The relationship between exposure to violence and moral development of adolescents
- Authors: Klopper, Ilana
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Children and violence -- South Africa , Violence in children -- Psychological aspects , Moral development -- Psychological aspects , Violence -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9862 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1526 , Children and violence -- South Africa , Violence in children -- Psychological aspects , Moral development -- Psychological aspects , Violence -- Psychological aspects
- Description: South Africa currently has one of the highest levels of crime in the world. The high prevalence of violence in South African culture has led to the increased exposure to violence of individuals of all ages. The South African Police Service annual report for 2008/2009 reported 48 732 crimes ranging from murder, attempted murder to sexual offences and common assault against children under the age of 18 years. In addition, young people between the ages from 12 to 22 are generally victimized at twice the adult rate and even higher for violent crimes. It is the belief of various theorists that exposure to violence can alter one’s cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes- the three core components that are essential to moral development. The role that exposure to violence has on the development of aggressive behavior has been thoroughly researched; however the implications that this exposure has on the moral development of adolescents remains vague. This study explored and described the relationship between exposure to violence and moral development amongst adolescent learners. A quantitative exploratory descriptive research design was employed and the participants were selected by means of non-probability, convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 53 participants at a coeducational high school in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The demographic data of the participants was gathered through the administration of a biographical questionnaire. The participants’ exposure to violence was explored by using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire- South African Adaptation (HTQ-SAA), while their moral development was assessed by means of the Moral Judgment Test (MJT). The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and both the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Chi square test was computed to draw inferences regarding the relationship between exposure to violence and moral development. The results of the study revealed that all of the participants were exposed to violence directly or indirectly on one or more occasion; however the frequency with which the participants were exposed to violence was lower than expected. The results of the MJT further indicated very low to low moral judgement competence scores for the majority of the sample. No significant correlation or association was found between the two constructs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Klopper, Ilana
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Children and violence -- South Africa , Violence in children -- Psychological aspects , Moral development -- Psychological aspects , Violence -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9862 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1526 , Children and violence -- South Africa , Violence in children -- Psychological aspects , Moral development -- Psychological aspects , Violence -- Psychological aspects
- Description: South Africa currently has one of the highest levels of crime in the world. The high prevalence of violence in South African culture has led to the increased exposure to violence of individuals of all ages. The South African Police Service annual report for 2008/2009 reported 48 732 crimes ranging from murder, attempted murder to sexual offences and common assault against children under the age of 18 years. In addition, young people between the ages from 12 to 22 are generally victimized at twice the adult rate and even higher for violent crimes. It is the belief of various theorists that exposure to violence can alter one’s cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes- the three core components that are essential to moral development. The role that exposure to violence has on the development of aggressive behavior has been thoroughly researched; however the implications that this exposure has on the moral development of adolescents remains vague. This study explored and described the relationship between exposure to violence and moral development amongst adolescent learners. A quantitative exploratory descriptive research design was employed and the participants were selected by means of non-probability, convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 53 participants at a coeducational high school in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The demographic data of the participants was gathered through the administration of a biographical questionnaire. The participants’ exposure to violence was explored by using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire- South African Adaptation (HTQ-SAA), while their moral development was assessed by means of the Moral Judgment Test (MJT). The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and both the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Chi square test was computed to draw inferences regarding the relationship between exposure to violence and moral development. The results of the study revealed that all of the participants were exposed to violence directly or indirectly on one or more occasion; however the frequency with which the participants were exposed to violence was lower than expected. The results of the MJT further indicated very low to low moral judgement competence scores for the majority of the sample. No significant correlation or association was found between the two constructs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Transformativity: recognising melancholic power, and renegotiating vulnerability
- Authors: Knowles, Corinne Ruth
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Transformational leadership -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Sex discrimination in higher education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2789 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002999
- Description: South African universities are embedded in an unequal society. Transformation strategies and interventions in the sector attempt to address this, but arguably, the policies and practices which aim to bring about transformation are merely platforms for potential change and do not guarantee the achievement of their aspirations. This study engages with the notion of transformation in one university, looking at how an organisation for women has contributed to transformation in individuals and in the institution. It explores the idea that vulnerability is the starting point of transformation, and must be recognized and incorporated into how an organisation, institution or individual regards vulnerable groups, in order to build a more equitable society. The reframing of vulnerability is a process of acknowledging the way power works, and arguably, power’s melancholic nature and expression in society and in universities has particular challenges with regard to how vulnerable groups experience their vulnerability. If the framing of an individual as vulnerable does not also provide that individual with the conditions that shelter the vulnerability they experience, leading to a renegotiation of whom they can become, their “vulnerable” status is entrenched. The study explores ways in which an organisation for women uses its legitimized platform for renegotiating subjectivities, norms and performances, and the potential this has for transformativity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Knowles, Corinne Ruth
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Transformational leadership -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Sex discrimination in higher education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2789 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002999
- Description: South African universities are embedded in an unequal society. Transformation strategies and interventions in the sector attempt to address this, but arguably, the policies and practices which aim to bring about transformation are merely platforms for potential change and do not guarantee the achievement of their aspirations. This study engages with the notion of transformation in one university, looking at how an organisation for women has contributed to transformation in individuals and in the institution. It explores the idea that vulnerability is the starting point of transformation, and must be recognized and incorporated into how an organisation, institution or individual regards vulnerable groups, in order to build a more equitable society. The reframing of vulnerability is a process of acknowledging the way power works, and arguably, power’s melancholic nature and expression in society and in universities has particular challenges with regard to how vulnerable groups experience their vulnerability. If the framing of an individual as vulnerable does not also provide that individual with the conditions that shelter the vulnerability they experience, leading to a renegotiation of whom they can become, their “vulnerable” status is entrenched. The study explores ways in which an organisation for women uses its legitimized platform for renegotiating subjectivities, norms and performances, and the potential this has for transformativity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Ernesto "Che" Guevara : a psychobiographical study
- Authors: Kolesky, Candice
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Guevara, Che, 1928-1967 , Psychology -- Biographical methods
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9864 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1512 , Guevara, Che, 1928-1967 , Psychology -- Biographical methods
- Description: Psychobiography is a qualitative approach to exploring and understanding the life story of an individual through the lens of psychological theory. The application of theory is typically done on the finished lives of well-known or enigmatic people. This study explores and describes the psychological development across the lifespan of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, by applying the Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler. Che Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, and major figure of the Cuban Revolution. Since his death, his image has become a symbol for revolution within popular culture. Extensive data has been examined in this work to ensure an accurate description of Guevara’s life. Alexander’s model of identifying salient themes was used to analyze the data within a conceptual framework derived from the theory. Guevara was fiercely loyal to his cause, at the expense of the lives of many Cuban citizens as well as his own family, whom he spent little time with. He justified this with his firmly held belief that the end justified the means and that he was always fighting for the greater good. He quite literally dedicated his life to his cause, which is the reason that he has become a modern day symbol for revolution. It is however unfortunate that this came at such a great personal expense.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Kolesky, Candice
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Guevara, Che, 1928-1967 , Psychology -- Biographical methods
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9864 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1512 , Guevara, Che, 1928-1967 , Psychology -- Biographical methods
- Description: Psychobiography is a qualitative approach to exploring and understanding the life story of an individual through the lens of psychological theory. The application of theory is typically done on the finished lives of well-known or enigmatic people. This study explores and describes the psychological development across the lifespan of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, by applying the Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler. Che Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, and major figure of the Cuban Revolution. Since his death, his image has become a symbol for revolution within popular culture. Extensive data has been examined in this work to ensure an accurate description of Guevara’s life. Alexander’s model of identifying salient themes was used to analyze the data within a conceptual framework derived from the theory. Guevara was fiercely loyal to his cause, at the expense of the lives of many Cuban citizens as well as his own family, whom he spent little time with. He justified this with his firmly held belief that the end justified the means and that he was always fighting for the greater good. He quite literally dedicated his life to his cause, which is the reason that he has become a modern day symbol for revolution. It is however unfortunate that this came at such a great personal expense.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
