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Reminiscing In Tempo : Ubangulo

  • Authors: Tutani, Zodwa
  • Date: 2021-04
  • Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- South Africa , South African poetry (English) -- 21st century , South African poetry (English) -- History and criticism , Diaries -- Authorship
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174376 , vital:42472
  • Description: My thesis is a collection of poems that focuses on black mothering and motherhood, within the context of the Eastern Cape’s violent history, its oppressive patriarchal cultural traditions and religious structures. Drawing from my own experiences, my poems explore what Toni Morrison calls the historical ‘wounds’ of black women which are transferred to their daughters within everyday spaces like the kitchen and the lounge, through objects like tea cups, chair backs and the various foods that every black girl needs to be able to prepare in order to be ‘marriagable’, and how these continue to hurt and emotionally disfigure us. I also draw influence from Saidiya Hartman, Christina Sharpe and Tina Campt on black lives and the effects of slavery within their daily existences. And I am inspired by the intimacy and care with which Tadeusz Rosewicz writes about his relationship with his mother in Mother Departs and Sandra Cisneros’ use of interconnected vignettes to engage childhood, culture and community within marginalized space. Stylistically I am influenced by the structural innovations in Fred Moten’s The Little Edges and the dreamy landscape in the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca. My collection includes prose and lyrical poetry, combining more formal sound and rhythmic structures with free verse, to bring to life motherhood and the narratives we carry from childhood into our adult lives.
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  • Date Issued: 2021-04

An exploratory study of psychologists’ perceptions of the phenomenon currently understood as ‘borderline personality disorder’

  • Authors: Daya, Lekha
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Borderline personality disorder , Psychologists -- Attitudes -- South Africa , Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/171139 , vital:42023
  • Description: The phenomenon currently understood as ‘borderline personality disorder’ (BPD) has been complex and multifaceted since its inception. Previous studies have focused on the validity of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) conceptualisation of BPD, aetiologies of BPD, the psychologies of persons diagnosed with BPD, and the gendered nature of BPD. This study aimed to specifically explore South African practising psychologists’ perceptions of BPD. Through thematic analysis from a constructivist, post-modern paradigm, this study aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of practising psychologists on BPD, as well as the usefulness of the DSM in working with BPD in a non-western society such as South Africa (SA). The study sampled two Counselling and two Clinical psychologists practising in the South African context, with exposure to and experience in working with BPD. Collectively, results in this study identified psychologists’ perceptions of shortcomings in the usefulness of the DSM’s approach to categorising phenomena associated with BPD, and brought attention to a need for further research and attention into the role of psychologists’ in the construction of BPD. This study seeks to represent psychologists’ practical experiences and perceptions, in an attempt to add contextually relevant findings on the DSM’s construction of BPD, and to contribute to challenging the stigma and misunderstanding associated with BPD. Specific practice implications and recommendations for future research are discussed within.
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  • Date Issued: 2021

Development and calidation of the psychometric properties underpinning the Kwaito Music Attitude and Perception Scale (KMP)

  • Authors: Williams, Akhona
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Kwaito-music Attitude and Perception , Chronbach's alpha , Kwaito (Music) , Psychotherapy and music -- South Africa , Problem youth -- Rehabilitation -- South Africa , Attitude (Psychology) -- Testing -- South Africa , Perception -- Testing -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/172478 , vital:42208
  • Description: Music holds a privileged position in enhancing therapeutic well-being, supporting life skills development in youth and adolescents, and shaping cultural identities. As such, music has been closely related to youth culture, especially as it pertains to youth rehabilitation and identity formation. Studies (e.g., Duffy and Fuller, 2000; Miranda et al, 2013; Strayhorn, 2011; Tomasello, 2016) highlight the value of utilising music in youth rehabilitation, and acknowledge the intrinsic value of music to facilitate psychological and social change for individuals who would not otherwise benefit from psycho-education, or other didactic modes of youth rehabilitation. That said, Tyson (2005) developed the RAP music scale to psychometrically validate the underlying constructs of youth’ attitudes and perception of rap music in the United States of America, in order to use the instrument for music-based youth rehabilitation programs. The development of the RAP music scale informed the creation and validation of the Kwaito-music Attitude and Perception (KMP) Scale, the subject of my Masters thesis. Following suggestions from Morrison (2014), my study sought to psychometrically validate the properties of the Kwaito-music Attitude and Perception (KMP) Scale. The KMP was found to be a reliable measure of kwaito music attitudes and perception amongst a sample of South African youth who listen to this genre of music. The internal consistency of the questionnaire revealed a Cronbach’s α (Alpha) value of 0.820. Limitations of the project including reduced factor extraction and sample size constrains are discussed. It is envisioned that results from this study will find resonance with youth-community programs, and rehabilitation projects utilising music as a medium of healing amongst South African youth.
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  • Date Issued: 2021

