Exploring the suitability of the evaluation criteria used in the MPT projects, by looking at hard and soft components of development programmes
- Authors: Ncapai, Wandile
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Community development , Economic development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3397 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018255
- Description: The study explores the suitability of the evaluation criteria used in Microprojects Programme Trust (MPT), by looking at hard and soft components of the development programme. In this sense hard components of development refer to those components of projects that are tangible and can be physically observed and can bring material changes to the life of the community. Soft components of development refer to those components of projects that bring qualitative transformation to the life of the community, i.e. increased levels of awareness, human well-being and the empowerment process that addresses the community's abstract needs, these are not tangible and often cannot be physically observed. Midway through its contract periods MPT evaluate all projects. The purpose of these mid term evaluations is to make recommendations to MPT on future approaches and methodology for community development and operations. The mid-term evaluation also influences the distribution and allocation of resources and funding. It was therefore vital that the criteria used are subject to tests and critical analysis so as to assess their validity. The assessment of the mid-term evaluation criteria used in MPT projects has been to further determine the appropriateness or suitability of the evaluation criteria as an instrument to measure and guide the MPT community development approach in the Eastern Cape. The method used was to conduct focus group discussions so as to get an insight into the local community situation as well as to assess non-tangible improvements and changes that have occurred in the life of the community as a result of the project. The information generated was used to compare what the community believe they achieved with what the official mid-term evaluation reports indicate was assessed and achieved and that was contrasted with what the literature recommends should have been assessed. The study found that the mid-term evaluations conducted on MPT projects have no social context in which the evaluations themselves were conducted. The terms of reference and criteria were based on the programme design which was formulated and compiled by the European Union without the participation of the local South African community. The findings also indicated that projects become unsuccessful or partly successful if the "soft" components which have a bearing on social and economic realities are neglected. The thesis ends with recommendations on how the mid-term evaluations as well as MPT programme can be developed to be more responsive to the needs as identified by the communities themselves. It is strongly believed that this study will provide a valuable contribution towards increasing the ability of MPT programme to bring about both material and qualitative transformation to the I ives of the disadvantaged community of the Eastern Cape whilst ensuring that the mid-term evaluations are developed and shaped to become an appropriate instrument to measure and guide MPT programme approach to community development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
- Authors: Ncapai, Wandile
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Community development , Economic development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3397 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018255
- Description: The study explores the suitability of the evaluation criteria used in Microprojects Programme Trust (MPT), by looking at hard and soft components of the development programme. In this sense hard components of development refer to those components of projects that are tangible and can be physically observed and can bring material changes to the life of the community. Soft components of development refer to those components of projects that bring qualitative transformation to the life of the community, i.e. increased levels of awareness, human well-being and the empowerment process that addresses the community's abstract needs, these are not tangible and often cannot be physically observed. Midway through its contract periods MPT evaluate all projects. The purpose of these mid term evaluations is to make recommendations to MPT on future approaches and methodology for community development and operations. The mid-term evaluation also influences the distribution and allocation of resources and funding. It was therefore vital that the criteria used are subject to tests and critical analysis so as to assess their validity. The assessment of the mid-term evaluation criteria used in MPT projects has been to further determine the appropriateness or suitability of the evaluation criteria as an instrument to measure and guide the MPT community development approach in the Eastern Cape. The method used was to conduct focus group discussions so as to get an insight into the local community situation as well as to assess non-tangible improvements and changes that have occurred in the life of the community as a result of the project. The information generated was used to compare what the community believe they achieved with what the official mid-term evaluation reports indicate was assessed and achieved and that was contrasted with what the literature recommends should have been assessed. The study found that the mid-term evaluations conducted on MPT projects have no social context in which the evaluations themselves were conducted. The terms of reference and criteria were based on the programme design which was formulated and compiled by the European Union without the participation of the local South African community. The findings also indicated that projects become unsuccessful or partly successful if the "soft" components which have a bearing on social and economic realities are neglected. The thesis ends with recommendations on how the mid-term evaluations as well as MPT programme can be developed to be more responsive to the needs as identified by the communities themselves. It is strongly believed that this study will provide a valuable contribution towards increasing the ability of MPT programme to bring about both material and qualitative transformation to the I ives of the disadvantaged community of the Eastern Cape whilst ensuring that the mid-term evaluations are developed and shaped to become an appropriate instrument to measure and guide MPT programme approach to community development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
The pursuit of paternal custody
- Authors: Pieterse, Johanna Tyziena
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Custody of children -- South Africa , Paternal custody -- South Africa , Divorced fathers -- South Africa , Father and child -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3398 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018266
- Description: Issues concerning children may be the most intense and emotive areas of divorce and can lead to spectacular legal battles. Social work practice revealed that it is often the father who leaves the court, stripped of his fatherhood by a court order that only grants him limited access to his own children. Some divorced fathers disengage from their children's lives but there is documented evidence of South African fathers who desire continuity in their relationships with their children after divorce. An interest in these fathers prompted this study. Fathers who challenged maternal custody were selected since it was assumed that their lived experiences would include non-custodial as well as custodial fatherhood. The study was approached from a constructivist position and was further informed by a family systems theory. South African and international literature was perused followed by an exploratory study on the relatively uncharted terrain of paternal custody. A qualitative method was used and one unstructured interview with a schedule was conducted with each of the five respondents who were selected according to non-probability purposive sampling methods. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed cross-sectionally around certain themes and categories that were extracted from the data. The most significant findings of the study which appear to resemble some earlier national and international findings, are summarised as follows: Some fathers appear to have sound motives for pursuing custody of their children. These fathers, if afforded the opportunity, find fulfilment in parenting their children whom they perceive to be happy and prosperous in their care. There are fathers in whom divorce causes clear and profound signs of distress which appear to be related to the loss of the pre-divorce father I child relationship. The feeling of powerlessness to effect the well-being of their children as they see it was emphasised. Recommendations generated from these findings relate to the elimination of gender bias from custody decisions, including fathers in therapeutic interventions with divorced families and the provision of family courts and mediation services as suggested in the White Paper for Social Welfare. Recommendations for future research are also presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
- Authors: Pieterse, Johanna Tyziena
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Custody of children -- South Africa , Paternal custody -- South Africa , Divorced fathers -- South Africa , Father and child -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3398 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018266
- Description: Issues concerning children may be the most intense and emotive areas of divorce and can lead to spectacular legal battles. Social work practice revealed that it is often the father who leaves the court, stripped of his fatherhood by a court order that only grants him limited access to his own children. Some divorced fathers disengage from their children's lives but there is documented evidence of South African fathers who desire continuity in their relationships with their children after divorce. An interest in these fathers prompted this study. Fathers who challenged maternal custody were selected since it was assumed that their lived experiences would include non-custodial as well as custodial fatherhood. The study was approached from a constructivist position and was further informed by a family systems theory. South African and international literature was perused followed by an exploratory study on the relatively uncharted terrain of paternal custody. A qualitative method was used and one unstructured interview with a schedule was conducted with each of the five respondents who were selected according to non-probability purposive sampling methods. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed cross-sectionally around certain themes and categories that were extracted from the data. The most significant findings of the study which appear to resemble some earlier national and international findings, are summarised as follows: Some fathers appear to have sound motives for pursuing custody of their children. These fathers, if afforded the opportunity, find fulfilment in parenting their children whom they perceive to be happy and prosperous in their care. There are fathers in whom divorce causes clear and profound signs of distress which appear to be related to the loss of the pre-divorce father I child relationship. The feeling of powerlessness to effect the well-being of their children as they see it was emphasised. Recommendations generated from these findings relate to the elimination of gender bias from custody decisions, including fathers in therapeutic interventions with divorced families and the provision of family courts and mediation services as suggested in the White Paper for Social Welfare. Recommendations for future research are also presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