An investigation into the journalistic identities of news workers at the state owned Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today Newspaper
- Authors: Kotele, Mothepane
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today Mass media -- Economic aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Social aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Employees Journalists -- Lesotho Sotho newspapers Journalistic ethics -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3449 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002903
- Description: Informed by the political economy framework and the public service role of media in democracy, the main objective of the study was to use in-depth semi-structured interviews to understand news-workers’ professional journalistic identities in relation to their status as government employees and the understanding of their public service role as outlined in the paper’s mission statement. The main interest was to understand the complexity of negotiating these role identities. Through reference to the theories of journalism professionalism, the study highlighted the extent to which news-workers in the small newsroom of Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today see themselves as public service journalists in a democratic country. The interest was borne partly out of the views of the paper’s critics who see it as not serving the public but rather promoting the activities and policies of the government of the day, thus falling short of its democratic role. The contention of the study was that as a public service newspaper, the paper should have news-workers who do impartial journalism and reflect the public’s right to know in their reporting. The findings of the study suggests that news-workers at Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today continuously have to strive to negotiate the potential conflict between being a professional and working for a government-controlled newspaper. While they sometimes lay claim to being journalists, the reality is that in their political coverage they end up adopting the role of government mouthpieces.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Kotele, Mothepane
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today Mass media -- Economic aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Social aspects -- Lesotho Mass media -- Employees Journalists -- Lesotho Sotho newspapers Journalistic ethics -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3449 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002903
- Description: Informed by the political economy framework and the public service role of media in democracy, the main objective of the study was to use in-depth semi-structured interviews to understand news-workers’ professional journalistic identities in relation to their status as government employees and the understanding of their public service role as outlined in the paper’s mission statement. The main interest was to understand the complexity of negotiating these role identities. Through reference to the theories of journalism professionalism, the study highlighted the extent to which news-workers in the small newsroom of Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today see themselves as public service journalists in a democratic country. The interest was borne partly out of the views of the paper’s critics who see it as not serving the public but rather promoting the activities and policies of the government of the day, thus falling short of its democratic role. The contention of the study was that as a public service newspaper, the paper should have news-workers who do impartial journalism and reflect the public’s right to know in their reporting. The findings of the study suggests that news-workers at Lentsoe la Basotho/Lesotho Today continuously have to strive to negotiate the potential conflict between being a professional and working for a government-controlled newspaper. While they sometimes lay claim to being journalists, the reality is that in their political coverage they end up adopting the role of government mouthpieces.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
An exploration of myth in the adaptation processes of Zimbabwean migrants residing in Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Kritzinger, Barbara
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Migrant labor -- Zimbabwe , Migrant labor -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Xenophobia -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Immigrants -- Violence against -- South Africa , Migration, Internal -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:16136 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1430 , Migrant labor -- Zimbabwe , Migrant labor -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Xenophobia -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Immigrants -- Violence against -- South Africa , Migration, Internal -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Description: Migration is recognised as an escalating phenomenon of human behaviour worldwide. In the Southern African region African migrations and migrants have remained a focal point of discussion amongst politicians, citizens and migrants themselves in recent years. In South Africa, a major destination of migrants from various African Diasporas, this renewed interest in the topic has occurred in the context of xenophobic related violence aimed at foreigners within the broader economic, political and social arena. These factors extend to South Africa’s relationships with her near neighbours. Thus, Zimbabwe’s political, economic and social crisis has overflowed into South African borders, contributing large numbers of migrants to her population. Previous research has underrepresented the perspectives of migrants and Zimbabwean migrants in particular. Zimbabwean migrants seek economic opportunities to better themselves and maintain the survival of their families who remain in their country of origin. They are transnationals who engage in continuous movement between one place and the next, supporting various livelihoods. Little is understood about migrant adaptation to their complex contexts. In this research project, content analysis was conducted of data gathered during interviews and participant-observation of Zimbabwean migrant traders on the beachfront informal market in Port Elizabeth. The maintenance of the cultural values and identity of the myth of the hero as upholder of household honour was found to be significant in the adaptation of migrants to their multi-faceted lives. The findings indicate that migrant life is indeed uncertain and ever-changing. Their resilience in the face of continual change illustrated both conflict and compromise between “social cohesiveness (and) social flexibility” (Bauman, 1998: 15-16)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
An exploration of myth in the adaptation processes of Zimbabwean migrants residing in Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Kritzinger, Barbara
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Migrant labor -- Zimbabwe , Migrant labor -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Xenophobia -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Immigrants -- Violence against -- South Africa , Migration, Internal -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:16136 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1430 , Migrant labor -- Zimbabwe , Migrant labor -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Xenophobia -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Immigrants -- Violence against -- South Africa , Migration, Internal -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Description: Migration is recognised as an escalating phenomenon of human behaviour worldwide. In the Southern African region African migrations and migrants have remained a focal point of discussion amongst politicians, citizens and migrants themselves in recent years. In South Africa, a major destination of migrants from various African Diasporas, this renewed interest in the topic has occurred in the context of xenophobic related violence aimed at foreigners within the broader economic, political and social arena. These factors extend to South Africa’s relationships with her near neighbours. Thus, Zimbabwe’s political, economic and social crisis has overflowed into South African borders, contributing large numbers of migrants to her population. Previous research has underrepresented the perspectives of migrants and Zimbabwean migrants in particular. Zimbabwean migrants seek economic opportunities to better themselves and maintain the survival of their families who remain in their country of origin. They are transnationals who engage in continuous movement between one place and the next, supporting various livelihoods. Little is understood about migrant adaptation to their complex contexts. In this research project, content analysis was conducted of data gathered during interviews and participant-observation of Zimbabwean migrant traders on the beachfront informal market in Port Elizabeth. The maintenance of the cultural values and identity of the myth of the hero as upholder of household honour was found to be significant in the adaptation of migrants to their multi-faceted lives. The findings indicate that migrant life is indeed uncertain and ever-changing. Their resilience in the face of continual change illustrated both conflict and compromise between “social cohesiveness (and) social flexibility” (Bauman, 1998: 15-16)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Participatory human development in post-apartheid South Africa: a discussion of the 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project
- Authors: Kulundu, Injairu M
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Spirals Trust (South Africa) Community development -- South Africa -- Citizen participation Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Citizen participation Youth in development -- South Africa Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa Post-apartheid era -- South Africa South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2791 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003001
- Description: This thesis relates the work of a non-governmental organisation, The Spirals Trust, to discussions on human and participatory development. The focus of the study is one of The Spirals Trust’s projects, the 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project, which is discussed in relation to theoretical material on human development and participatory development. Collectively these perspectives are defined in this thesis as ‘participatory human development’. The 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project illustrates some of the challenges that face the practice of participatory human development. Workshops and focus group interviews were conducted with participants who were part of the 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project in order to draw out their experiences of the project. Questions were created from themes that emerged from the participants’ discussion of their experiences and these questions were then posed to members of staff of The Spirals Trust. The experiences of both the participants and the staff members are discussed in order to explore issues that emerge in the practice of participatory human development in the 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project. The results highlight the challenges of putting into action the tenets of participatory human development. Feedback showed that a focus on personal development can help cultivate the ethic of participation. The effort that this entailed on the part of facilitators is discussed. The importance of exposing and continually working with power dynamics that may emerge in projects of this nature is revealed and the eroding influence of bureaucratic compliance in projects like this one is explored. The study also suggests that there is a need to promote development initiatives that challenge the political status quo rather than just finding ways to incorporate the marginalised more effectively into current systems. New questions that the research poses to the practice of participatory human development are considered in conjunction with suggestions for further research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Kulundu, Injairu M
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Spirals Trust (South Africa) Community development -- South Africa -- Citizen participation Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Citizen participation Youth in development -- South Africa Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa Post-apartheid era -- South Africa South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2791 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003001
