A content analysis of web-based reporting of corporate social responsibility in selected transport sector state owned entities
- Authors: Khomari, Jane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Social responsibility of business -- South Africa , Business ethics Business communication
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31262 , vital:31349
- Description: Organisations today are experiencing immense pressure to act responsibly, both socially and ethically. Stakeholders expect organisations to operate with integrity, whilst still being profitable. This pressure is due to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) becoming increasingly a mark of good governance. Corporate performance is no longer measured by only financial statements, but CSR is deemed a corporate imperative for financial performance. This non-financial reporting has forced organisations to take cognisance of environmental, social and governance reporting, a process called Integrated Reporting. The purpose of this research was to explore website reporting of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the transport sector. The study explored the phenomenon through six questions: What are the titles used to communicate CSR on SOE websites? What are the CSR activities communicated on SOE websites? What are the similarities and differences of the CSR initiatives communicated on the websites? Who are the stakeholders reached through CSR? What are the reporting practices on the SOE website? What are the similarities and differences of the reporting practices on the SOE websites. This research study was carried out in two stages. The first phase was to examine the corporate websites of the SOEs. The second phase was to use the data collected from the websites to understand CSR representation in SOEs. The purpose is to explore the communication of CSR on the various websites of the SOEs. A key finding of the research is that SOEs use different strategies to communicate CSR on their websites. SOEs communicate CSR activities using multiple titles and use various media on their websites. Additionally, there are variances with the framing of information on the websites. The varying communication strategies indicate the multiple stakeholders targeted by the different CSR focus areas. The research concluded that the different titles made it difficult for stakeholders to access information on the websites. Standardisation of CSR terms and consistency of reporting would make it easier for readers to access information. Further research is recommended in the adoption of strategic communication models by SOEs, as this will assist in the framing of websites.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Khomari, Jane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Social responsibility of business -- South Africa , Business ethics Business communication
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31262 , vital:31349
- Description: Organisations today are experiencing immense pressure to act responsibly, both socially and ethically. Stakeholders expect organisations to operate with integrity, whilst still being profitable. This pressure is due to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) becoming increasingly a mark of good governance. Corporate performance is no longer measured by only financial statements, but CSR is deemed a corporate imperative for financial performance. This non-financial reporting has forced organisations to take cognisance of environmental, social and governance reporting, a process called Integrated Reporting. The purpose of this research was to explore website reporting of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the transport sector. The study explored the phenomenon through six questions: What are the titles used to communicate CSR on SOE websites? What are the CSR activities communicated on SOE websites? What are the similarities and differences of the CSR initiatives communicated on the websites? Who are the stakeholders reached through CSR? What are the reporting practices on the SOE website? What are the similarities and differences of the reporting practices on the SOE websites. This research study was carried out in two stages. The first phase was to examine the corporate websites of the SOEs. The second phase was to use the data collected from the websites to understand CSR representation in SOEs. The purpose is to explore the communication of CSR on the various websites of the SOEs. A key finding of the research is that SOEs use different strategies to communicate CSR on their websites. SOEs communicate CSR activities using multiple titles and use various media on their websites. Additionally, there are variances with the framing of information on the websites. The varying communication strategies indicate the multiple stakeholders targeted by the different CSR focus areas. The research concluded that the different titles made it difficult for stakeholders to access information on the websites. Standardisation of CSR terms and consistency of reporting would make it easier for readers to access information. Further research is recommended in the adoption of strategic communication models by SOEs, as this will assist in the framing of websites.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A critical discourse analysis of Nelson Mandela University’s Facebook page: a case of transformational communication
- Authors: Ndayi, Viwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Facebook (Electronic resource) , Online social networks Internet marketing Communication in management Nelson Mandela University Metropolitan University -- Communication
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/32815 , vital:32366
- Description: The South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) calls for all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to develop, execute and establish strategies for achieving transformed racial truths - inside and outside the classroom. In HEIs, the social media platform, and most particularly, Facebook, is increasingly being used as a platform to critically and rigorously engage students and universities. The study presents Facebook as a social media platform that can contribute towards the transformation agenda. To illustrate this, the Nelson Mandela University was used as a single case study. Using a qualitative research approach, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used to analyse the Facebook posts that were shared by the university in 2015. This was done in consideration of the national Higher Education transformation themes, the university’s Vision 2020 strategic goals, as well as the university’s values. It was found that the institution partially uses the platform to address transformation. In addition to this, it was found that race representation for posts relating to excellence, student recruitment and protests reinforce race-based stereotypes. To address the gaps, the study recommends that the university includes posts that enhance engagement, race literacy, and race representation. The study contributes to the developing literature on the use of social media towards race transformation in South African HEIs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ndayi, Viwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Facebook (Electronic resource) , Online social networks Internet marketing Communication in management Nelson Mandela University Metropolitan University -- Communication
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/32815 , vital:32366
- Description: The South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) calls for all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to develop, execute and establish strategies for achieving transformed racial truths - inside and outside the classroom. In HEIs, the social media platform, and most particularly, Facebook, is increasingly being used as a platform to critically and rigorously engage students and universities. The study presents Facebook as a social media platform that can contribute towards the transformation agenda. To illustrate this, the Nelson Mandela University was used as a single case study. Using a qualitative research approach, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used to analyse the Facebook posts that were shared by the university in 2015. This was done in consideration of the national Higher Education transformation themes, the university’s Vision 2020 strategic goals, as well as the university’s values. It was found that the institution partially uses the platform to address transformation. In addition to this, it was found that race representation for posts relating to excellence, student recruitment and protests reinforce race-based stereotypes. To address the gaps, the study recommends that the university includes posts that enhance engagement, race literacy, and race representation. The study contributes to the developing literature on the use of social media towards race transformation in South African HEIs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A critical discourse analysis of the Daily Nation and the Standard’s news coverage of the 2007/2008 Kenyan elections
- Authors: Bradfield, Sarah-Jane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Elections -- Kenya Nairobi (Kenya) -- Newspapers Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya Kenya -- Politics and government , Discourse analysis Daily Nation (Nairobi, Kenya) Standard (Nairobi, Kenya)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63437 , vital:28411
