“We are white”: oral tradition, documented history and molecular biology of Xhosa clans descended from non-African forebears and their expression of this ancestry through the idiom of ancestor religion
- Authors: Hayward, Janet M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Clans -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Patrilineal kinship -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- Genealogy , Oral history -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Genetic genealogy , Xhosa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Xhosa (African people) -- Race identity
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62939 , vital:28312
- Description: Xhosa clan membership is symbolised by a clan-name (isiduko) and passed along the male line from father to son. This social indicator has a biological counterpart in Y chromosome DNA that passes through successive generations in the patriline. Both relate specifically to a distant patrilineal forebear or apical ancestor. The present study has involved the collection and documentation of oral-historical information relating to the descent of certain Cape Nguni clans from non-African forebears and (where possible) a review of documented accounts of such origins. The research has also included collection of buccal cells from male research participants and analysis of their Y chromosome DNA. This method indicates whether a man’s patrilineal forebear lived in Africa. Otherwise, it indicates the broad geographical region from which he originated, hence providing an additional, independent source of information relating to ancestry that can confirm or challenge claims made based on oral history. Ethnographic research into the performance of distinctive ancestor rituals by clan members explores the continuing relevance of foreign ancestry in the contemporary context of rural communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study heeds calls for the decolonisation of scholarship in various ways: methodologically, through transdisciplinary research; ontologically, by questioning the utility of the nature: culture and related dichotomies; and epistemologically, because instead of relying entirely on the western academic tradition, it takes account of other modes of knowledge production. In rejection of the notion that only one side of history is true, it records multiple voices – those of the powerful but also the ordinary. The study deals with race and racial identification, but confirms the superficiality of these constructed differences by offering evidence of their submergence in the unifying power of kinship and descent.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Hayward, Janet M
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Clans -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Patrilineal kinship -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- Genealogy , Oral history -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Genetic genealogy , Xhosa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Xhosa (African people) -- Race identity
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62939 , vital:28312
- Description: Xhosa clan membership is symbolised by a clan-name (isiduko) and passed along the male line from father to son. This social indicator has a biological counterpart in Y chromosome DNA that passes through successive generations in the patriline. Both relate specifically to a distant patrilineal forebear or apical ancestor. The present study has involved the collection and documentation of oral-historical information relating to the descent of certain Cape Nguni clans from non-African forebears and (where possible) a review of documented accounts of such origins. The research has also included collection of buccal cells from male research participants and analysis of their Y chromosome DNA. This method indicates whether a man’s patrilineal forebear lived in Africa. Otherwise, it indicates the broad geographical region from which he originated, hence providing an additional, independent source of information relating to ancestry that can confirm or challenge claims made based on oral history. Ethnographic research into the performance of distinctive ancestor rituals by clan members explores the continuing relevance of foreign ancestry in the contemporary context of rural communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study heeds calls for the decolonisation of scholarship in various ways: methodologically, through transdisciplinary research; ontologically, by questioning the utility of the nature: culture and related dichotomies; and epistemologically, because instead of relying entirely on the western academic tradition, it takes account of other modes of knowledge production. In rejection of the notion that only one side of history is true, it records multiple voices – those of the powerful but also the ordinary. The study deals with race and racial identification, but confirms the superficiality of these constructed differences by offering evidence of their submergence in the unifying power of kinship and descent.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
“Watch-dogs for an Economy” : a determination of the origins of the South African Public Accountants' and Auditors' Board – as the Regulator of the Profession – principally through an analysis of the debates and related reports to the House of Assembly of the Parliament of the Union of South Africa in the period 1913–1940
- Lancaster, Jonathan Charles Swinburne
- Authors: Lancaster, Jonathan Charles Swinburne
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Public Accountants' and Auditors' Board (South Africa) , Accounting -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Accounting -- South Africa -- History , Accounting -- Standards -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1961 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1909-1948
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:922 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020876
- Description: This thesis concentrates upon a new field of research in South African accounting scholarship – this being, in general terms, accounting history and more specifically an analysis of the origins of the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board as watch-dog in relation to: ● the South African economy in the period 1913–1940; and ● the changing political framework (also in the period 1913–1940). The integration of economy, politics and personal ambition on the part of early 20th Century accounting societies, led to a variety of responses, counter proposals, stalemates and unfocused activity which caused the process of accountants’ registration to extend over 38 years in South Africa. This confusion was in strong contrast to the process of speedy registration of accountants in New Zealand and Australia. The final unification of South African accounting societies in 1951 created the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board. Its creation, at long last, suggested an overarching control and regulation which was mirrored in the final political unification and economic stability of a South Africa dominated by Afrikaner Nationalists. One further element was interwoven into the fabric of the thesis – this being the application of institutional economic theory and its impact upon the accounting concepts of “material irregularity” and “reportable irregularity”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Lancaster, Jonathan Charles Swinburne
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Public Accountants' and Auditors' Board (South Africa) , Accounting -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Accounting -- South Africa -- History , Accounting -- Standards -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1961 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1909-1948
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:922 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020876
- Description: This thesis concentrates upon a new field of research in South African accounting scholarship – this being, in general terms, accounting history and more specifically an analysis of the origins of the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board as watch-dog in relation to: ● the South African economy in the period 1913–1940; and ● the changing political framework (also in the period 1913–1940). The integration of economy, politics and personal ambition on the part of early 20th Century accounting societies, led to a variety of responses, counter proposals, stalemates and unfocused activity which caused the process of accountants’ registration to extend over 38 years in South Africa. This confusion was in strong contrast to the process of speedy registration of accountants in New Zealand and Australia. The final unification of South African accounting societies in 1951 created the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board. Its creation, at long last, suggested an overarching control and regulation which was mirrored in the final political unification and economic stability of a South Africa dominated by Afrikaner Nationalists. One further element was interwoven into the fabric of the thesis – this being the application of institutional economic theory and its impact upon the accounting concepts of “material irregularity” and “reportable irregularity”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“The stranger at home” : representations of home and hospitality in three South African post-transitional novels
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Wicomb, Zoë -- Criticism and interpretation , Shukri, Ishtiyaq, 1968- -- Criticism and interpretation , Vladislavić, Ivan, 1957- -- Criticism and interpretation , Home in literature , Hospitality in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2325 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016355
- Description: This thesis examines the representation of home and hospitality in Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light, Ishtiyaq Shukri’s The Silent Minaret, and Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative. It attempts to trace the un-homeliness of the central characters and to account for their feelings of discomfort. As such, it argues that the home is incapable of being inviolable because the invasion of the public is always a possibility. The implication is that master narratives such as race, history and politics are always entering the space one constructs as private. That said, this study also argues that the home and those things with which it is most closely associated, such as belonging, comfort and safety, may actually hide a form of violence. By this I mean that in the desire for homeliness, one may exclude others from one’s home. Consequently, this argument draws on Jacques Derrida’s writings on the aporia of conditional and unconditional hospitality to investigate what ethical possibilities might, somewhat unexpectedly, be created by the un-homely home. The study is therefore an exploration of the potentials that inhere in a certain kind of un-homeliness, the most important of which is the chance to respond ethically to the alterity of the other. In sum, there is a necessity to extend hospitality beyond condition and beyond limit, and this ethical imperative is at odds with the desire for comfort and safety. The way in which post-transitional novels explore these issues of hospitality and home is the primary focus of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Wicomb, Zoë -- Criticism and interpretation , Shukri, Ishtiyaq, 1968- -- Criticism and interpretation , Vladislavić, Ivan, 1957- -- Criticism and interpretation , Home in literature , Hospitality in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2325 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016355