- Description: This thesis relates the work of a non-governmental organisation, The Spirals Trust, to discussions on human and participatory development. The focus of the study is one of The Spirals Trust’s projects, the 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project, which is discussed in relation to theoretical material on human development and participatory development. Collectively these perspectives are defined in this thesis as ‘participatory human development’. The 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project illustrates some of the challenges that face the practice of participatory human development. Workshops and focus group interviews were conducted with participants who were part of the 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project in order to draw out their experiences of the project. Questions were created from themes that emerged from the participants’ discussion of their experiences and these questions were then posed to members of staff of The Spirals Trust. The experiences of both the participants and the staff members are discussed in order to explore issues that emerge in the practice of participatory human development in the 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project. The results highlight the challenges of putting into action the tenets of participatory human development. Feedback showed that a focus on personal development can help cultivate the ethic of participation. The effort that this entailed on the part of facilitators is discussed. The importance of exposing and continually working with power dynamics that may emerge in projects of this nature is revealed and the eroding influence of bureaucratic compliance in projects like this one is explored. The study also suggests that there is a need to promote development initiatives that challenge the political status quo rather than just finding ways to incorporate the marginalised more effectively into current systems. New questions that the research poses to the practice of participatory human development are considered in conjunction with suggestions for further research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Therapist metamorphosis : beginner and experienced psychotherapists' journeys of professional therapeutic development
- Authors: Laidlaw, Christine
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Clinical psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa , Interns (Clinical psychology) -- Training of -- South Africa , Psychotherapy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9866 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1007912 , Clinical psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa , Interns (Clinical psychology) -- Training of -- South Africa , Psychotherapy -- South Africa
- Description: This research aimed to trace the development of psychologists as therapists within a South African context. Two distinct career levels were explored in relation to a competency model, a skills development model, and a developmental phase model of psychotherapists' professional development. Through purposive sampling five intern psychologists and six registered psychologists with at least seven years post-qualification client contact were selected according to the inclusion criteria of the study. Through semi-structured interviews, couched in the social constructionist position, the participants' experiences were thematically analysed. In addition, the researcher's own personal journey of developing as a psychotherapist was reflected upon. The current research study found that a number of aspects fostered the development of psychotherapists. Across the two career levels the life experiences of participants particularly featured events that were personally wounding or placed the participant in the helper role. The theoretical orientation(s) of participants were voiced as influential in their development, yet the ability to adjust their theoretical orientation to clients' needs was of overriding importance. Participants emphasised forming a strong therapeutic relationship with clients as the centrepiece of psychotherapy and depicted the therapeutic process using diverse metaphors. No key differences in use of metaphors emerged between intern and established psychologists. Catalysts for professional growth included personal therapy, "unforgettable cases", group supervision and, in the case of established psychologists, continuing professional development workshops. xiii Shifts in competency were recognised by intern psychologists as they gained more experience, namely, dissolution of naivety, a decrease in anxiety regarding their clinical work, a greater flexibility in the therapeutic process, a decreased sense of inappropriate responsibility for clients' progress, and an ongoing process of negotiating the interface of their personal and professional lives. Established psychologists spoke of having gained more confidence through their years of practice and yet experienced moments of anxiety which they found fostered humility. Limitations of the study and potential future research directions were outlined.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Laidlaw, Christine
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Clinical psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa , Interns (Clinical psychology) -- Training of -- South Africa , Psychotherapy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9866 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1007912 , Clinical psychologists -- Training of -- South Africa , Interns (Clinical psychology) -- Training of -- South Africa , Psychotherapy -- South Africa
- Description: This research aimed to trace the development of psychologists as therapists within a South African context. Two distinct career levels were explored in relation to a competency model, a skills development model, and a developmental phase model of psychotherapists' professional development. Through purposive sampling five intern psychologists and six registered psychologists with at least seven years post-qualification client contact were selected according to the inclusion criteria of the study. Through semi-structured interviews, couched in the social constructionist position, the participants' experiences were thematically analysed. In addition, the researcher's own personal journey of developing as a psychotherapist was reflected upon. The current research study found that a number of aspects fostered the development of psychotherapists. Across the two career levels the life experiences of participants particularly featured events that were personally wounding or placed the participant in the helper role. The theoretical orientation(s) of participants were voiced as influential in their development, yet the ability to adjust their theoretical orientation to clients' needs was of overriding importance. Participants emphasised forming a strong therapeutic relationship with clients as the centrepiece of psychotherapy and depicted the therapeutic process using diverse metaphors. No key differences in use of metaphors emerged between intern and established psychologists. Catalysts for professional growth included personal therapy, "unforgettable cases", group supervision and, in the case of established psychologists, continuing professional development workshops. xiii Shifts in competency were recognised by intern psychologists as they gained more experience, namely, dissolution of naivety, a decrease in anxiety regarding their clinical work, a greater flexibility in the therapeutic process, a decreased sense of inappropriate responsibility for clients' progress, and an ongoing process of negotiating the interface of their personal and professional lives. Established psychologists spoke of having gained more confidence through their years of practice and yet experienced moments of anxiety which they found fostered humility. Limitations of the study and potential future research directions were outlined.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Perceived need and willingness of a sample of registered casualty unit nurses to engage in supplementary counselling skills training
- Authors: Leonard, Warren Leon
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Counseling -- Training skills , Counseling , Nursing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9888 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1176 , Counseling -- Training skills , Counseling , Nursing
- Description: In 2002 there were an estimated 1.5 million people admitted into casualty emergency units within the Republic of South Africa. Many of these admissions dealt with events that were traumatic for both families and practitioners and these traumatic events have effects on the biological, psychological and social wellbeing of these individuals. Coupled with this is an ever increasing demand for mental health services and a worldwide shortage of qualified individuals to provide these services. Registered nurses in casualty units deal with the majority of these issues and the effect of these traumatic events. The crisis intervention model may provide these registered nurses with the necessary skills to deal with these problems not only for patients but possibly for themselves. Furthermore the biopsychosocial model of health allows these registered nurses to assess the impact of these events on the individuals. Yet, some registered nurses feel that they lack the necessary skills to deal with and assess these problems and intervene in these crisis situations. This study was exploratory descriptive in nature and aimed to examine whether there was a perceived need for registered casualty unit nurses to engage in supplementary counselling skills training. These perceptions were obtained through purposively sampled interviews and analysed qualitatively, using Tesch’s model of content analysis. Findings indicated that the registered nurses do perceive a need for supplementary counselling training, both for use with the patients and for themselves, and are willing to engage in this training although there are problems that inhibit this willingness. Recommendations regarding the implementation of a supplementary counselling skills training course as well as future research in the field were made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Leonard, Warren Leon
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Counseling -- Training skills , Counseling , Nursing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9888 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1176 , Counseling -- Training skills , Counseling , Nursing
- Description: In 2002 there were an estimated 1.5 million people admitted into casualty emergency units within the Republic of South Africa. Many of these admissions dealt with events that were traumatic for both families and practitioners and these traumatic events have effects on the biological, psychological and social wellbeing of these individuals. Coupled with this is an ever increasing demand for mental health services and a worldwide shortage of qualified individuals to provide these services. Registered nurses in casualty units deal with the majority of these issues and the effect of these traumatic events. The crisis intervention model may provide these registered nurses with the necessary skills to deal with these problems not only for patients but possibly for themselves. Furthermore the biopsychosocial model of health allows these registered nurses to assess the impact of these events on the individuals. Yet, some registered nurses feel that they lack the necessary skills to deal with and assess these problems and intervene in these crisis situations. This study was exploratory descriptive in nature and aimed to examine whether there was a perceived need for registered casualty unit nurses to engage in supplementary counselling skills training. These perceptions were obtained through purposively sampled interviews and analysed qualitatively, using Tesch’s model of content analysis. Findings indicated that the registered nurses do perceive a need for supplementary counselling training, both for use with the patients and for themselves, and are willing to engage in this training although there are problems that inhibit this willingness. Recommendations regarding the implementation of a supplementary counselling skills training course as well as future research in the field were made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Mental health care practitioners' perceptions of mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context
- Authors: Lombo, Nocawa Philomina