- Description: This study investigates the Daily Nation and Standard’s news coverage of Kenya’s 2007/2008 general election and the unprecedented eruptions of violence which followed. This research responds to the question which came about as Kenyan print journalists and editors considered their role in possibly contributing to the violence, which took on an ethnic dimension. Vernacular radio has been fingered for having escalated longstanding ethnic tensions, but the role of the press has not been fully understood. In the aftermath of the violence, print journalists and editors met over a series of Round Table events in Nairobi to consider whether their conduct during the election could have encouraged violence. Although ten years have passed since this incidence, much of what happened within the Kenyan print media during and after the 2007/2008 general election remains unexplored and, largely, unexplained today. Although the pre- and post-election phases spanned months, my research is confined to purposive samples from a four-week period from 3 December 2007 to 4 January 2008. These four weeks were selected as they are roughly representative of the three phases of the national election which are considered significant to this study, namely the pre-election phase, the election, and the post-election violence. The research is concerned with analysing and understanding the coverage in the two dailies, the Daily Nation and Standard, and comparing the discursive work of the two, particularly in relation to identity and ethnicity. This study draws on cultural studies, critical discourse analysis and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The critical discourse analysis explores the discourses articulated during and after the election, with a particular focus on issues of identity, ethnicity and incitement. Through this process the study found that both publications avoided references to ethnicity, despite this being an important factor in Kenyan politics and voter behaviour. In analysing these issues the study found that while the publications might claim to attempt to avoid fuelling tensions by not reporting on ethnicity, the disavowal comprised a silence which positioned the press in a collaborative role, in which it colluded with a powerful Kenyan state. Although a significant amount of time has gone by since the 2007/2008 elections, this study still considers the event significant in understanding the conduct of journalists during times of violence, and specifically for the future of journalism in Kenya.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Bradfield, Sarah-Jane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Elections -- Kenya Nairobi (Kenya) -- Newspapers Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya Kenya -- Politics and government , Discourse analysis Daily Nation (Nairobi, Kenya) Standard (Nairobi, Kenya)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63437 , vital:28411
- Description: This study investigates the Daily Nation and Standard’s news coverage of Kenya’s 2007/2008 general election and the unprecedented eruptions of violence which followed. This research responds to the question which came about as Kenyan print journalists and editors considered their role in possibly contributing to the violence, which took on an ethnic dimension. Vernacular radio has been fingered for having escalated longstanding ethnic tensions, but the role of the press has not been fully understood. In the aftermath of the violence, print journalists and editors met over a series of Round Table events in Nairobi to consider whether their conduct during the election could have encouraged violence. Although ten years have passed since this incidence, much of what happened within the Kenyan print media during and after the 2007/2008 general election remains unexplored and, largely, unexplained today. Although the pre- and post-election phases spanned months, my research is confined to purposive samples from a four-week period from 3 December 2007 to 4 January 2008. These four weeks were selected as they are roughly representative of the three phases of the national election which are considered significant to this study, namely the pre-election phase, the election, and the post-election violence. The research is concerned with analysing and understanding the coverage in the two dailies, the Daily Nation and Standard, and comparing the discursive work of the two, particularly in relation to identity and ethnicity. This study draws on cultural studies, critical discourse analysis and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The critical discourse analysis explores the discourses articulated during and after the election, with a particular focus on issues of identity, ethnicity and incitement. Through this process the study found that both publications avoided references to ethnicity, despite this being an important factor in Kenyan politics and voter behaviour. In analysing these issues the study found that while the publications might claim to attempt to avoid fuelling tensions by not reporting on ethnicity, the disavowal comprised a silence which positioned the press in a collaborative role, in which it colluded with a powerful Kenyan state. Although a significant amount of time has gone by since the 2007/2008 elections, this study still considers the event significant in understanding the conduct of journalists during times of violence, and specifically for the future of journalism in Kenya.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A critique of multilingualism in South Africa’s post-democratic parliament with particular reference to the use of selected minority languages
- Authors: Masombuka, Elizabeth Lucy
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Multilingualism -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa , Language and languages -- Political aspects , Linguistic minorities -- South Africa , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , South Africa. Parliament (1994- ). Parliamentary Communication Services , Hansard Society Commission on the Communication of Parliamentary Democracy
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61984 , vital:28092
- Description: Language is an essential tool in effecting transformation in a community, society as well as in a culturally diverse institution like the Parliament of South Africa. This study is undertaken to establish the progress made in the use of official languages in the Parliament of South Africa. This study critically looks at the use of eleven South African official languages by the Parliament of South Africa in its daily debates in ensuring transformation to a multilingual parliament. The focus of the study is on the publication of Hansard in all official languages, with specific reference to previously marginalised languages as declared by the Constitution. The study was done in the Language Service Section of the Parliament of South Africa. Firstly, the study looked at the History of Parliament and Hansard publications in relation to the sittings and debates of MP’s since the beginning of Parliament in South Africa. Secondly, a literature review was done on Language Policy implementation, monitoring and promotion of languages in South Africa. Review of legislative frameworks on language matters was undertaken in order to find out the compliance of parliament in using official languages in the publication of Hansard. The study evaluates the recognition of languages as well as the parliamentary in-House Language Policy (Operational Language Policy) in relation to the prescriptions of the Constitution. Findings of the study are indicated in chapter 5 of the thesis. The presentation of data comprises of the work experience of the languages practitioners in parliament, availability and critique of the Language Policy Operational Policy in Parliament, as well as findings in the published Hansard Volumes since the first parliament. The study further tries to look at challenges that hinder the use, and promotion of all languages in parliament, including the use of these languages in the publication of Hansard. The study focuses on minority languages and previously marginalised languages. Recommendations are provided as a means of helping to improve the situation regarding the implementation of the language policy that will assist parliament to transform in order to become truly multilingual. This will allow parliament to be in a position to develop previously marginalised languages.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Masombuka, Elizabeth Lucy
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Multilingualism -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa , Language and languages -- Political aspects , Linguistic minorities -- South Africa , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , South Africa. Parliament (1994- ). Parliamentary Communication Services , Hansard Society Commission on the Communication of Parliamentary Democracy
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61984 , vital:28092
- Description: Language is an essential tool in effecting transformation in a community, society as well as in a culturally diverse institution like the Parliament of South Africa. This study is undertaken to establish the progress made in the use of official languages in the Parliament of South Africa. This study critically looks at the use of eleven South African official languages by the Parliament of South Africa in its daily debates in ensuring transformation to a multilingual parliament. The focus of the study is on the publication of Hansard in all official languages, with specific reference to previously marginalised languages as declared by the Constitution. The study was done in the Language Service Section of the Parliament of South Africa. Firstly, the study looked at the History of Parliament and Hansard publications in relation to the sittings and debates of MP’s since the beginning of Parliament in South Africa. Secondly, a literature review was done on Language Policy implementation, monitoring and promotion of languages in South Africa. Review of legislative frameworks on language matters was undertaken in order to find out the compliance of parliament in using official languages in the publication of Hansard. The study evaluates the recognition of languages as well as the parliamentary in-House Language Policy (Operational Language Policy) in relation to the prescriptions of the Constitution. Findings of the study are indicated in chapter 5 of the thesis. The presentation of data comprises of the work experience of the languages practitioners in parliament, availability and critique of the Language Policy Operational Policy in Parliament, as well as findings in the published Hansard Volumes since the first parliament. The study further tries to look at challenges that hinder the use, and promotion of all languages in parliament, including the use of these languages in the publication of Hansard. The study focuses on minority languages and previously marginalised languages. Recommendations are provided as a means of helping to improve the situation regarding the implementation of the language policy that will assist parliament to transform in order to become truly multilingual. This will allow parliament to be in a position to develop previously marginalised languages.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A gender based analysis of the Amalima Programme in empowering married women within households in rural Gwanda, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Sibanda, Patience
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Non-governmental organizations Zimbabwe Matabeleland South Province , Power (Social sciences) Zimbabwe Matabeleland South Province , Women Zimbabwe Social conditions , Women's rights Zimbabwe , Patriarchy Zimbabwe Matabeleland South Province
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63682 , vital:28470