- Description: This thesis examines the representation of home and hospitality in Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light, Ishtiyaq Shukri’s The Silent Minaret, and Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative. It attempts to trace the un-homeliness of the central characters and to account for their feelings of discomfort. As such, it argues that the home is incapable of being inviolable because the invasion of the public is always a possibility. The implication is that master narratives such as race, history and politics are always entering the space one constructs as private. That said, this study also argues that the home and those things with which it is most closely associated, such as belonging, comfort and safety, may actually hide a form of violence. By this I mean that in the desire for homeliness, one may exclude others from one’s home. Consequently, this argument draws on Jacques Derrida’s writings on the aporia of conditional and unconditional hospitality to investigate what ethical possibilities might, somewhat unexpectedly, be created by the un-homely home. The study is therefore an exploration of the potentials that inhere in a certain kind of un-homeliness, the most important of which is the chance to respond ethically to the alterity of the other. In sum, there is a necessity to extend hospitality beyond condition and beyond limit, and this ethical imperative is at odds with the desire for comfort and safety. The way in which post-transitional novels explore these issues of hospitality and home is the primary focus of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“Munhu wese ihama yako (everyone is your relative)”: Ubuntu and the social inclusion of students with disabilities at South African universities
- Authors: Chiwandire, Desire
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: College students with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/170578 , vital:41938 , 10.21504/10962/170578
- Description: Background: During apartheid, South African students with disabilities (SWDs) were educated in special schools and taught an inferior curriculum. Black learners with disabilities were discriminated against on grounds of both race and disability. Following South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) government put in place arrange of new laws to address the educational and other needs of those disadvantaged under apartheid, including persons with disabilities (PWDs). The South African government is a signatory of the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which has resulted in the country assuming obligations to promote inclusive education for ASWDs. However, research (see, for instance, Chiwandire & Vincent 2019; Chiwandire 2019; Mutanga 2019; Majoko & Phasha 2018; Mutanga et al. 2018; Mutanga 2017a; Chiwandire 2017; Israel 2017) has shown that SWDs continue to fare differently in comparison to their non-disabled peers in terms of participation in education with the likelihood of success. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have thus been urged to create conducive environments for the academic inclusion of SWDs with particular attention being paid to lecturers employing inclusive instructional strategies as well as flexible curricula, if they are to ensure the equal opportunity for academic success of SWDs in the regular classroom setting. The focus, to date, on academic inclusion, while important, has meant that issues relating to the social inclusion of SWDs have received minimal attention. Purpose: To date, there is a dearth of South African studies which have investigated the social inclusion needs of SWDs on South African campuses. Although a number of studies have given voice to the perspectives of SWDs and lecturers, with respect to their experiences in relation to matters of academic inclusion in South African higher education (HE), few have focused on Disability Unit Staff Members(DUSMs) who are pivotal to ensuring fair and equitable policies and practices for SWDs in HEIs. Disability Studies (DS) as a field has been criticised for being dominated by voices from the Global North, which fail to consider or effectively theorise Global South disability experiences in a contextually relevant way. The thesis argues that the failure to recognise the value of diversity and to treat SWDs as valued and welcomed participants in South African HEIs partly stems from policy, practice and relationships being informed by the Western individualist paradigm that prizes individual achievement and success rather than cooperation and mutuality. The African philosophy of Ubuntu, which stresses values of communalism, hospitality and respect for human dignity is offered here as an alternative starting point for achieving genuinely inclusive campuses. Methods: In-depth face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 participants, most of whom were, at the time of being interviewed, Heads of Disability Units and DUSMs based at 10 different universities in four of South Africa’s nine provinces. Data were coded and analysed using Braun & Clarke’s (2006) method of inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results: The findings of this study indicate that South African campuses are ableist spaces in which the social needs of SWDs are not prioritised. The thesis argues that in order for campuses to become genuinely inclusive, South African campuses ought to seek to inculcate in their members the values of the African worldview Ubuntu, in contrast to the dominant Western individualist orthodoxy. SWDs are being excluded and denied a sense of belonging and equal participation despite universities giving lip service to embracing such inclusive education-oriented values as co-operative learning. Non-disabled students steeped in Western individualism, which affirms the solitary pursuit of individual success rather than the value of interdependence and diversity, end up marginalising SWDs who are seen as less capable. DUSMs addressing the needs of SWDs through an ableist/Western individualist lens are not challenging unfair practices which are impairing the dignity of SWDs, particularly students with physical disabilities who are being forced to “fit into” oppressive inaccessible built environments on campuses. These DUSMs may unwittingly re-inscribe ableist assumptions that normalise discrimination against SWDs. Conclusions and Recommendations: Ubuntu values offer a starting point for building mutual respect and interdependence between SWDs and their non-disabled peers. The thesis finds however that as was the case in traditional African communities, which embraced the values of Ubuntu, acts of leadership are required if Ubuntu’s values of human dignity, mutual respect and acceptance are to be fostered on campuses. In a range of important ways, the dignity of SWDs is not respected at HEIs in South Africa. This includes, for example, such practical matters as the inaccessibility of toilets to wheelchair users and the lack of appropriate signage for blind students. Disrespectful attitudes and assumptions about SWDs on the part of non-disabled university members also result in SWDs’ human dignity being impaired. Ubuntu’s value of hospitality stresses the importance of promoting relations of group solidarity and interdependence between SWDs and their non-disabled peers. Both academic inclusion-oriented programmes and the promotion of a wide range of social activities, involving both SWDs and non-disabled students, can play an important role in cultivating the formation of long-term fruitful and respectful friendships between SWDs and non-disabled students. An enabling classroom environment alone is not enough to holistically address the social inclusion needs of SWDs. South African HEIs that embrace the Ubuntu values of communalism, human dignity and hospitality will be in a position to respect the needs of SWDs as “whole persons”. Amongst other things, this requires DUSMs to be fully empowered to make important decisions regarding vital matters such as disability inclusion, and it necessitates university management to relinquish their power, so that they may work collaboratively with DUSMs and SWDs, all on equal footing, to ensure that HE funding allocation, policy and planning also prioritises the social needs of SWDs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Chiwandire, Desire
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: College students with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/170578 , vital:41938 , 10.21504/10962/170578
- Description: Background: During apartheid, South African students with disabilities (SWDs) were educated in special schools and taught an inferior curriculum. Black learners with disabilities were discriminated against on grounds of both race and disability. Following South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) government put in place arrange of new laws to address the educational and other needs of those disadvantaged under apartheid, including persons with disabilities (PWDs). The South African government is a signatory of the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which has resulted in the country assuming obligations to promote inclusive education for ASWDs. However, research (see, for instance, Chiwandire & Vincent 2019; Chiwandire 2019; Mutanga 2019; Majoko & Phasha 2018; Mutanga et al. 2018; Mutanga 2017a; Chiwandire 2017; Israel 2017) has shown that SWDs continue to fare differently in comparison to their non-disabled peers in terms of participation in education with the likelihood of success. