in the second language, English, of both teachers and learners. The purpose of this research was to elicit the perceptions of teachers in multilingual mathematics classes about language issues that they encounter and to ascertain whether they could experientially learn the theory of dialogic teaching through an intervention in order to introduce dialogue in practice in their classes. The effect of the intervention on teacher practices was qualitatively observed and the effect of the teacher practices on learner reasoning competence, numeracy competence and English language competence was quantitatively tested by using validated pre- and post-tests. The study follows a mixed method concurrent triangulation design with both quantitative and qualitative results. Two cohorts of students/teachers studying for qualifications at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University centres throughout the Eastern Cape expressed their opinions about language challenges and solutions through questionnaires, reflective writing and poetry. A cohort of BEd Honours (Mathematics and Science) students experienced a semester long intervention on the theory and practice of dialogic teaching, particularly exploratory talk, and were tasked to introduce the practice into their multilingual mathematics classes in the form of reported action research. The next phase of the study focussed on the practices of three teachers and their grade seven multilingual mathematics learners who were observed and tested over a period of nine months. The following year the observations and testing were repeated with one teacher and his grade seven learners to ascertain whether the intervention would result in similar findings. iv The results enhance the validity of the Vygotskian claim concerning the relationship between language use, social interaction and reasoning development. In classes where there was evidence of dialogic practices the learners collaborated in groups using code-switching and their main language. Their reasoning, numeracy and English skills test scores improved statistically significantly. Teachers were able to give voice to their deep-felt emotions through poetry. They felt that the devaluing of isiXhosa had resulted in the loss of learners’ main language literacy competencies and consequent loss of cultural capital; however they considered it necessary to develop English competence in the learners, even if it was at the expense of developing mathematical competence. The introduction of exploratory talk in their home languages served the dual purpose of promoting the value of isiXhosa in an academic environment as well as enhancing mathematical reasoning. It appears that when teachers focus on developing language as a tool for reasoning, significant improvements in learners’ problem solving competences occur. When the language used is the main language of both teachers and learners both mathematical understanding and cultural identity are enhanced. The study concludes with a suggestion for a model for future interventions to train teachers to introduce dialogic practices in multilingual mathematics classes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Urban agriculture: advocacy and practice: a discursive study with particular reference to three Eastern Cape centres
- Authors: Webb, Nigel Leigh
- Date: 1997
- Subjects: Urban agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Land use, Urban -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2095 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002658
- Description: The purpose of this thesis is to explain the continued advocacy of 'urban agriculture' (UA) in the literature in the face of the seemingly modest role played by cultivation in practice. The analytical framework adopted isrthat of discourse, the theoretical underpinnings of which are derived from the early works of Foucault, and applications such as those of Escobar (1989; 1991) and Ferguson (1990). Using a discursive orientation involves two main tasks - an explanation of how 'UA' has gained some prominence and the man~er in which its currency is able to be maintained. The investigation included an in-depth analysis of the literature and empirical research in th!"e~Eastern Cape centres. The function of the empirical findings is to expose the discourse, as well as to extend the empirical base relating to 'urban agricultural' research in general. The thesis suggests that the growth in interest in 'UA' is a result of a Foucaultian "gap" opening in the discourse. Changes in the conceptualisation of development, the rise-in prominence of the urban poor and emerging ecodevelopment views, among others, have given proponents of "UA' greater room for manoeuvre. However, most case studies promote 'UA' despite providing little evidence of its role in household welfare. The way the discourse maintains its' currency is in the manner in which the objects of 'UA' are constituted. Firstly, the people are characterised as poor, largely divorced from their rural origins, and mainly female. Each of these assertions is questioned on the basis of the literature itself and the empirical findings. Secondly, in the practice of cultivation, emphasis is placed on the inputs used, and the crops that are produced. The treatment of both the inputs and the crops by the literature is cursory. Investigations show that land availability, garden size and irrigation water are e~pecially problematic and vegetable consumption remains low. Four types of alleged benefit associated with 'UA' are analysed - environmental and ecological, psychological and social, financial, and nutritional. In each case commonly held assumptions are undermined by closer investigation. Thus, the thesis contends that the role played by cultivation is a modest one. Most of the claims made on behalf of 'UA' are more congruent with development discourse than actual cultivation practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
- Authors: Webb, Nigel Leigh
- Date: 1997
- Subjects: Urban agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Land use, Urban -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2095 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002658
- Description: The purpose of this thesis is to explain the continued advocacy of 'urban agriculture' (UA) in the literature in the face of the seemingly modest role played by cultivation in practice. The analytical framework adopted isrthat of discourse, the theoretical underpinnings of which are derived from the early works of Foucault, and applications such as those of Escobar (1989; 1991) and Ferguson (1990). Using a discursive orientation involves two main tasks - an explanation of how 'UA' has gained some prominence and the man~er in which its currency is able to be maintained. The investigation included an in-depth analysis of the literature and empirical research in th!"e~Eastern Cape centres. The function of the empirical findings is to expose the discourse, as well as to extend the empirical base relating to 'urban agricultural' research in general. The thesis suggests that the growth in interest in 'UA' is a result of a Foucaultian "gap" opening in the discourse. Changes in the conceptualisation of development, the rise-in prominence of the urban poor and emerging ecodevelopment views, among others, have given proponents of "UA' greater room for manoeuvre. However, most case studies promote 'UA' despite providing little evidence of its role in household welfare. The way the discourse maintains its' currency is in the manner in which the objects of 'UA' are constituted. Firstly, the people are characterised as poor, largely divorced from their rural origins, and mainly female. Each of these assertions is questioned on the basis of the literature itself and the empirical findings. Secondly, in the practice of cultivation, emphasis is placed on the inputs used, and the crops that are produced. The treatment of both the inputs and the crops by the literature is cursory. Investigations show that land availability, garden size and irrigation water are e~pecially problematic and vegetable consumption remains low. Four types of alleged benefit associated with 'UA' are analysed - environmental and ecological, psychological and social, financial, and nutritional. In each case commonly held assumptions are undermined by closer investigation. Thus, the thesis contends that the role played by cultivation is a modest one. Most of the claims made on behalf of 'UA' are more congruent with development discourse than actual cultivation practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