- Description: Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have occupied a prominent role in the socio-economic development of rural areas of Zimbabwe since the time of the country’s independence in 1980, including a focus on improving the conditions and status of women in communal areas. These NGOs adopt a participatory methodology in their development programmes and projects, as they try to ensure that the active participation of women in rural development facilitates women’s access to resources and the realisation of their rights. These initiatives are important given the pronounced system of patriarchy which exists in communal areas. In the context of local patriarchies, NGOs also often claim that they empower women. This thesis focuses on the work of one particular NGO programme, namely the Amalima programme, with a particular focus on three wards in the communal areas in Gwanda, Zimbabwe. From a gendered perspective concerned with questions of women’s empowerment, the main objective of the thesis is to provide a critical analysis of the Amalima programme with particular reference to married women in Gwanda. Based on original fieldwork (including interviews with men, women and NGO practitioners), the thesis concludes that the outcomes of the Amalima programme in empowering married women in Gwanda are uneven and that, overall, the local system of patriarchy (including at household level) remains largely intact.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Sibanda, Patience
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Non-governmental organizations Zimbabwe Matabeleland South Province , Power (Social sciences) Zimbabwe Matabeleland South Province , Women Zimbabwe Social conditions , Women's rights Zimbabwe , Patriarchy Zimbabwe Matabeleland South Province
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63682 , vital:28470
- Description: Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have occupied a prominent role in the socio-economic development of rural areas of Zimbabwe since the time of the country’s independence in 1980, including a focus on improving the conditions and status of women in communal areas. These NGOs adopt a participatory methodology in their development programmes and projects, as they try to ensure that the active participation of women in rural development facilitates women’s access to resources and the realisation of their rights. These initiatives are important given the pronounced system of patriarchy which exists in communal areas. In the context of local patriarchies, NGOs also often claim that they empower women. This thesis focuses on the work of one particular NGO programme, namely the Amalima programme, with a particular focus on three wards in the communal areas in Gwanda, Zimbabwe. From a gendered perspective concerned with questions of women’s empowerment, the main objective of the thesis is to provide a critical analysis of the Amalima programme with particular reference to married women in Gwanda. Based on original fieldwork (including interviews with men, women and NGO practitioners), the thesis concludes that the outcomes of the Amalima programme in empowering married women in Gwanda are uneven and that, overall, the local system of patriarchy (including at household level) remains largely intact.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A micro-ethnography: exploring relations between Somali and South African traders in Clarehill, Cape Town
- Authors: Solomon, Kelly Michelle
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Immigrants South Africa , Immigrants Social conditions , Xenophobia South Africa , Social capital (Sociology) South Africa , Somalis Migrations , Identity (Philosophical concept) , South Africa Race relations
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61277 , vital:27999 , https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/61277
- Description: Xenophobia has become a dominant narrative in contemporary South Africa. In this thesis, I hone in on a micro, informal economic market that functions cohesively and convivially with both South African and Somali transmigrant traders in it. Religion is one of the key ways through which migrants are able to access social networks and social capital. Islam, the dominant practised religion in the market, thus forms a foundation for strong, emotionally supportive, caring relationships between Somali transmigrants and South Africans The relationships between South African traders and Somali transmigrants are mutually constitutive, as they lean on one another for stability during a time that is unstable for both groups. The closeness of their relationships is evident through the way in which they tease and joke with one another, and the many ways in which they offer intangible support to each other. This thesis illustrates that despite the dominant xenophobic narrative, a close social kinship is formed in the Roelof Street market between South Africans and Somali transmigrants.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Solomon, Kelly Michelle
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Immigrants South Africa , Immigrants Social conditions , Xenophobia South Africa , Social capital (Sociology) South Africa , Somalis Migrations , Identity (Philosophical concept) , South Africa Race relations
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61277 , vital:27999 , https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/61277
- Description: Xenophobia has become a dominant narrative in contemporary South Africa. In this thesis, I hone in on a micro, informal economic market that functions cohesively and convivially with both South African and Somali transmigrant traders in it. Religion is one of the key ways through which migrants are able to access social networks and social capital. Islam, the dominant practised religion in the market, thus forms a foundation for strong, emotionally supportive, caring relationships between Somali transmigrants and South Africans The relationships between South African traders and Somali transmigrants are mutually constitutive, as they lean on one another for stability during a time that is unstable for both groups. The closeness of their relationships is evident through the way in which they tease and joke with one another, and the many ways in which they offer intangible support to each other. This thesis illustrates that despite the dominant xenophobic narrative, a close social kinship is formed in the Roelof Street market between South Africans and Somali transmigrants.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A psychosocial reading of novice clinical psychologists’ talk about whiteness
- Authors: Kennedy, Brink
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Clinical psychology Practice South Africa , White people Race identity South Africa , White privilege (Social structure) South Africa , White people Race identity Psychological aspects , Intercultural communication , Psychoanalysis and racism South Africa , Mentalization Based Therapy
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60212 , vital:27751
- Description: This research presents a case study report of interview encounters with two novice white South African clinical psychologists. A psychosocial research methodology is employed to examine the discursive strategies that participants engage in when speaking about whiteness in the context of their professional identity and practice, as well as to examine the ways in which these discursive strategies support or constrain ‘mentalizing’ in relation to raced experience. One case study highlights an individualistic discourse of ‘racial innocence’, which constructs the speaker as being free of racial enculturation and consciousness, eliding a broader social context. I argue that this discourse closes down mentalizing in relation to more difficult, intractable aspects of raced experience in clinical work, relating to differences in positionality as well as issues of inequality. I also propose that this discourse may be understood in terms of a ‘pretend’ mode of thought, where aspects of the wider social context and of race in particular are experienced as being unrelated to intimate personal experience. The other case study highlights a discourse of ‘uneasy whiteness’ that involves awareness of white positionality, and that is grounded in a constructionist sensibility. This positions the speaker as being inevitably implicated in white privilege and racism in ways that she may be ignorant of. I argue that the discourse facilitates a particular type of mentalizing that is sensitive to the interpellation of intimate personal experience with a wider social context that encompasses a range of discourses and practices. It closes down mentalizing, however, in so far as it allows a reified construction of whiteness. I find the concept of psychic equivalence, which equates external (concrete, factual) reality and internal (subjective, symbolic) reality, useful in terms of understanding this reification. Overall the research highlights the tension between constructionist and individualistic modes of thinking within clinical psychology research and practice in the South African context. At the level of methodology, it presents an example of how these modes may be integrated within research. At the level of content, it explores differences between constructionist and individualistic talk in relation to race and psychological practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kennedy, Brink
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Clinical psychology Practice South Africa , White people Race identity South Africa , White privilege (Social structure) South Africa , White people Race identity Psychological aspects , Intercultural communication , Psychoanalysis and racism South Africa , Mentalization Based Therapy
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60212 , vital:27751
- Description: This research presents a case study report of interview encounters with two novice white South African clinical psychologists. A psychosocial research methodology is employed to examine the discursive strategies that participants engage in when speaking about whiteness in the context of their professional identity and practice, as well as to examine the ways in which these discursive strategies support or constrain ‘mentalizing’ in relation to raced experience. One case study highlights an individualistic discourse of ‘racial innocence’, which constructs the speaker as being free of racial enculturation and consciousness, eliding a broader social context. I argue that this discourse closes down mentalizing in relation to more difficult, intractable aspects of raced experience in clinical work, relating to differences in positionality as well as issues of inequality. I also propose that this discourse may be understood in terms of a ‘pretend’ mode of thought, where aspects of the wider social context and of race in particular are experienced as being unrelated to intimate personal experience. The other case study highlights a discourse of ‘uneasy whiteness’ that involves awareness of white positionality, and that is grounded in a constructionist sensibility. This positions the speaker as being inevitably implicated in white privilege and racism in ways that she may be ignorant of. I argue that the discourse facilitates a particular type of mentalizing that is sensitive to the interpellation of intimate personal experience with a wider social context that encompasses a range of discourses and practices. It closes down mentalizing, however, in so far as it allows a reified construction of whiteness. I find the concept of psychic equivalence, which equates external (concrete, factual) reality and internal (subjective, symbolic) reality, useful in terms of understanding this reification. Overall the research highlights the tension between constructionist and individualistic modes of thinking within clinical psychology research and practice in the South African context. At the level of methodology, it presents an example of how these modes may be integrated within research. At the level of content, it explores differences between constructionist and individualistic talk in relation to race and psychological practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A sociological investigation of popular music consumption among Nigerian youths living at Summerstrand and Humewood