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mental illness -- South Africa , Mental health personnel , Psychiatric nursing , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9997 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1179 , Mental illness -- South Africa , Mental health personnel , Psychiatric nursing , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Description: This study sought to explore the perceptions of mental health care practitioners’ perceptions on mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context. A qualitative exploratory descriptive and contextual design was used for the study. A non-probability purposive sampling method was used to select eight participants from Komani Hospital in Queenstown. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The services of an Independent Interviewer were used to avoid any bias as interviews took place where the researcher is employed. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data collected was analyzed according to Tesch’s eight steps of data analysis as described in Cresswell (1994:155). The researcher utilized services of an Independent Coder who verified the identified major themes. Four major themes emerged from the analysis of the interview: Mental health care practitioner’s perceptions of mental illness, perception of the causes of mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context, mental health care practitioners’ views in the management and treatment of mental illness and suggestions put forward to improve the services to mental health care users. The major findings of this study were the lack of knowledge of culture of mental health care users. It is recommended that it would be proper if there could be co-operation between mental health care practitioners and traditional healers by working together as a team.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Mental health care practitioners' perceptions of mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context
- Authors: Lombo, Nocawa Philomina
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mental illness -- South Africa , Mental health personnel , Psychiatric nursing , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9997 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1179 , Mental illness -- South Africa , Mental health personnel , Psychiatric nursing , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Description: This study sought to explore the perceptions of mental health care practitioners’ perceptions on mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context. A qualitative exploratory descriptive and contextual design was used for the study. A non-probability purposive sampling method was used to select eight participants from Komani Hospital in Queenstown. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The services of an Independent Interviewer were used to avoid any bias as interviews took place where the researcher is employed. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data collected was analyzed according to Tesch’s eight steps of data analysis as described in Cresswell (1994:155). The researcher utilized services of an Independent Coder who verified the identified major themes. Four major themes emerged from the analysis of the interview: Mental health care practitioner’s perceptions of mental illness, perception of the causes of mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context, mental health care practitioners’ views in the management and treatment of mental illness and suggestions put forward to improve the services to mental health care users. The major findings of this study were the lack of knowledge of culture of mental health care users. It is recommended that it would be proper if there could be co-operation between mental health care practitioners and traditional healers by working together as a team.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
A narrative analysis of young black South African women's stories about the recent divorce of their parents
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Divorce -- South Africa Divorce -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa Children of divorced parents -- South Africa Families -- South Africa Divorce therapy -- South Africa Adolescent psychotherapy -- South Africa Youth, Black -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychology -- Biographical methods -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002520
- Description: The global rise in divorce since the 1960s has brought into question the idealised view of the nuclear family which has for centuries been awarded special status in western societies and has been regarded as the primary social institution. According to contemporary research parental divorce has become a reality for every one in six children in South Africa. Until recently, little consideration had been given to how divorce affects black South African families, as it was considered to be an occurrence which only took place in white, mainly middle-class, families. The proportion of black South African couples divorcing has been increasing over the past decade, and in 2008 was said to contribute to 35% of all divorce in South Africa. Most research to date on the children of divorce has focused on young white children and adolescents and is largely concerned with those who have found parental divorce particularly difficult, and are manifesting adjustment and other behavioural problems. The research which has been done on the effects of parental divorce on young adults focuses mainly on clinical studies with middle-class families based either in the United States or in the United Kingdom. This research, using an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach, explores the stories which young black South African adult women between the ages of 18 and 25 tell, to give account to the ways in which recent parental divorce has affected their lives, views on family life, and what it has meant to them. The use of an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach allows for a process of rupture, acceptance and re-storying to be accounted for, as the participant’s narrative shifts from past, to present and the future. Five young black women from a South African university each participated in two narratively sequenced semi-structured interviews based on McAdams’ personal narratives protocol, which includes six core themes, namely: Key Events, Significant People, Stresses and Problems, Personal Meanings and Life-Lessons, Future Script, and Life Theme. Crossley’s narrative analysis was then used to identify emergent themes and images in each individual narrative, after which they were woven together into a coherent story linked to previous literature. This study found that divorce involves a highly complex transition and reconfiguration process perhaps not fully accounted for in the existing idea and images associated with it. Despite being young adult women who had moved away from home and were engaged in their own lives, it became apparent that parental divorce was still a difficult and complicated experience, but that it is possible to tell both pessimistic and optimistic stories of parental divorce and its consequences.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Divorce -- South Africa Divorce -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa Children of divorced parents -- South Africa Families -- South Africa Divorce therapy -- South Africa Adolescent psychotherapy -- South Africa Youth, Black -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychology -- Biographical methods -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002520
- Description: The global rise in divorce since the 1960s has brought into question the idealised view of the nuclear family which has for centuries been awarded special status in western societies and has been regarded as the primary social institution. According to contemporary research parental divorce has become a reality for every one in six children in South Africa. Until recently, little consideration had been given to how divorce affects black South African families, as it was considered to be an occurrence which only took place in white, mainly middle-class, families. The proportion of black South African couples divorcing has been increasing over the past decade, and in 2008 was said to contribute to 35% of all divorce in South Africa. Most research to date on the children of divorce has focused on young white children and adolescents and is largely concerned with those who have found parental divorce particularly difficult, and are manifesting adjustment and other behavioural problems. The research which has been done on the effects of parental divorce on young adults focuses mainly on clinical studies with middle-class families based either in the United States or in the United Kingdom. This research, using an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach, explores the stories which young black South African adult women between the ages of 18 and 25 tell, to give account to the ways in which recent parental divorce has affected their lives, views on family life, and what it has meant to them. The use of an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach allows for a process of rupture, acceptance and re-storying to be accounted for, as the participant’s narrative shifts from past, to present and the future. Five young black women from a South African university each participated in two narratively sequenced semi-structured interviews based on McAdams’ personal narratives protocol, which includes six core themes, namely: Key Events, Significant People, Stresses and Problems, Personal Meanings and Life-Lessons, Future Script, and Life Theme. Crossley’s narrative analysis was then used to identify emergent themes and images in each individual narrative, after which they were woven together into a coherent story linked to previous literature. This study found that divorce involves a highly complex transition and reconfiguration process perhaps not fully accounted for in the existing idea and images associated with it. Despite being young adult women who had moved away from home and were engaged in their own lives, it became apparent that parental divorce was still a difficult and complicated experience, but that it is possible to tell both pessimistic and optimistic stories of parental divorce and its consequences.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Becoming a business journalist in Malawi: a case study of The Daily Times and The Nation newspapers
- Authors: Manjawira, Ellard Spencer
- Date: 2010 , 2013-07-17
- Subjects: Journalists -- Malawi Journalism -- Study and teaching -- Malawi Journalists -- Training of -- Malawi Journalists -- Education -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007440
- Description: In the past few decades, the proportion of business news compared to general news has increased tremendously across all media platforms in Africa. While the critical role played by business journalism is recognised, little is known about the people who write and report such news. Most studies on business reporting have tended to focus on analysing the content of business news, rather than the specific processes through which business journalists are socialized and trained. The findings of this study are drawn mainly from in-depth interviews with business reporters and editors at two leading newspapers in Malawi, The Daily Times and The Nation. Three major findings emerge trom the study data. First, business journalists vary in their educational and professional backgrounds, as well as the reasons for working on this beat. Second, the majority of them have no prerequisite formal education and training in business journalism and, therefore, have little knowledge and skills about what constitute good business journalism. Third, professionalism in the sub-field is constrained by a host of factors, influence of advertisers being the critical one. The study recommends that business reporting become an integral component of journalism education and training programmes to adequately prepare future generations of business journalists. In addition there is need for media houses to devise strategies to counter obstacles that business journalists face for them to effectively contribute to political economy debate. , KMBT_363
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Manjawira, Ellard Spencer
- Date: 2010 , 2013-07-17
- Subjects: Journalists -- Malawi Journalism -- Study and teaching -- Malawi Journalists -- Training of -- Malawi Journalists -- Education -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007440