Exploring perspectives of South African fathers of a child with Down syndrome
- Authors: Webber, Heidi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Parents of children with disabilities -- Attitudes , Parenting -- Psychological aspects Down syndrome -- Care Mental retardation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13535 , vital:27220
- Description: A mere glance at a family photograph of the Victorian era leaves little doubt of the position of the figure exuding impervious, authoritarian detachment. Austere, rigid and solemn, it is not hard to guess who cast the shadow over the picture. Arrestingly imposing in his role as backbone of the family, this is the nineteenth century legacy image of the father. However, the last century has seen fatherhood redefine itself and the more liberal, lenient and openly loving figure replaced the strict patriarchal model. In contemporary times, fathers are regularly seen comfortably behind a stroller, outdoors with children on their shoulders, at home tousling with their children, and considerably more involved in school and social events. Unashamedly, fathers have moved toward both acknowledging and displaying a softer paternal image. By definition fatherhood is a decidedly individual concept and a unique experience, involving much more than being the male parent in a family, the family protector, or the provider of paycheques. Although the past decade has seen a surge of research and interest in fatherhood with an increased recognition that the involvement of fathers contribute to the well-being, cognitive growth and social competence of their children, there remains a deficit in research on the experiences, perceptions and involvement of fathers of children diagnosed with Down syndrome. And whilst most of this knowledge base is extrapolated from studies about the mother’s experience, true understanding requires that fathers are studied directly. Mothers and fathers respond differently to the pressure associated with raising a child with Down syndrome and literature supports the common view that men are less likely and easy to engage in therapy than women, are less likely to attend therapy, or seek help for physical or psychological problems. For fathers of any differently abled child, the distance between the idealized fathering experience and the actual one may be enormous. Based upon the patriarchy model of the family, in many conventional homes, the wife and mother is like a thermometer, sensing and reflecting the home’s temperature, whilst the father and husband is like the home’s thermostat, which determines and regulates the temperature. The equilibrium of the father plays an important role in his ‘thermostat settings’ to set the right temperature in the marriage and his family. Having a differently abled child is almost never expected and often necessitates a change in plans as the family members adjust their views of their own future, their future with their child, as well as how they will henceforth operate as a family.Some fathers may experience uncertainty about their parenting role of a child diagnosed with Down syndrome, often resulting in peculiar behaviours of the father. This may include engrossing themselves into their work, hobbies, sport, and so forth, almost abdicating their duty as father; believing that the mother knows best (sometimes using their own lack of knowledge as a cop-out); or, they simply withdraw because the mother takes such complete control of every aspect of the child that the father feels inadequate, superfluous, and peripheral as parent. Each parent grieves the ‘loss’ of the child they expected in their own individual way. However, such a highly emotive situation may be compounded by the following aspects: the undeniable pressure of caring for the differently abled child; the additional financial burden; a waning social life; and, the incapacity to cope emotionally whilst invariably displaying the contrary purely to create the illusion that they are indeed coping. Fathers need to develop strategies and skills to cope with the very real and practical needs of parenting their child with Down syndrome, to furthermore minimize relationship conflict and misunderstanding, and to support their child’s optimal development. How these specific issues are embraced and managed may dramatically influence the peace and harmony of family life as well as the marital relationship. This study explores the perspectives of fathers of a child with Down syndrome to ultimately support this unique journey as they navigate their way through “Down”town Holland, as illustrated in the analogy to follow.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Webber, Heidi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Parents of children with disabilities -- Attitudes , Parenting -- Psychological aspects Down syndrome -- Care Mental retardation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13535 , vital:27220
- Description: A mere glance at a family photograph of the Victorian era leaves little doubt of the position of the figure exuding impervious, authoritarian detachment. Austere, rigid and solemn, it is not hard to guess who cast the shadow over the picture. Arrestingly imposing in his role as backbone of the family, this is the nineteenth century legacy image of the father. However, the last century has seen fatherhood redefine itself and the more liberal, lenient and openly loving figure replaced the strict patriarchal model. In contemporary times, fathers are regularly seen comfortably behind a stroller, outdoors with children on their shoulders, at home tousling with their children, and considerably more involved in school and social events. Unashamedly, fathers have moved toward both acknowledging and displaying a softer paternal image. By definition fatherhood is a decidedly individual concept and a unique experience, involving much more than being the male parent in a family, the family protector, or the provider of paycheques. Although the past decade has seen a surge of research and interest in fatherhood with an increased recognition that the involvement of fathers contribute to the well-being, cognitive growth and social competence of their children, there remains a deficit in research on the experiences, perceptions and involvement of fathers of children diagnosed with Down syndrome. And whilst most of this knowledge base is extrapolated from studies about the mother’s experience, true understanding requires that fathers are studied directly. Mothers and fathers respond differently to the pressure associated with raising a child with Down syndrome and literature supports the common view that men are less likely and easy to engage in therapy than women, are less likely to attend therapy, or seek help for physical or psychological problems. For fathers of any differently abled child, the distance between the idealized fathering experience and the actual one may be enormous. Based upon the patriarchy model of the family, in many conventional homes, the wife and mother is like a thermometer, sensing and reflecting the home’s temperature, whilst the father and husband is like the home’s thermostat, which determines and regulates the temperature. The equilibrium of the father plays an important role in his ‘thermostat settings’ to set the right temperature in the marriage and his family. Having a differently abled child is almost never expected and often necessitates a change in plans as the family members adjust their views of their own future, their future with their child, as well as how they will henceforth operate as a family.Some fathers may experience uncertainty about their parenting role of a child diagnosed with Down syndrome, often resulting in peculiar behaviours of the father. This may include engrossing themselves into their work, hobbies, sport, and so forth, almost abdicating their duty as father; believing that the mother