- Uwuoruya, Osabuohien Clifford
- Authors: Uwuoruya, Osabuohien Clifford
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Popular culture -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Music and youth -- Africa Africa -- In popular culture Music and globalization -- Africa Socialism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36738 , vital:34049
- Description: The focus of this research study is on investigating how certain Nigerian youths expression of their agency at consuming popular music as a cultural product could be constrained by certain identified institutions and their gender in Nigeria. Using General Systems Theory (GST) as a theoretical framework, the country is presented as a social system with identified institutions which function within it that guides and constrains the agency of the individuals who live in Nigeria. A review of academic narratives relevant to the research is presented in this dissertation to provide a context for the study. A critical realist epistemology is adopted for this exploratory study, within the qualitative research tradition. A sample of twenty Nigerian youths living at Summerstrand and Humewood, is selected by the researcher using purposive sampling, and semi-structured interviews are conducted with these participants to gather their opinions and experiences regarding the research study. The narratives are analysed using thematic analysis, and the researcher presents an interpretation of these narratives under various topics in the dissertation. The findings from this study shows how some of these Nigerian youths believe their expression of agency at consuming popular music in Nigeria, to be constrained by certain institutions, and their gender in the country which they are part of, although this constraint could sometimes prove to be positive for some individuals. The recommendations from this research study are relevant to improving youth agency at consuming popular music in Nigeria, and advancing sociological inquiry into popular music and youth agency within an African context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Uwuoruya, Osabuohien Clifford
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Popular culture -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Music and youth -- Africa Africa -- In popular culture Music and globalization -- Africa Socialism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36738 , vital:34049
- Description: The focus of this research study is on investigating how certain Nigerian youths expression of their agency at consuming popular music as a cultural product could be constrained by certain identified institutions and their gender in Nigeria. Using General Systems Theory (GST) as a theoretical framework, the country is presented as a social system with identified institutions which function within it that guides and constrains the agency of the individuals who live in Nigeria. A review of academic narratives relevant to the research is presented in this dissertation to provide a context for the study. A critical realist epistemology is adopted for this exploratory study, within the qualitative research tradition. A sample of twenty Nigerian youths living at Summerstrand and Humewood, is selected by the researcher using purposive sampling, and semi-structured interviews are conducted with these participants to gather their opinions and experiences regarding the research study. The narratives are analysed using thematic analysis, and the researcher presents an interpretation of these narratives under various topics in the dissertation. The findings from this study shows how some of these Nigerian youths believe their expression of agency at consuming popular music in Nigeria, to be constrained by certain institutions, and their gender in the country which they are part of, although this constraint could sometimes prove to be positive for some individuals. The recommendations from this research study are relevant to improving youth agency at consuming popular music in Nigeria, and advancing sociological inquiry into popular music and youth agency within an African context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A sociological investigation of the community perception of females involved in criminal activities in Rosedale, Uitenhage
- Authors: Swartbooi, Eden Rivonia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Female offenders -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality -- Public opinion , Women and the criminal justice system Deviant behavior Crime -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Public opinion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/35807 , vital:33849
- Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to gather the community perception of females involved in criminal activities at Rosedale in Uitenhage. The main theory used in this study was the Poverty theory. The study was conducted by using the qualitative research design. Interviews were semi structured and conducted using an interview schedule.20 participants both male and female (youth and adults) were interviewed in Rosedale. The thematic data analysis method was used. The findings of this study revealed that the main reasons for female involvement in criminal activities in Rosedale is due to: drug and alcohol abuse there are too many people selling drugs in Rosedale which makes it easily accessible for the youth to purchase and practise use daily. There are too many shebeens and taverns in Rosedale and they allow under aged children to purchase and consume alcohol this causes negative toxic behaviour. Unemployment there are not enough employment opportunities available for the youth in Rosedale. Poverty, some families don’t have the basic needs to survive daily therefore they choose to turn to crime to support themselves and their families. Insufficient recreational activities, the youth do not have anything to do, there is a lack of recreational activities in the community therefore the youth turns to crime. The main challenges facing the youth in Rosedale is that there are a lot of drop outs or they choose not to attend school, unemployment was mentioned again, gangsterism, there are a lot of house breakings and robberies taking place to purchase drugs. All participants are against females being involved in criminal activities in Rosedale they do not agree with it and think that its’ unethical for a female to participate in criminal activities because females are the care givers, nurtures and providers of their families and the society. More police visibility, the death penalty and employment opportunities were highlighted as the main solutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Swartbooi, Eden Rivonia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Female offenders -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality -- Public opinion , Women and the criminal justice system Deviant behavior Crime -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Public opinion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/35807 , vital:33849
- Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to gather the community perception of females involved in criminal activities at Rosedale in Uitenhage. The main theory used in this study was the Poverty theory. The study was conducted by using the qualitative research design. Interviews were semi structured and conducted using an interview schedule.20 participants both male and female (youth and adults) were interviewed in Rosedale. The thematic data analysis method was used. The findings of this study revealed that the main reasons for female involvement in criminal activities in Rosedale is due to: drug and alcohol abuse there are too many people selling drugs in Rosedale which makes it easily accessible for the youth to purchase and practise use daily. There are too many shebeens and taverns in Rosedale and they allow under aged children to purchase and consume alcohol this causes negative toxic behaviour. Unemployment there are not enough employment opportunities available for the youth in Rosedale. Poverty, some families don’t have the basic needs to survive daily therefore they choose to turn to crime to support themselves and their families. Insufficient recreational activities, the youth do not have anything to do, there is a lack of recreational activities in the community therefore the youth turns to crime. The main challenges facing the youth in Rosedale is that there are a lot of drop outs or they choose not to attend school, unemployment was mentioned again, gangsterism, there are a lot of house breakings and robberies taking place to purchase drugs. All participants are against females being involved in criminal activities in Rosedale they do not agree with it and think that its’ unethical for a female to participate in criminal activities because females are the care givers, nurtures and providers of their families and the society. More police visibility, the death penalty and employment opportunities were highlighted as the main solutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A sociological investigation of the youth perceptions on HIV and aids in central, Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Sandi, Fundiswa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: HIV infections -- Research -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Sexual health -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/34821 , vital:33456
