List of Titles

A discourse analysis of media representation of women political leaders in Uganda

Authors: Kemirembe, Grace
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Discourse analysis , Media representation , Representation (Philosophy) , Women in mass media , Women politicians Uganda
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408908 , vital:70536
Description: This study is a qualitative desktop research project. The study employed a Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis to analyse and unpack the discursive ways in which female politicians are discussed and talked about in Ugandan online media. This study was a response to the realisation that online media portrayals of female politicians in Uganda remain largely unexplored. Additionally, the study discovered that the Daily Monitor and The Observer, the two newspapers that this thesis researched, often employ gender stereotypes and sexist coverage of female politicians in Uganda using personalisation, trivialisation and demonisation frames. The study illustrates that these misogynistic frames are intended to diminish women’s importance in the political sphere. Moreover, women who do not conform to the gender stereotypes are portrayed as social deviants. This work concludes that one of the challenges faced by women politicians in Uganda, and in Africa as a whole, is how to exploit online media’s productive capacity while, at the same time, resisting its use as an instrument that undermines them. Given the limited scope of the study using only two media organisations, future studies on media representation of female politicians could expand the range to include print and visual sources to provide generalisable results. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

An analysis of womxn’s understanding of South African public health awareness campaigns’ messages on HIV/AIDS using cognitive interviewing

- Simpo, Hazel

Authors: Simpo, Hazel
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: HIV infections Risk factors , AIDS (Disease) Risk factors , Womxn , Cognitive interview , Awareness campaign , HIV infections South Africa , AIDS (Disease) South Africa
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408738 , vital:70521
Description: Besides having the most extensive antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment programme, South Africa faces the highest epidemic rate, with womxn and children most affected. Several prevention strategies have been implemented to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa, including free access to print form awareness campaigns that come through pamphlets, posters and billboards. However, most public health sector awareness and educational programmes carry uniform messages that are then carried out in heterogeneous contexts leading to the miscomprehension of the intended messages. This study aimed to explore womxn’s understanding of public health awareness content on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The focus was on examining their interpretation of universal HIV/AIDS awareness messages in their heterogeneous contexts, which might provide obstacles to womxn’s reproductive health and well-being using a reproductive justice framework. This study employed a cognitive interviewing methodology to collect data from the participants to obtain information about how participants understand and perceive knowledge and how they arrive at specific answers or judgements. Twenty-eight (28) womxn aged between 18 and 30 years were purposively sampled for this study from four (4) local healthcare facilities in Makhanda: the Grahamstown Municipality (Anglo-African) Clinic, the Joza Clinic, the Settlers Day Hospital and the Raglan Road Clinic. Thematic network analysis (Attride-Stirling, 2001) was used to analyse the data collected from the study. One global theme emerged from the dataset: Barriers to HIV prevention, care and treatment. The barriers were identified mainly due to social constructions of hegemonic masculinity, individual versus cultural expectations, and outdated awareness content. The findings from the study suggest that almost all the challenges that womxn faced in terms of understanding and interpreting the awareness materials stemmed from structural factors in the South African context. The findings also suggest that cognitive interviewing methodology can be reconceptualised as an endeavour that cuts across a wide range of fields. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Archontic Aporias: the mediums of memory

- Arbuckle, Julia Ruth

Authors: Arbuckle, Julia Ruth
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Practice research , Eastern Cape (South Africa) History , Autoethnography , Information storage and retrieval systems Memory , Archives South Africa Eastern Cape , Aporia , Memory in art , Archives in art
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408727 , vital:70520
Description: Contextualising my research within the Eastern Cape as a descendant of 1820 settlers, I question the modalities of historical recollection by introducing memory as a viable mode of archival production alongside that of the archive. Through interrogating Eastern Cape archival institutes and employing an autoethnographic approach to my familial archives, I show that archival curation affects the gaps, schisms, and interpretations of archives as much as the ‘unreliability’ of memory. I rely on definitions from Jacques Derrida and literature from Achille Mbembe and Verne Harris, as well as reflexive methodologies, to engage the ways of remembering the past and methods of storytelling. With this undertaking, I expose the aporias within archival processes. This written component is part of broader research that encompasses theoretical study and a practice-based Fine Arts research project culminating in an exhibition that shares themes of memory, archive, trauma, and curatorial and personal heritage management. This research engages in case studies of artworks by Angela Deane and Maureen de Jager to contextualise and position the creative process. , Thesis (MFA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Fine Art, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Babantu ababomvu entliziyweni(People who are ‘Red’ in their hearts) and the myth of ‘modernity’