knows best (sometimes using their own lack of knowledge as a cop-out); or, they simply withdraw because the mother takes such complete control of every aspect of the child that the father feels inadequate, superfluous, and peripheral as parent. Each parent grieves the ‘loss’ of the child they expected in their own individual way. However, such a highly emotive situation may be compounded by the following aspects: the undeniable pressure of caring for the differently abled child; the additional financial burden; a waning social life; and, the incapacity to cope emotionally whilst invariably displaying the contrary purely to create the illusion that they are indeed coping. Fathers need to develop strategies and skills to cope with the very real and practical needs of parenting their child with Down syndrome, to furthermore minimize relationship conflict and misunderstanding, and to support their child’s optimal development. How these specific issues are embraced and managed may dramatically influence the peace and harmony of family life as well as the marital relationship. This study explores the perspectives of fathers of a child with Down syndrome to ultimately support this unique journey as they navigate their way through “Down”town Holland, as illustrated in the analogy to follow.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
The influence of diversity management initiatives on business and social outcomes in South African businesses
- Authors: Webber, Zwelibanzi Samson
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Diversity in the workplace -- South Africa , Organizational change -- South Africa Social change -- South Africa Management -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13524 , vital:27217
- Description: Diversity management is of strategic importance in all organisations throughout the world. Its importance is derived from the belief that workplaces by nature consist of diverse employees, who in one way or another are different in terms of race, gender, religion, or any other difference that may have an impact on the business and its employees. The differences among people need to be managed. This study investigated the influence of diversity management initiatives on business and social outcomes in South African businesses. Literature reviews on diversity management and multicultural education in various parts of the world have revealed an impact on the influence of diversity management initiatives on business and social outcomes. However, existing South African literature on diversity management does not conclusively expose the effects of diversity management on business and social outcomes, hence the need for this study. The study was based on a conceptual framework, which included variables on diversity management initiatives, diversity management models, institutional development theory and business and social outcomes. Hypotheses for the study were also developed and tested. In testing the hypotheses, the empirical data collected was subjected to a series of statistical tests, using STATISTICA version 13. MANOVA tests were conducted to determine the existence of differences among variables and the extent to which the variables differed was measured by means of ANOVA tests. Tukey post hoc tests (Tukey HSD) were used to determine practical significance among variables. The study was also subjected to Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient analysis tests to ascertain the existence of relationships between all diversity management initiatives and business and social outcome factors. The analysis was concluded by conducting an exploratory factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to confirm or reduce the number of factors and the number of factors was subsequently reduced. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient test was also done for the extracted factors, after which a regressions analysis test was conducted to confirm the existence of relationships between the extracted diversity management initiatives factors and business and social outcomes factors. This formed the basis for the development of a proposed diversity management model. The model of the implementation of diversity management initiatives is an important contribution to the study because it shows the different aspects that guide the process of implementation. The model is based on the implementation of a formal diversity management change strategy and programme of action; employment equity plan and strategy; and the recruitment and empowerment of women and people living with disabilities. The study was not without limitations. Challenges with regard to access to respondents were experienced and this was one of the delays in data collection. Another challenge experienced was that the study did not include qualitative research approaches, which could have been used for in-depth responses. The study provides an important milestone for the use of diversity management initiatives in South African companies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Webber, Zwelibanzi Samson
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Diversity in the workplace -- South Africa , Organizational change -- South Africa Social change -- South Africa Management -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13524 , vital:27217
- Description: Diversity management is of strategic importance in all organisations throughout the world. Its importance is derived from the belief that workplaces by nature consist of diverse employees, who in one way or another are different in terms of race, gender, religion, or any other difference that may have an impact on the business and its employees. The differences among people need to be managed. This study investigated the influence of diversity management initiatives on business and social outcomes in South African businesses. Literature reviews on diversity management and multicultural education in various parts of the world have revealed an impact on the influence of diversity management initiatives on business and social outcomes. However, existing South African literature on diversity management does not conclusively expose the effects of diversity management on business and social outcomes, hence the need for this study. The study was based on a conceptual framework, which included variables on diversity management initiatives, diversity management models, institutional development theory and business and social outcomes. Hypotheses for the study were also developed and tested. In testing the hypotheses, the empirical data collected was subjected to a series of statistical tests, using STATISTICA version 13. MANOVA tests were conducted to determine the existence of differences among variables and the extent to which the variables differed was measured by means of ANOVA tests. Tukey post hoc tests (Tukey HSD) were used to determine practical significance among variables. The study was also subjected to Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient analysis tests to ascertain the existence of relationships between all diversity management initiatives and business and social outcome factors. The analysis was concluded by conducting an exploratory factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to confirm or reduce the number of factors and the number of factors was subsequently reduced. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient test was also done for the extracted factors, after which a regressions analysis test was conducted to confirm the existence of relationships between the extracted diversity management initiatives factors and business and social outcomes factors. This formed the basis for the development of a proposed diversity management model. The model of the implementation of diversity management initiatives is an important contribution to the study because it shows the different aspects that guide the process of implementation. The model is based on the implementation of a formal diversity management change strategy and programme of action; employment equity plan and strategy; and the recruitment and empowerment of women and people living with disabilities. The study was not without limitations. Challenges with regard to access to respondents were experienced and this was one of the delays in data collection. Another challenge experienced was that the study did not include qualitative research approaches, which could have been used for in-depth responses. The study provides an important milestone for the use of diversity management initiatives in South African companies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Wolfgang Koeppens auseinandersetzung mit der tradition: aspekte der intertextualität in der so genannten nachkriegs‐trilogie
