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A study in local history: Grahamstown, 1883-1904

- Sellick, Rose-Mary

  • Authors: Sellick, Rose-Mary
  • Date: 1983
  • Subjects: Grahamstown (South Africa) -- History
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2556 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002409 , Grahamstown (South Africa) -- History
  • Description: [From the Preface]: A Study in Local History: Grahamstown 1883-1904 aims to draw into a coherent picture the threads of political attitudes, approaches to racial issues and changes confronting the late Victorians in Grahamstown, particularly in the areas of sanitation, public health and shifting commercial frontiers. The relation of local development to national affairs has been investigated, although attempts to define exactly how the former influenced the latter, and vice versa, would involve one in the proverbial chicken-and-egg syndrome. Let it suffice to say that an understanding of events in the microcosm, or locality, lends clarity to the cross-current of affairs at the national level. It begins at the point where Grahamstown's commercial importance in the Eastern Cape declines after a flourish of hopes in the prospects of the Port Alfred harbour as a means of bringing trade back to Grahamstown. The study concludes when the foundation of Rhodes University College in 1904, provides a new centre of development for the city.
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  • Date Issued: 1983

A study of alienation and personality traits conducted among "Coloured" and white males in South Africa

- Shaw, Patrick Donovan Richard

  • Authors: Shaw, Patrick Donovan Richard
  • Date: 1987
  • Subjects: Alienation (Soclal psychology) Alienation (Social psychology) -- Case studies -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3120 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004928
  • Description: A measure of four types and five contexts of alienation, as well as ten personality traits, was obtained via the ·application of the Alienation Test and Howarth's Personality Questionnaire. The sample (~= 195) comprised of both high school pupils and adults drawn from the local population of English and Afrikaans speaking Whites and "Coloureds" from a town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. These six sample groups allowed for comparisons on the measures for factors such as race, age and cultural differences. The literature review showed repeated reference to the "alienation" of the "Coloured" people of South Africa in the political, social and cultural spheres. However, the research in this area has been sparse. The main object of the study, therefore, was to determine if "Coloureds" do feel alienated, as well as the contexts of this alienation, using Whites as a comparative group. possible differences in personality traits between "Coloureds" and Whites have been associated with the differences in behaviour exhibited by these two groups, but past research has failed to find many differences. The second objective of this study, therefore, was to determine if there are differences between the personality traits of "Coloureds" and Whites, and to extend the past research. Researchers have shown that there is a relationship between alienation and personality traits, but have not adequately addressed the nature of this relationship or its implications. Following from this, the third objective of the study was to examine the relationship between alienation and personality traits, as well as their ability to predict alienation. Results on the Alienation Test showed that "Coloureds" do differ significantly from Whites and exhibit far higher levels of alienation. These differences are most marked on those types and contexts of alienation reflecting a distance from the social and political environment. Results on the personality measure showed minimal differences in personality traits between the groups. Where they were evident, they could be attributed to environmental factors. Lastly, there was a relationship between alienation and certain personality traits, but these traits had limited power to predict alienation. Taking all findings of the study into account, it is evident that the social environment, and specifically a discriminatory social environment, affects feelings of alienation to a far greater extent than personality traits. In addition, the large differences in scores of the "Coloured" and White groups on the measure of alienation and the minimal differences on the measure of personality, provides evidence that what is measured by alienation and what is measured by personality traits, are two distinctly different constructs.
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  • Date Issued: 1987

A study of intra-African relations an analysis of the factors informing the foreign policy of Malawi towards Zimbabwe