A history of land tenure in the Herschel district, Transkei
- Authors: Viedge, Bronwen Elizabeth
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Land tenure -- South Africa -- Transkei Land tenure -- Herschel -- South Africa -- Transkei Land tenure -- History -- Herschel -- South Africa -- Transkei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3338 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003808
- Description: A historical review of land tenure systems implemented in the Herschel district, Eastern Cape, South Africa and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each system in conjunction with international experience of land tenure provide guidelines as to what elements could be incorporated in the formulation of a new integrated land tenure system. These guidelines together with the information obtained from a questionnaire survey amongst the Herschel population provide the government of South Africa with a broad outline of an integrated land tenure system that could serve to link the former homelands to the land tenure system that currently operates in the rest of the country thereby removing one of the obstacles to rural development and land redistribution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Viedge, Bronwen Elizabeth
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Land tenure -- South Africa -- Transkei Land tenure -- Herschel -- South Africa -- Transkei Land tenure -- History -- Herschel -- South Africa -- Transkei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3338 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003808
- Description: A historical review of land tenure systems implemented in the Herschel district, Eastern Cape, South Africa and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each system in conjunction with international experience of land tenure provide guidelines as to what elements could be incorporated in the formulation of a new integrated land tenure system. These guidelines together with the information obtained from a questionnaire survey amongst the Herschel population provide the government of South Africa with a broad outline of an integrated land tenure system that could serve to link the former homelands to the land tenure system that currently operates in the rest of the country thereby removing one of the obstacles to rural development and land redistribution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Ambivalence and paradox: the battered woman's interactions with the law and other helping resources
- Authors: Labe, Dana
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Family violence -- Law and legislation , Abused women , Family violence , Wife abuse , Women -- Crimes against , Women -- Counseling of , Family violence -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3333 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003127 , Family violence -- Law and legislation , Abused women , Family violence , Wife abuse , Women -- Crimes against , Women -- Counseling of , Family violence -- Prevention
- Description: This thesis explores how the battered woman attachment to her abusive partner impacts on her interactions with the legal system and non-legal resources. This qualitative research project is based on in-depth interviews conducted with seven abused women who procured interdicts in terms of the Prevention of Family Violence Act 133 of 1993 to restrain their husbands from assaulting them. The research reviews the nature of abuse suffered by the participants, their psychological attachments to their husbands, and their patterns of help-seeking in relation to the law and non-legal resources. Two main theoretical frameworks, psychoanalysis and feminism inform this study. The study found that the participants retained unrealistic hopes that their husbands would reform and become loving, caring partners, and that they treated their husbands with care and sympathy despite their husbands’ often brutal behaviour towards them. The findings suggest that the women’s behaviour towards their husbands was the product of two reality distorting psychological defences, splitting and the moral defence which they used to preserve their attachments to their abusive partners. These defences intersected with rigid patriarchal prescriptions of femininity which dictate that women should be stoically caring towards their husbands, and should hold relationships together no matter what the cost to themselves. The participants interactions with the legal system and with non-legal sources of help were structured by their reliance on splitting and the moral defence, and by the dictates of patriarchal ideology. Whilst it is undoubtedly true that at one level the participants sought help to get protection from abuse, the study shows that their help-seeking was motivated by their conflicting desires to punish and reform their husbands. The participants sought help in ways which enabled them to strike a compromise between expressing their anger at their husbands, whilst simultaneously preserving their psychological attachments to them. The study concludes that the women’s interactions with the law and with other helping resource reflect their attempts to preserve their paradoxical attachments to their husbands, and to stabilise their own fragile sense of self and gender identity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Labe, Dana
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Family violence -- Law and legislation , Abused women , Family violence , Wife abuse , Women -- Crimes against , Women -- Counseling of , Family violence -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3333 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003127 , Family violence -- Law and legislation , Abused women , Family violence , Wife abuse , Women -- Crimes against , Women -- Counseling of , Family violence -- Prevention
- Description: This thesis explores how the battered woman attachment to her abusive partner impacts on her interactions with the legal system and non-legal resources. This qualitative research project is based on in-depth interviews conducted with seven abused women who procured interdicts in terms of the Prevention of Family Violence Act 133 of 1993 to restrain their husbands from assaulting them. The research reviews the nature of abuse suffered by the participants, their psychological attachments to their husbands, and their patterns of help-seeking in relation to the law and non-legal resources. Two main theoretical frameworks, psychoanalysis and feminism inform this study. The study found that the participants retained unrealistic hopes that their husbands would reform and become loving, caring partners, and that they treated their husbands with care and sympathy despite their husbands’ often brutal behaviour towards them. The findings suggest that the women’s behaviour towards their husbands was the product of two reality distorting psychological defences, splitting and the moral defence which they used to preserve their attachments to their abusive partners. These defences intersected with rigid patriarchal prescriptions of femininity which dictate that women should be stoically caring towards their husbands, and should hold relationships together no matter what the cost to themselves. The participants interactions with the legal system and with non-legal sources of help were structured by their reliance on splitting and the moral defence, and by the dictates of patriarchal ideology. Whilst it is undoubtedly true that at one level the participants sought help to get protection from abuse, the study shows that their help-seeking was motivated by their conflicting desires to punish and reform their husbands. The participants sought help in ways which enabled them to strike a compromise between expressing their anger at their husbands, whilst simultaneously preserving their psychological attachments to them. The study concludes that the women’s interactions with the law and with other helping resource reflect their attempts to preserve their paradoxical attachments to their husbands, and to stabilise their own fragile sense of self and gender identity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Attitudes and perceptions of marriage and divorce among Indian Muslim students
- Authors: Naidoo, Suraya
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Muslim families -- Social life and customs , Muslim students -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3289 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003077 , Muslim families -- Social life and customs , Muslim students -- Attitudes
- Description: This study explores the question of religion and ethnicity as a source of family diversity and ideology. An ideal-typical "traditional Muslim family ideology" was developed and tested. Eight Indian Muslim students at Rhodes University were asked about their attitudes and perceptions of marriage and family life, to determine the particular type of family ideology that these students embraced. Family-related issues such as marriage; the division of labour; gender roles; the extended family system; divorce; and polygamy were addressed. On the basis of the research results, it was found that these students largely adopted the "traditional Muslim family ideology". Religion and ethnicity were found to play an important role, in the make-up of these students' perception of marriage and family life, and a strong preference for the extended family was shown.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Naidoo, Suraya
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Muslim families -- Social life and customs , Muslim students -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3289 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003077 , Muslim families -- Social life and customs , Muslim students -- Attitudes