Exploring domestic workers’ subjectivities through stories of their personal childcare arrangements

  • Authors: Michaeu, Nisha
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Women household employees, Black -- Social conditions -- South Africa , Women household employees, Black -- Social conditions -- South Africa -- Case studies , Women household employees, Black -- Psychology -- South Africa , Day care aides -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/172029 , vital:42150
  • Description: Domestic service has long been a major sector of the South African labour market, for black women particularly, who must support their family and children. Existing research has stressed the way in which race, class and gender has shaped the oppressive character of domestic service in South Africa. In this narrative study a new slant is provided on this existing theoretical discussion of domestic labour, one that is focused on exploring the agentic human being beyond ‘the servant question’. This study uses narrative interviews with domestic workers in Makhanda/Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa to show how we can expand on potentially limited or constricted passive ‘domestic worker identities’ and ideas/beliefs about women who do domestic work. A performative and positioning narrative analysis is used to explore the subject positions of domestic workers in their stories about their childcare arrangements. This analysis examines multiple shifting identities and positions that are used by domestic workers in relation to their maternal subjectivity and their audience (here, a white trainee-psychologist esearcher), while highlighting the significance of narrative methodology in making these positions visible. The areas of focus were their history, experience of domestic work, life outside of domestic work, family network/dynamics and personal childcare arrangements. Under these areas of focus the following was analysed: the ways in which the storyteller positioned herself in her narrative, how she compared/contrasted or located herself in relation to the other, claims of identity that were made, what she incorporated or purposefully left out, words and phrases that were chosen, which sections of talk were embellished or elaborated on and appeals that were made to the interviewer (Riessman, 2002). Through exploring the micro-practices of domestic workers’ lives the study found that there were various subject positions constructed and used by this group of women. Findings showed that domestic workers positioned themselves actively as breadwinners, good mothers who give their children opportunities that they were not given, nurturers and crafty mothers who secure good care for their children. In contrast to these active subject positions, positions of sacrifice were performed when domestic workers spoke about leaving their young children in the care of another while they worked. The study also found that participants managed complex positions of disappointment and unmet expectations for a better life in the new South Africa by using narratives of resistance and agency. In certain instances, identity appeals were made to the interviewer that they, and other women who do domestic work, are entrepreneurial and creative with their income and possess skills outside of their day-to-day household cleaning jobs. This was interpreted as an attempt to extend the domestic worker identity positioning beyond the traditionally accepted notions of unskilled/uneducated women who do domestic work. In the study this allowed for more subject positions to be taken up in terms of identities and selves, beyond just being a “domestic worker”.
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  • Date Issued: 2021

News for action: a critical case study of Yes! magazine

  • Authors: Hosford-Israel, Carly
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Yes! (Bainbridge Island, WA) , Magazines -- United States -- History and criticism , Journalistic ethics , Journalism -- Social aspects -- United States , Journalism -- Objectivity , Mass media -- Ownership -- United STates , Publishers and publishing -- United States
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/170822 , vital:41963
  • Description: Coming out of more than a century of concern over the commercialization and monopolization of media ownership, this study highlights some areas of opportunity for alternative media in the United States. Holding an ideal of participatory democracy, driven by an educated electorate, the research considers an example of US media action, Ye s ! magazine, from the perspective of alternative media and social movement theories. As alternative media are most generally a response to the mainstream model which acts in the interests of profit rather than public participation in politics, this thesis will cover not only democratic responsibility, but also mainstream media ownership and organization when considering the current manifestation of Ye s ! magazine. Inspired by a frustration with the concentration of mainstream media ownership, and consequently journalistic homogenization, this research explores opportunities for democratic media divergence and contestation. After 18 years of publication, Ye s ! was chosen as an ideal candidate for research due to its sustainability and longevity as one such critical media organization. Through in-depth interviews with Yes! personnel, and ideological analysis of Yes! articles, the following case study research explores the complexities that construct Ye s ! magazine, a corporately independent publication from Bainbridge Island, Washington.
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  • Date Issued: 2021