- Haynes, Duncan Robert

Authors: Haynes, Duncan Robert
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Xhosa (African people) Religious life , Ancestor worship , Epistemic violence , Christianity and Paganism , Decoloniality
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408897 , vital:70535
Description: This study examines a history of urban research on ancestral belief of amaXhosa within the Greater East London region, Eastern Cape, South Africa which spanned much of the 20th century (1934–2002). Through extensive textual and literary investigation, this thesis offers new perspectives on this topic. Current theoretical explorations offer the tools to reassess the positionality of the researchers and in light of findings of these previous studies, highlighting above all, the presence of certain academic ‘blind-spots’. These ‘blind-spots’ are argued to have been caused by theoretical and methodological constraints, particularly around Western-centric definitions of the nature of 'modernity' that rely on the positivist notion of a singular unilinear path of time as a universal standard (and which thus defines 'progressiveness' and 'backwardness'). (These ‘blind spots’ were notably further strengthened by a Eurocentric interpretation of identity and a trend of Neo-Marxist scholarship between the 1970s and the 2010s1 which created a ‘taboo’ on addressing issues of culture, and especially of ancestral spirituality, as this was taken to be portraying Africans as culturally ‘static’ and backward and therefore supporting Apartheid ideologies of ‘separate development’). Through these textual investigations this thesis brings to light the, largely unrecognised, core of the issue or driving factor behind the difficulties in all of these previous studies. This is posited as the existence of a prevailing culture of ‘silence’ in Xhosa spaces (stretching from 1840–2000) regarding the sustained importance of 'Redness' (ancestral spirituality and traditional dimensions of identity due to the notion that it was 'backward'). This self-censoring is unpacked as having been an expedient response by many to the requirements for Xhosa pagans to wash off the symbolic red cosmetic clay at baptism, put on ‘decent’ Western clothing and shoes and take on Christian first names (‘shedding’ their previous names and identities) as processes deemed necessary to properly convert to Christianity (Frescura, 2015). More significantly however, it has been argued by scholars that adopting Christianity was the only way to be able to harness the power of education at a time of starvation related to the famine of the millennial Cattle Killing movement (1856–7) and the Xhosa military defeat at the end of the 100-year period of the British Xhosa Frontier Wars (1779–1879). This thesis uses perspectives offered by Queer theory to unpack the pain of this 'veiling' of aspects of identity as a necessary strategy for achieving economic 'success' amid the structural and epistemological violence of colonialism and apartheid. It is suggested that a combination of the ‘silence’ and ‘taboo’ area of the ‘blind-spot’ could completely ‘veil’ these epistemological realities from the view of many earlier researchers of urban Xhosa identity (whose cultural and linguistic backgrounds as well as etic positioning caused them to be unable to 'knock' to gain access into this normally ‘veiled’ world). This thesis combines these historical perspectives with contemporary scholarship and literary works to propose that these ‘Red’ aspects of identity and spirituality have always and still ‘continue’ to form a core, or crux, of Xhosa identity for a previously widely unrecognised and overwhelming majority of urban amaXhosa. This thesis uses the perspective offered by a Xhosa translation of the title of Mda's English language novel, 'A Heart of Redness’ (2000), to explore the importance of ancestral spirituality and clan identities to amaXhosa as a [previously invisible/veiled] ‘Redness of one's Heart’ for a high proportion of contemporary amaXhosa. In this way, this thesis agrees with scholars such as Latour (1993) and Mignolo (2007) in their 'jarring' expose regarding the epistemic violence of euro-normative notions of ‘modernity’. Here they call for a disruption of the pervasive idea of the West as being at the 'forefront' of human experience and even a challenge to the western reading of time. Finally, through exploring critique of the 'Secularisation Thesis' of the Western world, this thesis poses the implicit question contained in its title: ‘Is the western world now perhaps able to embrace a 'modernity' and integrative-cosmology that has been safe-guarded by Xhosa pagans since the 1840s?’ This study documented numerical indicators on the presence of ancestral belief and traditional dimensions of Xhosa identity from fieldwork conducted in an urban locality King William’s Town (Qonce) within the Buffalo City Municipality, Eastern Cape of South Africa from September 2018 to December 2019. In-depth quantitative and qualitative data were collected from lengthy interactions with 305 consenting Xhosa participants. These interactions comprised 129 semi-structured and 176 structured interviews, 61 of the latter formed the sample for numerical data analysis with which to give clarity on the abiding importance of ancestral spirituality for a vast majority of urban amaXhosa. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Constructions of Ukuyalwa and marriage satisfaction: experiences of Xhosa couples in the Eastern Cape