- Description: This study explores the question of religion and ethnicity as a source of family diversity and ideology. An ideal-typical "traditional Muslim family ideology" was developed and tested. Eight Indian Muslim students at Rhodes University were asked about their attitudes and perceptions of marriage and family life, to determine the particular type of family ideology that these students embraced. Family-related issues such as marriage; the division of labour; gender roles; the extended family system; divorce; and polygamy were addressed. On the basis of the research results, it was found that these students largely adopted the "traditional Muslim family ideology". Religion and ethnicity were found to play an important role, in the make-up of these students' perception of marriage and family life, and a strong preference for the extended family was shown.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Credit accessibility and rural development in the former Ciskei: an overview of Keiskammahoek
- Authors: Kimemia, Peter Njau
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Credit -- Research -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Rural development -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Poor -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Poor -- Developing countries
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3312 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003100 , Credit -- Research -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Rural development -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Poor -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Poor -- Developing countries
- Description: This study focuses on the issue of credit accessibility for the rural poor. Taking cognisance of the critical role played by innovative micro-lending mechanisms in the sphere of rural development, the study reaffirms the need to enhance access to financial services by rural communities. However, it also reveals the fact that there are numerous impediments to access to credit for the people living in parts of the Keiskammahoek District of the former Ciskei. Key among the impediments has been lack of awareness about the existence and the activities of micro-lending institutions. This has, in a large measure been blamed for many of the rural poor people's failure to approach such institutions for funding. As a result, the affected people's efforts to fully actualize themselves economically have to a certain extent been hampered. Consequently, as its core argument, this study views as crucial the need to tackle all the attendant impediments. It also suggests that as the first step, the government, NGOs as well as formal and informal lending institutions should endeavour to disseminate the requisite information on micro-financing and in enhancing the affected people's institutional capacity to effectively use credit obtained for commercially productive ventures. Without sorting out the basics first, credit extension even when easily availed may not have the desired impact. At worst, it may actually complicate the poverty situation as the people grapple with piling debts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Kimemia, Peter Njau
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Credit -- Research -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Rural development -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Poor -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Poor -- Developing countries
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3312 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003100 , Credit -- Research -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Rural development -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Poor -- South Africa -- Ciskei , Poor -- Developing countries
- Description: This study focuses on the issue of credit accessibility for the rural poor. Taking cognisance of the critical role played by innovative micro-lending mechanisms in the sphere of rural development, the study reaffirms the need to enhance access to financial services by rural communities. However, it also reveals the fact that there are numerous impediments to access to credit for the people living in parts of the Keiskammahoek District of the former Ciskei. Key among the impediments has been lack of awareness about the existence and the activities of micro-lending institutions. This has, in a large measure been blamed for many of the rural poor people's failure to approach such institutions for funding. As a result, the affected people's efforts to fully actualize themselves economically have to a certain extent been hampered. Consequently, as its core argument, this study views as crucial the need to tackle all the attendant impediments. It also suggests that as the first step, the government, NGOs as well as formal and informal lending institutions should endeavour to disseminate the requisite information on micro-financing and in enhancing the affected people's institutional capacity to effectively use credit obtained for commercially productive ventures. Without sorting out the basics first, credit extension even when easily availed may not have the desired impact. At worst, it may actually complicate the poverty situation as the people grapple with piling debts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Rural resettlement scheme evaluation: a case study of the Mfengu in Tsitsikamma
- Authors: Fakudze, Churchill M
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Land settlement , Land settlement -- South Africa -- Tsitsikamma , Land settlement -- Developing countries , Land settlement -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3309 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003097 , Land settlement , Land settlement -- South Africa -- Tsitsikamma , Land settlement -- Developing countries , Land settlement -- South Africa
- Description: In 1997 South Africa came out with a policy aimed at addressing the legacy of apartheid in respect of an unequal division of land in the country. About 3.5 million people were moved from rural and urban areas between 1960 and 1980 and deposited in the reserves or areas designed for the exclusive occupation of black people. The new land policy attempts to deal with the resultant problems. The policy advocates a three-pronged approach to land reform encompassing (i) land restitution, (ii) land redistribution and (iii) land tenure reform. A number of projects have been carried out under these three aspects. This study aims to investigate and evaluate the results of a completed land restitution case. The Mfengu of Tsitsikamma was chosen as a case study because the people have moved back and are now living on their land. The Mfengu were dispossessed of their land in 1977 by the apartheid government and their land was returned in 1994. Although this case was processed outside of the land restitution legislation (Restitution of Land Rights Act, 22 of 1994), all restitution cases where people return to their original land have to deal with the problems of resettlement. From its involvement in various involuntary resettlement projects, the World Bank concluded that the new communities of resettlers should be designed as a viable settlement system equipped with infrastructure and services and integrated in the regional socio-economic context. The host communities receiving the resettlers should be assisted to overcome possible adverse social and environmental effects from the increased population density. These concerns are valid for the South African situation, and the question is, whether this resettlement encapsulates the above. The goals of the research are twofold. To evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the resettlement project and its sustainability. In particular focussing on the constraints to the implementation of the land policy. Research questions include the following: How was the project carried out? Is the resettlement integrated into the socio-economic and development planning of the area? How viable and sustainable is the new settlement? What are the major problems and challenges facing this area and how can they be overcome?
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Fakudze, Churchill M
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Land settlement , Land settlement -- South Africa -- Tsitsikamma , Land settlement -- Developing countries , Land settlement -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3309 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003097 , Land settlement , Land settlement -- South Africa -- Tsitsikamma , Land settlement -- Developing countries , Land settlement -- South Africa
- Description: In 1997 South Africa came out with a policy aimed at addressing the legacy of apartheid in respect of an unequal division of land in the country. About 3.5 million people were moved from rural and urban areas between 1960 and 1980 and deposited in the reserves or areas designed for the exclusive occupation of black people. The new land policy attempts to deal with the resultant problems. The policy advocates a three-pronged approach to land reform encompassing (i) land restitution, (ii) land redistribution and (iii) land tenure reform. A number of projects have been carried out under these three aspects. This study aims to investigate and evaluate the results of a completed land restitution case. The Mfengu of Tsitsikamma was chosen as a case study because the people have moved back and are now living on their land. The Mfengu were dispossessed of their land in 1977 by the apartheid government and their land was returned in 1994. Although this case was processed outside of the land restitution legislation (Restitution of Land Rights Act, 22 of 1994), all restitution cases where people return to their original land have to deal with the problems of resettlement. From its involvement in various involuntary resettlement projects, the World Bank concluded that the new communities of resettlers should be designed as a viable settlement system equipped with infrastructure and services and integrated in the regional socio-economic context. The host communities receiving the resettlers should be assisted to overcome possible adverse social and environmental effects from the increased population density. These concerns are valid for the South African situation, and the question is, whether this resettlement encapsulates the above. The goals of the research are twofold. To evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the resettlement project and its sustainability. In particular focussing on the constraints to the implementation of the land policy. Research questions include the following: How was the project carried out? Is the resettlement integrated into the socio-economic and development planning of the area? How viable and sustainable is the new settlement? What are the major problems and challenges facing this area and how can they be overcome?