- Njoloma, Eugenio

  • Authors: Njoloma, Eugenio
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Malawi -- Foreign relations -- Zimbabwe Zimbabwe -- Foreign relations -- Malawi Malawi -- Politics and government -- 20th century Malawi -- Politics and government -- 21st century Southern African Development Community
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2818 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003028
  • Description: There has been only limited scholarly analysis of Malawi’s foreign policy since its independence in 1964 with key texts focusing primarily on the early years of the new state. Perhaps due to its relatively small stature – economically, politically and militarily – in the region, very little attention has been paid to the factors informing Malawi’s apparently uncritical foreign policy response to the Zimbabwe crisis since it began in the late 1990s. This thesis addresses this deficit by locating its understanding of Malawi’s contemporary foreign policy towards Zimbabwe in the broader historical and contemporary context of bilateral relations between the two states and the multilateral forum of SADCC and SADC. It is argued that the Malawi’s long-standing quest for socio-economic development has forced it to manoeuvre a pragmatic but sometimes contentious foreign policy path. This was also evident until the end of the Cold War and the concomitant demise of apartheid in South Africa in the early 1990s. Malawi forged deliberate diplomatic and economic relations with the region’s white-ruled Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia) and South Africa in pursuit of its national economic interests while the majority of southern African states collectively sought the liberation of the region by facilitating the independence of Zimbabwe and countering South Africa’s apartheid and regional destabilization policies. In the contemporary era, there has been a convergence of foreign policy ambitions in the region and Malawi now coordinates its regional foreign policy within the framework of SADC, which itself prioritizes the attainment of socio-economic development. However, to understand Malawi’s response to the Zimbabwe crisis only in the context of SADC’s “quiet diplomacy” mediation efforts obscures important historically rooted socioeconomic and political factors that have informed relations between Malawi and Zimbabwe and which cannot, it is argued, be ignored if a holistic understanding of Malawi’s position is to be sought. This study argues that the nature of historical ties between Malawi and Zimbabwe and the role of Malawi’s leaders in driving its long-standing quest for socioeconomic development have not only informed its overall foreign policy behaviour in the region but underpin its contemporary relations with Zimbabwe.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A study of perceptions, attitudes and knowledge as it pertains to susceptibility to HIV/AIDS among grade 11 pupils in Grahamstown

- Mdziniso, Nompumelelo B

  • Authors: Mdziniso, Nompumelelo B
  • Date: 2006
  • Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) in adolescence -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes , Youth -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3157 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007623 , AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) in adolescence -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes , Youth -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
  • Description: HIV/AIDS has emerged as the leading cause of death in South Africa, with young people being the most affected. Awareness of HIV/AIDS is quite high, yet prevalence rates have not stabilised and are still climbing. Lack of sexual behavioural change among young people is a major factor which explains why prevalence rates are still on the increase among this population. Sexual behaviour change is influenced by perceptions and attitudes, most notably perceived susceptibility. Information on the psychological factors that affect perceived susceptibility can provide an important base for the development of programmes aimed at reducing further transmission among young people. A survey, using a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire with close-ended questions to collect data, was conducted among Grade 11 learners (n = 318) in Rini, Grahamstown, South Africa. One of the constructs (namely Perceived Susceptibility) in the Health Belief Model informed the data collection. The data generated were first analysed descriptively, providing percentages for responses. Secondly cross-tabulations were calculated. The results showed that knowledge about HIV/AIDS is sufficient, young people receive accurate and non-conflictual messages about sex and HIV/AIDS, they are not discriminatory towards People Living With HIV/AIDS, they have adequate access to healthcare and their perceived susceptibility to HIV/AIDS is high. All these are factors which are favourable and conducive for positive sexual behavioural change. However, the study also found that there was little behaviour change among young people especially regarding regular condom use and decreased sexual activity.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

A study of professionalism and the professionalisation of journalists in Uganda from 1995 to 2008