The changing nature of work: understanding precarity and the gendered individualisation of risk in post-apartheid South Africa

  • Authors: Mhlana, Siviwe
  • Date: 2021
  • Subjects: Precarious employment , Labor supply -- South Africa , Labor supply -- Statistics -- South Africa , Precarious employment -- South Africa , Informal sector (Economics) -- Employees -- South Africa , Women employees -- South Africa , Women temporary employees -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/172146 , vital:42170
  • Description: Against the backdrop of workplace restructuring globally, post-Apartheid South Africa is experiencing consistently high levels of unemployment, the deterioration of employment security, and limited improvements in earnings. This trend in the proliferation of low-paid, unstable and otherwise insecure employment has given rise to a segment of the literature that is centred on the growing precariousness of work in a number of different contexts. This thesis reviews empirical work on the changing nature of labour-intensive production in the past two decades, with particular focus on the trends in non-standard, informal and precarious employment. Further, the thesis examines the shift in the gender structure of South Africa’s manufacturing sector and how it affects the share in the benefits of employment, particularly with regard to social reproduction. In so doing, the thesis expands the critical theoretical narrative about the challenges of labour under neoliberalism by providing an intersectional perspective of precarious work in post- Apartheid South Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 2021

'n Ondersoek na genderpolitieke kwessies in die kortverhale van Rachelle Greeff

  • Authors: Gelderblom, Zel-Marí Kato
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Women -- Political activity
  • Language: Afrikaans
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/50756 , vital:42666
  • Description: Hierdie verhandeling fokus op die genderpolitieke kwessies in die volgende geselekteerde kortverhale van Rachelle Greeff; “Borste en bandiet”, en “Snaaks watter simpel goed mens onthou”, uit die bundel Die rugkant van die bruid (1990), sowel as “Eters anoniem”, uit die bundel Onwaarskynlike Engele (1993). Die hoofdoel van die studie was om die essensies van genderpolitiek soos deur Greeff aangetoon, te bepaal ten einde die geslagsposisie van die hedendaagse vrou te belig. Daar is gekyk na die manier waarop Rachelle Greeff die fokus op die liggaamlikheid en spesifiek die uiterlike van die vrou plaas, sowel as die manier waarop Greeff stereotipes en taboes rondom die vrou afbreek. Judith Butler se genderteorie is gebruik om hierdie genderpolitieke kwessies te ondersoek, te bespreek en te analiseer. Hierdie is volgens my kennis die eerste verhandeling wat oor Rachelle Greeff se werk handel.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

300 grams

  • Authors: Ainslie, Michelle
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140597 , vital:37903
  • Description: This document consists of two (2) parts:Part A: Thesis (Creative Work)Part B: Portfolio.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A comparison of representations of the imperative of higher education change as „transformation‟ versus „decolonisation‟ in South African public discourse

  • Authors: Makgakge, Rebecca Dineo
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Education in mass media -- South Africa , Higher education and state -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Curricula -- South Africa , Discrimination in education -- South Africa , South Africa -- Colonial influence , Educational change -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142498 , vital:38085
  • Description: The context of higher education in South Africa which has been shaped by the legacies of the old apartheid system is faced with a paramount task of the continuous process of restructuring and change. In shaping the restructuring and change of the higher education system the concept of transformation has been a constant theme for the post-apartheid government policies. However more recently we have seen the heightened prominence of the concept of change understood as decolonisation of South African higher education – as opposed to “transformation‘. This thesis was concerned with how these concepts of change, “transformation‘ and “decolonisation‘ have been used in debates surrounding higher education in South Africa. The thesis compares and contrasts the ways and context in which they are used. This study of 177 South African newspaper articles taken form independent media stables from the time 2008 to the present provides an analysis of representations of higher education change as “transformation‘ and as “decolonisation‘ evinced in the corpus. This required using both content and framing analysis as a method to analyse the corpus. Three themes emerged from the analysis that are relevant to the comparison between South African higher education institutional change represented as “transformation‘ and South African higher education institutional change represented at “decolonisation‘: the first theme concerns the differences and similarities in how the two terms are defined; the second theme concerns how the two ideas play themselves out when it comes to curriculum change and the final theme concerns the implications of seeing change as “transformation‘ and seeing change as “decolonisation‘ for changing institutional cultures.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A critical appraisal of Saule’s portrayal of women as Amadelakufa (resilient)

