Exploring how mobile phones mediate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in a South African rural area
- Buthelezi, Stella Mbalenhle Nomfundo
- Authors: Buthelezi, Stella Mbalenhle Nomfundo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Social capital (Sociology) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phone users -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phones -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phones -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social media -- Influence -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , WhatsApp (Application software) -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163419 , vital:41035
- Description: Many contemporary ICT for development (ICT4D) studies focus on the benefits of mobile phones on the socio-economic development of marginalised communities. For many people in poorly resourced rural areas, one of the significant benefits of mobile phone usage is the expansion of social networks for resources or support. Social capital is one of the concepts that have been found to directly or indirectly influence many aspects of social life, communities and development. In the present study, I explore how mobile phones mediate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in a rural area on the Wild Coast of South Africa, Dwesa. I use individual semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected participants who are mobile phone owners in the area. I employ a thematic analysis to analyse their responses in relation to three dimensions of social capital, i.e. 1) trust and solidarity, 2) social cohesion and inclusion and 3) collective action and empowerment. Like in many South African rural areas, in Dwesa there is endemic poverty, inadequate services and infrastructure and high unemployment. The study found that by increased communication, mobile phones mostly strengthen bonding social capital between close ties who rely on each other for various forms of support. Mobile phones also facilitate the building of bridging social capital among members of various community groups by using WhatsApp group chats and Facebook. The little evidence on the relationship between mobile phone use and linking social capital in the area relates to group networks providing opportunities for interaction between community members and individuals in tertiary institutions and local government positions.
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- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Buthelezi, Stella Mbalenhle Nomfundo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Social capital (Sociology) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phone users -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phones -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phones -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social media -- Influence -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , WhatsApp (Application software) -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163419 , vital:41035
- Description: Many contemporary ICT for development (ICT4D) studies focus on the benefits of mobile phones on the socio-economic development of marginalised communities. For many people in poorly resourced rural areas, one of the significant benefits of mobile phone usage is the expansion of social networks for resources or support. Social capital is one of the concepts that have been found to directly or indirectly influence many aspects of social life, communities and development. In the present study, I explore how mobile phones mediate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in a rural area on the Wild Coast of South Africa, Dwesa. I use individual semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected participants who are mobile phone owners in the area. I employ a thematic analysis to analyse their responses in relation to three dimensions of social capital, i.e. 1) trust and solidarity, 2) social cohesion and inclusion and 3) collective action and empowerment. Like in many South African rural areas, in Dwesa there is endemic poverty, inadequate services and infrastructure and high unemployment. The study found that by increased communication, mobile phones mostly strengthen bonding social capital between close ties who rely on each other for various forms of support. Mobile phones also facilitate the building of bridging social capital among members of various community groups by using WhatsApp group chats and Facebook. The little evidence on the relationship between mobile phone use and linking social capital in the area relates to group networks providing opportunities for interaction between community members and individuals in tertiary institutions and local government positions.
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- Date Issued: 2020
Between blue and light
- Authors: Campbell, Jennifer
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63570 , vital:28441
- Description: My novella follows a narrator observing her life, as she struggles with what it is to live in a world that she finds simultaneously frightening and beautiful. The story touches on the limitations of human connection and with loss in various forms. Set in both Cape Town and small town South Africa, the story explores the inner life of a woman detached and adrift.
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- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Campbell, Jennifer
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63570 , vital:28441
- Description: My novella follows a narrator observing her life, as she struggles with what it is to live in a world that she finds simultaneously frightening and beautiful. The story touches on the limitations of human connection and with loss in various forms. Set in both Cape Town and small town South Africa, the story explores the inner life of a woman detached and adrift.
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- Date Issued: 2018
The power of mysticism: understanding political support for President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe
- Manzira, Rufaro Coucou Annette
- Authors: Manzira, Rufaro Coucou Annette
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mysticism -- Psychology , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980- , Mugabe, Robert Gabriel, 1924-2019 , Allegiance -- Zimbabwe , Political capital -- Zimbabwe , Political psychology -- Zimbabwe , ZANU-PF (Organization : Zimbabwe) , Apotheosis , Zimbabwe -- Kings and rulers -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63693 , vital:28472
- Description: Significant debate exists within Zimbabwean studies about the basis for which people support on an ongoing basis the ruling Zimbabweans African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) under the leadership of Robert Mugabe. In academic literature, the party and state president (Mugabe) is typically seen as an oppressor such that any support for Mugabe is understood based on compulsion rather than consent. Genuine support for the ruling party though implies that Mugabe is a liberator. In drawing upon Zimbabwean academic literature which seeks to understand why Mugabe might be understood as a liberator, this thesis seeks to provide an innovative sociological analysis focusing on the mysticism surrounding the person and ruler-ship of Mugabe. The mysticism portrays Mugabe as being blessed by the ancestors and spirits, as having divine and sage-like qualities, as speaking for the bones of the dead heroes, and as acting as a modern day national chief who cares for his national subjects and defends his chiefdom against enemies from within or without. This portrait of Mugabe resonates with many Zimbabweans as it speaks to their everyday experiences and their longings for nation-building and national belonging. Hence, it should not be strictly understood as a ruling party ideology foisted upon citizens as a means of political deception. This is explored through interviews with a small number of ZANU-PF supporters.