- Mayiga, John Bosco

  • Authors: Mayiga, John Bosco
  • Date: 2008
  • Subjects: Journalists -- Uganda Journalism -- Political aspects -- Uganda Mass media -- Political aspects -- Uganda Journalism -- Sociological aspects -- Uganda Journalism, Commercial -- Uganda
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3461 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002916
  • Description: This study seeks to examine how Ugandan journalists’ and politicians’ views on journalism professionalisation in Uganda relate to the broad theoretical arguments about professionalism within sociology and media studies. It also seeks to examine how such views impact on the democratic role of the media. The study finds out that there are two sets of distinct ideas on journalism professionalisation. The idea espoused by politicians is statutory professionalisation in which the state plays a major role through regulation and control, hence professionalisation is seen primarily as a control system. On the other hand, journalists perceive professionalisation as nurtured by voluntarily and socially inculcated professional values, hence as a value system. The study however, finds that both sets of understandings have their own complexities. While the statutory approach has complexities like how core elements of professionalism such as professional values can be imposed through legislation, the voluntary approach to professionalism also exhibits tensions within, especially stemming from the relationship between the professional and the news organisation regarding what constitutes professionalism. The study concludes that both sets of ideas have implications for the democratic role of the media, with both perceptions of professionalism curtailing this role. Statutory professionalisation in the Ugandan political context where the state is the dominant institution brings media institutions within its control, which leads to suppression of content of democratic value through a number of means. On the other hand, the self-regulatory perception does not protect media professionalism from the assault of commercial imperatives, especially when fused with state patronage in regard to broadcasting licences and placement of advertising.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

A study of some aspects of the poor white problem in South Africa

- Lewis, Robert Alexander

A study of Ted Hughes's Birthday letters

- Highman, Kathryn Barbara

  • Authors: Highman, Kathryn Barbara
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: Hughes, Ted, 1930-1998 Criticism and interpretation Hughes, Ted, 1930-1998 Birthday Letters
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2193 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002235
  • Description: This thesis focusses on the literary self-reflexivity of Birthday Letters, Ted Hughes's collection of poems addressed to his long-dead first wife, poet Sylvia Plath. By close attention to the language of select poems and a discussion of cross-referencing images and allusions across the volume, and intertextually, I argue that the collection is more self-consciously ordered and designed than the mainly biographical criticism the work has met with suggests. The thesis focusses on the poets' art rather than the biographical context of Birthday Letters, though it does not draw a neat distinction between their lives and their poetry - rather it demonstrates how Birthday Letters itself treats the relationship of art to life thematically. The introduction outlines the context of the volume's genesis and publication and the notions of poetry, myth and drama out of which Hughes works, and introduces the central metaphor of metamorphosis as figured in Ariel's song "Full Fathom Five" from The Tempest, as well as the importance of that play to Plath. Each of the chapters that follow focusses on a cluster of inter-related imagery through a discussion of four or five key poems. Chapter One examines Hughes's portrayal of himself as imprisoned by Plath's poetic portraits, and relates this to the recurring motifs of the snapshot and the Medusa myth. The poems discussed emphasize Hughes's consciousness of the metamorphic and "magical" relationship of art to life. The second chapter discusses Hughes's use of the myth of the labyrinth and the Minotaur, tracing it back to Plath's writings and reading, and pointing out its self-reflexivity: the labyrinth figures Hughes's own loss as well as the labyrinthine nature of writing. The third chapter considers the themes of possession and loss, and how they attach themselves to images of houses and jewels. Possession and loss tum, self-reflexively, upon issues of inheritance and remembrance, notably Hughes's inheritance of Plath's poetic legacy, and his remembrance of her and her poetry through his own poetry. The conclusion pursues connections between the observations made in the separate chapters, outlining the larger context out of which the poems emerge, and returning to the trope of metamorphosis as figured in "Full Fathom Five"
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  • Date Issued: 2004