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Trends in mobilisation and unionisation in South Africa and Germany: a comparative analysis
- Authors: Whiteley, Julianne Beverley
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Industrial mobilization -- South Africa , Labor unions -- South Africa , Industrial mobilization -- Germany , Labor unions -- Germany , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Germany -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3332 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003125 , Industrial mobilization -- South Africa , Labor unions -- South Africa , Industrial mobilization -- Germany , Labor unions -- Germany , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Germany -- Economic conditions
- Description: The purpose of this study is to investigate long-term trends in the union membership of South Africa and Germany, and to highlight trends in unionisation in both of these countries over a period of time. The long-term aspect of this study differentiates it from more detailed specific studies concerned with the individual fortunes of confederations or unions. The changing fortunes of trade unions have been associated with changes in work organisation, the influence of institutional pressures, or long term changes in the economic cycle. All these factors may, of course, shape and be shaped by each other. From a comparative perspective this dissertation determines whether the fortunes of unions are ultimately a product of the long waves of an economic cycle, or if other factors, such as variations in union/state relations, changes in the forms of work organisation and shifts in the employment market, impact upon union membership and mobilisation. It is hoped that the comparison of a transitional and an advanced economy may shed new light on the causes of union growth and decline, and the impact of specific social, legal and cultural variables thereon. The theoretical frame of reference for this study emerged from literature pertaining to union growth and decline. This literature discusses the historical, economic and sectoral challenges that confront the identity of unions and their ability to mobilise membership within contemporary labour markets. The entire study relies heavily on primary data collected from a wide range of sources in both countries. This method facilitates the comparison and cross-checking of information, which ensures a full and balanced study. A synthesis of the facts obtained led to certain suggestions relating to the areas in which both South African and German labour organisations could adapt their agenda and interests to the changing nature of the employment market in order to avert membership decline. The methodology of this research draws from Skopol’s work which argues that social studies ought to be grounded in historical experience in order to make sense out of specific social events that occur today. The research design utilises an initial comparative historical-political analysis of the emergence of unionism in South Africa and Germany, so as to establish those factors which have, in the past, affected union growth and decline in both countries. Thereafter, the impact of contemporary economic and sectoral trends that reoccur in the South African and German labour markets are examined and compared, in order to establish their influence on the growth or decline of union membership in both countries in the future. This study consists of four sections. The first section comprises a historical dimension that uses Valenzuela’s work relating to the political nature of labour movements to establish those factors which, in the past, have affected union growth and decline. This is done to determine whether the type of insertion of labour movements into historical national political processes, and the links formed between trade unions and political parties influences membership growth or decline. The following three sections deal with the present challenges that may affect the unions in the future. Section Two deals with factors of economic recession (namely, poverty and unemployment) which confront trade unions in the 1990s. Hyman’s Theory of Disaggregation is applied to determine if recessive socio-economic factors can account for the strength of decline of unions, as opposed to union mobilisation being purely linked to transitions between long waves of the economy as Kelly suggests. The relevance of these theories to the rise and decline of unionism in South Africa and Germany is compared and contrasted. The third section determines whether changes to more flexible forms of work organisation and shifts in the employment market can account for the contrasting strength of the South African labour movement and the decline of the German labour movement today. The way in which these issues impact negatively upon union strength in South Africa and Germany in the 1990s is compared and contrasted, again using Hyman’s Theory of Disaggregation. The final section establishes whether or not the roles adopted by the South African and German labour movements during their confrontation with labour repressive regimes impacts upon their ability to attract union membership today, despite the constraints imposed upon unions by prevailing economic and structural uncertainties. Therefore the historicity of the South African and German labour movements, (based upon the findings of the first part of this study), is referred back to. At the same time, the reactions of the South African and German labour movements to prevailing economic and structural realities, (as examined in the second part of this research) are re-examined. Three conclusions are reached. Firstly, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses, all labour organisations are capable of adjusting to the adverse changes taking place in contemporary employment markets if they prove willing to advance and defend the interests of all who work, including those in the informal sector. If unions continue to neglect the informal labour market, they run the risk of being transposed by social movements that are antagonistic to trade unions or new expressions of the workforce’s latent collectivism. Secondly, in successfully playing a social movement role that led to the downfall of Apartheid in 1994, the South African labour movement has evolved as an energetic body with a dimension of recumbent militancy that attempts to adapt its identity to the changing nature of the employment market. This enables the South African labour movement to continue to attract membership despite the prevailing economic uncertainties. In contrast, forced co-operation and consensus within the German industrial relations arena since World War Two has resulted in a less dynamic union movement that lacks initiative in adapting to the changing nature of the employment market. The result is a decline in unionism. Finally, the fortunes of unions are not, as Kelly suggests, purely a product of economic cycles. Political climates can also influence mobilisation, as has occurred in both South Africa and Germany. This implies that mobilisation is not only activated by the economic dissatisfaction of a union movement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Whiteley, Julianne Beverley
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Industrial mobilization -- South Africa , Labor unions -- South Africa , Industrial mobilization -- Germany , Labor unions -- Germany , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Germany -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3332 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003125 , Industrial mobilization -- South Africa , Labor unions -- South Africa , Industrial mobilization -- Germany , Labor unions -- Germany , South Africa -- Economic conditions , Germany -- Economic conditions
- Description: The purpose of this study is to investigate long-term trends in the union membership of South Africa and Germany, and to highlight trends in unionisation in both of these countries over a period of time. The long-term aspect of this study differentiates it from more detailed specific studies concerned with the individual fortunes of confederations or unions. The changing fortunes of trade unions have been associated with changes in work organisation, the influence of institutional pressures, or long term changes in the economic cycle. All these factors may, of course, shape and be shaped by each other. From a comparative perspective this dissertation determines whether the fortunes of unions are ultimately a product of the long waves of an economic cycle, or if other factors, such as variations in union/state relations, changes in the forms of work organisation and shifts in the employment market, impact upon union membership and mobilisation. It is hoped that the comparison of a transitional and an advanced economy may shed new light on the causes of union growth and decline, and the impact of specific social, legal and cultural variables thereon. The theoretical frame of reference for this study emerged from literature pertaining to union growth and decline. This literature discusses the historical, economic and sectoral challenges that confront the identity of unions and their ability to mobilise membership within contemporary labour markets. The entire study relies heavily on primary data collected from a wide range of sources in both countries. This method facilitates the comparison and cross-checking of information, which ensures a full and balanced study. A synthesis of the facts obtained led to certain suggestions relating to the areas in which both South African and German labour organisations could adapt their agenda and interests to the changing nature of the employment market in order to avert membership decline. The methodology of this research draws from Skopol’s work which argues that social studies ought to be grounded in historical experience in order to make sense out of specific social events that occur today. The research design utilises an initial comparative historical-political analysis of the emergence of unionism in South Africa and Germany, so as to establish those factors which have, in the past, affected union growth and decline in both countries. Thereafter, the impact of contemporary economic and sectoral trends that reoccur in the South African and German labour markets are examined and compared, in order to establish their influence on the growth or decline of union membership in both countries in the future. This study consists of four sections. The first section comprises a historical dimension that uses Valenzuela’s work relating to the political nature of labour movements to establish those factors which, in the past, have affected union growth and decline. This is done to determine whether the type of insertion of labour movements into historical national political processes, and the links formed between trade unions and political parties influences membership growth or decline. The following three sections deal with the present challenges that may affect the unions in the future. Section Two deals with factors of economic recession (namely, poverty and unemployment) which confront trade unions in the 1990s. Hyman’s Theory of Disaggregation is applied to determine if recessive socio-economic factors can account for the strength of decline of unions, as opposed to union mobilisation being purely linked to transitions between long waves of the economy as Kelly suggests. The relevance of these theories to the rise and decline of unionism in South Africa and Germany is compared and contrasted. The third section determines whether changes to more flexible forms of work organisation and shifts in the employment market can account for the contrasting strength of the South African labour movement and the decline of the German labour movement today. The way in which these issues impact negatively upon union strength in South Africa and Germany in the 1990s is compared and contrasted, again using Hyman’s Theory of Disaggregation. The final section establishes whether or not the roles adopted by the South African and German labour movements during their confrontation with labour repressive regimes impacts upon their ability to attract union membership today, despite the constraints imposed upon unions by prevailing economic and structural uncertainties. Therefore the historicity of the South African and German labour movements, (based upon the findings of the first part of this study), is referred back to. At the same time, the reactions of the South African and German labour movements to prevailing economic and structural realities, (as examined in the second part of this research) are re-examined. Three conclusions are reached. Firstly, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses, all labour organisations are capable of adjusting to the adverse changes taking place in contemporary employment markets if they prove willing to advance and defend the interests of all who work, including those in the informal sector. If unions continue to neglect the informal labour market, they run the risk of being transposed by social movements that are antagonistic to trade unions or new expressions of the workforce’s latent collectivism. Secondly, in successfully playing a social movement role that led to the downfall of Apartheid in 1994, the South African labour movement has evolved as an energetic body with a dimension of recumbent militancy that attempts to adapt its identity to the changing nature of the employment market. This enables the South African labour movement to continue to attract membership despite the prevailing economic uncertainties. In contrast, forced co-operation and consensus within the German industrial relations arena since World War Two has resulted in a less dynamic union movement that lacks initiative in adapting to the changing nature of the employment market. The result is a decline in unionism. Finally, the fortunes of unions are not, as Kelly suggests, purely a product of economic cycles. Political climates can also influence mobilisation, as has occurred in both South Africa and Germany. This implies that mobilisation is not only activated by the economic dissatisfaction of a union movement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Rural underdevelopment in the former Ciskei with specific reference to Glenmore Village