- Authors: Weber, Undine S
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Criticism and interpretation , Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Works -- 1986 , German fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: German
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3658 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020833
- Description: Wolfgang Koeppen’s three post‐war novels have often been called a trilogy, purely based on their publication in rapid succession in the early 1950s. This study establishes a connection between the works by looking at their roots in Irish, Anglo‐American, French and German modernism, and shows up links between Wolfgang Koeppen, James Joyce, E.E. Cummings, Charles Baudelaire and Thomas Mann. This comparative analysis concludes, by integrating socio‐political factors of life in West Germany after World War II, that Koeppen transcends the modernist tradition – the fact that modernism has become tradition, i.e. it has become “classic”, in contradiction to being “modern”. Koeppen’s texts do not only allude to and build on classic texts and refer to stylistic and narrative modernist elements such as stream‐of‐consciousness and sketching a fragmented society in turmoil; the very act of recurring to myths and texts of the Western canon in order to depict the disaffected individual is an almost post‐modern one.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Weber, Undine S
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Criticism and interpretation , Koeppen, Wolfgang, 1906-1996 -- Works -- 1986 , German fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: German
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3658 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020833
- Description: Wolfgang Koeppen’s three post‐war novels have often been called a trilogy, purely based on their publication in rapid succession in the early 1950s. This study establishes a connection between the works by looking at their roots in Irish, Anglo‐American, French and German modernism, and shows up links between Wolfgang Koeppen, James Joyce, E.E. Cummings, Charles Baudelaire and Thomas Mann. This comparative analysis concludes, by integrating socio‐political factors of life in West Germany after World War II, that Koeppen transcends the modernist tradition – the fact that modernism has become tradition, i.e. it has become “classic”, in contradiction to being “modern”. Koeppen’s texts do not only allude to and build on classic texts and refer to stylistic and narrative modernist elements such as stream‐of‐consciousness and sketching a fragmented society in turmoil; the very act of recurring to myths and texts of the Western canon in order to depict the disaffected individual is an almost post‐modern one.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Agnation, alternative structures, and the individual in Chopi society
- Authors: Webster, D J
- Date: 1976
- Subjects: Chopi (African people) , Ethnology -- Mozambique
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2122 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013288
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1976
- Authors: Webster, D J
- Date: 1976
- Subjects: Chopi (African people) , Ethnology -- Mozambique
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2122 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013288
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1976
The therapist as a "bad object": the use of countertransference enactment to facilitate communication in therapy
- Authors: Webster, Penny
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Countertransference (Psychology) Countertransference (Psychology) -- Therapeutic use Communication -- Psychological aspects Psychotherapist and patient Psychoanalysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3083 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002592
- Description: Psychoanalysis as it exists today is not constituted by a single theoretical framework describing pathology and indicating a specific set of interventions. Since Freud originally conceptualised psychoanalytic understanding of pathology and psychoanalysis as a mode of intervention, there have been many revisions and reformulations of his theory. This thesis has attempted to integrate some psychoanalytic ideas regarding personality formation, psychopathology and psychotherapeutic intervention (Fairbairn, 1952; Ogden, 1992, 1994), with interpersonal (strategic / structural) ideas regarding intervention (Minuchin, 1974; Sullivan, 1940, 1953, 1964). In order to do so, the thesis used the relational psychoanalytic perspective, as depicted by Aron (1996) and Mitchell and Aron (1999), as an overarching conceptual framework. The focus from these points of view is the patient's internalized relationship patterns and the therapist's participation in their repetition. It is held that internalized relationship patterns are not only based on, but can be changed by, lived experience. From this perspective, the goal of therapy is to enhance the patient's capacity to reflect and think about experience, and therefore, to communicate about it. This means a change in the patient's predominant mode of communication. Ogden's (1994) modes of communication were described. The thesis suggested that Ogden's modes of communication can be stretched or translated into the types of communication outlined by Langs (1978). This thesis aimed to explore the deliberate use of countertransference responses to facilitate communication in the beginning stages of therapy with patients functioning predominantly in the paranoid-schizoid mode (Ogden, 1992). Patients who operate in this mode are often unable to tolerate interpretation and therefore traditional approaches to intervention are not effective. A "strategic / structural relational psychoanalytic" approach to treatment was proposed. It was suggested that therapists utilize joining and accommodation techniques as described by Minuchin (1974) and alter their style of interaction to match that of the various object relational constellations that they have managed to identify within the patient via their countertransference responses. It was hypothesized that patients need their therapists to be similar to their original objects in order to feel safe in the therapeutic environment and that this may facilitate communication in the beginning stages of therapy. The research utilized a qualitative research approach. Qualitative research methods attempt to use data gathered phenomenologically, always acknowledging the researcher's biases when gathering the data. The data gathered is then interpreted according to various theories or hermeneutic lenses. The hypothesis mentioned above has been investigated by analyzing three cases in terms of the research questions based on Langs' (1978) classification of communication. The thesis described the difficulties inherent in collecting clinical data from psychologists working from within a psychoanalytic framework. Eventually three sets of therapy details and verbatim therapy transcripts were obtained, provided in the thesis and analyzed in terms of the research questions. However evidence for the success of the hypothesized alternate approach was not found in this research study. It was suggested that other possible methods might be useful to investigate the hypothesized approach further.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Webster, Penny
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Countertransference (Psychology) Countertransference (Psychology) -- Therapeutic use Communication -- Psychological aspects Psychotherapist and patient Psychoanalysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3083 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002592