A study of Tennyson's Idylls of the King

- Falconer, Marc Stuart

  • Authors: Falconer, Marc Stuart
  • Date: 1991
  • Subjects: Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892. Idylls of the king , English poetry -- 19th century -- History and criticism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2237 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002280 , Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892. Idylls of the king , English poetry -- 19th century -- History and criticism
  • Description: This thesis is a study of themes and genre in Tennyson's Idylls of the King. I have not attempted to present a survey of the body of critisicm on the cycle, nor have I attempted a comprehensive comparison of the poem with any of Tennyson's sources. The first chapter is based on A. Fowler's study of genres and I follow the implications of his work in my reading of the Idylls. Tennyson blends various generic strands in his cycle, in particular allegory, epic, dramatic monologue and the Alexandrian idyll, to create a complex psychological allegory of epic scope which both draws on traditional genres and extends them. I believe the Idylls should be read as a cycle and in the order in which Tennyson finally presented them; the ordering process is as much part of the creative process as the actual act of composition. I have adopted Priestley's sensible division of the twelve poems which he says "falls naturally into three groups of four, corresponding closely to the three acts of modern drama" (1960, p.252-254)" The second chapter begins the sequential examination of the first four "spring" and "summer" poems beginning with the symbolic The Coming of Arthur. This idyll begins Tennyson's Arthurian mythopoeia, creating a poetic kingdom of the mind. The "act" closes with the Geraint and Enid idylls, all four works in this section ending happily. The third chapter deals with the idylls which plot the corrupting and ever-widening influence of the adulterous relationship of Lancelot and Guinevere, one cause of the destruction of the institution of the Round Table. Other causes of the demise of Arthur's order are the pernicious influences of the evil Vivien and Modred and the meaningless and sterile spirituality that prompts the quest of The Holy Grail. The last four idylls chart the final collapse of Arthur's realm, the utter disillusionment of individual idealism - personified by Pelleas, an anachronistic spring figure who appears in Camelot's bleak and hostile winter - and the complete social decay which is demonstrated by the fiasco of The Last Tournament. The tragic denouement of the cycle, on both individual and social levels, is evident in Guinevere, in which Arthur's wretched and traitorous queen understands Arthur's vision, but too late to save Camelot from ruin. In the final framing idyll, The Passing of Arthur, Tennyson's myth is elevated to the level of universal significance, the Idylls of the King becoming "not the history of one man or one generation but of a whole cycle of generations" (Memoir, ii, p.127).
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  • Date Issued: 1991

A study of the heroine in certain Victorian novels

- Addecott, Grahame John

  • Authors: Addecott, Grahame John
  • Date: 1959
  • Subjects: English fiction -- 19th century -- History and criticism , Heroines in literature
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2319 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013374
  • Description: During the reign of Queen Victoria was seen the gradual emergence of the emancipated woman. The idea that women were innocent beings who must be kept from real knowledge of the world died hard, however, and to the end of the era there were many who repudiated the very concept of emancipation whether in literature or life. Coupled with the chivalrous, idealistic concept of womanhood was Victorian respectability, and it is not surprising that in the earlier Victorian novels we see clearly the idealistic concept of women and the effects of the cult of respectability. To illustrate my theme, of the gradual change in the concept of the novel which naturally kept pace, more or less, with the progress the emancipation of women was making, I have chosen one novel from each of seven great Victorian novelists whose works span the whale era. The only exception I have made is with Charlotte Bronte. In her case the heroines of two of her novels are discussed mainly because she is the first Victorian novelist to sound a note of protest against the then conventional concept of the heroine.
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  • Date Issued: 1959

A study of the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald

- Rodda, Peter

  • Authors: Rodda, Peter
  • Date: 1967
  • Subjects: Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940 , American literature -- Criticism and interpretation , American fiction -- 20th century
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2311 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013072
  • Description: Henry Dan Piper has exploded the legend that all of Fitzgerald' s books where out of print when he died. There may be similar romantic exaggeration which does not bear examination in the popular view that Fitzgerald's reputation as an artist was eclipsed in his later years and magically revived after his death by the editing and publication by Edmund Wilson in 1941 of the unfinished novel Last Tycoon, and of The Crack-Up. Investigation by Matthew J. Bruccoli has shown the essential oversimplification inherent in the widely-held belief that Fitzgerald's last complete novel to be published, Tender is the Night was dismissed or ignored by reviewers demanding novels of social conscience. Fitzgerald attracted legends and since his death has become something of a folk-hero the type of the golden boy who achieved early and instantaneous fame, lives riotously and is then engulfed by the backwash of his own youthful folly somehow leaving an unpublished masterpiece to confound his critics at his early death. Preface, p. 1.
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  • Date Issued: 1967