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have thus been urged to create conducive environments for the academic inclusion of SWDs with particular attention being paid to lecturers employing inclusive instructional strategies as well as flexible curricula, if they are to ensure the equal opportunity for academic success of SWDs in the regular classroom setting. The focus, to date, on academic inclusion, while important, has meant that issues relating to the social inclusion of SWDs have received minimal attention. Purpose: To date, there is a dearth of South African studies which have investigated the social inclusion needs of SWDs on South African campuses. Although a number of studies have given voice to the perspectives of SWDs and lecturers, with respect to their experiences in relation to matters of academic inclusion in South African higher education (HE), few have focused on Disability Unit Staff Members(DUSMs) who are pivotal to ensuring fair and equitable policies and practices for SWDs in HEIs. Disability Studies (DS) as a field has been criticised for being dominated by voices from the Global North, which fail to consider or effectively theorise Global South disability experiences in a contextually relevant way. The thesis argues that the failure to recognise the value of diversity and to treat SWDs as valued and welcomed participants in South African HEIs partly stems from policy, practice and relationships being informed by the Western individualist paradigm that prizes individual achievement and success rather than cooperation and mutuality. The African philosophy of Ubuntu, which stresses values of communalism, hospitality and respect for human dignity is offered here as an alternative starting point for achieving genuinely inclusive campuses. Methods: In-depth face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 participants, most of whom were, at the time of being interviewed, Heads of Disability Units and DUSMs based at 10 different universities in four of South Africa’s nine provinces. Data were coded and analysed using Braun & Clarke’s (2006) method of inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results: The findings of this study indicate that South African campuses are ableist spaces in which the social needs of SWDs are not prioritised. The thesis argues that in order for campuses to become genuinely inclusive, South African campuses ought to seek to inculcate in their members the values of the African worldview Ubuntu, in contrast to the dominant Western individualist orthodoxy. SWDs are being excluded and denied a sense of belonging and equal participation despite universities giving lip service to embracing such inclusive education-oriented values as co-operative learning. Non-disabled students steeped in Western individualism, which affirms the solitary pursuit of individual success rather than the value of interdependence and diversity, end up marginalising SWDs who are seen as less capable. DUSMs addressing the needs of SWDs through an ableist/Western individualist lens are not challenging unfair practices which are impairing the dignity of SWDs, particularly students with physical disabilities who are being forced to “fit into” oppressive inaccessible built environments on campuses. These DUSMs may unwittingly re-inscribe ableist assumptions that normalise discrimination against SWDs. Conclusions and Recommendations: Ubuntu values offer a starting point for building mutual respect and interdependence between SWDs and their non-disabled peers. The thesis finds however that as was the case in traditional African communities, which embraced the values of Ubuntu, acts of leadership are required if Ubuntu’s values of human dignity, mutual respect and acceptance are to be fostered on campuses. In a range of important ways, the dignity of SWDs is not respected at HEIs in South Africa. This includes, for example, such practical matters as the inaccessibility of toilets to wheelchair users and the lack of appropriate signage for blind students. Disrespectful attitudes and assumptions about SWDs on the part of non-disabled university members also result in SWDs’ human dignity being impaired. Ubuntu’s value of hospitality stresses the importance of promoting relations of group solidarity and interdependence between SWDs and their non-disabled peers. Both academic inclusion-oriented programmes and the promotion of a wide range of social activities, involving both SWDs and non-disabled students, can play an important role in cultivating the formation of long-term fruitful and respectful friendships between SWDs and non-disabled students. An enabling classroom environment alone is not enough to holistically address the social inclusion needs of SWDs. South African HEIs that embrace the Ubuntu values of communalism, human dignity and hospitality will be in a position to respect the needs of SWDs as “whole persons”. Amongst other things, this requires DUSMs to be fully empowered to make important decisions regarding vital matters such as disability inclusion, and it necessitates university management to relinquish their power, so that they may work collaboratively with DUSMs and SWDs, all on equal footing, to ensure that HE funding allocation, policy and planning also prioritises the social needs of SWDs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
“It’s something you kind of get used to”: female academics at South African universities narrate their experiences of contrapower harassment
- Authors: Munyuki, Chipo Lidia
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Power (Social sciences) , Sex discrimination in higher education -- South Africa , Women college teachers -- South Africa , Sexual harassment in universities and colleges -- South Africa , Sexual harassment of women -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92875 , vital:30758
- Description: Sexual harassment continues to be a pernicious problem in institutions of higher education globally and findings indicate that women are the main victims. Extant research has focused largely on experiences of sexual harassment on the part of students. Under-researched are the experiences of academics concerning what Benson (1984) terms “contrapower” harassment -- that is, harassment experienced by academics from subordinates such as students. South Africa’s Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions reported that there exists a culture of silencing around the prevalence of sexual harassment in higher education institutions in South Africa (Soudien Report 2008:37). The concept of power has been pointed out as central to understanding sexual harassment (Cleveland and Kerst 1993:49). Utilising three main constructs in Michel Foucault’s conception of power, namely the idea that power is ubiquitous and omnipresent in social relations; that power disciplines – creating docile bodies and the internalisation of self-regulation, and finally the idea that power is productive – power produces knowledge, truth and forms of resistance, I interpret the experiences of contrapower harassment in its sexual and non-sexual forms on the part of female academics at various universities in South Africa. Given that there is a paucity of qualitative research documenting experiences of contrapower harassment on the part of female academics, this thesis draws on 13 in-depth qualitative interviews with female academics at various South African universities who have experienced contrapower harassment from their students and subordinates at any point in their teaching careers. Their narrated experiences provide insight into the phenomenon of contrapower harassment. These insights provide a window into how female academics continue to experience themselves as being out of place in post-apartheid institutions that are expected to be accommodating of all.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Munyuki, Chipo Lidia
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Power (Social sciences) , Sex discrimination in higher education -- South Africa , Women college teachers -- South Africa , Sexual harassment in universities and colleges -- South Africa , Sexual harassment of women -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92875 , vital:30758
- Description: Sexual harassment continues to be a pernicious problem in institutions of higher education globally and findings indicate that women are the main victims. Extant research has focused largely on experiences of sexual harassment on the part of students. Under-researched are the experiences of academics concerning what Benson (1984) terms “contrapower” harassment -- that is, harassment experienced by academics from subordinates such as students. South Africa’s Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions reported that there exists a culture of silencing around the prevalence of sexual harassment in higher education institutions in South Africa (Soudien Report 2008:37). The concept of power has been pointed out as central to understanding sexual harassment (Cleveland and Kerst 1993:49). Utilising three main constructs in Michel Foucault’s conception of power, namely the idea that power is ubiquitous and omnipresent in social relations; that power disciplines – creating docile bodies and the internalisation of self-regulation, and finally the idea that power is productive – power produces knowledge, truth and forms of resistance, I interpret the experiences of contrapower harassment in its sexual and non-sexual forms on the part of female academics at various universities in South Africa. Given that there is a paucity of qualitative research documenting experiences of contrapower harassment on the part of female academics, this thesis draws on 13 in-depth qualitative interviews with female academics at various South African universities who have experienced contrapower harassment from their students and subordinates at any point in their teaching careers. Their narrated experiences provide insight into the phenomenon of contrapower harassment. These insights provide a window into how female academics continue to experience themselves as being out of place in post-apartheid institutions that are expected to be accommodating of all.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
“Don’t be alarmed. It’s to do with sex.” Sherlock Holmes fanfiction and freedom of the imaginary domain
- Authors: van der Nest, Megan
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Fan fiction , Fans (Persons) -- Fiction , Holmes, Sherlock , Literature and the internet , Sex in literature
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124208 , vital:35576
- Description: In this thesis I argue that, for the individual fan, reading and writing fanfiction texts, and engaging with the online fandom communities within which these texts are produced, is a potentially valuable experience. This is because the kind of social and creative spaces found in these communities allow for, and celebrate, the free imaginative play with romantic and sexual desires, identities, and relationships. To articulate the importance of these spaces, I draw on Drucilla Cornell’s concept of the imaginary domain, defined as the psychic space each individual uses to explore different sexual desires and personae, which exploration is necessary for the development of full personhood. I also argue that the growing visibility and influence of fandom in modern society means that it could serve as a mechanism for social change, particularly in the acceptance and support of multiple sexual identities and forms of love. Selected texts, drawn from the Sherlock fandom, are discussed as representative of the approach taken within fanfiction communities towards various aspects of sexuality and sexual ethics. This approach combines the enthusiastic exploration of sexual desires without shame or fear of judgment with an ongoing, critical interrogation of sexual ethics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: van der Nest, Megan
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Fan fiction , Fans (Persons) -- Fiction , Holmes, Sherlock , Literature and the internet , Sex in literature
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124208 , vital:35576
- Description: In this thesis I argue that, for the individual fan, reading and writing fanfiction texts, and engaging with the online fandom communities within which these texts are produced, is a potentially valuable experience. This is because the kind of social and creative spaces found in these communities allow for, and celebrate, the free imaginative play with romantic and sexual desires, identities, and relationships. To articulate the importance of these spaces, I draw on Drucilla Cornell’s concept of the imaginary domain, defined as the psychic space each individual uses to explore different sexual desires and personae, which exploration is necessary for the development of full personhood. I also argue that the growing visibility and influence of fandom in modern society means that it could serve as a mechanism for social change, particularly in the acceptance and support of multiple sexual identities and forms of love. Selected texts, drawn from the Sherlock fandom, are discussed as representative of the approach taken within fanfiction communities towards various aspects of sexuality and sexual ethics. This approach combines the enthusiastic exploration of sexual desires without shame or fear of judgment with an ongoing, critical interrogation of sexual ethics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