- Description: Psychoanalysis as it exists today is not constituted by a single theoretical framework describing pathology and indicating a specific set of interventions. Since Freud originally conceptualised psychoanalytic understanding of pathology and psychoanalysis as a mode of intervention, there have been many revisions and reformulations of his theory. This thesis has attempted to integrate some psychoanalytic ideas regarding personality formation, psychopathology and psychotherapeutic intervention (Fairbairn, 1952; Ogden, 1992, 1994), with interpersonal (strategic / structural) ideas regarding intervention (Minuchin, 1974; Sullivan, 1940, 1953, 1964). In order to do so, the thesis used the relational psychoanalytic perspective, as depicted by Aron (1996) and Mitchell and Aron (1999), as an overarching conceptual framework. The focus from these points of view is the patient's internalized relationship patterns and the therapist's participation in their repetition. It is held that internalized relationship patterns are not only based on, but can be changed by, lived experience. From this perspective, the goal of therapy is to enhance the patient's capacity to reflect and think about experience, and therefore, to communicate about it. This means a change in the patient's predominant mode of communication. Ogden's (1994) modes of communication were described. The thesis suggested that Ogden's modes of communication can be stretched or translated into the types of communication outlined by Langs (1978). This thesis aimed to explore the deliberate use of countertransference responses to facilitate communication in the beginning stages of therapy with patients functioning predominantly in the paranoid-schizoid mode (Ogden, 1992). Patients who operate in this mode are often unable to tolerate interpretation and therefore traditional approaches to intervention are not effective. A "strategic / structural relational psychoanalytic" approach to treatment was proposed. It was suggested that therapists utilize joining and accommodation techniques as described by Minuchin (1974) and alter their style of interaction to match that of the various object relational constellations that they have managed to identify within the patient via their countertransference responses. It was hypothesized that patients need their therapists to be similar to their original objects in order to feel safe in the therapeutic environment and that this may facilitate communication in the beginning stages of therapy. The research utilized a qualitative research approach. Qualitative research methods attempt to use data gathered phenomenologically, always acknowledging the researcher's biases when gathering the data. The data gathered is then interpreted according to various theories or hermeneutic lenses. The hypothesis mentioned above has been investigated by analyzing three cases in terms of the research questions based on Langs' (1978) classification of communication. The thesis described the difficulties inherent in collecting clinical data from psychologists working from within a psychoanalytic framework. Eventually three sets of therapy details and verbatim therapy transcripts were obtained, provided in the thesis and analyzed in terms of the research questions. However evidence for the success of the hypothesized alternate approach was not found in this research study. It was suggested that other possible methods might be useful to investigate the hypothesized approach further.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Development of a creep sample retrieval technique and friction weld site repair procedure
- Authors: Wedderburn, Ian Norman
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Friction welding
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9635 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020116
- Description: The remnant life monitoring of creep loaded high temperature and pressure components in power stations is critical to ensuring their safe and cost effective operation as failures can have severe consequences. Effective creep life condition monitoring allows for optimising component life predictions and subsequent plant maintenance decisions. In South Africa many power generation stations have been in operation well beyond their 30 year design service life, as such knowledge of the remnant creep life of high temperature and pressure components, such as steam pipelines, becomes of utmost importance. Techniques for the remnant creep life assessments of critical high temperature and pressure components must therefore be as effective as possible. The common and well accepted in-situ inspection technique for assessing creep damage in steam pipes is by the metallographic replication technique. The technique is however limited to the outer surface of the pipe, without information on damage within the wall. This research will illustrate a means of obtaining a sample for creep life analysis with depth through the wall of a pipe, as wells as an alternative technique for the repair of the sample retrieval site. A sample retrieval technique was developed that would retrieve a small diameter cylindrical sample from a cored blind hole for creep analysis by visual creep void assessment or by the small punch creep test. The small punch creep test requires only a small diameter thin disc of material for testing for which its results are comparable with conventional uniaxial creep testing which requires a much larger sample of material. The smaller sample requirement of the small punch creep test therefore allows for a vastly reduced invasive sample retrieval operation and consequently smaller repair size area. Also the fact that the sample is retrieved from a blind hole is advantageous since the pipe wall is not penetrated which would require full plant shutdown. A friction welding technique was identified as an alternative to traditional arc fusion welding for the repair of the sample retrieval site, this technique being the Friction Hydro Pillar Processing technique. Friction Hydro Pillar Processing is a solid-state welding technique and as such has a number of inherent benefits over arc fusion welding as the weld is performed below the melting temperature of the material. From a process point of view Friction Hydro Pillar Processing is ideally suited for automation, has virtually no fumes generated, minimal distortion is experienced and no spatter has to be removed afterwards. The technique has yet to see industrial application and as such development of suitable process parameters was undertaken. Finally, to apply the sample retrieval and repair operations in-situ to a steam pipe in a power plant suitable equipment was developed. Existing friction welding equipment is generally bulky workshop based equipment and is unsuitable for on-site work due to its size and weight. Therefore development of dedicated equipment was required to enable Friction Hydro Pillar Processing to be applied to steam pipes within a power plant environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Wedderburn, Ian Norman
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Friction welding
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9635 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020116