A study of the numinous presence in Tennyson's poetry

- Louw, Denise Elizabeth Laurence

  • Authors: Louw, Denise Elizabeth Laurence
  • Date: 1985
  • Subjects: Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892 -- Criticism and interpretation , English poetry -- 19th century -- History and criticism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2268 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005891 , Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892 -- Criticism and interpretation , English poetry -- 19th century -- History and criticism
  • Description: From Preface: A reader looking to this study for a charting of the diverse religious views held by Tennyson at different periods in his life may be disappointed. My primary concern has been not with religious forms, but with the numinous impulse. However, though I approached the topic with a completely open mind, I find my own Christian convictions have been strengthened through the study of Tennyson's poetry. As the title indicates, I have not attempted to deal with the plays. To explore both the poetry and the plays in a study of this length would have been impossible. I have perhaps been somewhat unorthodox in attempting to combine several disciplines, especially since I cannot claim to be a specialist in the areas concerned. However, I felt it necessary to approach the subject from a number of points of view, and to see to what extent the results could be said to converge on some sort of central "truth". When I have despaired of being able to do justice to a particular aspect within the imposed limits, I have sometimes found comfort in the words of Alan Sinfield (The Language of Tennyson's "In Memoriam", p.211): "We can only endeavour continually to approach a little closer to the central mystery; the ma j or advances will be infrequent, but most attempts should furnish one or two hints which others will develop. "
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  • Date Issued: 1985

A study of the performance of a Bantu sample on a test of perceptual field-dependence under conditions of normal and abnormal sensory environments

- Cogill, Charles John

  • Authors: Cogill, Charles John
  • Date: 1970
  • Subjects: Perception -- Testing , Senses and sensation -- Cross-cultural studies , Bantu speaking peoples
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3201 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010503 , Perception -- Testing , Senses and sensation -- Cross-cultural studies , Bantu speaking peoples
  • Description: For purposes of this background study, previous research findings relating to the development of the concept of field dependence - independence may be traced in five clearly distinct and logical stages: Stage 1: The Determination of the Factors Responsible for the Maintenance of Proper Orientation to the Upright. Stage 11: The Investigation of Individual Differences in the Manner of Establishing the Upright. Stage III: The Consideration of Possible Hypotheses to Account for Consistent Individual Differences in this Mode of Perception. Stage IV: An Investigation of the Relationship Between an Individual's Characteristic Way of Perceiving and his General Personality Organisation Stage V: The Ultimate Extension and Elaboration of this Work into the Construct of Psychological Differentiation which proposes that individuals are likely to function at a more differentiated or less differentiated level in many areas of behaviour. Some discussion of these stages is necessary to provide background for the present study. Chapter 1, p. 1.
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  • Date Issued: 1970

A study of the personal literature written in the Eastern Cape in the nineteenth century

- Young, Cheryl Ann

A study of the Presbyterian Church mission in the Transvaal from 1903-1960

- Boyd, Barry Graeme

  • Authors: Boyd, Barry Graeme
  • Date: 1981 , 2013-03-22
  • Subjects: Presbyterian Church -- South Africa -- Transvaal , Missions -- South Africa -- Transvaal
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:1226 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006110 , Presbyterian Church -- South Africa -- Transvaal , Missions -- South Africa -- Transvaal
  • Description: The aim of ·this study is to present a picture of the circumstances and the manner in which the mission was undertaken. With this in mind reference has been made to individual men and their particular importance and also to the decislons of the Church Assembly as they affected Mission. In part, the thesis is fuller for the earlier years, for the writer holds that these were the most formative as they established the pattern. Furthormore the writer wishes to make clear that the Mission become the work of black men with the white Mission Secretary of the 1950's filling an administrative role. This does not mean he was unimportant but for the nature of this study and its desire to ·emphasise the role of the black man, the work of these individual administrators has been largely omitted. In the concluding chapters the writer has shown the effects of political changes and African Nationalism on the Mission with a further chapter on the Mission's educational work. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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  • Date Issued: 1981

A study of the relationship between the poetry and criticism of Ezra Pound 1908-1920