- Authors: Malila, Brett
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Social conditions , Glenmore (South Africa) -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3288 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003076 , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Social conditions , Glenmore (South Africa) -- Economic conditions
- Description: This thesis examines development changes that took place in Glenmore after 1994. To examine such change one needs to have a concise historical understanding of the situation in Glenmore before democracy. The aim of the work is to critique development at a local, rural level, pinpointing the major changes, if any, that came with the incorporation of the former homeland of Ciskei (and thus Glenmore village) with South Africa. These people were forcibly resettled in 1979 for political and economic reasons. Their situation then was one of dire poverty; it is argued here that even with democracy, their history of underdevelopment has continued. The reason for this continued underdevelopment is the structure of the former reserves. The overall political context has changed in South Africa but the most important aspect with regard to the development of the homelands: land, has not. At the central level, the government has churned out a wide variety of development policies, which due to the prevailing political and economic context of the times are fraught with inconsistencies. The example used here to show some of these inconsistencies is the 1997 White Paper on Land Reform. This confusion at the central level with regard to the perceived future of South Africa has managed to adversely affect the rural areas and their development. There very well might be policies in abundance to improve the life-world of the rural poor, but there are inconsistencies between this policy and actual practice. With regard to Glenmore the confusion in the present government’s central development policy is arguably the main reason for the underdevelopment of the village. The inconsistencies in policy such as the 1997 White Paper on Land Reform, have meant that the structure of the reserves has not changed. Vital issues such as land tenure and ownership have not been dealt with. The study thus shows that unless the structure of the homeland system which is predominantly based on issues of land, is changed, genuine social and economic development will not take place in areas like Glenmore.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Malila, Brett
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Social conditions , Glenmore (South Africa) -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3288 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003076 , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Social conditions , Glenmore (South Africa) -- Economic conditions
- Description: This thesis examines development changes that took place in Glenmore after 1994. To examine such change one needs to have a concise historical understanding of the situation in Glenmore before democracy. The aim of the work is to critique development at a local, rural level, pinpointing the major changes, if any, that came with the incorporation of the former homeland of Ciskei (and thus Glenmore village) with South Africa. These people were forcibly resettled in 1979 for political and economic reasons. Their situation then was one of dire poverty; it is argued here that even with democracy, their history of underdevelopment has continued. The reason for this continued underdevelopment is the structure of the former reserves. The overall political context has changed in South Africa but the most important aspect with regard to the development of the homelands: land, has not. At the central level, the government has churned out a wide variety of development policies, which due to the prevailing political and economic context of the times are fraught with inconsistencies. The example used here to show some of these inconsistencies is the 1997 White Paper on Land Reform. This confusion at the central level with regard to the perceived future of South Africa has managed to adversely affect the rural areas and their development. There very well might be policies in abundance to improve the life-world of the rural poor, but there are inconsistencies between this policy and actual practice. With regard to Glenmore the confusion in the present government’s central development policy is arguably the main reason for the underdevelopment of the village. The inconsistencies in policy such as the 1997 White Paper on Land Reform, have meant that the structure of the reserves has not changed. Vital issues such as land tenure and ownership have not been dealt with. The study thus shows that unless the structure of the homeland system which is predominantly based on issues of land, is changed, genuine social and economic development will not take place in areas like Glenmore.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Family diversity : a South African perspective focusing on Whites in Grahamstown
- Authors: Ziehl, Susan C
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Families -- History -- Research Families -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Families Families -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3341 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004467
- Description: Drawing on developments in the field of family history and studies of families in contemporary settings, the study addresses the question of explaining variations in household patterns. Its empirical basis is a survey of White households in Grahamstown. The surveyed population was broken down in terms of class (occupation) and culture (language) and analyses conducted to determine if there are any statistically significant relationships between these variables and the tendency to reside in particular household structures. The question of 'family ideology' was also addressed as an attempt was made to uncover subjects' views on a variety of family-related issues. On the basis of the research results, a model of the relationship between class, culture and household structure was developed. Its application to a comparison of Black and White household structures in South Africa as well as the United States, is discussed. Finally, attempts at redefining the family are addressed and a new definition of the family proposed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
- Authors: Ziehl, Susan C
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Families -- History -- Research Families -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Families Families -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3341 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004467
- Description: Drawing on developments in the field of family history and studies of families in contemporary settings, the study addresses the question of explaining variations in household patterns. Its empirical basis is a survey of White households in Grahamstown. The surveyed population was broken down in terms of class (occupation) and culture (language) and analyses conducted to determine if there are any statistically significant relationships between these variables and the tendency to reside in particular household structures. The question of 'family ideology' was also addressed as an attempt was made to uncover subjects' views on a variety of family-related issues. On the basis of the research results, a model of the relationship between class, culture and household structure was developed. Its application to a comparison of Black and White household structures in South Africa as well as the United States, is discussed. Finally, attempts at redefining the family are addressed and a new definition of the family proposed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
Comprehending strike action: the South African experience c.1950-1990 and the theoretical implications thereof
- Authors: Wood, Geoffrey Thomas
- Date: 1995
- Subjects: Strikes and lockouts -- South Africa -- History Industrial relations -- South Africa -- History Labor unions -- South Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3319 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003107
- Description: Regular strike action has become a central characteristic of the South African industrial relations system. Whilst in the 1950s strikes were mostly isolated outbursts of relatively short duration, strikes in the 1980s were challenges of unprecedented duration and intensity. It is argued that despite this dramatic change, reflecting a series of discontinuities in both the political and economic arenas, strike action in South Africa does follow distinct patterns, and can be ascribed to a combination of identifiable causes. Principal causal factors include wage aspirations, past experiences and the subjective interpretation thereof, and the role of the union movement. Contingent factors include the prevailing political climate, industrial relations legislation, the amount of information opposing sides possess of their adversaries' intentions as well as spatial issues, such as the internal dynamics of individual communities. Partially as a result of South Africa's political transformation, the late 1980s and early 1990s saw further changes in the industrial relations environment. Reflecting these developments, it is argued that a new type of trade unionism has developed, "coterminous unionism" . This will have far-reaching implications for the nature of industrial conflict. However, it falls fully within the theoretical parameters outlined in this thesis. Despite significant developments in social theory in the 1980s and 1990s, there have been few attempts accordingly to update theories of strike action. One of the objectives of this thesis has been to attempt such an update. It is hoped that the constructs developed will shed light on a widely prevalent form of social conflict, assist in the analysis of future outbreaks, and enable the identification of those situations where a high propensity to engage in strike action may exist.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1995
- Authors: Wood, Geoffrey Thomas
- Date: 1995
- Subjects: Strikes and lockouts -- South Africa -- History Industrial relations -- South Africa -- History Labor unions -- South Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3319 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003107