“Culture” as an Agent of Societal Regeneration: A Study of Selected Dramatic Literature by Soyinka, Osofisan and Rotimi
- Authors: Megbowon, Funmilola Kemi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Literature English drama
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15826 , vital:40530
- Description: Contemporary Yoruba society is laden with the burden of diverse societal misconducts and perversions which are seen to be entrenched in the fabric of the individuals’ daily lives and the society. These misconducts have alarming patterns and worrisome future implications. In this study, it is argued that while all-round forward progress is essential in a society, a simultaneous disconnect with some conventional and traditional element stimulates these aforementioned delinquencies. This therefore calls for societal regeneration of the contemporary Yoruba society in view of achieving a sustainable future. The study further argued that societal regeneration could only be achieved by looking backward into some indigenous cultural elements that made the traditional society a relatively non-perverted society. This argument is presented by examining contemporary dramatic works by Nigerian playwrights whose writings are done in the light of the past. Their works are imperatives because literature is viewed as one of the means of preserving and educating the society of their history, culture and beliefs, and also mirroring the present and projecting into the future. Specifically, the objectives of this study are: 1) To evaluate the levels of cultural and moral values in contemporary Yoruba Society; 2) To examine the key moral and cultural paradigms of the traditional Yoruba tribe of Nigeria; 3) To examine the position of the writers as vanguard of moral and cultural values in contemporary and future Nigerian Society; 4) To examine challenges that arise against their efforts to resuscitate traditional morals and culture among the Yoruba people of Nigeria. These objectives were achieved using textual and interpretative analytical procedures in the texts written by Soyinka, Osofisan and Rotimi. These texts which includeThe Swamp Dwellers, Death and the King’s Horseman, The Trials of Brother vi Jero, The Women of Owu, Kurunmi and The Gods are not to Blame, are all examined within the context of postcolonial theory. The historical endowment of examined playwrights motivated their desire to assert their cultural identity and to preserve their traditional values. The playwrights reflect common concern of the need to appreciate and where necessary to retain traditional cultural values as well as the need to rid society of those traditions that hinder human and society's growth. Each author approaches these concerns from a cultural perspective, they emphasise the rationality and need of establishing their national identity, thereby stressing the importance of traditional values in the process. In a society like the Yoruba where each segment has been affected by extended agents of colonisation, the hope of restoration also lies in the hand of the playwrights who have constantly emphasised through their writings the role of the essentials of Yoruba culture in societal development. The examination of the key moral and cultural paradigms of the traditional Yoruba people of Nigeria, which is objective two of this thesis, is presented within the context of each of the six selected texts. They are discussed in Chapters three to five of the study with respect to each of the authors of the play and the identified relevant sociocultural issues. From the examined literary texts, it is seen that the traditional Yoruba moral and cultural paradigms are distinctive and diverse. Some of these key paradigms represented in the texts include religious practices, language, clothing, respect for elders, chastity before marriage, marriage, justice, marital fidelity, hard work, and leadership accountability. All these key paradigms centre on interpersonal relationships and communal interaction together with the irreplaceable position of the vii gods which are observed to have been imperative in the workings of the traditional Yoruba society, making it a less perverse one. In Chapter six, inferences on the inferred pivotal position of playwright as vanguard of indigenous culture and the conflicts that arise against playwrights’ efforts to resuscitate a moral culture in the Yoruba society of Nigeria which are the objectives three and four of the study are explored. It is identified in the chapter that the battle for lost identity and cultural values is being fought on numerous fronts. Some of the key issues identified as confronting and silencing playwrights’ influences in the society include evolving diversities in ideologies, education, technology, the entertainment industry, and urbanisation. This study recommends the necessity of looking into the economic, social, and cultural development of the Yoruba people in the process of cultural recovery via dramatic literary writings and presentations. The playwrights should use their knowledge to spur the people into action, and foster through his writings the hope of a better future. The playwrights are not only responsible to their national culture, but to the nation as a whole, whose culture is, after all, but one aspect. This is also believed to be relevant in the fight against several social anomalies in the African community, thereby aiding the continent’s development
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Megbowon, Funmilola Kemi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Literature English drama
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15826 , vital:40530
- Description: Contemporary Yoruba society is laden with the burden of diverse societal misconducts and perversions which are seen to be entrenched in the fabric of the individuals’ daily lives and the society. These misconducts have alarming patterns and worrisome future implications. In this study, it is argued that while all-round forward progress is essential in a society, a simultaneous disconnect with some conventional and traditional element stimulates these aforementioned delinquencies. This therefore calls for societal regeneration of the contemporary Yoruba society in view of achieving a sustainable future. The study further argued that societal regeneration could only be achieved by looking backward into some indigenous cultural elements that made the traditional society a relatively non-perverted society. This argument is presented by examining contemporary dramatic works by Nigerian playwrights whose writings are done in the light of the past. Their works are imperatives because literature is viewed as one of the means of preserving and educating the society of their history, culture and beliefs, and also mirroring the present and projecting into the future. Specifically, the objectives of this study are: 1) To evaluate the levels of cultural and moral values in contemporary Yoruba Society; 2) To examine the key moral and cultural paradigms of the traditional Yoruba tribe of Nigeria; 3) To examine the position of the writers as vanguard of moral and cultural values in contemporary and future Nigerian Society; 4) To examine challenges that arise against their efforts to resuscitate traditional morals and culture among the Yoruba people of Nigeria. These objectives were achieved using textual and interpretative analytical procedures in the texts written by Soyinka, Osofisan and Rotimi. These texts which includeThe Swamp Dwellers, Death and the King’s Horseman, The Trials of Brother vi Jero, The Women of Owu, Kurunmi and The Gods are not to Blame, are all examined within the context of postcolonial theory. The historical endowment of examined playwrights motivated their desire to assert their cultural identity and to preserve their traditional values. The playwrights reflect common concern of the need to appreciate and where necessary to retain traditional cultural values as well as the need to rid society of those traditions that hinder human and society's growth. Each author approaches these concerns from a cultural perspective, they emphasise the rationality and need of establishing their national identity, thereby stressing the importance of traditional values in the process. In a society like the Yoruba where each segment has been affected by extended agents of colonisation, the hope of restoration also lies in the hand of the playwrights who have constantly emphasised through their writings the role of the essentials of Yoruba culture in societal development. The examination of the key moral and cultural paradigms of the traditional Yoruba people of Nigeria, which is objective two of this thesis, is presented within the context of each of the six selected texts. They are discussed in Chapters three to five of the study with respect to each of the authors of the play and the identified relevant sociocultural issues. From the examined literary texts, it is seen that the traditional Yoruba moral and cultural paradigms are distinctive and diverse. Some of these key paradigms represented in the texts include religious practices, language, clothing, respect for elders, chastity before marriage, marriage, justice, marital fidelity, hard work, and leadership accountability. All these key paradigms centre on interpersonal relationships and communal interaction together with the irreplaceable position of the vii gods which are observed to have been imperative in the workings of the traditional Yoruba society, making it a less perverse one. In Chapter six, inferences on the inferred pivotal position of playwright as vanguard of indigenous culture and the conflicts that arise against playwrights’ efforts to resuscitate a moral culture in the Yoruba society of Nigeria which are the objectives three and four of the study are explored. It is identified in the chapter that the battle for lost identity and cultural values is being fought on numerous fronts. Some of the key issues identified as confronting and silencing playwrights’ influences in the society include evolving diversities in ideologies, education, technology, the entertainment industry, and urbanisation. This study recommends the necessity of looking into the economic, social, and cultural development of the Yoruba people in the process of cultural recovery via dramatic literary writings and presentations. The playwrights should use their knowledge to spur the people into action, and foster through his writings the hope of a better future. The playwrights are not only responsible to their national culture, but to the nation as a whole, whose culture is, after all, but one aspect. This is also believed to be relevant in the fight against several social anomalies in the African community, thereby aiding the continent’s development
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
“A position of great trust and responsibility”: a social history of the Grahamstown Asylum, 1875 – c. 1905
- Authors: Van Zyl, Kylie