- Description: In the past few decades, the proportion of business news compared to general news has increased tremendously across all media platforms in Africa. While the critical role played by business journalism is recognised, little is known about the people who write and report such news. Most studies on business reporting have tended to focus on analysing the content of business news, rather than the specific processes through which business journalists are socialized and trained. The findings of this study are drawn mainly from in-depth interviews with business reporters and editors at two leading newspapers in Malawi, The Daily Times and The Nation. Three major findings emerge trom the study data. First, business journalists vary in their educational and professional backgrounds, as well as the reasons for working on this beat. Second, the majority of them have no prerequisite formal education and training in business journalism and, therefore, have little knowledge and skills about what constitute good business journalism. Third, professionalism in the sub-field is constrained by a host of factors, influence of advertisers being the critical one. The study recommends that business reporting become an integral component of journalism education and training programmes to adequately prepare future generations of business journalists. In addition there is need for media houses to devise strategies to counter obstacles that business journalists face for them to effectively contribute to political economy debate. , KMBT_363
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Business journalism ethics in Africa: a comparative study of newsrooms in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mare, Admire
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Journalism, Commercial Journalistic ethics Journalism, Commercial -- South Africa Journalism, Commercial -- Kenya Journalism, Commercial -- Zimbabwe Business Day (South Africa) Business Daily (Kenya) Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3458 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002912
- Description: This study provides an insight into the state of business journalism ethics in Africa, firstly through an examination of newsroom ethical policies and secondly through an exploration of the way in which African business journalists negotiate ethical decision-making in their day-to-day news processing practices. Thirdly, it examines how the three African media organisations have responded in their newsroom policies and practices to the debates on the Africanisation of journalism ethics. In order to collect data, the researcher employed document analysis, semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Three financial newspapers namely: Business Day in South Africa, Business Daily in Kenya and Financial Gazette in Zimbabwe were purposively chosen. In these African countries, business journalism has been steadily growing since the late 1960s, fuelled by the presence of robust stock exchanges, making the issue of business journalism ethics of central importance. Grounded in the sociology of news production paradigm, Bourdieu’s journalistic field theory and debates on Africanisation of journalism ethics, this study identifies three major issues. First, the research found that while all three newspapers had clear ethical guidelines in place, and editors and journalists recognised the importance of ethical behaviour, ethical practice did not always follow. A disconnect exists between words (codes of ethics) and actions (practice) especially in Kenya and Zimbabwe, where business journalists are more susceptible to economic and political pressures. The argument is ethical considerations notwithstanding, people need to survive. This is largely due to the precarious economic basis of news organisations, lack of effective monitoring, and a pervasive culture of unethical behaviour at some sites. Second, the study also shows that institutional factors such as advertising, powerful news sources and interference from senior management make ethical business journalism difficult to practice. Third, Africanisation remains an academic issue with little movement towards that direction in most newsrooms studied. The findings of this study demonstrate that business editors in African newsrooms are confused on what ‘Africanisation’ entails especially given their shared view that journalism practices are universal. It recommends that business journalism codes of ethics informed by African values are long overdue. In terms of enforcement and monitoring of codes, it is important to use compliance officers or ombudsperson and periodically run in-house refresher courses on ethics and professionalism. It is imperative that the financial press improve the working conditions of its employees in order to lessen incidences of corruption which are threatening the credibility of media content and media organisation themselves.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mare, Admire
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Journalism, Commercial Journalistic ethics Journalism, Commercial -- South Africa Journalism, Commercial -- Kenya Journalism, Commercial -- Zimbabwe Business Day (South Africa) Business Daily (Kenya) Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3458 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002912
- Description: This study provides an insight into the state of business journalism ethics in Africa, firstly through an examination of newsroom ethical policies and secondly through an exploration of the way in which African business journalists negotiate ethical decision-making in their day-to-day news processing practices. Thirdly, it examines how the three African media organisations have responded in their newsroom policies and practices to the debates on the Africanisation of journalism ethics. In order to collect data, the researcher employed document analysis, semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Three financial newspapers namely: Business Day in South Africa, Business Daily in Kenya and Financial Gazette in Zimbabwe were purposively chosen. In these African countries, business journalism has been steadily growing since the late 1960s, fuelled by the presence of robust stock exchanges, making the issue of business journalism ethics of central importance. Grounded in the sociology of news production paradigm, Bourdieu’s journalistic field theory and debates on Africanisation of journalism ethics, this study identifies three major issues. First, the research found that while all three newspapers had clear ethical guidelines in place, and editors and journalists recognised the importance of ethical behaviour, ethical practice did not always follow. A disconnect exists between words (codes of ethics) and actions (practice) especially in Kenya and Zimbabwe, where business journalists are more susceptible to economic and political pressures. The argument is ethical considerations notwithstanding, people need to survive. This is largely due to the precarious economic basis of news organisations, lack of effective monitoring, and a pervasive culture of unethical behaviour at some sites. Second, the study also shows that institutional factors such as advertising, powerful news sources and interference from senior management make ethical business journalism difficult to practice. Third, Africanisation remains an academic issue with little movement towards that direction in most newsrooms studied. The findings of this study demonstrate that business editors in African newsrooms are confused on what ‘Africanisation’ entails especially given their shared view that journalism practices are universal. It recommends that business journalism codes of ethics informed by African values are long overdue. In terms of enforcement and monitoring of codes, it is important to use compliance officers or ombudsperson and periodically run in-house refresher courses on ethics and professionalism. It is imperative that the financial press improve the working conditions of its employees in order to lessen incidences of corruption which are threatening the credibility of media content and media organisation themselves.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
The role of APPRAISAL in the National Research Foundation (NRF) rating system evaluation and instruction in peer reviewer reports
- Authors: Marshall, Christine Louise
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Veterinary medicine -- Research -- Evaluation Discourse analysis Politeness (Linguistics) Accreditation (Education) -- South Africa Quality assurance -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2356 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002638
- Description: This thesis reports on two aspects of interpersonal meaning in peer reviewer reports for eleven researchers in the Animal and Veterinary Sciences awarded NRF ratings in A1, B1, C1 and Y1 rating categories. These aspects are the evaluation of the researcher applying for a rating, and the instruction to the NRF as to the rating the researcher ought to receive. A full APPRAISAL Analysis (Martin & White 2005) complemented by an investigation of politeness strategies (Myers 1989) is used to analyse the reports and show how the various systems of interpersonal meaning co-function and to what effect. The analysis reveals that there are clear differences between the evaluative and instructive language used in the reports. Those for the A1 rated researchers are characterised by only positive evaluations of the applicant, frequently strengthened in terms of Graduation and contracted in terms of Engagement. Overall there is less Engagement and politeness in these reports rendering them more ‘factual’ than the reports for the other rating categories. The A1 rated researcher is therefore construed as being, incontestably, a leader in his/her field of research, worthy of a top rating. The reports for the B1 and C1 rated researchers are characterised by the increasing presence of negative evaluations. In addition, there are more instances of softened/downscaled Graduation, dialogic expansion and deference politeness, showing that there is more perceived contention about the evaluations made. The reports for the Y1 rated researchers (a category for young researchers) focus on the applicant’s demonstrated potential to become a leader in the field. In addition to a high incidence of negative evaluations, downscaled Graduation, dialogic expansion and deference politeness, the Y1 reports are also characterised by a high incidence of advice and suggestions from the reviewers concerning the applicant’s work and standing. At a broader level, the analysis reveals that the language used in the reports has a profound influence on the outcome of the rating process. The reports are crucial, not only for evaluating the applicant but, also, more subtly, in directing the NRF towards a specific rating category. It offers insights into what is valued in the scientific community, what is considered quality research, and what leads to international recognition. The research also adds uniquely to current thinking about the language of science and, more particularly, highlights the nuanced understanding of evaluative and instructive language in the reports that is possible if one draws on the full APPRAISAL framework, and insights into politeness behaviour.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Marshall, Christine Louise
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Veterinary medicine -- Research -- Evaluation Discourse analysis Politeness (Linguistics) Accreditation (Education) -- South Africa Quality assurance -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2356 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002638
- Description: This thesis reports on two aspects of interpersonal meaning in peer reviewer reports for eleven researchers in the Animal and Veterinary Sciences awarded NRF ratings in A1, B1, C1 and Y1 rating categories. These aspects are the evaluation of the researcher applying for a rating, and the instruction to the NRF as to the rating the researcher ought to receive. A full APPRAISAL Analysis (Martin & White 2005) complemented by an investigation of politeness strategies (Myers 1989) is used to analyse the reports and show how the various systems of interpersonal meaning co-function and to what effect. The analysis reveals that there are clear differences between the evaluative and instructive language used in the reports. Those for the A1 rated researchers are characterised by only positive evaluations of the applicant, frequently strengthened in terms of Graduation and contracted in terms of Engagement. Overall there is less Engagement and politeness in these reports rendering them more ‘factual’ than the reports for the other rating categories. The A1 rated researcher is therefore construed as being, incontestably, a leader in his/her field of research, worthy of a top rating. The reports for the B1 and C1 rated researchers are characterised by the increasing presence of negative evaluations. In addition, there are more instances of softened/downscaled Graduation, dialogic expansion and deference politeness, showing that there is more perceived contention about the evaluations made. The reports for the Y1 rated researchers (a category for young researchers) focus on the applicant’s demonstrated potential to become a leader in the field. In addition to a high incidence of negative evaluations, downscaled Graduation, dialogic expansion and deference politeness, the Y1 reports are also characterised by a high incidence of advice and suggestions from the reviewers concerning the applicant’s work and standing. At a broader level, the analysis reveals that the language used in the reports has a profound influence on the outcome of the rating process. The reports are crucial, not only for evaluating the applicant but, also, more subtly, in directing the NRF towards a specific rating category. It offers insights into what is valued in the scientific community, what is considered quality research, and what leads to international recognition. The research also adds uniquely to current thinking about the language of science and, more particularly, highlights the nuanced understanding of evaluative and instructive language in the reports that is possible if one draws on the full APPRAISAL framework, and insights into politeness behaviour.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