  • Authors: Molubo, Rendani
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Women in literature , Feminism -- Africa , Saule, N -- Vuleka Mhlaba , Saule, N -- Inkululeko Isentabeni , Saule, N -- Libambe Lingatshoni , Xhosa fiction -- History and criticism
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143982 , vital:38300
  • Description: This study seeks to explore how Professor Ncedile Saule’s works Vuleka Mhlaba (2006), Inkululeko Isentabeni (2010) and Libambe Lingatshoni (2017), depict female characters to reveal the inner resilience women embody. It is important to portray females as bold, intelligent and courageous beings as African women are subjected to major patriarchal myths. South Africa prides itself with a progressive Constitution and Bill of Rights that speaks of gender equality and the liberation of all persons. However, in practice women still live under patriarchal bondages and their efforts are side-lined, thus, the essentiality of writings that contributes towards the empowerment of women through displaying their resilience. Women in literature are mostly depicted as subordinate, submissive and emotional. At times they are portrayed as victims. They are very seldom portrayed as heroes or independent beings. They are constantly placed behind a man instead of in front of a man. This research aims to display women as heroes in their own capacity, without having to be dimmed by a man. The researcher decided to utilise writings of a male author so as to provide a different perspective from the norm that most male authors are known to write about in issues pertaining female characters. This is also deliberately done to encourage more male writers to change the mythical narration about women and start admiring their contributions without having them shadow any man. The projection of female resilience through the gaze of a male author gives hope that there are men who see and admire women’s efforts. It also indicates that men realise now that African feminisms are not against men and instead advocate for equality between men and women and recognise the greatness that could come out of a partnership between the two genders. Women’s behaviour and characteristics are mostly socially constructed, hence the need to exhibit the boldness that black women possess, instead of them only being utilised as nurturing sources and household caretakers. One of the purposes of this research study is to illustrate the resilience that women possess and analyse the forms of torment that women in Saule’s chosen novels have experienced and how their experience engenders resilience and a determination to succeed. The women in Saule’s three novels selected for this study break the traditional status quo. The approach that this paper will utilize is that of African Feminisms, focusing on Walker’s Womanism, Ogunyemi’s Africana Womanism, and Stiwanism as the theoretical approaches. This is because African Feminisms concentrates on the issues related to gender, race and class that African women across spectrums face.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A critique of translated (isiXhosa to English) sworn statements by the South African Police Service

  • Authors: Mvabaza, Aviwe
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Forensic linguistics , Translators -- South Africa , Xhosa language -- Translating , Police administration -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/122869 , vital:35361
  • Description: The thesis provides a critique of sworn statement translations in the South African Police Service. The study is a mixed method study, which is rooted in Translation and Forensic Linguistics. It focuses on translations of two languages, IsiXhosa and English, an activity that was observed by the researcher at the Ndevana Police Station under the Buffalo City Municipality near King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape Province. In addition to the data collection strategies, among others, the study also collected data through the use of questionnaires responded to by the Ndevana Location’s community members. Furthermore, it used a method of consented interviews with the police officers. The main aim of these interviews was to unearth the police officers’ views on whether they require Translators and Forensic Linguists to assist them. Moreover, the other data collection strategy used was the consented recordings of verbal statements made by complainants, facilitated by the capturing of translated written dockets after the reporting of an incident. The police officers involved and who were available in the precinct were Constables, Sergeants, Detectives, Warrant officers and the Captain. The study period was 90 days, and the data presented in the form of graphs is contained in the relevant upcoming chapters. The findings of the study were that there was indeed a need for Translators and/or Forensic Linguists in the precinct, as the statistics revealed, by both the police officers and the community members. An analysis of the transcribed material, the interviews with the police and the verbal statements made by the complainants written by the police were evidence of the need for Translators and Forensic Linguists by the South African Police Services.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A five year comparative analysis of annual baseline neurocognitive test scores for South African high school athletes