- De Villiers, André Rex Wepener

  • Authors: De Villiers, André Rex Wepener
  • Date: 1959
  • Subjects: Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972 -- Criticism and interpretation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2317 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013320
  • Description: From the preface: The purpose of this thesis is exposition rather than criticism. Pound's position in the hierarchy of the 'New Criticism' would provide an extremely interesting subject; but I have rather tried to outline; the standards which he has laid down as being central in the technics of good poetry and to show how closely he has adhered to them in his own verse. I have limited the period to be discussed because all of the essential principles which he employs in his writing after 1920 are discernible in the body of his work published before that date.
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  • Date Issued: 1959

A study of the tragedy of Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

- Knox, Catherine Mary

  • Authors: Knox, Catherine Mary
  • Date: 1973
  • Subjects: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Coriolanus , Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Criticism and interpretation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2304 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012642 , Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Coriolanus , Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Criticism and interpretation
  • Description: It would be difficult to prove conclusively that Shakespeare was not invited or requested to write a play based on the popular story of Coriolanus. J.M. Robertson concretises this possibility with an intriguing thesis that the play was in fact rewritten from an original by Chapman. The story, he argues, would have had a far greater appeal to Chapman with his consuming interest in the heroic age of Classical antiquity, than to Shakespeare. Further, it is likely, he says, that Chapman was familiar with Alexandre Hardy 's Coriolan which, it is generally accepted, Shakespeare was not, hence the startling similarities in some of the two plays' deviations from their common source. This is hardly a more satisfactory explanation than the kind of airy alternative that disposes of the mystery by saying the source material is such that it would invite any dramatist to make similar changes. Chap. 1
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  • Date Issued: 1973

A study of women's representation in relation to poverty: a case study of The Post March 2009

- Gwanvalla, Delphine Ngehndab

  • Authors: Gwanvalla, Delphine Ngehndab
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: Journalism, Commercial -- Social aspects -- Cameroon Women -- Cameroon -- Social conditions Poor women -- Cameroon Mass media and women -- Cameroon
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3504 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007144
  • Description: The media, specifically tabloids, have the potential to portray poverty-related issues in a manner that informs the public and government about the experiences of people living in poverty so that it can be tackled with urgency. Poverty has blighted the lives of many, especially women, children and widows in Cameroon. The role of the media in reporting the plight and suffering of the ‘masses’ potentially shapes the way in which these issues are handled by those in authority. The study notes that the tabloid press has the potential to expose certain experiences of ordinary people thereby constituting that alternative sphere for the disadvantaged. The study investigates the manner women are represented in The Post which is an English tabloid published in Cameroon. The representation of women in this study looks at the institutional policies which drive the representation of women in news constructs, analyses the news values which shape news production, and uses Thompson’s modes of ideology to unravel the underlying meanings in the reported stories. The study is inspired by the claims that since women make up the majority of the world's poor, so too would media representations depict them as such. It utilises thematic analysis to understand the manner in which women are represented in The Post. It also uses interviews with the regional bureau editor of the North West region to probe what news values and institutional policies drive the stories on women’s poverty. Document analysis is used to better comprehend the institutional guidelines which govern the representation of women during the month of March 2009.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

A study on the role of the media in identity formation among isiXhosa speaking youth in Grahamstown with focus on SABC’s Yo TV