A longitudinal study of the occupational aspirations and perceptions of fifteen to sixteen year-old South African adolescents
- Authors: Marshall, Joanne
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Vocational interests -- Research -- South Africa , Children -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Personality and occupation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9887 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1183 , Vocational interests -- Research -- South Africa , Children -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Personality and occupation -- South Africa
- Description: While career development is viewed as a lifelong process, there are numerous limitations regarding existing career theories and research pertaining to the adolescent population. Further, insufficient longitudinal research represents one of the major obstacles for a more holistic understanding of career development across the lifespan. Thus, the present longitudinal project of which the current study forms a part was initiated to address the lack of research and theory concerning adolescent career development. The larger longitudinal project intended to make information available regarding the occupational aspirations and perceptions of a sample of South African children and adolescents, from early childhood into their adolescent years. The current study investigates the occupational aspiration development of 15 to 16 year old South African adolescents. It is argued that the South African knowledge base on career development behaviour still requires extensive development, especially with regards to adolescent career development. The current longitudinal study aimed to explore and describe possible developments and changes over a two year period in the interest typology, occupational status level and occupational gender stereotypes of the 43 adolescents. Additionally, the study aimed to explore and describe the adolescents' reflections on their own occupational aspiration development. The findings of this study will provide necessary baseline information on the development of South African adolescents' occupational aspirations and will offer valuable recommendations for the future development of adolescent career education programmes. Adolescent and career development theories were used to provide a context for the current study. Semi-structured interviews and biographical questionnaires were utilized to record verbal data which was transposed into nominal data for analysis. Thus, the current study was quantitative in nature. The semi-structured interview comprised four general aspects that included: the adolescents' occupational aspirations, the number of occupations they knew about, how much they knew about the expressed occupations, and the extent to which they held gender stereotypes concerning fourteen different occupations. The data gained was coded according to Holland's (1985) classification system of interest typologies. Also, the adolescents' occupational aspirations were coded according to their status levels. The coded data was subsequently analysed using both descriptive statistics in the form of frequency counts and percentages as well as inferential statistics in the form of chi-square analysis. Content analysis was also conducted on the adolescents' reflections on their own career development as a means to extract themes. The results indicated that adolescence was an important phase of career development and the findings supported adolescent and career development theories. The results of the study also indicated that the majority of adolescents aspired to Investigative type occupations across both years of the study and most adolescents consistently aspired to high status occupations. In addition, adolescents do not appear to gender stereotype in terms of occupations. Lastly, it was found that most adolescents could reflect on their career development, predominantly attributing changes in their occupational aspirations to changes in their interests. The present study has made available important information regarding the occupational aspiration development of a group of South African adolescents, which can be utilized in further research and as a foundation on which to develop career education programmes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Marshall, Joanne
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Vocational interests -- Research -- South Africa , Children -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Personality and occupation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9887 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1183 , Vocational interests -- Research -- South Africa , Children -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Personality and occupation -- South Africa
- Description: While career development is viewed as a lifelong process, there are numerous limitations regarding existing career theories and research pertaining to the adolescent population. Further, insufficient longitudinal research represents one of the major obstacles for a more holistic understanding of career development across the lifespan. Thus, the present longitudinal project of which the current study forms a part was initiated to address the lack of research and theory concerning adolescent career development. The larger longitudinal project intended to make information available regarding the occupational aspirations and perceptions of a sample of South African children and adolescents, from early childhood into their adolescent years. The current study investigates the occupational aspiration development of 15 to 16 year old South African adolescents. It is argued that the South African knowledge base on career development behaviour still requires extensive development, especially with regards to adolescent career development. The current longitudinal study aimed to explore and describe possible developments and changes over a two year period in the interest typology, occupational status level and occupational gender stereotypes of the 43 adolescents. Additionally, the study aimed to explore and describe the adolescents' reflections on their own occupational aspiration development. The findings of this study will provide necessary baseline information on the development of South African adolescents' occupational aspirations and will offer valuable recommendations for the future development of adolescent career education programmes. Adolescent and career development theories were used to provide a context for the current study. Semi-structured interviews and biographical questionnaires were utilized to record verbal data which was transposed into nominal data for analysis. Thus, the current study was quantitative in nature. The semi-structured interview comprised four general aspects that included: the adolescents' occupational aspirations, the number of occupations they knew about, how much they knew about the expressed occupations, and the extent to which they held gender stereotypes concerning fourteen different occupations. The data gained was coded according to Holland's (1985) classification system of interest typologies. Also, the adolescents' occupational aspirations were coded according to their status levels. The coded data was subsequently analysed using both descriptive statistics in the form of frequency counts and percentages as well as inferential statistics in the form of chi-square analysis. Content analysis was also conducted on the adolescents' reflections on their own career development as a means to extract themes. The results indicated that adolescence was an important phase of career development and the findings supported adolescent and career development theories. The results of the study also indicated that the majority of adolescents aspired to Investigative type occupations across both years of the study and most adolescents consistently aspired to high status occupations. In addition, adolescents do not appear to gender stereotype in terms of occupations. Lastly, it was found that most adolescents could reflect on their career development, predominantly attributing changes in their occupational aspirations to changes in their interests. The present study has made available important information regarding the occupational aspiration development of a group of South African adolescents, which can be utilized in further research and as a foundation on which to develop career education programmes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Barriers to accessing water services in the Motherwell township
- Authors: Mbashe, Mfundo
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Water-supply -- Developing countries , Water resources development -- Developing countries , Water supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management , Water supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Cost effectiveness
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9039 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1190 , Water-supply -- Developing countries , Water resources development -- Developing countries , Water supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management , Water supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Cost effectiveness
- Description: Access to adequate water and sanitation services in South Africa still remain a pipe dream for the millions who are trapped at the bottom of the class structures in the country. The poverty stricken communities living in Townships such as Motherwell, everyday long for water services infrastructure to be built in their places of residence. The costs of accessing water services also becomes a setback for many consumers in the area, this is after the infrastructure has been installed in their areas. The high unemployment rate plays an enormous role in many consumers not affording water services. Bureaucracy between the government department of Housing and the NMMBM also impedes delivery of water services for without formal housing, water and sanitation is impossible to be accessed within the households. The study revealed from the semi-structured interviews which were held with Mayoral Council official and Ward Councillors as well as with members of the communities NU 12 and 29 that access to adequate water services was not successful and satisfactory. The findings of the research demonstrate that the Municipality has a problem with retaining staff members in the portfolio of Infrastructure, Engineering, Electricity and Energy, which is the responsible department for providing water and sanitation services to the local inhabitants. This study was conducted from April 2009 to November 2009 and it was aimed at finding the Barriers to accessing water services in the Motherwell Township.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mbashe, Mfundo
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Water-supply -- Developing countries , Water resources development -- Developing countries , Water supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management , Water supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Cost effectiveness
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9039 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1190 , Water-supply -- Developing countries , Water resources development -- Developing countries , Water supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management , Water supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Cost effectiveness
- Description: Access to adequate water and sanitation services in South Africa still remain a pipe dream for the millions who are trapped at the bottom of the class structures in the country. The poverty stricken communities living in Townships such as Motherwell, everyday long for water services infrastructure to be built in their places of residence. The costs of accessing water services also becomes a setback for many consumers in the area, this is after the infrastructure has been installed in their areas. The high unemployment rate plays an enormous role in many consumers not affording water services. Bureaucracy between the government department of Housing and the NMMBM also impedes delivery of water services for without formal housing, water and sanitation is impossible to be accessed within the households. The study revealed from the semi-structured interviews which were held with Mayoral Council official and Ward Councillors as well as with members of the communities NU 12 and 29 that access to adequate water services was not successful and satisfactory. The findings of the research demonstrate that the Municipality has a problem with retaining staff members in the portfolio of Infrastructure, Engineering, Electricity and Energy, which is the responsible department for providing water and sanitation services to the local inhabitants. This study was conducted from April 2009 to November 2009 and it was aimed at finding the Barriers to accessing water services in the Motherwell Township.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