  • Authors: Reichling, Marcelle Antoinette
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: High school athletes -- Intelligence testing , Sports -- Psychological aspects , Neuropsychological tests , Brain -- Wounds and injuries -- Psychology , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects , Brain -- Concussion , Head -- Wounds and injuries
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145863 , vital:38473
  • Description: The primary objective of this study was to assess the pattern of change in neurocognitive performance for adolescent athletes on baseline measures of the Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) test, over five consecutive years, with a view to providing an indication of the optimal interval for repeat baseline testing of high school athletes. Participants were non-clinical, predominantly South African high school athletes in the overall age range 13 to 18 years (N = 108), divided into five groups (Grades 8,9, 10, 11 and 12), and tested at five test intervals. Repeated-measures ANOVA analyses examined differences in score performance across the test intervals for each of the five composite scores of the ImPACT test (Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, Visual Motor Speed, Reaction Time, Impulse Control). For the Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, Visual Motor Speed and Reaction Time composites there were significant neurocognitive score changes between several test intervals. Taking these results into account, in conjunction with substantial variability in performance, it is concluded that there is a need for annual baseline testing throughout the high school years. The secondary objective was to generate normative tables (Means and Standard Deviations) on the ImPACT test for the five participant groups at each of the five test intervals, including data for: the five composite scores (Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, Visual Motor Speed, Reaction Time, Impulse Control); for the twelve subtest scores test that go to make up the composite scores; and for four additional memory subcomponent scores (Word Memory immediate recall, Word Memory delayed recall, Design Memory immediate recall, Design Memory delayed recall). The results provide a clinical and heuristic normative platform for future use with brain injured individuals, which can be used to facilitate clinical interpretations of postconcussion assessments.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A mixed methods investigation of students’ attitudes towards statistics and quantitative research methods: a focus on postgraduate psychology students at a South African university

  • Authors: Ngantweni, Xolelwa
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders -- South Africa , Statistics , Psychology -- Research , College students -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Psychology -- Research -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140490 , vital:37894
  • Description: Many University programs offer a course in either basic or intermediate statistics as part of the degree requirements prior to graduation (McGrath, Ferns, Greiner, Wanamaker and Brown, 2015). These statistics or quantitative research methods courses are integral in helping students gain vital skills in analysing quantitative data. Research (Schau, Stevens, Dauphinee, and Del Vecchio, 1995) does however indicate that most students have a perfunctory disposition towards these courses. My study sought to particularly investigate attitudes towards statistics and quantitative research methods amongst a sample of 61 postgraduate Psychology students at Rhodes University undertaking a ‘Quantitative Research Methods’ course as part of their degree offering. A mixed methods approach was used to investigate students’ attitudes towards statistics and quantitative research methods. The Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS-36) (Schau, 2003) captured student’s attitudes towards statistics using a Likert Scale instrument; whereas detailed qualitative interviews accentuated findings from the SATS-36. Key quantitative findings from the SATS-36 including students’ perceptions of statistics being a difficult course as well as students having a low affect towards statistics are detailed. Key qualitative findings related to why students experience statistics anxiety such as students’ (1) fear of failing statistics, (2) The late introduction of statistics in the Psychology curriculum, and (3) The role of educator/s in alleviating or promoting feelings of statistics anxiety are noted. The significance of these findings as well as the contributions of the study to the teaching and learning of statistics and quantitative research methods courses at Rhodes University are explored, in light of other studies on the topic of statistics anxiety and attitudes towards statistics/ quantitative research methods.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A multimodal analysis of the representations of gender in contemporary South African children’s picture books produced by Book Dash

  • Authors: Heydenrych, Ellen Frances
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Book Dash (South Africa) , Picture books for children -- South Africa , Sex role in literature , Patriarchy in literature , Children's literature, South African (English) -- 21st century -- History and criticism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164284 , vital:41106
  • Description: In response to a demand for quality children’s picture books written and published by South Africans for local children, Book Dash – a South African non-profit organisation – has devised a publishing model in which they produce high quality children’s picture books in a twelve-hour period. Their aim is to publish books that represent a diverse range of South African children. However, while their objective is to create books that are representative of many races, this representation happens through gendered characters. In this thesis, I explore the representation of gender in Book Dash’s picture books. I use a combination of visual social semiotics, narrative theory, and critical discourse analysis, specifically focusing on the gendered ways in which the characters are represented. My analysis of these books shows how complex it can be to contest regimes of representation that work to fix patriarchal discourses and gender inequality. My findings reveal a paradox in the representation of gender norms in female characters, as some girl child characters are represented in roles that challenge gender norms, while female adult characters are consistently represented as conforming to the patriarchal feminine ideal. There is also a notable lack of father figures in these books. Such portrayals may contribute to the perpetuation of patriarchal discourses and gender inequality, particularly if these books are held up as examples of equality.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A psychobiographical study of Maya Angelo