- Description: Regular strike action has become a central characteristic of the South African industrial relations system. Whilst in the 1950s strikes were mostly isolated outbursts of relatively short duration, strikes in the 1980s were challenges of unprecedented duration and intensity. It is argued that despite this dramatic change, reflecting a series of discontinuities in both the political and economic arenas, strike action in South Africa does follow distinct patterns, and can be ascribed to a combination of identifiable causes. Principal causal factors include wage aspirations, past experiences and the subjective interpretation thereof, and the role of the union movement. Contingent factors include the prevailing political climate, industrial relations legislation, the amount of information opposing sides possess of their adversaries' intentions as well as spatial issues, such as the internal dynamics of individual communities. Partially as a result of South Africa's political transformation, the late 1980s and early 1990s saw further changes in the industrial relations environment. Reflecting these developments, it is argued that a new type of trade unionism has developed, "coterminous unionism" . This will have far-reaching implications for the nature of industrial conflict. However, it falls fully within the theoretical parameters outlined in this thesis. Despite significant developments in social theory in the 1980s and 1990s, there have been few attempts accordingly to update theories of strike action. One of the objectives of this thesis has been to attempt such an update. It is hoped that the constructs developed will shed light on a widely prevalent form of social conflict, assist in the analysis of future outbreaks, and enable the identification of those situations where a high propensity to engage in strike action may exist.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1995
Towards a gender analysis of women and development: a case study of the gender division of labour in a rural black community in South Africa
- Authors: Middleton, Susan Clare
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Rural women -- Employment -- South Africa -- Case studies , Women in development -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sexual division of labor -- South Africa , Sex role -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sexual division of labor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Thornhill -- Merino Walk
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3326 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003114 , Rural women -- Employment -- South Africa -- Case studies , Women in development -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sexual division of labor -- South Africa , Sex role -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sexual division of labor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Thornhill -- Merino Walk
- Description: This thesis examines the topic of the position of women in rural development. This topic has become the focus of extensive international debate at theoretical and policy levels, but for historical reasons remains relatively undeveloped in South Africa. After reviewing a number of contemporary approaches, the thesis argues in favour of the "Gender and Development" approach, and applies this to a case study of the gender division of labour in a rural black community in South Africa. Chapter one reviews the variants of the "Women in Development" (WID) approaches, as well as the claims of "Global Feminism". It is argued that, although Global Feminism began as a critique of WID approaches, it is in fact similar in many respects to the contemporary "empowerment" focus within the WID tradition. Although useful, these approaches are not sufficiently explicit in their theorizing of gender relations in the context of development. Chapter 2 sets out the key elements of the "Gender and Development" approach, which emphasises the complexity of the issue of women's interests, and warns against assuming a commonality of interests amongst all women. Instead, the GAD approach demands a detailed investigation of socially constructed gender relations in specific communities, with a special focus on the gender division of labour. For GAD theorists such analysis is a requirement of development planning which seeks to advance the position of women. Chapter 3 spells out the methodological implications of the GAD approach, and develops a specific research design, influenced by GAD as well as feminist methodology, for the investigation of the gender-specific needs of women in Merino Walk, a rural black community. Chapter 4 presents a brief overview of the general context of rural women in Southern Africa, and a specific history of the Merino Walk community. Chapter 5 presents the results of the research. In the context of this thesis, the results are presented essentially as an illustration of the application of the GAD principles to a specific South African example. The conclusion draws out some of the issues which emerge from the research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Middleton, Susan Clare
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Rural women -- Employment -- South Africa -- Case studies , Women in development -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sexual division of labor -- South Africa , Sex role -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sexual division of labor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Thornhill -- Merino Walk
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3326 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003114 , Rural women -- Employment -- South Africa -- Case studies , Women in development -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sexual division of labor -- South Africa , Sex role -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sexual division of labor -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Thornhill -- Merino Walk
- Description: This thesis examines the topic of the position of women in rural development. This topic has become the focus of extensive international debate at theoretical and policy levels, but for historical reasons remains relatively undeveloped in South Africa. After reviewing a number of contemporary approaches, the thesis argues in favour of the "Gender and Development" approach, and applies this to a case study of the gender division of labour in a rural black community in South Africa. Chapter one reviews the variants of the "Women in Development" (WID) approaches, as well as the claims of "Global Feminism". It is argued that, although Global Feminism began as a critique of WID approaches, it is in fact similar in many respects to the contemporary "empowerment" focus within the WID tradition. Although useful, these approaches are not sufficiently explicit in their theorizing of gender relations in the context of development. Chapter 2 sets out the key elements of the "Gender and Development" approach, which emphasises the complexity of the issue of women's interests, and warns against assuming a commonality of interests amongst all women. Instead, the GAD approach demands a detailed investigation of socially constructed gender relations in specific communities, with a special focus on the gender division of labour. For GAD theorists such analysis is a requirement of development planning which seeks to advance the position of women. Chapter 3 spells out the methodological implications of the GAD approach, and develops a specific research design, influenced by GAD as well as feminist methodology, for the investigation of the gender-specific needs of women in Merino Walk, a rural black community. Chapter 4 presents a brief overview of the general context of rural women in Southern Africa, and a specific history of the Merino Walk community. Chapter 5 presents the results of the research. In the context of this thesis, the results are presented essentially as an illustration of the application of the GAD principles to a specific South African example. The conclusion draws out some of the issues which emerge from the research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
The integration of academic skills/support programmes into university department structures: a case study in the sociology of education
- Authors: Drewett, Michael
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa , Compensatory education -- South Africa , Education, Higher , Education -- Philosophy , Rhodes University. Academic Development Programme
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3327 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003115
- Description: This research focuses on the extent to which the Rhodes University Academic Skills Programme (ASP), now known as the Academic Development Programme, is able to act as an agent of progressive change within Rhodes University. In so doing it concentrates on the potential of the strategy of integrated academic development for dealing with the academic needs of university students within the context of South Africa as a society in transition. The candidate considers the inability of structuralist educational theory to account for the potential of human agency at the site of formal education. It is shown that structuralist theories provide deterministic and pessimistic accounts of the role of institutions of formal education. In support of this contention this study explores the history of ASP at Rhodes University, demonstrating that significant change in student academic development has already taken place. ASP has contributed to change within the said University through challenging traditional notions of academic development. This thesis suggests that the non-structuralist critical theory of Jurgen Habermas provides a more holistic account of ASP than do structuralist theories of formal education. Through the incorporation of Habermas's theory of communicative action a process of critical integration is explored, showing that a strategy of integrated academic development has the potential to involve all those who have an interest in university education through a process of rational discourse. This potential is strengthened by the fact that many students and staff have expressed an awareness of the need for an integrated academic development strategy. This thesis subsequently explores the possibility of there being a process of democratic and rational discourse which could lead to a progressive integration programme in the Rhodes University Department of Sociology and Industrial Sociology. This thesis stresses the contested nature of the integration process within departments. It is indicated that Habermas's critical theory is able to account for the changes which have taken place in the past and which are presently under way. It is argued that it not possible to predict future outcomes, but that if ASP pursues a process of rational discourse, it will indeed be able to stimulate a critical integrative approach to academic development in the Rhodes University Department of Sociology and Industrial Sociology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1993
- Authors: Drewett, Michael
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa , Compensatory education -- South Africa , Education, Higher , Education -- Philosophy , Rhodes University. Academic Development Programme
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3327 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003115
- Description: This research focuses on the extent to which the Rhodes University Academic Skills Programme (ASP), now known as the Academic Development Programme, is able to act as an agent of progressive change within Rhodes University. In so doing it concentrates on the potential of the strategy of integrated academic development for dealing with the academic needs of university students within the context of South Africa as a society in transition. The candidate considers the inability of structuralist educational theory to account for the potential of human agency at the site of formal education. It is shown that structuralist theories provide deterministic and pessimistic accounts of the role of institutions of formal education. In support of this contention this study explores the history of ASP at Rhodes University, demonstrating that significant change in student academic development has already taken place. ASP has contributed to change within the said University through challenging traditional notions of academic development. This thesis suggests that the non-structuralist critical theory of Jurgen Habermas provides a more holistic account of ASP than do structuralist theories of formal education. Through the incorporation of Habermas's theory of communicative action a process of critical integration is explored, showing that a strategy of integrated academic development has the potential to involve all those who have an interest in university education through a process of rational discourse. This potential is strengthened by the fact that many students and staff have expressed an awareness of the need for an integrated academic development strategy. This thesis subsequently explores the possibility of there being a process of democratic and rational discourse which could lead to a progressive integration programme in the Rhodes University Department of Sociology and Industrial Sociology. This thesis stresses the contested nature of the integration process within departments. It is indicated that Habermas's critical theory is able to account for the changes which have taken place in the past and which are presently under way. It is argued that it not possible to predict future outcomes, but that if ASP pursues a process of rational discourse, it will indeed be able to stimulate a critical integrative approach to academic development in the Rhodes University Department of Sociology and Industrial Sociology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1993