- Description: the study which was conducted in Central, Port Elizabeth, mainly focusing on the youth perceptions towards HIV and AIDS. This chapter also gives an overall of the study, the literature review which is used on the study and the theory of Social Action which is used as a theoretical framework for this study. The chapter also includes the objectives and aims of the study, so as the research question which guided throughout the research and be able to reach the goal of this study. This chapter has also mentioned what has led to this particular topic and the fact that HIV and AIDS is a problem among the youth of South Africa so as Africa as a continent which needs to be controlled. Geographic maps of the Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth and Central which the youth situated in are included in this chapter. The ethical consideration which also guided this study as to how to deal with human beings, which is important is also mentioned.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Sandi, Fundiswa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: HIV infections -- Research -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Sexual health -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/34821 , vital:33456
- Description: the study which was conducted in Central, Port Elizabeth, mainly focusing on the youth perceptions towards HIV and AIDS. This chapter also gives an overall of the study, the literature review which is used on the study and the theory of Social Action which is used as a theoretical framework for this study. The chapter also includes the objectives and aims of the study, so as the research question which guided throughout the research and be able to reach the goal of this study. This chapter has also mentioned what has led to this particular topic and the fact that HIV and AIDS is a problem among the youth of South Africa so as Africa as a continent which needs to be controlled. Geographic maps of the Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth and Central which the youth situated in are included in this chapter. The ethical consideration which also guided this study as to how to deal with human beings, which is important is also mentioned.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A sociological investigation on the perceptions of the educational aspect of male initiation among amaXhosa in KwaZakhele Township, Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Jayiya, Ludwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Initiation rites -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Culture -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30594 , vital:30973
- Description: People in different walks of life have previously and even currently trying hard to contribute in improving the situation regarding the longstanding tradition of male initiation. The expectation of the society, is that these young men should show that they have gone through the process of growth and they should reflect the education they received from the initiation school. The research objectives include, the investigation of the perceptions of people about male initiation in KwaZakhele, to contribute within the Sociology of Education particularly within the context of Xhosa culture in KwaZakhele and to come up with the recommendations with the view of addressing some of the problems pertaining to male initiation within the context of Xhosa culture in KwaZakhele. This study has followed the qualitative approach which included among others individual interviews using an interview schedule containing the research questions. To supplement the interviews, texts, books and other relevant material were used.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Jayiya, Ludwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Initiation rites -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Culture -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30594 , vital:30973
- Description: People in different walks of life have previously and even currently trying hard to contribute in improving the situation regarding the longstanding tradition of male initiation. The expectation of the society, is that these young men should show that they have gone through the process of growth and they should reflect the education they received from the initiation school. The research objectives include, the investigation of the perceptions of people about male initiation in KwaZakhele, to contribute within the Sociology of Education particularly within the context of Xhosa culture in KwaZakhele and to come up with the recommendations with the view of addressing some of the problems pertaining to male initiation within the context of Xhosa culture in KwaZakhele. This study has followed the qualitative approach which included among others individual interviews using an interview schedule containing the research questions. To supplement the interviews, texts, books and other relevant material were used.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A systematic review of intervention effectiveness for problem anger in an adult outpatient population
- Authors: von Ruben, Adriana
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Anger , Anger -- Treatment , Rational emotive behavior therapy , Personality assessment , Social psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36059 , vital:33886
- Description: Increasing levels of anger are becoming one of the major social problems of modern society, yet anger is one of the least understood emotions. Given the long-term consequences and the seriousness of the negative outcomes associated with anger, there is a pressing need for effective anger management interventions targeted at different populations experiencing various types of problem anger.The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct a systematic review of current qualitative and quantitative research regarding the status of anger reducing interventions within outpatient populations. The aim was to explore the efficacy of various psychological approaches utilised to reduce problem anger. Eligibility criteria included studies with samples that had problem anger defined psychometrically. The search of available literature revealed 16 relevant reports containing 15 studies. All located studies utilised intervention modalities derived from cognitive and behavioural approaches. Results indicated large to moderate improvements in problem anger for the participants receiving the treatment. Cognitive and behavioural anger interventions were found to produce reductions in trait anger, general anger, the negative expression and suppression of anger, anger related physiological arousal, and increased the positive, controlled anger experience. More large-scale studies are needed implementing other psychological approaches to test their effectiveness in reducing maladaptive anger. The dearth of anger research conducted within outpatient populations is discussed in the context of the emerged themes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: von Ruben, Adriana
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Anger , Anger -- Treatment , Rational emotive behavior therapy , Personality assessment , Social psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36059 , vital:33886
- Description: Increasing levels of anger are becoming one of the major social problems of modern society, yet anger is one of the least understood emotions. Given the long-term consequences and the seriousness of the negative outcomes associated with anger, there is a pressing need for effective anger management interventions targeted at different populations experiencing various types of problem anger.The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct a systematic review of current qualitative and quantitative research regarding the status of anger reducing interventions within outpatient populations. The aim was to explore the efficacy of various psychological approaches utilised to reduce problem anger. Eligibility criteria included studies with samples that had problem anger defined psychometrically. The search of available literature revealed 16 relevant reports containing 15 studies. All located studies utilised intervention modalities derived from cognitive and behavioural approaches. Results indicated large to moderate improvements in problem anger for the participants receiving the treatment. Cognitive and behavioural anger interventions were found to produce reductions in trait anger, general anger, the negative expression and suppression of anger, anger related physiological arousal, and increased the positive, controlled anger experience. More large-scale studies are needed implementing other psychological approaches to test their effectiveness in reducing maladaptive anger. The dearth of anger research conducted within outpatient populations is discussed in the context of the emerged themes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
A thematic analysis of the challenges experienced by those living with tuberculosis
- Authors: Walaza, Robert Letsholo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Tuberculosis Patients South Africa , Tuberculosis Social aspects , South Africa Social conditions , Poor Health and hygiene South Africa , Poor Medical care South Africa , Social medicine South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61850 , vital:28068
- Description: Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) in his study, The condition of the working class in England, argued that the cause of illness and death amongst the working class was due to their living conditions such as poor housing, over-crowding, poor sanitation, food shortage, low paying jobs and a lack of material resources. The objective of the study was to understand the experiences of six South African individuals who have shared their experiences and challenges of living with TB on the TB&ME blog, and to show how TB is linked to the living conditions of these individuals. The study found that the challenges experienced by TB patient bloggers are of a social nature and confirms Engel’s study findings on the conditions of the working class in England. For example, a disease such as TB has a direct association with the living conditions of people, especially the poor. Thus, socio economic status of TB patient bloggers plays a role in the escalation of their ill health. Further, the study found that gender is central in understanding non-compliance to treatment. This is significant as it highlights the need to not only focus on issues of socioeconomics, but gender issues in fighting TB. Despite the negative consequences associated with living with TB, the bloggers have noted that the support from loved ones and other stakeholders in the fight against TB alleviates the challenges inherent in living with TB.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Walaza, Robert Letsholo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Tuberculosis Patients South Africa , Tuberculosis Social aspects , South Africa Social conditions , Poor Health and hygiene South Africa , Poor Medical care South Africa , Social medicine South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61850 , vital:28068