- Mabusela, Pumeza

  • Authors: Mabusela, Pumeza
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:3661 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021302
  • Description: This study explores the use of African languages, more specifically isiXhosa, in the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). It does this by investigating the YO TV programme and its impact on identity formation amongst isiXhosa speaking youth. The research was conducted in Grahamstown which is located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Young isiXhosa speakers were used as participants for questionnaires and focus group interviews. The location of the study within the Eastern Cape was driven by the fact that Grahamstown consists of mainly isiXhosa speakers, and young people are a big part of the population. Secondly, the participants were chosen in order to look at how isiXhosa and the Xhosa culture are represented in the YO TV programme through the lenses of young people who speak the language, and whether the representation of these two aspects plays a role in the formation of their identity. The goals of the research were to explore the relationship between language and youth identity, and the role of television in the construction of this identity. The research looked at the SABC’s YO TV which is a youth programme targeting South African youth who speak different languages and the role it plays in constructing the identity of isiXhosa speaking youth in relation to language and culture. It also examined for what purpose isiXhosa was used in the YO TV programme. The study further identified and critically analysed the already existing strategies used by the SABC to promote African languages in youth programs. The study made several findings, one of these being that there is a relationship that exists between language, culture and identity. As a result of this relationship, this study found that when one of these aspects is less represented on television, it affects the other(s). Thus, little representation of isiXhosa on YO TV has an impact on the identity formation of young isiXhosa speakers as they believe that language and culture are a part of who they are, their identity. This study also discovered that institutions of power such as the media play a key role in affirming the identity of young people. They play a role in influencing the way young people reason and do things. This study argues that television programmes such as the YO TV programme must use African languages, as well as English because the use of African languages adds value to how young people perceive them. The use of African languages on television will contribute to their growth and development. Moreover, the use of these languages in the media contributes in identity construction of young African language speakers.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

A survey of South African English verse printed in Cape periodicals and newspapers from 1824-1851

- Hammond, Carol Anne

  • Authors: Hammond, Carol Anne
  • Date: 1972
  • Subjects: Mass media and literature -- 19th century , South African poetry (English) -- History and criticism -- 19th century
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2301 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012146 , Mass media and literature -- 19th century , South African poetry (English) -- History and criticism -- 19th century
  • Description: An interest in colonial literature is relatively new in the study of English. English-speaking South Africans especially, cut off as they are, a minority group in a new republic, have begun to re-assess their identity through a study of their existing literature. When asked what South African verse there was beside his own, Kipling remarked, "As to South African verse, it's a case of there's Pringle, and there's Pringle, and after that one must hunt the local papers." This thesis is the result of such a hunt - the hunt being limited to the years 1824 to 1851 - and on occasion, the writer has been tempted to conclude rather unfairly, "And there is only Pringle." It cannot be claimed that every poem ever printed during the period under review has been collected and examined, for the reason that many volumes of old newspapers are no longer available. Nevertheless, it has been possible to make a representative selection, which could provide the raw material for several theses to come. A detailed study of critical criteria prevalent at the Cape during this period, or public taste and the influence especially of the lesser British poets are some of the topics which might repay study. Intro., p. 1.
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  • Date Issued: 1972

A survey of the professional identity of clinical psychologists in South Africa

- Deane, Tessa Anne

  • Authors: Deane, Tessa Anne
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Psychologists -- South Africa , Psychology -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Psychology -- Practice -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5140 , vital:20780
  • Description: The mental health care needs of South Africa have shifted significantly in the postapartheid context of changing political and socioeconomic landscapes. However, the extent to which clinical psychologists’ professional identity has responded accordingly has been unclear. By establishing the practice patterns and values that should be central to the profession according to the literature, and ascertaining the extent to which these are reflected among professionals at this time, this study facilitates a re-evaluation of the professional identity of clinical psychologists in South Africa. To this end, an online survey method was used to collect data from a representative sample of 877 participants, i.e. 29,09% of the population of clinical psychologists in South Africa. Statistical analyses were implemented to address a number of key research questions concerning aspects which characterise professional identity, namely: demographic profile; work settings and roles (practices); and theoretical perspective, beliefs and attitudes (values). Findings suggest that, demographically, clinical psychologists do not mirror the clients they serve, and also that there is a large proportion of the population for whom psychological services remain inaccessible and/or inappropriate. Furthermore, the professional identity of clinical psychologists currently does not comprise practices and values which meet the mental health care needs of South Africa. A significant recommendation of the research is its endorsement of the National Health Insurance model given the promise of its role in ensuring psychology remains relevant. It is recommended that future studies expand on these findings qualitatively, and compare clinical psychology with other mental health care fields. Universities are also urged to relook at their training curricula and ensure that trainees are made of aware of issues of policy, and that areas of research and psychological assessment in complex environments are prioritized.
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  • Date Issued: 2017
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