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mental health services -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope , Psychiatric hospitals -- South Africa -- History , South Africa -- Race relations -- Social aspects , Mentally ill -- Commitment and detention -- South Africa , Mentally ill -- Abuse of -- South Africa , Mental health policy -- South Africa , Asylums -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Discrimination in mental health services -- South Africa , Health and race -- South Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/151031 , vital:39025
- Description: Much has been written about the inequalities inherent in the psychiatric care provided to mentally ill individuals in the Cape Colony, but to date few works have been produced that describe in detail the processes and care regimes at particular institutions. This thesis examines the history of care and custody provided by the Grahamstown Asylum in the Cape between the years of 1875 and 1905. The intention is to determine the means and methods by which the Asylum’s authorities developed, almost unchallenged, a system of unequal treatment and favouritism within that facility, and what this meant for the men and women committed to the Asylum’s custody. To this end, contemporaneous official reports from Asylum staff and Colonial authorities were consulted, in conjunction with the Asylum’s internal records such as registers and individual patient files. This thesis concludes that the evolution of the Colony’s psychiatric community’s beliefs around mental illness, philosophies of protective custody and moral treatment within the psychiatric community at the time, the region’s laws governing psychiatric institutionalisation, and the larger context of the Cape’s socio-political environment at the time converged to create an institution that practiced discrimination on both a macro- and micro-level. This discriminatory framework affected who was admitted, the diagnosis that each person received, the asylum facilities to which they had access, and further, to the odds against their recovery. The implications of this study are relevant in the present day, as the modern South African system of psychiatric institutionalisation, though embedded within a socio-political context of equality and non-discrimination nevertheless appears to suffer from a similarly undemocratic framework of operation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Van Zyl, Kylie
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mental health services -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope , Psychiatric hospitals -- South Africa -- History , South Africa -- Race relations -- Social aspects , Mentally ill -- Commitment and detention -- South Africa , Mentally ill -- Abuse of -- South Africa , Mental health policy -- South Africa , Asylums -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Discrimination in mental health services -- South Africa , Health and race -- South Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/151031 , vital:39025
- Description: Much has been written about the inequalities inherent in the psychiatric care provided to mentally ill individuals in the Cape Colony, but to date few works have been produced that describe in detail the processes and care regimes at particular institutions. This thesis examines the history of care and custody provided by the Grahamstown Asylum in the Cape between the years of 1875 and 1905. The intention is to determine the means and methods by which the Asylum’s authorities developed, almost unchallenged, a system of unequal treatment and favouritism within that facility, and what this meant for the men and women committed to the Asylum’s custody. To this end, contemporaneous official reports from Asylum staff and Colonial authorities were consulted, in conjunction with the Asylum’s internal records such as registers and individual patient files. This thesis concludes that the evolution of the Colony’s psychiatric community’s beliefs around mental illness, philosophies of protective custody and moral treatment within the psychiatric community at the time, the region’s laws governing psychiatric institutionalisation, and the larger context of the Cape’s socio-political environment at the time converged to create an institution that practiced discrimination on both a macro- and micro-level. This discriminatory framework affected who was admitted, the diagnosis that each person received, the asylum facilities to which they had access, and further, to the odds against their recovery. The implications of this study are relevant in the present day, as the modern South African system of psychiatric institutionalisation, though embedded within a socio-political context of equality and non-discrimination nevertheless appears to suffer from a similarly undemocratic framework of operation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
‘Gender’ and constructions of spousal mourning among the AmaXhosa in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Ngqangweni, Hlonelwa
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Widowhood -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Widows -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- Funeral customs and rites , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology , Bereavement -- Psychological aspects , Mourning customs -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Death -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3249 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015647
- Description: Among the AmaXhosa the death of a person is marked by a tradition called ukuzila - the equivalent of the mourning process. As a sign of spousal mourning, and to show respect, the remaining spouse has to put on a marker (be visible). However, it is mostly the woman who is under obligation to show her mourner status by wearing ‘clothes of mourning’. The discriminatory nature of the practice, especially pertaining to visibility and some of the detrimental effects on the widows’ health and safety have been documented by some researchers, but the reasons for the continuity of visibility remain largely unexplored. Taking into account the dynamic nature of ‘culture’, this research explored the discourses deployed in men and women’s constructions of ukuzila specifically focusing on spousal mourning and the continuity of widows’ visibility in spite of their resistance to it. The research used postcolonial feminism drawing on postructuralism as its theoretical lens. This theoretical lens provided useful concepts such as hybridity, visibility, surveillance and power with which to examine spousal mourning and conceptualised people’s subject positions as multiple, fluid and contingent. Furthermore, the research employed thematic and discourse analysis at its methodology. Discourse analysis was employed to identify and analyse the discourses utilised in the constructions of spousal mourning. The research was conducted through focus group discussions held with younger and older urban and rural men and women, as well as interviews held with widows and widowers and key cultural informants. Concerning the question of constructions of spousal mourning for men and women, visibility of the mourner emerged as a central and contentious issue. Some participants were of the view that one could show mourning by engaging in culturally appropriate mourning behaviour, whilst others were of the view that showing one’s mourning had to be visible by publicly displaying mourning through a marker. Another group proposed mourning “by heart”, whereby the mourners’ status could either be inferred from their behaviour, whereas others maintained that behaviour was not mandatory. Various justifications for the continued visibility of widows were advanced. These justifications included showing love and respect to the deceased husband; showing respect to the ancestors; and helping to monitor their own behaviour in order to ensure that it is in line with appropriate mourning behaviour. The continued visibility of widows was also used to regulate the widows’ sexuality. Widows were coerced to put on ‘clothes of mourning’ in order to ‘protect’ them from being approached by men for a relationship during the mourning period. The regulation of the movement of widows was also managed through visibility. Widows’ movements were restricted in order to protect the community from pollution or bad luck. For example, they were not allowed to visit places of entertainment or visit other households. Key discourses identified were the familial-‘ukwenda’, respect-‘hlonipha’, and male sexual drive (MSD) discourse. The familial - ‘ukwenda’ discourse is centred on the idea that one is ‘married to the household’, which includes the nuclear family and wider extended family including ancestors. According to the respect-‘hlonipha’ discourse, respect is due to others on the basis of their age, status, and more especially their gender. Showing respect (hlonipha) necessitates the avoidance of all forms of behaviour and utterances that could be deemed disrespectful. The MSD holds a widespread view of sexuality as a biological drive that resides within each male and it was drawn on to make sense of discontinued visibility among widowers, whilst visibility of widows continued. It is argued that it is these discourses, embedded in the ‘culture’ of the AmaXhosa and upheld by the family that sustain the discriminatory nature of the practice, especially concerning the continued visibility of widows in spite of the resistance that has been voiced.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Ngqangweni, Hlonelwa
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Widowhood -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Widows -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- Funeral customs and rites , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology , Bereavement -- Psychological aspects , Mourning customs -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Death -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3249 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015647