- Description: Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) in his study, The condition of the working class in England, argued that the cause of illness and death amongst the working class was due to their living conditions such as poor housing, over-crowding, poor sanitation, food shortage, low paying jobs and a lack of material resources. The objective of the study was to understand the experiences of six South African individuals who have shared their experiences and challenges of living with TB on the TB&ME blog, and to show how TB is linked to the living conditions of these individuals. The study found that the challenges experienced by TB patient bloggers are of a social nature and confirms Engel’s study findings on the conditions of the working class in England. For example, a disease such as TB has a direct association with the living conditions of people, especially the poor. Thus, socio economic status of TB patient bloggers plays a role in the escalation of their ill health. Further, the study found that gender is central in understanding non-compliance to treatment. This is significant as it highlights the need to not only focus on issues of socioeconomics, but gender issues in fighting TB. Despite the negative consequences associated with living with TB, the bloggers have noted that the support from loved ones and other stakeholders in the fight against TB alleviates the challenges inherent in living with TB.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Agricultural development and emerging small-scale farmers in Mbizana Local Municipality
- Authors: Nxitywa, Nosithembiso
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Farmers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small --South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/33726 , vital:33006
- Description: The agricultural sector is among one of the sectors that contribute to the economy of the country, in job creation and food security to mention a few aspects. The Eastern Cape Province is one of the poorest provinces in the country where most people depend on small-scale agriculture as their major source of livelihood, particularly in the rural areas. This is mainly due to the challenges of poverty and unemployment. Small-scale farming is a key activity to eliminate poverty and unemployment. However, mainly obstacles prevail and this includes access to markets, support and skills development. This research study aims to investigate the sustainability of small-scale farmers. The data was collected by means of in depth interviews from Mbizana local Municipality. A total of 12 respondents were selected as a sample for this investigation as well as ensuring that data quality is attained. Causal layered analysis was used to analyse the results. The results indicate that small-scale farmers are faced with several challenges which include, finance, skilled contractors and land ownership. Furthermore, it is evident that small-scale farmers are struggling to obtain a sustainable economic return. Farmers can participate in high-value markets by obtaining the required food safety certifications, which otherwise would be inaccessible to them individually but as groups or cooperatives to enhance them to easily access markets. In local informal markets, for instance, smallholders often find their prices undercut by produce that informal traders buy from large-scale commercial farmers. Supermarket chains, on the other hand, provide a lucrative niche market for smallholders but these downstream linkages are limited to smallholders that meet product variety and quality standards.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Nxitywa, Nosithembiso
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Farmers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small --South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/33726 , vital:33006
- Description: The agricultural sector is among one of the sectors that contribute to the economy of the country, in job creation and food security to mention a few aspects. The Eastern Cape Province is one of the poorest provinces in the country where most people depend on small-scale agriculture as their major source of livelihood, particularly in the rural areas. This is mainly due to the challenges of poverty and unemployment. Small-scale farming is a key activity to eliminate poverty and unemployment. However, mainly obstacles prevail and this includes access to markets, support and skills development. This research study aims to investigate the sustainability of small-scale farmers. The data was collected by means of in depth interviews from Mbizana local Municipality. A total of 12 respondents were selected as a sample for this investigation as well as ensuring that data quality is attained. Causal layered analysis was used to analyse the results. The results indicate that small-scale farmers are faced with several challenges which include, finance, skilled contractors and land ownership. Furthermore, it is evident that small-scale farmers are struggling to obtain a sustainable economic return. Farmers can participate in high-value markets by obtaining the required food safety certifications, which otherwise would be inaccessible to them individually but as groups or cooperatives to enhance them to easily access markets. In local informal markets, for instance, smallholders often find their prices undercut by produce that informal traders buy from large-scale commercial farmers. Supermarket chains, on the other hand, provide a lucrative niche market for smallholders but these downstream linkages are limited to smallholders that meet product variety and quality standards.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An action research approach: developing intercultural competence in German Studies at Rhodes University
- Authors: Collins, Morgan Gwyneth
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Action research in education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , German language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers , Cultural relations , Multicultural education , World citizenship
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63910 , vital:28505
- Description: The need to develop interculturally competent graduates is a concern for universities across the world. In South African universities this need is linked to globalization and increased diversity in terms of student demographics since 1994. Considering the legacy of apartheid, South African universities especially, and pressingly, need to respond to both global and national diversity concerns. ICC can play a significant role in creating more culturally inclusive spaces as students are provided with opportunities to “relate to and with people from vastly different cultural and ethnic backgrounds” (Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009, p. 4). In a similar way, Germany has faced, and continues to face, challenges relating to diversity especially in relation to migrants and as such, interculturality is a topic of debate in society and scholarly discourse. Therefore, ICC is as relevant to German society as it is South African society. Courses that explicitly deal with ICC are however, not common in South African universities and discourse, and as a result universities are “missing out on developing students’ intercultural competence” (Deardorff & Quinlan, 2016). This thesis aimed to address this gap by investigating the viability and necessity of introducing a module that deals explicitly with ICC into the German Studies course at Rhodes University. In doing so it contributed to the creation of disciplinary knowledge as well as furthering the aim of aiding the creation of responsible global citizenship, alongside ‘academic citizenship’, and aiding the internationalisation at home concept by encouraging the students to understand their own lived reality in a diverse society. This research made use of an action research approach to implementing a module and tracing its development. Student responses, as well as reflection and observation, found that a module dealing explicitly with ICC was viable and able to contribute to developing students’ sense of cultural self-awareness and their awareness of ICC as a set of transferrable skills and knowledges. This module aimed to serve as an introduction to ICC for students in order to begin to develop their intercultural competence and increase their awareness and critical approach to culture and intercultural encounters.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Collins, Morgan Gwyneth
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Action research in education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , German language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers , Cultural relations , Multicultural education , World citizenship
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63910 , vital:28505
- Description: The need to develop interculturally competent graduates is a concern for universities across the world. In South African universities this need is linked to globalization and increased diversity in terms of student demographics since 1994. Considering the legacy of apartheid, South African universities especially, and pressingly, need to respond to both global and national diversity concerns. ICC can play a significant role in creating more culturally inclusive spaces as students are provided with opportunities to “relate to and with people from vastly different cultural and ethnic backgrounds” (Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009, p. 4). In a similar way, Germany has faced, and continues to face, challenges relating to diversity especially in relation to migrants and as such, interculturality is a topic of debate in society and scholarly discourse. Therefore, ICC is as relevant to German society as it is South African society. Courses that explicitly deal with ICC are however, not common in South African universities and discourse, and as a result universities are “missing out on developing students’ intercultural competence” (Deardorff & Quinlan, 2016). This thesis aimed to address this gap by investigating the viability and necessity of introducing a module that deals explicitly with ICC into the German Studies course at Rhodes University. In doing so it contributed to the creation of disciplinary knowledge as well as furthering the aim of aiding the creation of responsible global citizenship, alongside ‘academic citizenship’, and aiding the internationalisation at home concept by encouraging the students to understand their own lived reality in a diverse society. This research made use of an action research approach to implementing a module and tracing its development. Student responses, as well as reflection and observation, found that a module dealing explicitly with ICC was viable and able to contribute to developing students’ sense of cultural self-awareness and their awareness of ICC as a set of transferrable skills and knowledges. This module aimed to serve as an introduction to ICC for students in order to begin to develop their intercultural competence and increase their awareness and critical approach to culture and intercultural encounters.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An analysis of the roles of the media and various interest aggregations in the social construction of the obesity epidemic