Illness as intersubjectivity: a sociological perspective
- Authors: Pitfield, Doreen Jennie
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Humanism , Medical care -- Sociological aspects , Intersubjectivity , Medical ethics -- Sociological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3329 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003117 , Humanism , Medical care -- Sociological aspects , Intersubjectivity , Medical ethics -- Sociological aspects
- Description: This thesis explores the historical roots of scientific medicine in an effort to highlight the lack of humanist intersubjectivity within the contemporary medical model. The study notes that contemporary medicine is overtly scientific and that its scientific framework is upheld and furthered by a medical model which draws legitimation from the irrefutability of what is referred to variously within this work, as its scientific "regime". It is shown that in terms of the humanist tradition people, not science, constitute the epicentre of meaningful experiential participation in the defining of human social reality. This, it is argued, implies a radically different ontology from other sociological perspectives on medicine. The thesis suggests that the contemporary medical model loses sight of the patient's ability to cognitively participate in the defining of illness, diagnosis and treatment in terms of his/her experience thereof , and argues that contemporary medicine, by advancing the idea that it alone has the correct and only answer to such problems, has led to a situation which promotes an overmedicalisation of society . The study gives an indication of the way in which this overmedicalisation has led to areas of human life becoming conceived of only in relation to medical expertise. In this respect it is noted that medicine has so successfully infiltrated the human consciousness (involving areas as diverse as childbirth, genetic engineering, transplant surgery and death), that decisions on health are invariably taken from a foundation of scientific legitimation which seems to exclude the patient as subject. It is argued that this way of making decisions reinforces the requirement for a scientific medical model which as it negates the human element insidiously amplifies its power over human life; thereby devaluing the very people it seeks to serve. The thesis suggests that in terms of a humanist reading of the Oath of Hippocrates, medical decisions can only be taken within a framework of experiential involvement which includes both medical expertise and lay understanding. It is indicated that when this happens, social reality functions in terms of a symbolic participation which fosters a commitment to equalise the conditions of human existence, and promotes a dialogical negotiatory process which is both intersubjectively and ongoingly produced.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
- Authors: Pitfield, Doreen Jennie
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Humanism , Medical care -- Sociological aspects , Intersubjectivity , Medical ethics -- Sociological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3329 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003117 , Humanism , Medical care -- Sociological aspects , Intersubjectivity , Medical ethics -- Sociological aspects
- Description: This thesis explores the historical roots of scientific medicine in an effort to highlight the lack of humanist intersubjectivity within the contemporary medical model. The study notes that contemporary medicine is overtly scientific and that its scientific framework is upheld and furthered by a medical model which draws legitimation from the irrefutability of what is referred to variously within this work, as its scientific "regime". It is shown that in terms of the humanist tradition people, not science, constitute the epicentre of meaningful experiential participation in the defining of human social reality. This, it is argued, implies a radically different ontology from other sociological perspectives on medicine. The thesis suggests that the contemporary medical model loses sight of the patient's ability to cognitively participate in the defining of illness, diagnosis and treatment in terms of his/her experience thereof , and argues that contemporary medicine, by advancing the idea that it alone has the correct and only answer to such problems, has led to a situation which promotes an overmedicalisation of society . The study gives an indication of the way in which this overmedicalisation has led to areas of human life becoming conceived of only in relation to medical expertise. In this respect it is noted that medicine has so successfully infiltrated the human consciousness (involving areas as diverse as childbirth, genetic engineering, transplant surgery and death), that decisions on health are invariably taken from a foundation of scientific legitimation which seems to exclude the patient as subject. It is argued that this way of making decisions reinforces the requirement for a scientific medical model which as it negates the human element insidiously amplifies its power over human life; thereby devaluing the very people it seeks to serve. The thesis suggests that in terms of a humanist reading of the Oath of Hippocrates, medical decisions can only be taken within a framework of experiential involvement which includes both medical expertise and lay understanding. It is indicated that when this happens, social reality functions in terms of a symbolic participation which fosters a commitment to equalise the conditions of human existence, and promotes a dialogical negotiatory process which is both intersubjectively and ongoingly produced.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
Immigrant adaptation in South Africa
- Authors: Couper, Michael Patrick
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Immigrants -- South Africa South Africa -- Emigration and immigration -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3330 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003118
- Description: Although the immigrant flow to South Africa has been relatively small compared to that of other immigrant receiving countries, when considered in terms of the size of South Africa's population and the fact that immigrants are restricted to the White population group, the role of immigrants in this society is considerable. Despite this, few comprehensive studies of the experiences of immigrants in South Africa have been attempted. The aim of this study is to examine the adaptation of immigrants from various countries according to a number of dimensions. Adaptation is conceived of as a dynamic and multidimensional process. A mail survey of seven immigrant groups in South Africa was undertaken during 1985. A total of 3,520 completed questionnaires were obtained from respondents representing British, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, British African and Portuguese African immigrants. The relationships among dimensions of subjective adaptation (satisfaction, identification and acceptance) and objective adaptation (social, cultural, economic, religious and political adaptation) are examined. The role of settlement and citizenship intentions are also investigated, as are various factors (country of origin, length of residence, etc.) that affect immigrant adaptation in South Africa. Multivariate analyses are undertaken to explore the nature of the relationships among these variables. Following these analyses a model of immigrant adaptation in South Africa is proposed. This model is intended to serve as a framework to guide future research on the adaptation of immigrants in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
- Authors: Couper, Michael Patrick
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Immigrants -- South Africa South Africa -- Emigration and immigration -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3330 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003118
- Description: Although the immigrant flow to South Africa has been relatively small compared to that of other immigrant receiving countries, when considered in terms of the size of South Africa's population and the fact that immigrants are restricted to the White population group, the role of immigrants in this society is considerable. Despite this, few comprehensive studies of the experiences of immigrants in South Africa have been attempted. The aim of this study is to examine the adaptation of immigrants from various countries according to a number of dimensions. Adaptation is conceived of as a dynamic and multidimensional process. A mail survey of seven immigrant groups in South Africa was undertaken during 1985. A total of 3,520 completed questionnaires were obtained from respondents representing British, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, British African and Portuguese African immigrants. The relationships among dimensions of subjective adaptation (satisfaction, identification and acceptance) and objective adaptation (social, cultural, economic, religious and political adaptation) are examined. The role of settlement and citizenship intentions are also investigated, as are various factors (country of origin, length of residence, etc.) that affect immigrant adaptation in South Africa. Multivariate analyses are undertaken to explore the nature of the relationships among these variables. Following these analyses a model of immigrant adaptation in South Africa is proposed. This model is intended to serve as a framework to guide future research on the adaptation of immigrants in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
The origins, development and demise of the South African Indian Council 1964-1983 : a sociological interpretation
- Authors: Desai, Ashwin
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: South African Indian Council -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3349 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007082 , South African Indian Council -- History
- Description: It was the actions of the Congress Alliance that dominated the political activity of the dominated classes in the 1950s. Mobilising across class and colour lines, the actions of the Congress Alliance had witnessed a growing unity between the leading political organisations of the Indian, African and Coloured dominated classes. However just as quickly as it appeared, the Congress Alliance disappeared from the poitical scene, crushed by the state's repressive apparatus. The state, in order to ensure that the extra-parliamentary opposition characteristic of the 1950s did not once again re-emerge, sought to divide the dominated classes more systematically along ethnic and racial lines by creating mechanisms for the implementation of the policy of separate development. It is within this context that the Promotion of Bantu-Self-Government Act of 1959 was passed and the Coloured Persons' Representative Council (CRC) and the ' South African Indian Council (SAIC) were established. Whilst the history of Indian political organisations in the pre-1960 period has been extensively researched, no in-depth study of the SAIC has been made. Probably the main reason for this area being under-researched, has been the inability of researchers to gain access to information on the SAlC, especially of the period covering the early years of the organisation’ s existence. This study aims to fill this vacuum by utilizing in the main previously unused minutes of the SAlC from 1964 to 1977 together with numerous documents and memoranda presented to the South African government by SAlC delegations in the aforementioned period.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Desai, Ashwin