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- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Manzira, Rufaro Coucou Annette
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mysticism -- Psychology , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980- , Mugabe, Robert Gabriel, 1924-2019 , Allegiance -- Zimbabwe , Political capital -- Zimbabwe , Political psychology -- Zimbabwe , ZANU-PF (Organization : Zimbabwe) , Apotheosis , Zimbabwe -- Kings and rulers -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63693 , vital:28472
- Description: Significant debate exists within Zimbabwean studies about the basis for which people support on an ongoing basis the ruling Zimbabweans African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) under the leadership of Robert Mugabe. In academic literature, the party and state president (Mugabe) is typically seen as an oppressor such that any support for Mugabe is understood based on compulsion rather than consent. Genuine support for the ruling party though implies that Mugabe is a liberator. In drawing upon Zimbabwean academic literature which seeks to understand why Mugabe might be understood as a liberator, this thesis seeks to provide an innovative sociological analysis focusing on the mysticism surrounding the person and ruler-ship of Mugabe. The mysticism portrays Mugabe as being blessed by the ancestors and spirits, as having divine and sage-like qualities, as speaking for the bones of the dead heroes, and as acting as a modern day national chief who cares for his national subjects and defends his chiefdom against enemies from within or without. This portrait of Mugabe resonates with many Zimbabweans as it speaks to their everyday experiences and their longings for nation-building and national belonging. Hence, it should not be strictly understood as a ruling party ideology foisted upon citizens as a means of political deception. This is explored through interviews with a small number of ZANU-PF supporters.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Regionalism and conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa : the role of inter-governmental authority on development in the Sudanese civil war
- Authors: Onyango, Moses
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1900-1974 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1974- , Africa, Northeast -- Foreign relations -- 1974- , Federal government -- Africa, Northeast , Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1955-1972 , Mediation, International , Culture conflict Sudan
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2869 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007715 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1900-1974 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1974- , Africa, Northeast -- Foreign relations -- 1974- , Federal government -- Africa, Northeast , Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1955-1972 , Mediation, International , Culture conflict Sudan
- Description: This thesis expounds the theoretical underpinnings of problem-solving approach to conflict resolution. It also criticizes the traditional state-centric approach to conflict resolution being followed by the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Sudanese civil war. IGAD was initially known as Inter Governmental Authority on Drought and Desertification (IGADD), but was renamed IGAD in 1996. Its objectives were reformulated to give priority to conflict prevention, resolution, and management, and humanitarian affairs. It is stipulated in the thesis that IGAD faces problems that need attention if the Sudanese civil war is to be resolved. A key problem is that while IGAD's objectives were reformulated to give priority to conflict resolution, IGAD's management structure has remained the same. The management structure is state-centric and lacks neutrality, which is a very important ingredient in deep-rooted social conflict resolution. The management structure, which was initially based on combating drought and desertification, was not restructured to conform to the realities of a problem solving approach to conflict resolution. The committee that was formed to look into the Sudanese conflict is composed of states in dispute with Sudan. The other structural problem cited in the thesis is that the IGAD peace process is cumbersome and does not include all aggrieved parties. The meetings involve heads of state, ministers, ambassadors and other government representatives. The peace process is not inclusive of other important players such as other rebel movements. This thesis concludes that: 1. there is a need for peace keeping forces from neutral African Union (AU) member states; 2. conflict resolution specialists are deployed in the region whose main task would be to assist the belligerent groups to reach a common understanding of their problems; 3. the United Nations (UN) acts proactively to create international awareness to the Sudanese problem.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Onyango, Moses
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1900-1974 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1974- , Africa, Northeast -- Foreign relations -- 1974- , Federal government -- Africa, Northeast , Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1955-1972 , Mediation, International , Culture conflict Sudan
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2869 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007715 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1900-1974 , Africa, Northeast -- Politics and government -- 1974- , Africa, Northeast -- Foreign relations -- 1974- , Federal government -- Africa, Northeast , Sudan -- History -- Civil War, 1955-1972 , Mediation, International , Culture conflict Sudan
- Description: This thesis expounds the theoretical underpinnings of problem-solving approach to conflict resolution. It also criticizes the traditional state-centric approach to conflict resolution being followed by the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Sudanese civil war. IGAD was initially known as Inter Governmental Authority on Drought and Desertification (IGADD), but was renamed IGAD in 1996. Its objectives were reformulated to give priority to conflict prevention, resolution, and management, and humanitarian affairs. It is stipulated in the thesis that IGAD faces problems that need attention if the Sudanese civil war is to be resolved. A key problem is that while IGAD's objectives were reformulated to give priority to conflict resolution, IGAD's management structure has remained the same. The management structure is state-centric and lacks neutrality, which is a very important ingredient in deep-rooted social conflict resolution. The management structure, which was initially based on combating drought and desertification, was not restructured to conform to the realities of a problem solving approach to conflict resolution. The committee that was formed to look into the Sudanese conflict is composed of states in dispute with Sudan. The other structural problem cited in the thesis is that the IGAD peace process is cumbersome and does not include all aggrieved parties. The meetings involve heads of state, ministers, ambassadors and other government representatives. The peace process is not inclusive of other important players such as other rebel movements. This thesis concludes that: 1. there is a need for peace keeping forces from neutral African Union (AU) member states; 2. conflict resolution specialists are deployed in the region whose main task would be to assist the belligerent groups to reach a common understanding of their problems; 3. the United Nations (UN) acts proactively to create international awareness to the Sudanese problem.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
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