- Bikwe, Siphuxolo

Authors: Bikwe, Siphuxolo
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Xhosa (African people) South Africa Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) Marriage customs and rites , Black psychology , Couples therapy , Interpersonal relations and culture , Communication in marriage , Satisfaction , Foucauldian discourse analysis
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408805 , vital:70527
Description: Marital satisfaction may be described as the extent to which one’s expectations, desires and needs are being satisfied in their marriage. Studies that concern marital satisfaction provide us with crucial insights into factors that support or compromise the longevity of long-term, committed relationships. Little work has been done in understanding the role of cultural practices in marital satisfaction particularly in Africa, and South Africa more specifically. Ukuyalwa is a Xhosa ritual that takes place during a Xhosa traditional wedding, whereby the bride is introduced to the (traditional) guiding practices of her new home by the women of the family together with her sisters-in-law. This study informs the practice of African psychology as formulated by Ratele (2017b).Critical African psychology as a framework recognizes the construction of culture alongside political, socioeconomic, and historical matrices. These are acknowledged as an important element in psychological theories, methods, and explanations. This research project aimed to identify the discourses that circulate around ukuyalwa as a Xhosa cultural practice and consider the implications for the marital satisfaction of amaXhosa couples. The study interviewed 3 Xhosa couples of varying ages who had been married for different durations to develop an understanding of their experiences of ukuyalwa and marital satisfaction. Data was analyzed using a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) which allowed for the identifications of the discourses that the couples used to construct ukuyalwa and marital satisfaction. The couples discursively constructed marriage as ‘divine unity’, ‘unification of families’ and ‘partnership’. Ukuyalwa was constructed as a ‘gendered process’, ideas of tradition and modernity, and a ‘foundation’ also became apparent. Satisfaction was constructed as ‘open communication’ and ‘work’. The couples’ positions shifted in their conversations, where in some instances they were 'learners’, ‘initiates’, and/or ‘passive’, and in other instances, they were ‘in charge’, ‘knowledgeable’, and ‘experts’. The discourses of culture, religion, and partnership circulated prominently in relation to marriage, ukuyalwa, and marital satisfaction. The findings of the study speak to how the couples’ constructions of marriage and cultural customs such as ukuyalwa are valuable as they often inform how couples behave in their marriage relationships and what they regard as satisfactory to them when it comes to marriage. These insights into what informs the couples’ ideas on marriage and satisfaction can be utilised in informing couples therapy interventions. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Délices et négation: une approche de l’écriture féminine à travers quelques romans Africains Francophones

- Anjugu, Taimako Ajigo

Authors: Anjugu, Taimako Ajigo
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: African fiction (French) History and criticism , Literature Women authors , Women authors, African , Reader-response criticism , Womanism in literature
Language: French
Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/409779 , vital:70629 , DOI 10.21504/10962/409779
Description: From the onset, it is worthy to note that, nowadays, just as after the independence of most African countries, several writers from the African continent have been preoccupied with the fate of women. This is because, the African continent was since ancient times characterized by certain traditions and cultures which mainly have contributed to the plight of the women. This goes to emphasise that women in most cases are the victims of misdeeds such as early marriage, forced marriage, prejudices, violence, marginalisation, exploitation, discrimination; in short, vices that lead to devalorisation of African women in Africa. Over time, some contemporary French-speaking African writers have responded to the devaluation and valuation of women in their novels using 21st century objective view. With regard to the theme that we decided to address in this research, it is worth knowing that the preponderant task is based on the socio-critical theory, postulated by Claude Duchet. Meanwhile, recourse is also made to the comparative method by Rens, Bod et al. However, since the author’s message could be understood by the reader through the use of some expressions or terms that speak directly to the themes of the research, and that a reader’s role in reading experience cannot be overemphasised, we have been able to also lean on the Reader-response theory of Louise Michelle Rosenblatt. The three methods were used concurrently especially that the analysis of each text is based on how characters are being depicted leading us to realizing that our findings on how the African woman is devalued in the first part of the research, while in the second part of the thesis, our findings demonstrate that a lot of tributes are showered on the African woman due to her numerous outstanding qualities. In effect, our findings also reinforce a significant shift in the narrative that concerns the contemporary view on womanhood. Hence, moving from a dogmatic overconcentration on her lot to the new era woman whose lot is now redefined via the new wave feminist perspective on the negation of the African woman. This could be said to be in line with Amadiume Ifi’s contributions and pioneering work in feminist discourse towards new ways of thinking about sex and gender, the question of power, and women’s place in history and culture. , Pour commencer, il est nécessaire de se souvenir qu’à l’époque actuelle, comme juste après les indépendances de la plupart des pays africains, bon nombre des écrivains venant du continent africain décident de se préoccuper des méfaits sociaux tels que le mariage précoce et/ou forcé, les préjugés, la violence, la marginalisation, l’exploitation, la discrimination, entre autres. Tous ces vices sont issus de la négation de la femme africaine. Ceci se justifie par le fait que le continent africain était depuis l’antiquité caractérisé par certaines traditions et cultures qui ont contribué principalement aux dégâts ci-dessus soulignés subis par les femmes. En effet, nous estimons que beaucoup de femmes sont victimes de ces méfaits qui sont encore pratiqués dans certaines parties de l’Afrique. Avec le temps, certains écrivains africains francophones contemporains représentent la dévalorisation et la valorisation de la femme dans leurs romans en se servant d’une vision contemporaine, celle du XXIe siècle. En ce qui concerne le thème que nous avons décidé d'aborder dans cette recherche, il faut savoir que la tâche prépondérante repose sur la théorie sociocritique, postulée par Claude Duchet. Parallèlement, on a également recours à la méthode comparative de Bod Rens Et ses coauteurs. Cependant, puisque le message de l’auteur pourrait être compris aussi par le lecteur à travers l’usage de certaines expressions ou termes qui sont directement liés aux thèmes de la recherche, le rôle du lecteur dans l’expérience de lecture ne peut pas être surestimé, nous avons également pu nous appuyer sur la théorie de la réponse du lecteur de Louise Michelle Rosenblatt. Les trois méthodes ont été utilisées simultanément d'autant plus que l'analyse de chaque texte est basée sur la façon dont les personnages sont représentés ; ceci nous a amené à tirer nos conclusions sur la façon dont la femme africaine est dévalorisée dans la première partie de la recherche, tandis que dans la deuxième partie de la thèse, nos résultats démontrent que de nombreux hommages sont rendus à la femme africaine grâce à ses nombreuses qualités exceptionnelles. En effet, nos résultats renforcent également un changement important dans le récit qui concerne la vision contemporaine de la féminité. Par conséquent, passer d’une surconcentration dogmatique sur son sort à la femme de la nouvelle ère dont le sort est maintenant redéfini via la perspective féministe par rapport à la négation de la femme africaine telle a été la démarche. On pourrait dire que cela est au diapason avec les contributions d’Amadiume Ifi et avec son travail dans le discours féministe vers de nouvelles façons de penser le sexe et le genre, la question du pouvoir et la place de la femme dans l’histoire et la culture. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Enforced sojourn: Zimbabwean dispensation, special and exemption permits