- Description: The remnant life monitoring of creep loaded high temperature and pressure components in power stations is critical to ensuring their safe and cost effective operation as failures can have severe consequences. Effective creep life condition monitoring allows for optimising component life predictions and subsequent plant maintenance decisions. In South Africa many power generation stations have been in operation well beyond their 30 year design service life, as such knowledge of the remnant creep life of high temperature and pressure components, such as steam pipelines, becomes of utmost importance. Techniques for the remnant creep life assessments of critical high temperature and pressure components must therefore be as effective as possible. The common and well accepted in-situ inspection technique for assessing creep damage in steam pipes is by the metallographic replication technique. The technique is however limited to the outer surface of the pipe, without information on damage within the wall. This research will illustrate a means of obtaining a sample for creep life analysis with depth through the wall of a pipe, as wells as an alternative technique for the repair of the sample retrieval site. A sample retrieval technique was developed that would retrieve a small diameter cylindrical sample from a cored blind hole for creep analysis by visual creep void assessment or by the small punch creep test. The small punch creep test requires only a small diameter thin disc of material for testing for which its results are comparable with conventional uniaxial creep testing which requires a much larger sample of material. The smaller sample requirement of the small punch creep test therefore allows for a vastly reduced invasive sample retrieval operation and consequently smaller repair size area. Also the fact that the sample is retrieved from a blind hole is advantageous since the pipe wall is not penetrated which would require full plant shutdown. A friction welding technique was identified as an alternative to traditional arc fusion welding for the repair of the sample retrieval site, this technique being the Friction Hydro Pillar Processing technique. Friction Hydro Pillar Processing is a solid-state welding technique and as such has a number of inherent benefits over arc fusion welding as the weld is performed below the melting temperature of the material. From a process point of view Friction Hydro Pillar Processing is ideally suited for automation, has virtually no fumes generated, minimal distortion is experienced and no spatter has to be removed afterwards. The technique has yet to see industrial application and as such development of suitable process parameters was undertaken. Finally, to apply the sample retrieval and repair operations in-situ to a steam pipe in a power plant suitable equipment was developed. Existing friction welding equipment is generally bulky workshop based equipment and is unsuitable for on-site work due to its size and weight. Therefore development of dedicated equipment was required to enable Friction Hydro Pillar Processing to be applied to steam pipes within a power plant environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
'n Ondersoek na aspekte van die verhouding tussen betrokkenheid en universaliteit in die literatuur
- Authors: Weideman, George, 1947-2008
- Date: 1982
- Subjects: Politics and literature Comparative literature
- Language: Afrikaans
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3604 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003723
- Description: Voorwoord: In die loop van hierdie studie word dit op enkele plekke duidelik gestel dat die littérature engagée nie beperk is tot die engere "politiek" nie, en dat 'n teks met 'n religieuse tema of 'n teks waarin maatskaplike wantoestande aan die lig gebring word, ook engagé kan wees. Die politiek laat hom egter as magsfaktor oor so 'n wye gebied geld dat nuanserings nie altyd moontlik is nie; 'n teks met 'n oorwegend "religieuse tema" kan politieke implikasies hê. Dit bring verder mee dat selfs 'n teks of 'n bundel waarin géén politieke verwysing voorkom nie, na 'n polities-gemotiveerde keuse teruggevoer word. Die kern van die saak is dat 'n teks tot hierdie subgenre gereken kan word slegs wanneer dit minder of meer uitdruklik kontesteer, of die klimaat skep vir kontestering, wat meebring dat 'n imperatief tot verandering in die teks aanwesig moet wees. Hierdie appél tot verandering rig hom in die beduidendste werke van die genre verbý die partypolitiek, rig hom tot die mens wat (met of sonder sy keuse) onderhewig is aan politieke gebeure. Kontestering (verset) impl iseer ook meebelewing, solidariteit en vereenselwiging. Dit is die oogmerk van hierdie studie om na te gaan hoe aspekte van hierdie vereenselwiging die engagement en die universele waarheid as temamoment en selfs as struktuurfaktor in homself kan verenig. Vanweë die omvang van die teoretiese inset van die studie word tekste in hoofsaak eksemplaries gebruik - déégliker struktulrele analises waarin die estetiese steeds sáám met die die maatskaplik-etiese dimensie ondersoek word, verg 'n afsonderlike studie.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1982
- Authors: Weideman, George, 1947-2008
- Date: 1982
- Subjects: Politics and literature Comparative literature
- Language: Afrikaans
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3604 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003723
- Description: Voorwoord: In die loop van hierdie studie word dit op enkele plekke duidelik gestel dat die littérature engagée nie beperk is tot die engere "politiek" nie, en dat 'n teks met 'n religieuse tema of 'n teks waarin maatskaplike wantoestande aan die lig gebring word, ook engagé kan wees. Die politiek laat hom egter as magsfaktor oor so 'n wye gebied geld dat nuanserings nie altyd moontlik is nie; 'n teks met 'n oorwegend "religieuse tema" kan politieke implikasies hê. Dit bring verder mee dat selfs 'n teks of 'n bundel waarin géén politieke verwysing voorkom nie, na 'n polities-gemotiveerde keuse teruggevoer word. Die kern van die saak is dat 'n teks tot hierdie subgenre gereken kan word slegs wanneer dit minder of meer uitdruklik kontesteer, of die klimaat skep vir kontestering, wat meebring dat 'n imperatief tot verandering in die teks aanwesig moet wees. Hierdie appél tot verandering rig hom in die beduidendste werke van die genre verbý die partypolitiek, rig hom tot die mens wat (met of sonder sy keuse) onderhewig is aan politieke gebeure. Kontestering (verset) impl iseer ook meebelewing, solidariteit en vereenselwiging. Dit is die oogmerk van hierdie studie om na te gaan hoe aspekte van hierdie vereenselwiging die engagement en die universele waarheid as temamoment en selfs as struktuurfaktor in homself kan verenig. Vanweë die omvang van die teoretiese inset van die studie word tekste in hoofsaak eksemplaries gebruik - déégliker struktulrele analises waarin die estetiese steeds sáám met die die maatskaplik-etiese dimensie ondersoek word, verg 'n afsonderlike studie.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1982
The impact of domain knowledge-driven variable derivation on classifier performance for corporate data mining
- Authors: Welcker, Laura Joana Maria
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Data mining , Business -- Data processing , Database management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5009 , vital:20778
- Description: The technological progress in terms of increasing computational power and growing virtual space to collect data offers great potential for businesses to benefit from data mining applications. Data mining can create a competitive advantage for corporations by discovering business relevant information, such as patterns, relationships, and rules. The role of the human user within the data mining process is crucial, which is why the research area of domain knowledge becomes increasingly important. This thesis investigates the impact of domain knowledge-driven variable derivation on classifier performance for corporate data mining. Domain knowledge is defined as methodological, data and business know-how. The thesis investigates the topic from a new perspective by shifting the focus from a one-sided approach, namely a purely analytic or purely theoretical approach towards a target group-oriented (researcher and practitioner) approach which puts the methodological aspect by means of a scientific guideline in the centre of the research. In order to ensure feasibility and practical relevance of the guideline, it is adapted and applied to the requirements of a practical business case. Thus, the thesis examines the topic from both perspectives, a theoretical and practical perspective. Therewith, it overcomes the limitation of a one-sided approach which mostly lacks practical relevance or generalisability of the results. The primary objective of this thesis is to provide a scientific guideline which should enable both practitioners and researchers to move forward the domain knowledge-driven research for variable derivation on a corporate basis. In the theoretical part, a broad overview of the main aspects which are