- Authors: Kriel, Daneel
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Obesity in mass media , Identity (Psychology) and mass media Mass media Discourse analysis Social constructionism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31434 , vital:31381
- Description: The regularly shifting positions between frames of individual responsibility and environmental impact characterising the obesity discourse in the media raises suspicion that the purported ‘obesity epidemic’ may be a social construction as opposed to a bona fide public health concern. Should this be the case, it prompts the question, who would go to the lengths of creating a global perception of being overweight as a life-threatening disease and constructing a global ‘epidemic? Additionally, what could be the possible justifications for doing so? This study is an effort to determine whether the ‘obesity epidemic’ is indeed a social construction. This is of concern, because public representations of obesity not only inform the public of medical or biomedical statistics but endorse shame-based narratives that may impact negatively upon the social identities and lives of people by creating meanings that influence cultural understandings of fatness and health. This study employs frame analysis, conceptualizing media frames as independent variables influencing the nature of the obesity discourse. By employing set criteria, eighty articles were selected from various high-profile South African English news sources with an online presence, representing a broad cross-section of the daily news provided to the South African population. A coding frame of key discourses was developed and coded for frame analysis in the QDA Miner software program. The study found that not only is the ‘obesity epidemic’ a social construction, but the result of propaganda executed through the media by large corporations in the ‘health-industrial complex’ for the sake of economic gain. Continued presentation of the ‘obesity epidemic’ as a global public health crisis, serves to reinforce societal myths and stereotypes, while shaping community beliefs, values and behaviour on behalf of corporate institutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kriel, Daneel
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Obesity in mass media , Identity (Psychology) and mass media Mass media Discourse analysis Social constructionism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31434 , vital:31381
- Description: The regularly shifting positions between frames of individual responsibility and environmental impact characterising the obesity discourse in the media raises suspicion that the purported ‘obesity epidemic’ may be a social construction as opposed to a bona fide public health concern. Should this be the case, it prompts the question, who would go to the lengths of creating a global perception of being overweight as a life-threatening disease and constructing a global ‘epidemic? Additionally, what could be the possible justifications for doing so? This study is an effort to determine whether the ‘obesity epidemic’ is indeed a social construction. This is of concern, because public representations of obesity not only inform the public of medical or biomedical statistics but endorse shame-based narratives that may impact negatively upon the social identities and lives of people by creating meanings that influence cultural understandings of fatness and health. This study employs frame analysis, conceptualizing media frames as independent variables influencing the nature of the obesity discourse. By employing set criteria, eighty articles were selected from various high-profile South African English news sources with an online presence, representing a broad cross-section of the daily news provided to the South African population. A coding frame of key discourses was developed and coded for frame analysis in the QDA Miner software program. The study found that not only is the ‘obesity epidemic’ a social construction, but the result of propaganda executed through the media by large corporations in the ‘health-industrial complex’ for the sake of economic gain. Continued presentation of the ‘obesity epidemic’ as a global public health crisis, serves to reinforce societal myths and stereotypes, while shaping community beliefs, values and behaviour on behalf of corporate institutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An anthropological investigation on the effectiveness of participatory tools: the case of the valley trust organisation in Durban, Kwazulu – Natal
- Authors: Mabaso, Celuzuze Gugulethu
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational anthropology , Adult learning -- South Africa -- Durban , Learning, Psychology of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30865 , vital:31184
- Description: This is an anthropological study of the effectiveness of participatory tools and the Valley Trust Organization in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. The research aim was to investigate the relationship between adult learning and the usage of participatory tools and to find out the influence/effectiveness of participatory tools on adult learning. The research objectives was to investigate how the adults at the Valley Trust Organization feel about the programme in relation to their intermediate needs, to contribute within the anthropology of education within the context of South Africa with specific reference to KwaZulu-Natal Province and to come up with the recommendations with the view of addressing the challenges facing adult education. The research techniques employed in this study include among others, individual interviews using an interview schedule. To supplement the interviews, secondary sources ranging from scholarly journals, books were used. In the final analysis the researcher has made some recommendations with the view to address some of the challenges.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mabaso, Celuzuze Gugulethu
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational anthropology , Adult learning -- South Africa -- Durban , Learning, Psychology of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30865 , vital:31184
- Description: This is an anthropological study of the effectiveness of participatory tools and the Valley Trust Organization in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. The research aim was to investigate the relationship between adult learning and the usage of participatory tools and to find out the influence/effectiveness of participatory tools on adult learning. The research objectives was to investigate how the adults at the Valley Trust Organization feel about the programme in relation to their intermediate needs, to contribute within the anthropology of education within the context of South Africa with specific reference to KwaZulu-Natal Province and to come up with the recommendations with the view of addressing the challenges facing adult education. The research techniques employed in this study include among others, individual interviews using an interview schedule. To supplement the interviews, secondary sources ranging from scholarly journals, books were used. In the final analysis the researcher has made some recommendations with the view to address some of the challenges.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An assessment of the extent to which community based planning is effectively used to identify viable and sustainable local economic development projects as part of municipal integrated development planning in Buffalo City Municipality
- Authors: Ngamlana, Mncedi
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22857 , vital:30111
- Description: The aim of this study is to investigate public participation mechanisms employed by Buffalo City Municipality and the extent to which these mechanisms influence municipal planning. The study highlights the extent to which the municipality’s development processes and programs are informed by the views of its citizens. This study also provides some useful insights into the extent to which the municipality is complying with legislative requirements for public participation in community-related projects. The approach was designed to respond to two major challenges that were identified at the time, namely: An analysis of the institutional challenges in attempts to promote sustainable livelihoods; and a realisation that decentralisation has concentrated on local government itself and has limited impact on citizens. The research methodology used is both qualitative and quantitative. Furthermore, face-to-face interviews were conducted in order to provide an accurate presentation of information (Leavitt and Bahrami, 1998),. The study revealed that a lack of an integrated approach to planning and program implementation between different departments within BCM even though these should essentially be planning and implementing in one accord. Community based planning (CBP) is one way in which municipalities encourage ward communities to participate in planning with an intended intention that the ward-based plans will feed into bigger strategies of the municipality. What had been uncovered through this study is that in BCM, CBP is not done, and therefore does not influence the development of the IDP and the LED strategy. This means that there is little meaningful community participation in BCM in the development of the IDP and the LED strategy, and therefore the municipality has no guarantee that its development initiatives are targeted towards the real needs of its citizens. Also, the study revealed that ward communities in BCM have no direct influence or control over their own development and over development priorities that are budgeted for by the municipality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ngamlana, Mncedi
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22857 , vital:30111