- Maziyanhanga, Zvikomborero

Authors: Maziyanhanga, Zvikomborero
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Citizenship , Immigrants South Africa , Residence permit , Foreign workers, Zimbabwean South Africa , Discrimination , Emigration and immigration law South Africa
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408913 , vital:70537
Description: This thesis investigates Zimbabwean’s immigration to South Africa. Zimbabwean’s immigration to South Africa dates back to the early 2000s. This thesis uses a combination of theories to interrogate and discuss the Zimbabwe special permits and some of the post-apartheid government’s amendments to the South African Citizenship Act and other immigration policies. Some of the theories that theoretically underpin this research project’s methodology include Marxism, Pan-Africanism, Liberalism and culture-based theories. This thesis interrogates the discursive strategies these permits draw on to frame and understand Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa. This study has found that these permits use similar operating logic as the White South African governments used the migrant labour system to exploit Blacks from all of Southern Africa in the 20th century. For instance, the migrant labour system used during apartheid made all Blacks in South Africa “guest workers” who could be deported at the government’s whim. The apartheid government used racist pass laws to regulate the movement of Black people in South Africa, whereas the post-apartheid government uses Zimbabwean special permits to regulate the movement of Zimbabweans in South Africa. The pass laws were fundamentally racist, and their ultimate objective was to reinforce the idea of White citizenship, whereas the Zimbabwe special permits are not racist. Their colonial similarity, however, lies in how they make Zimbabwean migrants perpetual migrants in South Africa and the various ways in which they cast Zimbabweans as not deserving of South African citizenship. These special permits force Zimbabwe migrants to become “guest workers” who build the post-apartheid economy and then return home when they are no longer “useful” to the economy. This thesis concludes that the post-apartheid Zimbabwe special permits achieve analogous objectives. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Experiences of men vlogging about substance use disorder recovery on YouTube

- Chele, Palesa Shené

Authors: Chele, Palesa Shené
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Substance abuse Treatment , Sobriety , Alcoholics Anonymous , Narcotics Anonymous , Recovery , Remission , Video blogs
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408829 , vital:70529
Description: The journey of substance use recovery is an inherently dynamic and on-going process. It is advanced through secure social support systems. Furthermore, requiring the explicit practice of self-advancement and self-efficacy. However, in South Africa, despite the continued upsurge of substance abuse, there remains a substantial gap between the high demand for treatment and the limited capacity to provide state-funded treatment. In addition, various psychosocial and socio-economic factors further impede access to treatment or recovery support. Thus, within communities facing SUD treatment barriers the exploration of individual lived experiences may deepen understandings of how men experience the journey of substance use recovery. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Izit? Hoe lyk hulle? Kom ons ǂXoa – A South African Khoe-San narrative