- Description: Among the AmaXhosa the death of a person is marked by a tradition called ukuzila - the equivalent of the mourning process. As a sign of spousal mourning, and to show respect, the remaining spouse has to put on a marker (be visible). However, it is mostly the woman who is under obligation to show her mourner status by wearing ‘clothes of mourning’. The discriminatory nature of the practice, especially pertaining to visibility and some of the detrimental effects on the widows’ health and safety have been documented by some researchers, but the reasons for the continuity of visibility remain largely unexplored. Taking into account the dynamic nature of ‘culture’, this research explored the discourses deployed in men and women’s constructions of ukuzila specifically focusing on spousal mourning and the continuity of widows’ visibility in spite of their resistance to it. The research used postcolonial feminism drawing on postructuralism as its theoretical lens. This theoretical lens provided useful concepts such as hybridity, visibility, surveillance and power with which to examine spousal mourning and conceptualised people’s subject positions as multiple, fluid and contingent. Furthermore, the research employed thematic and discourse analysis at its methodology. Discourse analysis was employed to identify and analyse the discourses utilised in the constructions of spousal mourning. The research was conducted through focus group discussions held with younger and older urban and rural men and women, as well as interviews held with widows and widowers and key cultural informants. Concerning the question of constructions of spousal mourning for men and women, visibility of the mourner emerged as a central and contentious issue. Some participants were of the view that one could show mourning by engaging in culturally appropriate mourning behaviour, whilst others were of the view that showing one’s mourning had to be visible by publicly displaying mourning through a marker. Another group proposed mourning “by heart”, whereby the mourners’ status could either be inferred from their behaviour, whereas others maintained that behaviour was not mandatory. Various justifications for the continued visibility of widows were advanced. These justifications included showing love and respect to the deceased husband; showing respect to the ancestors; and helping to monitor their own behaviour in order to ensure that it is in line with appropriate mourning behaviour. The continued visibility of widows was also used to regulate the widows’ sexuality. Widows were coerced to put on ‘clothes of mourning’ in order to ‘protect’ them from being approached by men for a relationship during the mourning period. The regulation of the movement of widows was also managed through visibility. Widows’ movements were restricted in order to protect the community from pollution or bad luck. For example, they were not allowed to visit places of entertainment or visit other households. Key discourses identified were the familial-‘ukwenda’, respect-‘hlonipha’, and male sexual drive (MSD) discourse. The familial - ‘ukwenda’ discourse is centred on the idea that one is ‘married to the household’, which includes the nuclear family and wider extended family including ancestors. According to the respect-‘hlonipha’ discourse, respect is due to others on the basis of their age, status, and more especially their gender. Showing respect (hlonipha) necessitates the avoidance of all forms of behaviour and utterances that could be deemed disrespectful. The MSD holds a widespread view of sexuality as a biological drive that resides within each male and it was drawn on to make sense of discontinued visibility among widowers, whilst visibility of widows continued. It is argued that it is these discourses, embedded in the ‘culture’ of the AmaXhosa and upheld by the family that sustain the discriminatory nature of the practice, especially concerning the continued visibility of widows in spite of the resistance that has been voiced.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
‘Being regional’: an analysis of the conceptualisation, operations and embeddedness of regional non-governmental organisations responding to HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa
- Authors: Mushonga, Allan
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Finance , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/118733 , vital:34663
- Description: This thesis offers an original sociological analysis of regional Non-Governmental Organisations (RNGOs) responding to the HIV epidemic in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in respect of their emergence, constitution, role, function, embeddedness, accountability and practice of being regional in the HIV response. In doing so, it offers propositions on the conceptualisation of RNGOs and the concept being regional in clarifying regional HIV programming in the context of regionalisation. It also highlights the nexus between regional HIV work, and country and global HIV governance and programming as components of the global architecture of development regime under the tutelage of the United Nations as influenced by the dominant powers. The analysis is based on a hybrid of social systems, actor systems dynamics, institutional and network theoretical analytical frameworks. A triangulation of these frameworks provides a comprehensive grounding on which it is possible to identify and analyse RNGOs as social systems, institutions, actors and nodes that constitute part of the global architecture of the HIV response. This also facilitates the conceptualisation of being regional as both a programmatic typology and state of existence of RNGOs, thus locating these regional actors in the framework of the global HIV governance and programming. It locates them in the resultant web of social relations connecting various development agents in hierarchical and institutionalised structures constructed around HIV governance and responses. Social embeddedness and hence accountability of RNGOs is thus presented as determined by this complex context. Based on an extensive use of organisational documents as well as key informant interviews, the thesis reveals the dominance of funding organisations in determining regional and national HIV programme design and content as well as structuring the organisational practices of RNGOs and other development agents in the HIV response. Because of the demands by donors for accountability on the part of RNGOs for funds received, upward accountability becomes a major preoccupation of RNGOs and becomes privileged compared to downward accountability to their programme beneficiaries. However, RNGOs still enact agency in seeking to manoeuvre their way through the worldwide development system in order to advance the HIV response while also ensuring their own organisational sustainability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mushonga, Allan
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Finance , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/118733 , vital:34663
- Description: This thesis offers an original sociological analysis of regional Non-Governmental Organisations (RNGOs) responding to the HIV epidemic in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in respect of their emergence, constitution, role, function, embeddedness, accountability and practice of being regional in the HIV response. In doing so, it offers propositions on the conceptualisation of RNGOs and the concept being regional in clarifying regional HIV programming in the context of regionalisation. It also highlights the nexus between regional HIV work, and country and global HIV governance and programming as components of the global architecture of development regime under the tutelage of the United Nations as influenced by the dominant powers. The analysis is based on a hybrid of social systems, actor systems dynamics, institutional and network theoretical analytical frameworks. A triangulation of these frameworks provides a comprehensive grounding on which it is possible to identify and analyse RNGOs as social systems, institutions, actors and nodes that constitute part of the global architecture of the HIV response. This also facilitates the conceptualisation of being regional as both a programmatic typology and state of existence of RNGOs, thus locating these regional actors in the framework of the global HIV governance and programming. It locates them in the resultant web of social relations connecting various development agents in hierarchical and institutionalised structures constructed around HIV governance and responses. Social embeddedness and hence accountability of RNGOs is thus presented as determined by this complex context. Based on an extensive use of organisational documents as well as key informant interviews, the thesis reveals the dominance of funding organisations in determining regional and national HIV programme design and content as well as structuring the organisational practices of RNGOs and other development agents in the HIV response. Because of the demands by donors for accountability on the part of RNGOs for funds received, upward accountability becomes a major preoccupation of RNGOs and becomes privileged compared to downward accountability to their programme beneficiaries. However, RNGOs still enact agency in seeking to manoeuvre their way through the worldwide development system in order to advance the HIV response while also ensuring their own organisational sustainability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Zinc inhibition of cell division : its relevance to cancer cells and possible mechanism of action
- Authors: Skeef, Noel Samuel
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: Cell division , Cancer cells -- Growth -- Regulation , Zinc in the body , Zinc -- Physiological effect , Cancer -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4144 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016266
- Description: A description of two techniques used extensively in this study namely cell counting with a "cell counting plate" and argentation TLC for the separation of ω -6 -fatty acids is given. Zn supplementation into GM of two malignant (BL-6 and Hep- 350) and a non-malignant (LLC-MK) cell line/s resulted in an increased uptake of Zn by the cells and progressively suppressed proliferation of particularly the malignant cells. Zn chelation by EDTA suppressed in vitro proliferation of all 3 cell line, this effect being more pronounced in the malignant cells. A dietary Zn deficiency resulted in alopecia in mice and both a dietary Zn deficiency and Zn excess reduced growth of BL-6 tumours implanted subcutaneously in mice. Zn supplementation into GM progressively increased the uptake of [1-¹⁴C]-LA by BL-6 and LLC-MK cells but had a very slight though irregular effect on this parameter in the Hep- 350 cells. Zn supplementation also stimulated desaturase activity in the BL-6 cells. These results suggested that there are select cell lines whose Δ⁶-desaturase activity responds positively to Zn supplementation (e.g. the BL-6 cells). Delta-6-desaturase activity was also assayed in microsome preparations from different tissues. No enzyme activity was detected in the microsomes prepared from the BL-6 tumours. There was no significant effect with the addition of Zn or EDTA, on Δ⁶-desaturase activity of the regenerating liver microsomes. In the resting liver microsomes this enzyme activity was reduced only when EDTA and Zn were added together and when EDTA was added to the reaction medium as well as to the microsome preparations 2 hr before the enzyme activity assay was initiated. The results of these experiments suggested that the Δ⁶-desaturase enzyme in the microsome preparations may have had an adequate amount of Zn with further additions having no stimulatory effect on the enzyme. Two independent mechanisms of control of cell proliferation by low and high Zn are suggested to operate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1989
- Authors: Skeef, Noel Samuel
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: Cell division , Cancer cells -- Growth -- Regulation , Zinc in the body , Zinc -- Physiological effect , Cancer -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4144 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016266