necessary to undertake the research are given, such as the concept of domain knowledge, the data mining task of classification, variable derivation as a subtask of data preparation, and evaluation techniques. This part of the thesis refers to the methodological aspect of domain knowledge. In the practical part, a research design is developed for testing six hypotheses related to domain knowledge-driven variable derivation. The major contribution of the empirical study is concerned with testing the impact of domain knowledge on a real business data set compared to the impact of a standard and randomly derived data set. The business application of the research is a binary classification problem in the domain of an insurance business, which deals with the prediction of damages in legal expenses insurances. Domain knowledge is expressed through deriving the corporate variables by means of the business and data-driven constructive induction strategy. Six variable derivation steps are investigated: normalisation, instance relation, discretisation, categorical encoding, ratio, and multivariate mathematical function. The impact of the domain knowledge is examined by pairwise (with and without derived variables) performance comparisons for five classification techniques (decision trees, naive Bayes, logistic regression, artificial neural networks, k-nearest neighbours). The impact is measured by two classifier performance criteria: sensitivity and area under the ROC-curve (AUC). The McNemar significance test is used to verify the results. Based on the results, two hypotheses are clearly verified and accepted, three hypotheses are partly verified, and one hypothesis had to be rejected on the basis of the case study results. The thesis reveals a significant positive impact of domain knowledge-driven variable derivation on classifier performance for options of all six tested steps. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the classification technique influences the impact of the variable derivation steps, and the bundling of steps has a significant higher performance impact if the variables are derived by using domain knowledge (compared to a non-knowledge application). Finally, the research turns out that an empirical examination of the domain knowledge impact is very complex due to a high level of interaction between the selected research parameters (variable derivation step, classification technique, and performance criteria).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Welcker, Laura Joana Maria
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Data mining , Business -- Data processing , Database management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5009 , vital:20778
- Description: The technological progress in terms of increasing computational power and growing virtual space to collect data offers great potential for businesses to benefit from data mining applications. Data mining can create a competitive advantage for corporations by discovering business relevant information, such as patterns, relationships, and rules. The role of the human user within the data mining process is crucial, which is why the research area of domain knowledge becomes increasingly important. This thesis investigates the impact of domain knowledge-driven variable derivation on classifier performance for corporate data mining. Domain knowledge is defined as methodological, data and business know-how. The thesis investigates the topic from a new perspective by shifting the focus from a one-sided approach, namely a purely analytic or purely theoretical approach towards a target group-oriented (researcher and practitioner) approach which puts the methodological aspect by means of a scientific guideline in the centre of the research. In order to ensure feasibility and practical relevance of the guideline, it is adapted and applied to the requirements of a practical business case. Thus, the thesis examines the topic from both perspectives, a theoretical and practical perspective. Therewith, it overcomes the limitation of a one-sided approach which mostly lacks practical relevance or generalisability of the results. The primary objective of this thesis is to provide a scientific guideline which should enable both practitioners and researchers to move forward the domain knowledge-driven research for variable derivation on a corporate basis. In the theoretical part, a broad overview of the main aspects which are necessary to undertake the research are given, such as the concept of domain knowledge, the data mining task of classification, variable derivation as a subtask of data preparation, and evaluation techniques. This part of the thesis refers to the methodological aspect of domain knowledge. In the practical part, a research design is developed for testing six hypotheses related to domain knowledge-driven variable derivation. The major contribution of the empirical study is concerned with testing the impact of domain knowledge on a real business data set compared to the impact of a standard and randomly derived data set. The business application of the research is a binary classification problem in the domain of an insurance business, which deals with the prediction of damages in legal expenses insurances. Domain knowledge is expressed through deriving the corporate variables by means of the business and data-driven constructive induction strategy. Six variable derivation steps are investigated: normalisation, instance relation, discretisation, categorical encoding, ratio, and multivariate mathematical function. The impact of the domain knowledge is examined by pairwise (with and without derived variables) performance comparisons for five classification techniques (decision trees, naive Bayes, logistic regression, artificial neural networks, k-nearest neighbours). The impact is measured by two classifier performance criteria: sensitivity and area under the ROC-curve (AUC). The McNemar significance test is used to verify the results. Based on the results, two hypotheses are clearly verified and accepted, three hypotheses are partly verified, and one hypothesis had to be rejected on the basis of the case study results. The thesis reveals a significant positive impact of domain knowledge-driven variable derivation on classifier performance for options of all six tested steps. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the classification technique influences the impact of the variable derivation steps, and the bundling of steps has a significant higher performance impact if the variables are derived by using domain knowledge (compared to a non-knowledge application). Finally, the research turns out that an empirical examination of the domain knowledge impact is very complex due to a high level of interaction between the selected research parameters (variable derivation step, classification technique, and performance criteria).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Identifying a Successful Accounting Student: Profiling of Postgraduate Accounting Students in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Weldon, Lana Joy
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Personality -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/50699 , vital:42343