- Gabie, Sharon

Authors: Gabie, Sharon
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: San (African people) , Khoikhoi (African people) , Identity politics , Self-perception , Convention for a Democratic South Africa , Free, prior, and informed consent (Indigenous rights) , Epistemic injustice
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/409790 , vital:70630 , DOI 10.21504/10962/409790
Description: The foundation of the South African narrative is framed by identity politics; a politics instituted at the intersection of race and class to exclude all people considered non-White concerning the socioeconomic and political landscape of the country. The preamble of the Freedom Charter signed in 1955 declared that the country belongs to all who live in it: Black and White people. The dominant constructivist narratives of addressing the racial dichotomy obliterate the injustice suffered by the Khoe-San people whose identity was overshadowed under the homogeneous term, Coloured people. Following the first democratic elections, at the negotiations of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) in 1996, Khoe-San people were once again excluded and played no significant role in deciding the future of the new South Africa. The epistemic injustice suffered by the Khoe-San people, the loss of land, language, and cultural heritage were glanced over in the new democratic dispensation. In this thesis, I hone into the identity politics and identity formation of the Khoe-San people, after 1994. The self-identifying Khoe-San people became visible to the democratic state through various forms of activism and networking across provinces foregrounding the concept of indigeneity to address issues of exclusion and marginalisation. The phenomenon of indigeneity, bestowed on Khoe-San people by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) created a path for the Khoe-San people to be in conversation with state organs to address their plight of the loss of land linked to identity, language, culture, heritage, and other social ills experienced in their communities. The thesis illustrates the vagueness of Coloured identity under the Apartheid state, and the preconceived narrative that Coloured people were a privileged group; precludes and obliterates the epistemic injustice suffered by Khoe-San people. The transnational conceptualisation and global politics of indigenous peoples; the particularity of indigeneity in relation to First Nation Status, in the South African context, destabilises identity politics and the four-tier racial categorisation system used by the Apartheid state carried through by the national government under democracy. The conceptualisation of this global discourse on indigeneity brought a new consciousness in sections of the Coloured community where self-identifying Khoe-San people question their place in the democratic dispensation. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Nurses’ experiences of an abortion counselling training course and their understandings of quality abortion services

- Mogonong, Laurah Carolina

Authors: Mogonong, Laurah Carolina
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Abortion counseling , Abortion Psychological aspects , Nurses Attitudes , Abortion services South Africa Eastern Cape , Grounded theory , Person-centered therapy
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408862 , vital:70532
Description: This research study focuses on nurses’ experiences of participating in an abortion counselling training programme in the Eastern Cape Province (E.C), using a grounded theory and symbolic interactionism framework. The study aims to investigate how participating in a women-centred abortion counselling training course offered through the Critical Studies in Sexualities and Reproduction research unit may modify or improve nurses’ practice of abortion counselling and understanding of quality abortion services. Through purposive sampling, nine research participants working as abortion providers in EC health care facilities were recruited. Research data were produced using discussions around prior abortion counselling experiences, a reflective activity, power point case presentations conducted within the counselling training, and semi-structured interviews conducted two months after the training with five of the providers. A grounded theory analysis was used to generate themes that highlighted different aspects that enabled or hindered access to quality abortion services. In accordance with prior research, it was revealed that nurses undergo abortion training but there is limited content on abortion counselling training. Findings from this study reveal the modifications of practice and understanding of quality abortion services of nurses who participated in the client-centred abortion counselling training course. Themes of change that emerged from the nurses’ experiences were rendering counselling services in a non- judgemental, non-directive way, being acknowledged and recognized for the services they offer as abortion providers, and accepting that abortion is a reproductive legal right that can be accessed whenever a woman in need of the service requests it. The findings of this research also indicate that, despite the controversy and stigma attached to providing abortion services, the participants were motivated to continue offering abortion services because they felt equipped since undergoing abortion counselling training. The training course improved reported abortion counselling practices, but systematic issues such as lack of managerial support, space for individual counselling and procedure equipment continue to undermine services. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Pathi’s sister is still troubling

- Naidoo, Savani

Authors: Naidoo, Savani
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , South African fiction (English) 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) 21st century , Diaries -- Authorship , Books Reviews
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408942 , vital:70539
Description: My thesis is a collection of micro fiction, flash fiction, fairy tales, vignettes and short stories which explore the tension of being both an insider and an outsider. I have access to different cultures without belonging to any of them: as a child, my family moved from a South African Indian community to a formerly whites-only suburb; as an adult I have lived in South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan. My prose draws on my life experiences, family legends, neighbourhood gossip, news reports and historical events to question norms and ideas that I may have taken for granted had I been fully inside a single culture. In my thesis I frequently spell words phonetically to mimic how I hear or remember them. I also borrow words from languages I don’t speak. I want the languages I use and mix to corrupt each other, as Raymond Federman put it, in order to better express the voices and contexts of the communities I draw inspiration from. Kuzhali Manickavel’s Things We Found During the Autopsy showed me that culturally rich imagery can be used without interrupting narrative flow with explanations. I am also influenced by the poetic sense of rhythm and melody of Lydia Davis’s minimalist prose, and by Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, where each concise short story stands alone but together creates a broad understanding of people and place. Anthologies such as PP/FF, edited by Peter Conners, and My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, edited by Kate Bernheimer, have inspired me to be bold in finding the form that best allows each narrative to be told. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Patterns of inclusion and exclusion among trans women in South Africa: a critical narrative inquiry