- Description: The aim of this study is to investigate public participation mechanisms employed by Buffalo City Municipality and the extent to which these mechanisms influence municipal planning. The study highlights the extent to which the municipality’s development processes and programs are informed by the views of its citizens. This study also provides some useful insights into the extent to which the municipality is complying with legislative requirements for public participation in community-related projects. The approach was designed to respond to two major challenges that were identified at the time, namely: An analysis of the institutional challenges in attempts to promote sustainable livelihoods; and a realisation that decentralisation has concentrated on local government itself and has limited impact on citizens. The research methodology used is both qualitative and quantitative. Furthermore, face-to-face interviews were conducted in order to provide an accurate presentation of information (Leavitt and Bahrami, 1998),. The study revealed that a lack of an integrated approach to planning and program implementation between different departments within BCM even though these should essentially be planning and implementing in one accord. Community based planning (CBP) is one way in which municipalities encourage ward communities to participate in planning with an intended intention that the ward-based plans will feed into bigger strategies of the municipality. What had been uncovered through this study is that in BCM, CBP is not done, and therefore does not influence the development of the IDP and the LED strategy. This means that there is little meaningful community participation in BCM in the development of the IDP and the LED strategy, and therefore the municipality has no guarantee that its development initiatives are targeted towards the real needs of its citizens. Also, the study revealed that ward communities in BCM have no direct influence or control over their own development and over development priorities that are budgeted for by the municipality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An exploration of the romantic experiences of young female adults raised by single mothers
- Authors: Masinyane, Anita
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Single-parent families , Single mothers -- South Africa Intimacy (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22343 , vital:29945
- Description: Family units have seen significant changes over the last decades, from more traditional to non-traditional family structure. South African literature has since seen a rise in single-parent family studies, however, has been geared towards the outcome of paternal absence on the male child. The paternal absence on young women and their romantic experiences remains largely unexplored. Historically, young women without fathers have been found to experience damaging effects on their well-being. Specifically, adversities pertaining to their identity, academic performance, relationships with and attitudes towards men and career and future prospects are evident in literature. This study was conducted with young female adults from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan, raised by single mothers to explore their perceptions and experiences of romantic relationships growing up without the paternal figure. This study utilizes a feminist psychology and social learning theoretical framework to conceptualise these experiences. The study uses a qualitative methodology and phenomenological design approach. The sample was identified through non-probability purposive sampling, and the data collected through semi-structured interviews. The data is analysed using a thematic analysis framework. The eight young women who participated in this study, collectively constructed themselves to be resilient to the experiences of fatherlessness, they portrayed themselves as self-sufficient, empowered in their identities, driven in their academic performance and career development and future aspirations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Masinyane, Anita
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Single-parent families , Single mothers -- South Africa Intimacy (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22343 , vital:29945
- Description: Family units have seen significant changes over the last decades, from more traditional to non-traditional family structure. South African literature has since seen a rise in single-parent family studies, however, has been geared towards the outcome of paternal absence on the male child. The paternal absence on young women and their romantic experiences remains largely unexplored. Historically, young women without fathers have been found to experience damaging effects on their well-being. Specifically, adversities pertaining to their identity, academic performance, relationships with and attitudes towards men and career and future prospects are evident in literature. This study was conducted with young female adults from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan, raised by single mothers to explore their perceptions and experiences of romantic relationships growing up without the paternal figure. This study utilizes a feminist psychology and social learning theoretical framework to conceptualise these experiences. The study uses a qualitative methodology and phenomenological design approach. The sample was identified through non-probability purposive sampling, and the data collected through semi-structured interviews. The data is analysed using a thematic analysis framework. The eight young women who participated in this study, collectively constructed themselves to be resilient to the experiences of fatherlessness, they portrayed themselves as self-sufficient, empowered in their identities, driven in their academic performance and career development and future aspirations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An interpretative phenomenological analysis of HIV positive individuals’ experiences of being in a support group
- Authors: Brink, Nicole
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: HIV-positive persons -- Social aspects Self-help groups AIDS (Disease) -- Patients -- Counseling of AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62988 , vital:28351
- Description: People who have been diagnosed HIV positive often experience distress and anxiety due to uncertainties pertaining to the implications of an HIV positive status. Research has shown that support groups have always been a way for people to cope with the distress and stressful circumstances associated with health conditions such as HIV. This research investigated the role of face to face support groups in the lives of those living with HIV. The primary focus of this research project is to provide an in-depth exploration of HIV positive individuals‟ experiences of being in a support group. The study aims to explore the positive and negative experiences of being in an HIV support group and aims to gain an understanding of the role support plays in the lives of those living with HIV. A qualitative research design was used to explore the above mentioned aim. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five individuals, (three women and two men) who had experienced HIV support groups. The interviews were transcribed and then analysed according to the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The findings of this study revealed five super-ordinate themes, which revealed not only the positive and negative experiences of being in a support group, but also the challenges that the participants‟ experienced before joining the group. Getting a sense of the participants‟ experience before joining the group allowed the researcher to get a better understanding of how useful or not the support group has been in helping them deal with the challenges of living with HIV. The themes included: „struggling to survive after diagnosis‟, „struggling to cope: adopting negative coping skills‟, „experiencing a turning-point: a will to survive‟, „attending support group: a sweet experience‟ and lastly, „attending support groups: a bitter experience‟. Findings suggest that for these participants, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages of being in a support group. Therefore this study suggests that face to face support groups are a viable and even necessary option for support. These findings support previous research and literature in regards to the importance of social support in the form of support groups in effectively assisting HIV positive people in their journey to adjust to the consequence of living with HIV.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Brink, Nicole
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: HIV-positive persons -- Social aspects Self-help groups AIDS (Disease) -- Patients -- Counseling of AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62988 , vital:28351
- Description: People who have been diagnosed HIV positive often experience distress and anxiety due to uncertainties pertaining to the implications of an HIV positive status. Research has shown that support groups have always been a way for people to cope with the distress and stressful circumstances associated with health conditions such as HIV. This research investigated the role of face to face support groups in the lives of those living with HIV. The primary focus of this research project is to provide an in-depth exploration of HIV positive individuals‟ experiences of being in a support group. The study aims to explore the positive and negative experiences of being in an HIV support group and aims to gain an understanding of the role support plays in the lives of those living with HIV. A qualitative research design was used to explore the above mentioned aim. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five individuals, (three women and two men) who had experienced HIV support groups. The interviews were transcribed and then analysed according to the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The findings of this study revealed five super-ordinate themes, which revealed not only the positive and negative experiences of being in a support group, but also the challenges that the participants‟ experienced before joining the group. Getting a sense of the participants‟ experience before joining the group allowed the researcher to get a better understanding of how useful or not the support group has been in helping them deal with the challenges of living with HIV. The themes included: „struggling to survive after diagnosis‟, „struggling to cope: adopting negative coping skills‟, „experiencing a turning-point: a will to survive‟, „attending support group: a sweet experience‟ and lastly, „attending support groups: a bitter experience‟. Findings suggest that for these participants, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages of being in a support group. Therefore this study suggests that face to face support groups are a viable and even necessary option for support. These findings support previous research and literature in regards to the importance of social support in the form of support groups in effectively assisting HIV positive people in their journey to adjust to the consequence of living with HIV.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018