- Description: A description of two techniques used extensively in this study namely cell counting with a "cell counting plate" and argentation TLC for the separation of ω -6 -fatty acids is given. Zn supplementation into GM of two malignant (BL-6 and Hep- 350) and a non-malignant (LLC-MK) cell line/s resulted in an increased uptake of Zn by the cells and progressively suppressed proliferation of particularly the malignant cells. Zn chelation by EDTA suppressed in vitro proliferation of all 3 cell line, this effect being more pronounced in the malignant cells. A dietary Zn deficiency resulted in alopecia in mice and both a dietary Zn deficiency and Zn excess reduced growth of BL-6 tumours implanted subcutaneously in mice. Zn supplementation into GM progressively increased the uptake of [1-¹⁴C]-LA by BL-6 and LLC-MK cells but had a very slight though irregular effect on this parameter in the Hep- 350 cells. Zn supplementation also stimulated desaturase activity in the BL-6 cells. These results suggested that there are select cell lines whose Δ⁶-desaturase activity responds positively to Zn supplementation (e.g. the BL-6 cells). Delta-6-desaturase activity was also assayed in microsome preparations from different tissues. No enzyme activity was detected in the microsomes prepared from the BL-6 tumours. There was no significant effect with the addition of Zn or EDTA, on Δ⁶-desaturase activity of the regenerating liver microsomes. In the resting liver microsomes this enzyme activity was reduced only when EDTA and Zn were added together and when EDTA was added to the reaction medium as well as to the microsome preparations 2 hr before the enzyme activity assay was initiated. The results of these experiments suggested that the Δ⁶-desaturase enzyme in the microsome preparations may have had an adequate amount of Zn with further additions having no stimulatory effect on the enzyme. Two independent mechanisms of control of cell proliferation by low and high Zn are suggested to operate.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1989
Zimbabwean women online: an investigation of how gendered identities are negotiated in Zimbabwean women’s online spaces
- Authors: Ndlovu, Nonhlanhla
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Woman -- Zimbabwe -- Social life and customs Social media -- Social aspects -- Zimbabwe Facebook (Firm) Women -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140452 , vital:37890
- Description: This study is concerned with the construction of Zimbabwean women’s identities in this contemporary internet age. Two Facebook groups are of particular interest here due to the vibrant conversations that take place on a daily basis, that is, Makhox Women’s League and Baking & Cooking: ZW Women’s Diaries. Conceiving these internet sites as discursive spaces, I unpack the contesting discourses and tensions in the different narratives offered by Zimbabwean women and identify and critique the competing sets of feminine subjectivities. I achieve this by drawing on poststructuralist and postcolonialist feminist theories in order to situate these groups as cultural sites that are particularly identity defining. I particularly draw on Foucauldian theories of discourse, power and the subject to conceptualise the formation of particular discursive gendered subjectivities. With an understanding that discourse is constitutive of power relations and contestations, and that discourse should be historically contextualised in order to take into account particular conditions of existence; I draw on Mamdani’s (1996) conceptualisation of how power is organised in Africa within a historical and institutional context, and identify the bifurcated nature of the postcolonial Zimbabwean state as a colonial residue as necessitating a particular kind of subjectivity. To this end, one can understand the different femininities on Makhox Women’s League and Baking & Cooking: ZW Women’s Diaries as constituted within, and complexly negotiating, a traditional/customary discourse and a rights-based modern one. This qualitative inquiry is informed by an eclectic approach that combines methods of textual analysis that complements both critical linguistics and media studies and attends to lexical structure as well as narrative and rhetorical analysis respectively. Combined with an online ethnographic approach I employ these tools to analyse these particular Facebook groups with the understanding that as women converse daily on these platforms, they ‘govern’ each other’s conduct and thought processes in interesting ways. I argue that these conversations discursively constitute the performances of different femininities on both sites that also take into account the diasporic condition of Zimbabwean women. I show how they negotiate and mediate feminine performance and in so doing propose and contest certain ‘truths’ that are frequently validated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Ndlovu, Nonhlanhla
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Woman -- Zimbabwe -- Social life and customs Social media -- Social aspects -- Zimbabwe Facebook (Firm) Women -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140452 , vital:37890
- Description: This study is concerned with the construction of Zimbabwean women’s identities in this contemporary internet age. Two Facebook groups are of particular interest here due to the vibrant conversations that take place on a daily basis, that is, Makhox Women’s League and Baking & Cooking: ZW Women’s Diaries. Conceiving these internet sites as discursive spaces, I unpack the contesting discourses and tensions in the different narratives offered by Zimbabwean women and identify and critique the competing sets of feminine subjectivities. I achieve this by drawing on poststructuralist and postcolonialist feminist theories in order to situate these groups as cultural sites that are particularly identity defining. I particularly draw on Foucauldian theories of discourse, power and the subject to conceptualise the formation of particular discursive gendered subjectivities. With an understanding that discourse is constitutive of power relations and contestations, and that discourse should be historically contextualised in order to take into account particular conditions of existence; I draw on Mamdani’s (1996) conceptualisation of how power is organised in Africa within a historical and institutional context, and identify the bifurcated nature of the postcolonial Zimbabwean state as a colonial residue as necessitating a particular kind of subjectivity. To this end, one can understand the different femininities on Makhox Women’s League and Baking & Cooking: ZW Women’s Diaries as constituted within, and complexly negotiating, a traditional/customary discourse and a rights-based modern one. This qualitative inquiry is informed by an eclectic approach that combines methods of textual analysis that complements both critical linguistics and media studies and attends to lexical structure as well as narrative and rhetorical analysis respectively. Combined with an online ethnographic approach I employ these tools to analyse these particular Facebook groups with the understanding that as women converse daily on these platforms, they ‘govern’ each other’s conduct and thought processes in interesting ways. I argue that these conversations discursively constitute the performances of different femininities on both sites that also take into account the diasporic condition of Zimbabwean women. I show how they negotiate and mediate feminine performance and in so doing propose and contest certain ‘truths’ that are frequently validated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Young veterans, not always social misfits: a sociological discourse of Liberian transmogrification experiences
- Authors: Agbedahin, Komlan
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Child soldiers -- Liberia Children and war -- Liberia Liberia. Armed Forces -- Demobilization -- Social aspects Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1989-1996 Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1999-2003
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3316 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003104
- Description: This thesis examines the phenomenon of child-soldiering from a different perspective. It seeks to challenge, using a novel approach, earlier studies on the roles of former child-soldiers in post-war societies. It focuses on the subjectivity of young veterans, that is war veterans formerly associated with armed forces and groups as children during the 14-year gruesome civil war which bedevilled Liberia between 1989 and 2003. This civil war claimed roughly 250,000 lives, and saw the active participation of approximately 21,000 child-soldiers. This thesis departs from previous works which mostly painted an apocalyptic picture of young veterans, and explores the nexus between their self-agency, Foucauldian technologies of the self and their transformation in the post-war society. The majority of previous scholarly works which have dominated the field of child-soldiering dwelt on the impact of armed conflict on the child-soldiers, the negative consequences, the causes of child-soldiering, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of the young veterans after their disarmament and demobilization. What this thesis seeks to do however, is to establish that, rather than considering the young veterans simply as social misfits, distraught and dispirited human beings, it should be noted that young veterans through their agency, are capable of ensuring their reintegration into their war-ravaged societies. Sadly, these young former fighters’ self-agency and technologies of the self in defining their civilian trajectories have often been overshadowed by vaunted humanitarian aid and multilayered war-profiteering. This study is underpinned by interpretive constructivism, symbolic interactionism, social identity theory, sociometer theory and expectancy theory, and sheds light on how young veterans’ self-agency, instrumental coalitions, and decision-making processes, synergistically shifted the negative identities foisted on them as a result of their participation in the war.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Agbedahin, Komlan
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Child soldiers -- Liberia Children and war -- Liberia Liberia. Armed Forces -- Demobilization -- Social aspects Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1989-1996 Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1999-2003
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3316 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003104
- Description: This thesis examines the phenomenon of child-soldiering from a different perspective. It seeks to challenge, using a novel approach, earlier studies on the roles of former child-soldiers in post-war societies. It focuses on the subjectivity of young veterans, that is war veterans formerly associated with armed forces and groups as children during the 14-year gruesome civil war which bedevilled Liberia between 1989 and 2003. This civil war claimed roughly 250,000 lives, and saw the active participation of approximately 21,000 child-soldiers. This thesis departs from previous works which mostly painted an apocalyptic picture of young veterans, and explores the nexus between their self-agency, Foucauldian technologies of the self and their transformation in the post-war society. The majority of previous scholarly works which have dominated the field of child-soldiering dwelt on the impact of armed conflict on the child-soldiers, the negative consequences, the causes of child-soldiering, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of the young veterans after their disarmament and demobilization. What this thesis seeks to do however, is to establish that, rather than considering the young veterans simply as social misfits, distraught and dispirited human beings, it should be noted that young veterans through their agency, are capable of ensuring their reintegration into their war-ravaged societies. Sadly, these young former fighters’ self-agency and technologies of the self in defining their civilian trajectories have often been overshadowed by vaunted humanitarian aid and multilayered war-profiteering. This study is underpinned by interpretive constructivism, symbolic interactionism, social identity theory, sociometer theory and expectancy theory, and sheds light on how young veterans’ self-agency, instrumental coalitions, and decision-making processes, synergistically shifted the negative identities foisted on them as a result of their participation in the war.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Xhosa-English pronunciation in the south-east Cape