- Shabalala, Siyanda Buyile

Authors: Shabalala, Siyanda Buyile
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Transgender women South Africa , Genderism , Social inclusion , Social integration , Social exclusion , Social isolation , Narrative
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408874 , vital:70533
Description: Trans women have for the most part remained grossly marginalised in gender development frameworks that have concerned themselves with resolving the historical disenfranchisement of women in patriarchal societies. Considering this continuing systemic erasure of trans subjectivity, this study has aimed to foreground transness, engaging trans women’s experiences of inclusion and exclusion to better understand the traditionally oppressive institutionality of gender in South Africa from a historically silenced trans standpoint. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with five trans women living in South Africa. Data was transcribed and analysed using narrative analysis. Mapping the structures, practices and norms that contribute to the marginalisation of trans women in South Africa, the study found that trans women face economic vulnerability driven by familial rejection along with structural discrimination in a gender-biased labour system. Furthermore, trans women were revealed to contend with institutional erasure and stigmatisation in sex-segregated healthcare structures as well as invisibilisation in cisnormative South African knowledge systems that underrepresent trans identities and their viewpoints of the world. Underlyingly, the societal exclusion of trans women emerged as centrally organised by a structure of genderism that rigidly assumes the binariness and fixedness of gender, principally in ways that restrict trans women's right to self-determine as women. Genderism was observed to collude with factors of race and class in a largely capitalist post-apartheid South African society, working concurrently and jointly to reinforce the social exclusion of trans women. However, often subtle narratives of trans social inclusion located marginalising cisgender power in South African democracy as contested terrain. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Pedagogical practices teachers use to teach reading lessons in the junior primary phase in Kavango West region’

- Shimafo, Hildegard

Authors: Shimafo, Hildegard
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Reading (Primary) Namibia Kavango West , Pedagogy , Extensive reading , Primary school teachers Namibia Kavango West , School children Books and reading Namibia Kavango West
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408762 , vital:70523
Description: Learning to read for meaning and enjoyment in the Junior Primary phase is an essential goal for every child during their primary schooling. Despite this, reading for meaning and enjoyment in the Namibian context, specifically for primary learners, remains a concern. Current research suggests that there are very few studies that have been done in Namibia that examine the pedagogical practices of Junior Primary teachers to develop learners’ reading competence. In view of that, this study focused on the pedagogical practices of Junior Primary teachers in mediating reading in their classrooms. The study is a qualitative interpretive case study using observation and interviews as tools to generate in-depth data on how teachers teach reading. The study sample comprised of three Junior Primary teachers from Grades 1-3 who participated in this study. The selection criteria were based on historical background and the culture of teaching reading lessons for Grade 1-3 teachers. The study revealed some factors that impede the teaching of reading. Amongst them are a lack of in-service training, language barriers, and the lack of resources. The study found that English used as the LoLT (Language of Learning and Teaching) at the school where the study took place made it difficult for the teachers to convey the correct information to the learners due to a lack of proficiency. The study revealed that this situation limited most of the learners’ reading opportunities. Theory of Practice Architecture (ToPA), in particular by Kemmis and Grootenboer (2008), was used as an explanatory and analytical tool. This research asked the questions: 1.What pedagogical practices do Junior Primary teachers employ to mediate reading? and 2. What factors enable and constrain the pedagogical practices of teachers? As a way forward, this study recommends for a compulsory reading program be instituted at Higher Education Institutions responsible for teacher education. This should empower the teachers to enter a Junior Primary classroom with more confidence to teach the various reading components. This study recommends continuous in-service courses for teachers. The study further recommends that the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture make provisions for textbooks in all schools for all learners if the learners reading performance is to improve in Namibia. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Philosophical inquiry into the value of liberal education

- Wotshela, Siphosihle

Authors: Wotshela, Siphosihle
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Liberal education , Education, Humanistic Philosophy , Education, Humanistic South Africa , Education, Humanistic Social aspects South Africa , Jacob Klein
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408954 , vital:70540
Description: Throughout history, scholars have offered numerous conceptions of liberal education, with each scholar providing a slightly and sometimes extremely different idea of what liberal education actually is, what it entails, and what value one stands to gain by partaking in this particular type of education. In this thesis, I inquire into the topic of liberal education in an attempt to clearly understand what value partaking in this type of education offers the contemporary South African. In the process, I offer a defence against what I refer to as the societal context problem—a problem that questions the possibility of a universal benefit that can be obtained by partaking in liberal education. I also offer a comprehensive argument for the preference of Jacob Klein’s conception of liberal education, making the claim that Klein’s conception and the value he identifies with his conception is more convincing than that offered by other scholars because Klein’s conception and the value associated with the conception is universal in a way that allows it to remain relevant even when confronted with the problem of societal context. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Philosophy, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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Saul Msane: friend or foe of the people? The life of the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries South African politician and journalist