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: South African Indian Council -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3349 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007082 , South African Indian Council -- History
- Description: It was the actions of the Congress Alliance that dominated the political activity of the dominated classes in the 1950s. Mobilising across class and colour lines, the actions of the Congress Alliance had witnessed a growing unity between the leading political organisations of the Indian, African and Coloured dominated classes. However just as quickly as it appeared, the Congress Alliance disappeared from the poitical scene, crushed by the state's repressive apparatus. The state, in order to ensure that the extra-parliamentary opposition characteristic of the 1950s did not once again re-emerge, sought to divide the dominated classes more systematically along ethnic and racial lines by creating mechanisms for the implementation of the policy of separate development. It is within this context that the Promotion of Bantu-Self-Government Act of 1959 was passed and the Coloured Persons' Representative Council (CRC) and the ' South African Indian Council (SAIC) were established. Whilst the history of Indian political organisations in the pre-1960 period has been extensively researched, no in-depth study of the SAIC has been made. Probably the main reason for this area being under-researched, has been the inability of researchers to gain access to information on the SAlC, especially of the period covering the early years of the organisation’ s existence. This study aims to fill this vacuum by utilizing in the main previously unused minutes of the SAlC from 1964 to 1977 together with numerous documents and memoranda presented to the South African government by SAlC delegations in the aforementioned period.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
'Rhodesians' in South Africa : a study of immigrants from Zimbabwe
- Authors: Simon, Alan
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Zimbabweans South Africa -- Foreign population Zimbabwe -- Emigration and immigration South Africa -- Emigration and immigration
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3345 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005630
- Description: Although most whites have remained in Zimbabwe after independence and not all who have emigrated came to South Africa, large numbers established themselves as an immigrant community in this country. The aim of this study is to "sociologically capture" this community's views about their past experiences in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and their present experiences in South Africa. This is done by employing a generative methodological procedure whereby members of the target population themselves generated issues considered to be of importance to their previous and new situational contexts. As it was not possible to obtain a random sample of all Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa, questionnaire data were collected from four separate categories of respondents. In addition, depth interviews were conducted and thus responses have been analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings demonstrate that for the most part, few "Zimbabweans" - whites who are reasonably accepting of the new socio-political order in independent Zimbabwe - have come to South Africa. Rather, most of the immigrants, whose views were canvassed in this research investigation, seem to be bitter "Rhodesians" who have been unable to accept change and integration and the consequent loss of white privilege in the new Zimbabwe. These recent immigrants have not found all things to their satisfaction in South Africa moreover, despite the similar socio-political structures in former Rhodesia and contemporary South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
- Authors: Simon, Alan
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Zimbabweans South Africa -- Foreign population Zimbabwe -- Emigration and immigration South Africa -- Emigration and immigration
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3345 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005630
- Description: Although most whites have remained in Zimbabwe after independence and not all who have emigrated came to South Africa, large numbers established themselves as an immigrant community in this country. The aim of this study is to "sociologically capture" this community's views about their past experiences in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and their present experiences in South Africa. This is done by employing a generative methodological procedure whereby members of the target population themselves generated issues considered to be of importance to their previous and new situational contexts. As it was not possible to obtain a random sample of all Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa, questionnaire data were collected from four separate categories of respondents. In addition, depth interviews were conducted and thus responses have been analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings demonstrate that for the most part, few "Zimbabweans" - whites who are reasonably accepting of the new socio-political order in independent Zimbabwe - have come to South Africa. Rather, most of the immigrants, whose views were canvassed in this research investigation, seem to be bitter "Rhodesians" who have been unable to accept change and integration and the consequent loss of white privilege in the new Zimbabwe. These recent immigrants have not found all things to their satisfaction in South Africa moreover, despite the similar socio-political structures in former Rhodesia and contemporary South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
A victimological study among Coloureds in the Cape Peninsula
- Authors: Strijdom, Hendrik Gert
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Victims of crimes -- South Africa -- Western Cape Colored people (South Africa) -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3342 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004582
- Description: From Introduction: Criminology developed as a reaction to the various revolutions that were occurring in the European countries during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In response to the turmoil and disorder of Western society criminologists attempted to discover the natural laws of society hoping to establish a stable social order. Crime was regarded as something that disturbed society and, therefore, had to be controlled or prevented. According to Quinney and Wildeman (1977) the development of criminology can be viewed as an ongoing attempt to explain crime in terms of established social order. They state that in the history of criminology there is, however, a lack of a clear accumulative theoretical growth and continue as follows: "No line of theoretical development can be found that leads to a well-developed body of knowledge. The study of crime is characterized by a number of divergent theoretical perspectives that exist in relative isolation from one another" (p. 38). Quinney and Wildeman (1977) distinguish five theoretical perspectives in the development of criminology namely: (I) early and classical criminological thought, (2) nineteenth-century sociological criminology, (3) nineteenth-century biological criminology, (4) twentieth-century eclectic criminology, and (5) twentieth-century sociological criminology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Strijdom, Hendrik Gert
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Victims of crimes -- South Africa -- Western Cape Colored people (South Africa) -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3342 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004582
- Description: From Introduction: Criminology developed as a reaction to the various revolutions that were occurring in the European countries during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In response to the turmoil and disorder of Western society criminologists attempted to discover the natural laws of society hoping to establish a stable social order. Crime was regarded as something that disturbed society and, therefore, had to be controlled or prevented. According to Quinney and Wildeman (1977) the development of criminology can be viewed as an ongoing attempt to explain crime in terms of established social order. They state that in the history of criminology there is, however, a lack of a clear accumulative theoretical growth and continue as follows: "No line of theoretical development can be found that leads to a well-developed body of knowledge. The study of crime is characterized by a number of divergent theoretical perspectives that exist in relative isolation from one another" (p. 38). Quinney and Wildeman (1977) distinguish five theoretical perspectives in the development of criminology namely: (I) early and classical criminological thought, (2) nineteenth-century sociological criminology, (3) nineteenth-century biological criminology, (4) twentieth-century eclectic criminology, and (5) twentieth-century sociological criminology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
Black and white women: a socio-historical study of domestic workers and their employers in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Cock, Jacklyn
- Date: 1981
- Subjects: Household employees -- South Africa Working class -- South Africa Women, Black -- Employment -- South Africa South Africa -- Race relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3287 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003075
- Description: Domestic service constitutes one of the largest sources of employment for black women in South Africa. Yet it is a largely unstudied occupation. There has been no previous investigation of domestic workers in the Eastern Cape, and to date only two comprehensive studies of domestic workers in other areas of South Africa. This neglect is significant, for such inquiry involves questioning the accepted pattern of inequalities on which the entire social order is based.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1981
- Authors: Cock, Jacklyn
- Date: 1981
- Subjects: Household employees -- South Africa Working class -- South Africa Women, Black -- Employment -- South Africa South Africa -- Race relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3287 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003075
- Description: Domestic service constitutes one of the largest sources of employment for black women in South Africa. Yet it is a largely unstudied occupation. There has been no previous investigation of domestic workers in the Eastern Cape, and to date only two comprehensive studies of domestic workers in other areas of South Africa. This neglect is significant, for such inquiry involves questioning the accepted pattern of inequalities on which the entire social order is based.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1981
The African press in South Africa
- Authors: St Leger, Frederick York
- Date: 1975
- Subjects: Press -- South Africa -- History Ethnic press -- South Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3328 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003116
- Description: In a plural society, riven by deep conflict, as is South Africa, where however the Press retains a considerable measure of freedom to contribute to the political process it is the political role which is of the greatest significance rather than, for example, the reflection by the Press of social values or the internal organisation of the Press as a social system. Although it is, of course, hardly possible completely to ignore these other aspects in any institutional study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1975
- Authors: St Leger, Frederick York
- Date: 1975
- Subjects: Press -- South Africa -- History Ethnic press -- South Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3328 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003116
- Description: In a plural society, riven by deep conflict, as is South Africa, where however the Press retains a considerable measure of freedom to contribute to the political process it is the political role which is of the greatest significance rather than, for example, the reflection by the Press of social values or the internal organisation of the Press as a social system. Although it is, of course, hardly possible completely to ignore these other aspects in any institutional study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1975