  • Authors: De Waal, Leandra
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Angelou, Maya
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/46341 , vital:39569
  • Description: Psychobiographies aim to gain a deeper understanding into the lives of notable or notorious individuals through the lens of a psychological theory. Thisstudy aimedto gain insight into the personality development of Maya Angelou through the useof Erikson’s Theory of PsychosocialDevelopment. The study exploresand describesher life experiences in terms of this theory, and understandsher life within her socio-historical context. Angelou is a renowned literary figure. Herjourney to becoming a writer was an arduous one, marked by great hardships from an early age. Despite early parental abandonment, childhood rape, exposure to racism, and difficulties in romantic relationships, she developed into a healthy adult who achieved much literary success and inspired individuals worldwide.Nonprobability purposive sampling was used to selectAngelou as the subjectand was madeon the basis of the researcher’s interest in Angelou’s life history.Datawas collected by triangulating multiple sources of informationand analysed using the approach developed by Miles and Huberman, which involves threesteps: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification.The main findings suggest that Angelou progressed through Erikson’s eight stages successfully, despite some delays in negotiations of crises.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A q-metholological approach to audience reception of public awareness messages on sexual violence

  • Authors: Bennie, Rachel
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Psychology -- Research -- Methodology , Psychology -- Research , Communication in social action -- South Africa , Psychology -- Research -- South Africa , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa -- Prevention
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140805 , vital:37920
  • Description: Public awareness poster campaigns are an often-used method for raising awareness about, and engaging audiences on the topic of rape and other forms of sexual violence (Potter, 2012). However, poster campaigns, as social artefacts, operate in a public arena in which numerous discourses about a phenomenon are produced, reproduced and interact with each other, with sometimes unintended/unanticipated discursive consequences (Böhmke, Bennie, Minnie, Moore, Pilusa & Pollock, 2015). How messages aimed at raising awareness of sexual violence are framed has the potential to reproduce dominant social narratives and gendered subject positions in ways that reinforce notions of men as active sexual agents and potential perpetrators, and women as sexually passive and potential victims (Gavey, 2005). Other approaches, such as bystander intervention, seek to move away from a focus on victims and perpetrators to emphasise the role that community members can play in risk detection, safety promotion and the prevention of sexual violence (McMahon & Banyard, 2012). Since a range of possible messages about sexual violence can be communicated through poster campaigns, it is important to critically examine the content and orientation of campaign material. This study focused on intended audience views regarding messages about sexual violence contained in anti-sexual violence poster materials. The purpose was to collaborate with a selected audience to better understand which messages are effective and which strategies of communication are perceived to be less so. Through the use of Q-methodology, volunteer participants were invited to express their opinions in relation to messages about sexual violence from a range of posters from several international campaigns. The analysis focused on uncovering the discursive subject positions that participants’ express in their attitudinal responses to the poster messages, providing not only a description of these positions, but also illustrating the level of resonance that the poster messages may find with intended audiences. The aim of the study is to potentially inform the development of more focused campaign material, tailored to the specific context from which participants were drawn. Analysis shows clear patterns of audience resistance towards stereotypical representations of sexual violence and messages that are geared towards the simple prohibition of behaviours. The findings highlight the need for the development of alternative strategies of engagement that focus on specific engagement with understandings of sexual violence in the context of intimate and/or acquaintance relationships and which are aimed at inviting audiences to take up a position in relation to sexual violence phenomena that troubles the reproduction of received notions of gendered subjectivities and (hetero) sexuality
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A skin that took them through