- Mokoatsi, Thapelo

Authors: Mokoatsi, Thapelo
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Saul Msane , Elite (Social sciences) , African National Congress , Politicians South Africa Biography , Political dispute , Abantu-Batho , Enemy of the people
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/409799 , vital:70631 , DOI 10.21504/10962/409802
Description: Saul Msane was a prominent founding member of the ANC and an active journalist and editor of the ANC newspaper Abantu-Batho. His career generated controversy. Towards the end of his life, he had a feud with his colleagues in the African National Congress (henceforth Congress) that led to him being labelled isitha sabantu, “the enemy of the people” for his refusal to support the Shilling strike of 1918, an accusation which was retracted a year after his death in 1919. The label of isitha sabantu levelled against Msane, had the effect of ending his political prominence in the Transvaal, forcing him to relocate to kwaNongoma where he died shortly thereafter. Msane’s years in the Congress amounted to about seven years, between 1912, the founding of the Congress, and the demise of his career in 1919. Msane’s seven years in Congress were characterised by controversies, clashes, and conflicts owing to his perceived elitism. In Congress historiography Msane is an obscure and elusive figure, he lives here and there in a footnote, as a supporting statement or a mentioned in mere passing. His marginalisation reveals some of the gaps within the history of Congress and invites us to write about those who did not emerge from the history of Congress necessarily as heroes. This thesis sets out to write a biography of Msane and document his political career beyond that one moment in which he came to be “isitha sabantu”. While Msane’s Congress career was comparably short and filled with tensions, an archive of his life exists. This study is an exploration of that archive to reconstruct the biography of a once prominent leader who dies in political exile from the Congress movement. This thesis sets out to do two key things in relation to reconstructing Msane’s life: Firstly, it reconstructs the longer biography of Msane’s political life by drawing on the existing archives, and thus filling in the South African historical record in that regard. Secondly, at the broader conceptual and historiographical level, it argues that the controversies surrounding Msane’s persona and character illustrate that conceptions of elitism and the nature of being ‘elite’ were key to the politics of Congress at the time. , U-Saul Msane wayengomunye wabasunguli beqembu lika-African National Congress (uKhongolose) futhi eyIntatheli nomhleli wephephandaba i-Abantu-Batho. Umsebenzi ayewenza waba nezingqinamba eziningi ngokwezepolitiki. Ngasekugcineni kwempilo yakhe waba nokungazwani nabaholi ayesebenza nabo kuKhongolose okwadala ukuba abizwe ngesitha sabantu ngenxa yokuba engavumelananga nesiteleka sango-1918 lapho abasebenzi babelwela ukukhushulelwa amaholo. Leligama lokubizwa ngesitha sabantu lahoxiswa ngo 1919 sekudlule unyaka engasekho emhlabeni. Lokubizwa ngesitha sabantu kwalilimaza igama lakhe kwezepolitiki e-Transvaal waze wathutha wayohlala kwaNongoma nokuyilapho ashonela khona. Iminyaka uMsane ayisebenzele uKhongolose yaba isikhombisa, kusukela ekusungulweni kwayo ngo 1912 kuze kufike ekulimaleni komsebenzi wakhe wezepolitiki ngo 1919. Kuleminyaka eyisikhombisa umsebenzi wakhe kuKhongolose wawubhekene nokugxekwa okukhulu nokubukeka njengomuntu onokuzenza ngcono kunabanye abantu. Emlandweni kaKhongolose uMsane akavezwa ngendlela emfanele, kukhulunywa ngaye kudlulwa nje. Lokunganakwa kukaMsane emlandweni kaKhongolose kusiphoqa ukuba sibhale ngabaholi abangaqakanjiswa. Lolucwaningo luveza umlando kaMsane ngokujulile ngaphezu kwangalesikhathi abizwa khona ngesitha sabantu. Noma umsebenzi kaMsane kuKhongolose wabamfushane kunabanye futhi ugcwele izinto kodwa noko ingobo yawo ikhona. Lolucwaningo lucubungula lengobo ukuhlaziya nokubhala kabusha umlando wengqalabutho eyagcina ishonela ngaphandle kombutho kaKhongolose. Loluphando lifisa ukwenza izinto ezimbili: Okokuqala, ibhala kabusha umlando omude wezepolitiki kaMsane kusetshenziswa ulwazi olukhona. Loku kuzosiza ukunothisa umlando wezepolitiki wezwe laseNingizimu Afrika. Okwesibili, ezingeni lobunzululwazi, lolucwaningo luveza ukuthi izinkinga uMsane ahlangabezana nazo zazisukele endleleni okwakubukwa ngayo indaba yokucwasana ngazinga empilo abantu, kwakuyinto ejulile kuKhongolose ukubukeka kwabanye sengathi bazenza ngcono. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, History, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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South African traditional healers’ perceptions and treatment of the symptoms of depression