- Description: Throughput rates and transformation have long been considered major challenges to accounting departments in South Africa. While much research has been done on various aspects of study techniques in an attempt to assist students to succeed, little attention has been paid to profiling students to ascertain whether there are common traits in terms of personality, aptitude, values and motives, which distinguish successful students from others. This study looks at these factors and uses sub-tests of the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT), selected with reference to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Competency Framework, to determine the correlation between these aptitudes and the success of accounting students. In addition, the impact of biographical data, including gender, race and type of school attended, is considered on the success of the students and the individual sub-tests of aptitude. The study then considers the impact of various personality types, personality traits and values on the success or failure of accounting students, and finally seeks to ascertain whether there is a holistic profile of a student who has a statistically significant chance of succeeding in accounting studies. Results indicate that the sub-tests of aptitude for verbal reasoning and reading comprehension have the most significance in predicting student success and that gender and race have a medium effect. Furthermore, personality types, personality traits and values do not have a significant impact on student success. The only biographical factor to have an impact on success was race. Despite the findings in the individual factors considered, no distinct personality profile of a successful Results indicate that the sub-tests of aptitude for verbal reasoning and reading comprehension have the most significance in predicting student success and that gender and race have a medium effect. Furthermore, personality types, personality traits and values do not have a significant impact on student success. The only biographical factor to have an impact on success was race. Despite the findings in the individual factors considered, no distinct personality profile of a successful accounting student emerged. Future research on the use of literacy competency assessments in the admission requirements for chartered accounting programmes, or to inform student academic support initiatives is recommended. accounting student emerged. Future research on the use of literacy competency assessments in the admission requirements for chartered accounting programmes, or to inform student academic support initiatives is recommended.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Weldon, Lana Joy
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Personality -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/50699 , vital:42343
- Description: Throughput rates and transformation have long been considered major challenges to accounting departments in South Africa. While much research has been done on various aspects of study techniques in an attempt to assist students to succeed, little attention has been paid to profiling students to ascertain whether there are common traits in terms of personality, aptitude, values and motives, which distinguish successful students from others. This study looks at these factors and uses sub-tests of the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT), selected with reference to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Competency Framework, to determine the correlation between these aptitudes and the success of accounting students. In addition, the impact of biographical data, including gender, race and type of school attended, is considered on the success of the students and the individual sub-tests of aptitude. The study then considers the impact of various personality types, personality traits and values on the success or failure of accounting students, and finally seeks to ascertain whether there is a holistic profile of a student who has a statistically significant chance of succeeding in accounting studies. Results indicate that the sub-tests of aptitude for verbal reasoning and reading comprehension have the most significance in predicting student success and that gender and race have a medium effect. Furthermore, personality types, personality traits and values do not have a significant impact on student success. The only biographical factor to have an impact on success was race. Despite the findings in the individual factors considered, no distinct personality profile of a successful Results indicate that the sub-tests of aptitude for verbal reasoning and reading comprehension have the most significance in predicting student success and that gender and race have a medium effect. Furthermore, personality types, personality traits and values do not have a significant impact on student success. The only biographical factor to have an impact on success was race. Despite the findings in the individual factors considered, no distinct personality profile of a successful accounting student emerged. Future research on the use of literacy competency assessments in the admission requirements for chartered accounting programmes, or to inform student academic support initiatives is recommended. accounting student emerged. Future research on the use of literacy competency assessments in the admission requirements for chartered accounting programmes, or to inform student academic support initiatives is recommended.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Synthetic and analytical studies of biomimetic metal complexes
- Authors: Wellington, Kevin Wayne
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Biomimetics Metal complexes Metalloenzymes Metal ions Ligands
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4377 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005042
- Description: Several series of novel diamido, diamino and diimino ligands containing different spacers and heterocyclic donors have been synthesised. The spacers include the flexible biphenyl, the rigid 1,1 O-phenanthroline and various acyclic moieties, while the heterocyclic donors comprise pyridine, imidazole or benzimidazole groups. These ligands have been designed to complex copper and act as biomimetic models of the active site of the enzyme, tyrosinase, and their complexes with copper, cobalt, nickel and platinum have been analysed using microanalytical, IR, UV-Visible and cyclic voltammetric techniques. Attempted reduction of the biphenyl-based diimino ligands resulted in an unexpected intramolecular cyclisation affording azepine derivatives, the structures of which were elucidated with the aid of single crystal X-ray analysis of cobalt and nickel complexes. Computer modelling methods have been used to explore the conformational options of the copper complexes, and to assess the accessibility of the dinuclear copper site to substrate molecules. Computer modelling has also been used, in conjunction with the available analytical data, to visualise the possible structures of selected ligands and complexes. The copper complexes, although predominantly polymeric, were evaluated as biomimetic catalysts using 3,5-di-t-butylphenol and 3,5-di-t-butylcatechol as substrates. Some of the complexes clearly displayed biomimetic potential, exhibiting both phenolase and catecholase activity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Wellington, Kevin Wayne
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Biomimetics Metal complexes Metalloenzymes Metal ions Ligands
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4377 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005042
- Description: Several series of novel diamido, diamino and diimino ligands containing different spacers and heterocyclic donors have been synthesised. The spacers include the flexible biphenyl, the rigid 1,1 O-phenanthroline and various acyclic moieties, while the heterocyclic donors comprise pyridine, imidazole or benzimidazole groups. These ligands have been designed to complex copper and act as biomimetic models of the active site of the enzyme, tyrosinase, and their complexes with copper, cobalt, nickel and platinum have been analysed using microanalytical, IR, UV-Visible and cyclic voltammetric techniques. Attempted reduction of the biphenyl-based diimino ligands resulted in an unexpected intramolecular cyclisation affording azepine derivatives, the structures of which were elucidated with the aid of single crystal X-ray analysis of cobalt and nickel complexes. Computer modelling methods have been used to explore the conformational options of the copper complexes, and to assess the accessibility of the dinuclear copper site to substrate molecules. Computer modelling has also been used, in conjunction with the available analytical data, to visualise the possible structures of selected ligands and complexes. The copper complexes, although predominantly polymeric, were evaluated as biomimetic catalysts using 3,5-di-t-butylphenol and 3,5-di-t-butylcatechol as substrates. Some of the complexes clearly displayed biomimetic potential, exhibiting both phenolase and catecholase activity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000