  • Authors: Kgame, Mbali
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century , Diaries -- Authorship
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147638 , vital:38656
  • Description: This project comprises of interlinked fictional short stories capturing experiences of the “invisibilised’’ young people- the street kids, drug addicts, cashiers, childminders, the sick, first graduates etc. These stories are a way to interrogate the fallacy of a “free and fair” South Africa by noting events taking place within homes, communities and countrywide. Told in a playful, innocent, curious, childlike voice and reasoning, my work draws inspiration from Werewere Likings ‘The Amputated Memory,’ for its ability to narrate the current without divorcing the past. I draw inspiration from Liking’s way of writing family connectivity and employing an emerging voice of the narrator starting from being a child scribbling to later becoming an elder. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s ‘Black Friday’ for scanning into young black people’s experiences in a society where their bodies move as misfits. My work also draws from Lesley Nneka Arimah’s ‘What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky’ for the interlinked stories. Lastly the stories in this project take from Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother for humanising bodies that have been reduced to frames.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A socio-political analysis of the adoption of certain AmaXhosa surnames

  • Authors: Johnson, Stembele
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Names, Personal -- Xhosa , Names, Personal -- Xhosa -- Political aspects , Names, Personal -- Xhosa -- Sociological aspects , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs , Onomastics -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164298 , vital:41107
  • Description: It is always assumed when you have a white surname that you have a white lineage or your forefathers were white, and that was always my struggle in school to explain the meaning of my surname and where it came from. Not only European surnames used by amaXhosa are difficult to explain but also many isiXhosa surnames are very hard to break down and explain. This is because many word from th e isiXhosa language, that are used in surnames are no longer used and if one does not know the history of certain names then it would be difficult to know the meaning of a surname or misinterpret its meaning to the modern words of isiXhosa that we know. S urnames are not of African origin, they came from the West, but because of colonialism surnames were enforced on African people. Most of the surnames they used, are said to be names of their forefathers (ancestors), and there is a small amount or none that links to femininity in these surnames. Surnames are part of naming and naming is part of onomastics. Naming is a very important tool used among various African cultures to convey certain messages, either to an individual, family members or a community. On omastics is multidisciplinary in nature. It can be approached from different perspectives. These include linguistic, historical, sociological, philosophical, economical and other perspectives. This research looks at the depth of certain amaXhosa surnames and even their links to other names like, nicknames and clan names etc.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2020

A systematic review of the efficacy of internet-based interventions for depression and anxiety disorders: the possibilities and limitations for feasibility within South Africa

  • Authors: Sealy-Fisher, Kay Tibeta
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Depression, Mental -- Treatment -- South Africa , Anxiety disorders -- Treatment -- South Africa , Internet in psychotherapy -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144632 , vital:38364
  • Description: Technological advances may alleviate the burden on South Africa’s mental healthcare system. This study is a systematic review of literature that assesses the efficacy of high quality online interventions for depression and anxiety, and that compares the reviewed studies’ characteristics to the South African context to assist in future developments of online interventions for depression and anxiety within South Africa. This was achieved through using a 2010 systematic review of Griffiths, Farrer, and Christensen as point of departure. This research had two aims: to provide an updated systematic review of the literature reporting on the efficacy of internet-based interventions for depression and anxiety disorders; and to evaluate the possibilities and limitations for the feasibility of implementing internet-based interventions for depression and anxiety disorders in the South African context. Databases accessed were PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Included studies must: (i) report on one or more internet-based intervention, (ii) target depression or anxiety or both, (iii) report the effect size or provide enough information to calculate it, (iv) report a measure of symptoms outcome, (v) be a Randomised Controlled Trial, (vi) include a control group that received no active intervention, (vii) be published and peer-reviewed, (viii) have been published after January 2010. The search yielded 2999 potential studies of which 20 full texts were reviewed. Of these, 75% (n=15) of the studies report effect sizes above 0.20, and 25% (n=5) of the studies report effect sizes above 0.80. Themes emergent from literature and included studies distinguished effective from non-effective studies included the use of cognitive behavioural therapy, therapist input and reminders to engage with the intervention, and duration of over 6 weeks. Attrition rates did not differ between experimental and control groups. Sample characteristics between the reviewed interventions and South Africa’s population were found to be different and is discussed. Unfortunately, 37 potential studies could not be accessed and thus not included, although several attempts were made. The majority of studies had effect sizes equal to that of face-to-face therapeutic interventions. Implications of application in South Africa’s context with limited technological familiarity, insufficiency of professionally trained therapists, poor literacy, and high costs of internet data are discussed. It is concluded that with appropriate adaptation, online internet interventions for depression and anxiety would be beneficial to South Africa’s people and assist in lowering the country’s burden of mental health disorders.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2020

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