- Augustine, Daniella Joan

Authors: Augustine, Daniella Joan
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Depression, Mental South Africa , Mental illness South Africa , Depression, Mental Treatment , Traditional healers of South Africa , Symptoms , Depression, Mental Social aspects
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408789 , vital:70525
Description: While depression is experienced worldwide, the World Health Organization indicated that over 80% of this disease burden is found in low- and middle-income countries, with 16% of depressive disorder cases being found in Africa. Specifically, in South Africa, the lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder is 9.7%. Research conducted on traditional healing estimates that as high as 80% of black individuals in South Africa choose to consult traditional healers. Although there was initial consensus that the use of traditional healers reflected a lack of access to alternative resources, more recent research has however indicated that traditional healers are consulted even when psychiatric facilities and medication are available. Research has illustrated that many patients that chose to consult traditional healers do so as a result of their shared beliefs, and traditional healers' ability to understand the cultural frameworks underlying illness. The current study investigated how traditional healers in the Eastern Cape perceive and treat phenomena currently understood as the symptoms of depression and how these understandings can be incorporated into collaborations between Western medicine and traditional healing practice. A qualitative research design was used to examine the perspectives and treatment methods of isiXhosa traditional healers in the Eastern Cape. Four healers participated in the study. Key findings indicated that there is no single cause or definition of the phenomenon of depression by healers. Causality is greatly attributed to spiritual causes and ancestors play a key role in guiding the diagnosis and multiple treatment interventions employed by healers to treat the experience of depression. Finally, all traditional healers expressed a willingness to collaborate and work with the Western healthcare system, however, they indicated a strong need for greater recognition as a valid healthcare system. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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The effectiveness and feasibility of online prolonged exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress among university students

- Slabbert, Maryna

Authors: Slabbert, Maryna
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Exposure therapy , Post-traumatic stress disorder , College students South Africa , Prolonged exposure therapy , Online therapy
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408885 , vital:70534
Description: Research has found that 70.6% of university students reported exposure to several traumatic events (Hoffman, 2002). Considering the high prevalence of trauma exposure among South African university students, many are at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Iribarren, Prolo, Naegos & Chiappelli, 2005). Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) is regarded as a first-line trauma therapy for PTSD (Foa, Hembree, Rothbaum, & Rauch, 2019). During the Covid-19 pandemic, public health guidelines for physical distancing reduced access to face-to-face mental health care. In response to this, many health care providers adapted to pandemic constraints by meeting their clients online, through Zoom, for example (Wells et al., 2020). Considering the prevalence of trauma exposure among university students, as well as the increased necessity of teletherapy, the study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of online PE for PTSD among university students in a South African setting. The study employed Single-Case Experimental Design (SCED) as basis for its research design. Participants included a sample of Rhodes University students (n = 3) who were recruited through purposive sampling. Prior to the intervention, all three participants met the criteria for PTSD, and comorbid depression. Based on the measures used, two of the three participants did not meet the criteria for PTSD post-intervention. In terms of depression symptoms, one participant did not meet the criteria for depression post-intervention, and another participant showed a decrease in depression symptoms. Regarding the feasibility of online PE, all three participants reported the intervention to be feasible, acceptable, and appropriate. Overall, the study provides preliminary results to support the effectiveness and feasibility of online PE. It also gives insight into the value of intervention research and how it can ameliorate PTSD in a South African setting, as well as other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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“It’s not just me on a video call with someone…” Students’ experiences of a forced transition from face-to-face psychotherapy to online psychotherapy during COVID-19: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

- Keet, Nicole Tahnee

Authors: Keet, Nicole Tahnee
Date: 2023-03-30
Subjects: Online therapy , COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Influence , Interpretative phenomenological analysis , Psychologists Training of , College students Attitudes
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408845 , vital:70531
Description: The aim of this study is to explore university students’ experience of a forced transition from face-to-face therapy to online therapy during COVID-19. This pandemic was unexpected and affected all areas of life, including the closure of universities, which left therapists and clients alike unsure of how to navigate these unchartered territories. Although there is a considerable amount of international research on experiences of online therapy, there is little research on a forced transition to online therapy because of COVID-19 and even less within the South African context. A sample of six participants between the ages of 20 and 30 years old were selected through purposive and convenience sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was utilised to ascertain how participants make sense of their worlds in relation to the transition to online therapy. The analysis provided three main superordinate themes, which are supported by subordinate themes. The superordinate themes are: 1) Online therapy as authentic and continuous, where the participants experienced the comfort and convenience of online therapy, the continuity of care and the anonymity of online therapy. 2) Online therapy as disruptive and invasive, where participants experienced issues with privacy, an intrusive environment, technological challenges, lack of body language and therapy feeling more disposable. 3) Getting used to online therapy with some help from the therapist, where participants felt an adjustment period was necessary as well as transparency and containment from the therapist to help with the transition. These findings support some existing South African literature; however, it also engages with findings unique to this study, that will hopefully be used for further exploration. The study ends with recommendations for training therapists on using online therapy. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-03-30

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