"Rape and cable theft on the increase": interrogating Grocott's Mail coverage of rape through participatory action research
- Authors: McLean, Nicolene Cindy
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Rape in mass media Rape -- South Africa Women -- Crimes against -- South Africa Violence in mass media Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalistic ethics -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Action research Sexism in mass media Journalism -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Newspapers -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Stereotypes (Social psychology) in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3466 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002921
- Description: This study investigates Grocott’s Mail’s rape reporting through a participatory action research process. It draws on feminist cultural studies, sociology of news, and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The participatory action research process explored three areas with the journalists at Grocott’s Mail: their understanding of the community they serve and their own professional identity as a community of practice, roles of the media in society which inform reporting, and rape as a social issue and problem. Through this process the study found that the pervasiveness of rape in the Grahamstown community, the complexities around rape reporting which include the significant legal challenges, the personal impact rape cases have on journalists, and the journalistic roles and approaches employed in rape reporting all influence how the paper covers rape. In analysing these matters the study found that the primary factor inhibiting a successful strategy for managing rape reporting was that Grocott’s Mail does not place gender-based violence on their news agenda as an issue requiring attention in order to develop the community they serve.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: McLean, Nicolene Cindy
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) Rape in mass media Rape -- South Africa Women -- Crimes against -- South Africa Violence in mass media Journalism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalistic ethics -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Journalism -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Action research Sexism in mass media Journalism -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Newspapers -- Objectivity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Stereotypes (Social psychology) in mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3466 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002921
- Description: This study investigates Grocott’s Mail’s rape reporting through a participatory action research process. It draws on feminist cultural studies, sociology of news, and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The participatory action research process explored three areas with the journalists at Grocott’s Mail: their understanding of the community they serve and their own professional identity as a community of practice, roles of the media in society which inform reporting, and rape as a social issue and problem. Through this process the study found that the pervasiveness of rape in the Grahamstown community, the complexities around rape reporting which include the significant legal challenges, the personal impact rape cases have on journalists, and the journalistic roles and approaches employed in rape reporting all influence how the paper covers rape. In analysing these matters the study found that the primary factor inhibiting a successful strategy for managing rape reporting was that Grocott’s Mail does not place gender-based violence on their news agenda as an issue requiring attention in order to develop the community they serve.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Wattle we do? alien eradication and the 'ecology of fear' on the fringes of a world heritage site, South Africa
- Authors: Merron, James Lawrence
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Wattles (Plants) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Invasive plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1994- South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- Environmental degradation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape World Heritage areas -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Environmentalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects Environmentalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Political aspects Social ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Human ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Applied anthropology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2092 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002655
- Description: In their article ―Naturing the Nation: Aliens, the Apocalypse and the Post Colonial State (2001) Jean and John Comaroff look at ―the contemporary predicament of South Africa through the prism of environmental catastrophe. Through it they reveal the context in which alien plants have become an urgent affair of the state. Following their lead, I show how alien plants (particularly Australian wattle) continue to provide grounds for new social and political aspirations in South Africa, though in a different setting. With reference to a group of private landowners on the fringe of a World Heritage Site -- the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa -- I show how an increasingly apocalyptic and xenophobic environmental agenda has influenced local activists seeking to address social and ecological issues in tandem with alien-eradication. These local activists adhere to a particular brand of environmentalism which Milton (1993) argues can be considered a social, cultural and religious phenomenon. The subjects of my main empirical investigation offer practical ways of achieving a transformational end through a new ritual activity in relation to a spread and exchange of environmental ideas and practices on a world-wide scale. On the ground this group practices ecosocietal restoration through which they aspire to mend the bond between people and the land in a spiritual and moral sense, bolstering intrinsic incentives for environmental stewardship and achieving ―cultural reconciliation in an attempt to reimagine what South Africa could be.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Merron, James Lawrence
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Wattles (Plants) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Invasive plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1994- South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- Environmental degradation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape World Heritage areas -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Environmentalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects Environmentalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Political aspects Social ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Human ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Applied anthropology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Social aspects Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2092 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002655
- Description: In their article ―Naturing the Nation: Aliens, the Apocalypse and the Post Colonial State (2001) Jean and John Comaroff look at ―the contemporary predicament of South Africa through the prism of environmental catastrophe. Through it they reveal the context in which alien plants have become an urgent affair of the state. Following their lead, I show how alien plants (particularly Australian wattle) continue to provide grounds for new social and political aspirations in South Africa, though in a different setting. With reference to a group of private landowners on the fringe of a World Heritage Site -- the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa -- I show how an increasingly apocalyptic and xenophobic environmental agenda has influenced local activists seeking to address social and ecological issues in tandem with alien-eradication. These local activists adhere to a particular brand of environmentalism which Milton (1993) argues can be considered a social, cultural and religious phenomenon. The subjects of my main empirical investigation offer practical ways of achieving a transformational end through a new ritual activity in relation to a spread and exchange of environmental ideas and practices on a world-wide scale. On the ground this group practices ecosocietal restoration through which they aspire to mend the bond between people and the land in a spiritual and moral sense, bolstering intrinsic incentives for environmental stewardship and achieving ―cultural reconciliation in an attempt to reimagine what South Africa could be.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Nature, narrative and language in Marlene van Niekerk's Agaat
- Authors: Moore-Barnes, Shannon-Lee
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Van Niekerk, Marlene. Agaat , Narration (Rhetoric) , Storytelling , Women and literature -- South Africa , Afrikaans fiction -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8453 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1235 , Van Niekerk, Marlene. Agaat , Narration (Rhetoric) , Storytelling , Women and literature -- South Africa , Afrikaans fiction -- 21st century
- Description: Conrad Aiken’s observation that the “landscape and the language are the same, and we ourselves are language and are land,” depicts the material terrain we inhabit as necessarily informing the language we speak. An important corollary to Aiken’s observation is language itself writes the land. I argue that the binary division between culture and nature, as well as the attempts to universalise languages, abstracts discourse from necessary situated knowledges, alienating the land from the language it embodies. The severing of culture and nature as implied by Aiken’s observation is indicative of humanity’s progressive isolation from the land through language, as well as from their embodied natures. Remoteness results in what Marlene van Niekerk’s novel Agaat (2006) terms a “poverty disease” (2006: 251). Michiel Heyns confirms that the character Agaat relates this barrenness of spirit to her “diagnosis of spiritual ills through human dealings with the soil” (2009: 132). I illustrate the novel’s revitalisation of language as an act of ecological recuperation that alleviates dis-eased consciousnesses by potentially recognising, valuing and responding to situated knowledges revealed in land narratives.1 My argument therefore uncovers the challenges that the novel directs at an unreformed and universal Western2 To this end I use critiques of colonialism that reveal culture’s assimilation of the Other, rationalist discourse that continues to appropriate nature as resource for a hierarchical culture. 3 By combining this literary analysis with a wider eco-theoretical enquiry I position my study in an interdisciplinary field of investigation. This is in response to the damaging consequences of the inherited and fragmentary nature of specialisation. In addition, by detailing literary and feminist especially the work of Val Plumwood, Donna Haraway and Nicole Brossard. I use these critiques to analyse self/Other oppositions that Western culture constructs and patrols to maintain a defensive culture of domination. I show how nature and all those feminised and marginalised by Western discourses that hierarchise culture have been consistently overlooked and under-represented by those who purport to ‘control’ the environment and privilege the symbolic language as the carrier of culture. Agaat provides fruitful terrain for the reflection of marginalised voices; voices that confirm the environment and language as necessarily both feminist and social justice issues. 1 My preference for the hyphenated usage of the word ‘dis-ease’ signals the equation between discomfort or unease and disease or sickness. 2 While I am concerned over emphasising words such as Western and Apartheid by capitalising them, I have decided to retain this form so as not to diminish the magnitude of the effect these discourses have had on global and regional communities. 3 When referring to Others I, like Karen J. Warren, capitalise the term. Warren defines Others as all earth Others subjected to “unjustified domination-subordination relationships” (2005: 252). responses to Western patriarchal discourse and its impact on nature, I show the ways in which literature negotiates the possible re-conceptualisation of our collective cultural imagination. Van Niekerk’s novel offers a sustained critique of the oppressive Western conceptual frameworks that have dominated Others through hegemonic constructions. Furthermore, I investigate what this writer might offer as an alternative to systems of social, political and ecological control and the violence it inflicts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Moore-Barnes, Shannon-Lee
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Van Niekerk, Marlene. Agaat , Narration (Rhetoric) , Storytelling , Women and literature -- South Africa , Afrikaans fiction -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8453 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1235 , Van Niekerk, Marlene. Agaat , Narration (Rhetoric) , Storytelling , Women and literature -- South Africa , Afrikaans fiction -- 21st century
- Description: Conrad Aiken’s observation that the “landscape and the language are the same, and we ourselves are language and are land,” depicts the material terrain we inhabit as necessarily informing the language we speak. An important corollary to Aiken’s observation is language itself writes the land. I argue that the binary division between culture and nature, as well as the attempts to universalise languages, abstracts discourse from necessary situated knowledges, alienating the land from the language it embodies. The severing of culture and nature as implied by Aiken’s observation is indicative of humanity’s progressive isolation from the land through language, as well as from their embodied natures. Remoteness results in what Marlene van Niekerk’s novel Agaat (2006) terms a “poverty disease” (2006: 251). Michiel Heyns confirms that the character Agaat relates this barrenness of spirit to her “diagnosis of spiritual ills through human dealings with the soil” (2009: 132). I illustrate the novel’s revitalisation of language as an act of ecological recuperation that alleviates dis-eased consciousnesses by potentially recognising, valuing and responding to situated knowledges revealed in land narratives.1 My argument therefore uncovers the challenges that the novel directs at an unreformed and universal Western2 To this end I use critiques of colonialism that reveal culture’s assimilation of the Other, rationalist discourse that continues to appropriate nature as resource for a hierarchical culture. 3 By combining this literary analysis with a wider eco-theoretical enquiry I position my study in an interdisciplinary field of investigation. This is in response to the damaging consequences of the inherited and fragmentary nature of specialisation. In addition, by detailing literary and feminist especially the work of Val Plumwood, Donna Haraway and Nicole Brossard. I use these critiques to analyse self/Other oppositions that Western culture constructs and patrols to maintain a defensive culture of domination. I show how nature and all those feminised and marginalised by Western discourses that hierarchise culture have been consistently overlooked and under-represented by those who purport to ‘control’ the environment and privilege the symbolic language as the carrier of culture. Agaat provides fruitful terrain for the reflection of marginalised voices; voices that confirm the environment and language as necessarily both feminist and social justice issues. 1 My preference for the hyphenated usage of the word ‘dis-ease’ signals the equation between discomfort or unease and disease or sickness. 2 While I am concerned over emphasising words such as Western and Apartheid by capitalising them, I have decided to retain this form so as not to diminish the magnitude of the effect these discourses have had on global and regional communities. 3 When referring to Others I, like Karen J. Warren, capitalise the term. Warren defines Others as all earth Others subjected to “unjustified domination-subordination relationships” (2005: 252). responses to Western patriarchal discourse and its impact on nature, I show the ways in which literature negotiates the possible re-conceptualisation of our collective cultural imagination. Van Niekerk’s novel offers a sustained critique of the oppressive Western conceptual frameworks that have dominated Others through hegemonic constructions. Furthermore, I investigate what this writer might offer as an alternative to systems of social, political and ecological control and the violence it inflicts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
An exploration of Zimbabwean migrant women's perceptions of their identity : selected case studies in Gqebera, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Authors: Moorhouse, Lesley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Women immigrants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Women -- Identity , Emigration and immigration -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Gender identity -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:16140 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1200 , Women immigrants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Women -- Identity , Emigration and immigration -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Gender identity -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: This study explores the perceptions of women who had migrated to Gqebera, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, from Zimbabwe, in terms of their own identity. In-depth interviews were conducted, situated within a phenomenological paradigm with a feminist epistemological orientation, in order to describe the rich detail of a woman’s quotidian existence subsequent to the migratory experience. Findings suggest that women’s identities are constructed in relation to other people, both those who form their in-group and their out-group. The process of migration and difficulties associated with assimilation into the host community impacts on felt ethnicity, strengthening ties to the homeland and to fellow Zimbabweans. Identity is also impacted on by spatiality, or lived space, in terms of both memories of home and present space occupied. Migration incorporating even the post-migration period may well form an extended liminal experience for women.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Moorhouse, Lesley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Women immigrants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Women -- Identity , Emigration and immigration -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Gender identity -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:16140 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1200 , Women immigrants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Women -- Identity , Emigration and immigration -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Gender identity -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: This study explores the perceptions of women who had migrated to Gqebera, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, from Zimbabwe, in terms of their own identity. In-depth interviews were conducted, situated within a phenomenological paradigm with a feminist epistemological orientation, in order to describe the rich detail of a woman’s quotidian existence subsequent to the migratory experience. Findings suggest that women’s identities are constructed in relation to other people, both those who form their in-group and their out-group. The process of migration and difficulties associated with assimilation into the host community impacts on felt ethnicity, strengthening ties to the homeland and to fellow Zimbabweans. Identity is also impacted on by spatiality, or lived space, in terms of both memories of home and present space occupied. Migration incorporating even the post-migration period may well form an extended liminal experience for women.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Developing a systematic model for the capturing and use of African oral poetry: the Bongani Sitole experience
- Authors: Mostert, Andre
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Sitole, Bongani, 1937- Communication and culture Oral tradition in literature Oral tradition -- Africa Ethnoscience -- Africa Folk poetry, African
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002154
- Description: Oral traditions and oral literature have long contributed to human communication. The advent of arguably the most important technology, the written word, altered human ability to create and develop. However, this development for all its potential and scope created one of the most insidious dichotomies. As the written word developed so too the oral word became devalued and pushed to the fringes of societal development. One of the unfortunate outcomes has been a focus on the nomenclatures associated with orality and oral tradition, which although of importance, has skewed where the focus could and should have been located, namely, how to support and maintain the oral word and its innate value to human society in the face of what has become rampant technological developments. It is now ironic that technology is creating a fecund environment for a rebirth of orality. The study aims to mobilize technauriture as a paradigm in order to further embed orality and oral traditions to coherently embrace this changing technological environment. The central tenet of the study is that in order to enhance the status of orality the innate value embodied in indigenous knowledge systems must be recognized. Using the work of Bongani Sitole, an oral poet, as a backdrop the study will demonstrate a basic model that can act as a foundation for the effective integration of orality into contemporary structures. This is based on work that I published in the Journal of African Contemporary Studies (2009). Given the obvious multi-disciplinary nature of the material the work covers a wide cross section of the debate, from questions of epistemology and knowledge in general in terms of oral traditions, through the consciousness and technical landscapes, via the experience with Sitole’s material to issues of copyright and ownership. This work has also been submitted for publication together with my supervisor as a co-author. The study intends to consolidate the technauriture debate and lay a solid foundation to support further study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mostert, Andre
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Sitole, Bongani, 1937- Communication and culture Oral tradition in literature Oral tradition -- Africa Ethnoscience -- Africa Folk poetry, African
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002154
- Description: Oral traditions and oral literature have long contributed to human communication. The advent of arguably the most important technology, the written word, altered human ability to create and develop. However, this development for all its potential and scope created one of the most insidious dichotomies. As the written word developed so too the oral word became devalued and pushed to the fringes of societal development. One of the unfortunate outcomes has been a focus on the nomenclatures associated with orality and oral tradition, which although of importance, has skewed where the focus could and should have been located, namely, how to support and maintain the oral word and its innate value to human society in the face of what has become rampant technological developments. It is now ironic that technology is creating a fecund environment for a rebirth of orality. The study aims to mobilize technauriture as a paradigm in order to further embed orality and oral traditions to coherently embrace this changing technological environment. The central tenet of the study is that in order to enhance the status of orality the innate value embodied in indigenous knowledge systems must be recognized. Using the work of Bongani Sitole, an oral poet, as a backdrop the study will demonstrate a basic model that can act as a foundation for the effective integration of orality into contemporary structures. This is based on work that I published in the Journal of African Contemporary Studies (2009). Given the obvious multi-disciplinary nature of the material the work covers a wide cross section of the debate, from questions of epistemology and knowledge in general in terms of oral traditions, through the consciousness and technical landscapes, via the experience with Sitole’s material to issues of copyright and ownership. This work has also been submitted for publication together with my supervisor as a co-author. The study intends to consolidate the technauriture debate and lay a solid foundation to support further study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010