- Authors: Hundleby, C E
- Date: 1965
- Subjects: Xhosa language -- Pronunciation by foreign speakers English language -- Pronunciation by foreign speakers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2303 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012467
- Description: The thesis mainly concerns itself with an analysis of the present day pronunciation of Xhosa-English. The isolation and identification of the segmental phonemes and the phonemes of stress, intonation and transition form the core of the work. The author has attempted to give continuity by introducing a subsidiary theme, the Lado hypothesis as stated on page 1. In conformity with the the methodology imposed by the Lado formula, it was first necessary to establish two things: first, a standard background against which the characteristics of XEP could be compared, and secondly, to give briefly, but in sufficient detail for our purpose, the main phonological features of the mother tongue.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1965
- Authors: Hundleby, C E
- Date: 1965
- Subjects: Xhosa language -- Pronunciation by foreign speakers English language -- Pronunciation by foreign speakers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2303 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012467
- Description: The thesis mainly concerns itself with an analysis of the present day pronunciation of Xhosa-English. The isolation and identification of the segmental phonemes and the phonemes of stress, intonation and transition form the core of the work. The author has attempted to give continuity by introducing a subsidiary theme, the Lado hypothesis as stated on page 1. In conformity with the the methodology imposed by the Lado formula, it was first necessary to establish two things: first, a standard background against which the characteristics of XEP could be compared, and secondly, to give briefly, but in sufficient detail for our purpose, the main phonological features of the mother tongue.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1965
Xhosa narrative : an analysis of the production and linguistic properties of discourse with particular reference to "iintsomi" texts
- Authors: Gough, David Huw
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Folk literature, Xhosa Xhosa language -- Spoken Xhosa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3564 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002086
- Description: Although the areas I intend to investigate are rather diverse, what unites them is a concern for the ancient and fascinating question of the relationship between language and thought. Assumptions concerning the latter are surely latent as the basis for any inquiry into language. One of my general purposes is to give some overt orientation to this problem which is all too often simply glossed over. More particularly, I am also concerned with shaping a new approach to Bantu linguistic inquiry in terms of an emphasis on discourse analysis. In the context of the burgeoning of discourse analysis internationally, the field has been seriously neglected in Southern Africa. Studies of discourse are, we believe, vital to advancing our knowledge of inter-ethnic communication and understanding, an area that cannot be ignored in Southern Africa. In more general terms, I hope that this thesis represents a challenge to linguistic inquiry in ways that we have already outlined above. Most importantly, is that while it appears that most South African linguists are satisfied with adopting a rigid monotheoretical approach, I differ, advocating a multitheoretical perspective. This, I believe, allows a greater and more holistic view not only of the 'data' in question but also in terms of the general nature of inquiry, as well as the 'world' it attempts to describe. The body of this thesis is divided into two sections which reflect the two central concerns we have outlined above. Section A, divided into three chapters, is chiefly concerned with the conceptual basis of Xhosa narrative and its linguistic manifestation. In this section we shall find cause to query and to redefine traditional approaches to the linguistic categories manifest in Xhosa narrative. In section B, also divided into three chapters, we shall be concerned with the development of a theory of narrative production with specific reference to intsomi production. In this section we include an in depth criticism of previous approaches to this problem before developing and applying our own theory. There are two appendices attached to this thesis. The first presents certain tables and figures relevant to chapter 4. while the second includes the narrative texts from which we draw our examples. (Introduction, p. 21-22)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
- Authors: Gough, David Huw
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Folk literature, Xhosa Xhosa language -- Spoken Xhosa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3564 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002086
- Description: Although the areas I intend to investigate are rather diverse, what unites them is a concern for the ancient and fascinating question of the relationship between language and thought. Assumptions concerning the latter are surely latent as the basis for any inquiry into language. One of my general purposes is to give some overt orientation to this problem which is all too often simply glossed over. More particularly, I am also concerned with shaping a new approach to Bantu linguistic inquiry in terms of an emphasis on discourse analysis. In the context of the burgeoning of discourse analysis internationally, the field has been seriously neglected in Southern Africa. Studies of discourse are, we believe, vital to advancing our knowledge of inter-ethnic communication and understanding, an area that cannot be ignored in Southern Africa. In more general terms, I hope that this thesis represents a challenge to linguistic inquiry in ways that we have already outlined above. Most importantly, is that while it appears that most South African linguists are satisfied with adopting a rigid monotheoretical approach, I differ, advocating a multitheoretical perspective. This, I believe, allows a greater and more holistic view not only of the 'data' in question but also in terms of the general nature of inquiry, as well as the 'world' it attempts to describe. The body of this thesis is divided into two sections which reflect the two central concerns we have outlined above. Section A, divided into three chapters, is chiefly concerned with the conceptual basis of Xhosa narrative and its linguistic manifestation. In this section we shall find cause to query and to redefine traditional approaches to the linguistic categories manifest in Xhosa narrative. In section B, also divided into three chapters, we shall be concerned with the development of a theory of narrative production with specific reference to intsomi production. In this section we include an in depth criticism of previous approaches to this problem before developing and applying our own theory. There are two appendices attached to this thesis. The first presents certain tables and figures relevant to chapter 4. while the second includes the narrative texts from which we draw our examples. (Introduction, p. 21-22)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
Xhosa beer drinks and their oratory
- Authors: McAllister, Patrick A
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Beer -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Drinking customs -- South Africa , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2120 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012863
- Description: This is a study of 'beer drinks' among Xhosa people living in the Shixini administrative area of Willowvale district, Transkei. Beer drinks are defined as a 'polythetic' class of events distinguishable from other kinds of ceremonies and rituals at which beer may be consumed, and an attempt is made to outline their major characteristics. A detailed description of the way in which beer drinks are conducted is provided in Chapter 3, with emphasis on the symbolism involved in the allocation of beer, space and time, and on the speech events (including formal oratory) that occur. The main theoretical argument is that beer drinks may be regarded as 'cultural performances' in which social reality or 'practice' is dramatised and reflected upon, enabling people to infuse their experience with meaning and to establish guidelines for future action. This is achieved by relating social practice to cultural norms and values, in a dynamic rather than a static manner. It is demonstrated that the symbolism involved in beer drinking is highly sensitive to the real world and adjusts accordingly, which means that 'culture' is continually being reinterpreted. Despite poverty, a degree of landlessness and heavy reliance on migrant labour, Shixini people maintain an ideal of rural selfsufficiency and are able to partly fulfill this ideal, thereby maintaining a degree of independence and resistance to full incorporation into the wider political economy of southern Africa. They achieve this largely by maintaining a strong sense of community and of household interdependence, linked to a sense of Xhosa tradition. It is this aspect of social practice, manifested in a variety of forms - work parties, ploughing companies, rites of passage, and so on - that is dramatised, reflected upon and reinforced at beer drinks. In a definite sense then, beer drinks may be regarded as a response and a way of adapting to apartheid, and this study one of a community under threat.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: McAllister, Patrick A
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Beer -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Drinking customs -- South Africa , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2120 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012863
- Description: This is a study of 'beer drinks' among Xhosa people living in the Shixini administrative area of Willowvale district, Transkei. Beer drinks are defined as a 'polythetic' class of events distinguishable from other kinds of ceremonies and rituals at which beer may be consumed, and an attempt is made to outline their major characteristics. A detailed description of the way in which beer drinks are conducted is provided in Chapter 3, with emphasis on the symbolism involved in the allocation of beer, space and time, and on the speech events (including formal oratory) that occur. The main theoretical argument is that beer drinks may be regarded as 'cultural performances' in which social reality or 'practice' is dramatised and reflected upon, enabling people to infuse their experience with meaning and to establish guidelines for future action. This is achieved by relating social practice to cultural norms and values, in a dynamic rather than a static manner. It is demonstrated that the symbolism involved in beer drinking is highly sensitive to the real world and adjusts accordingly, which means that 'culture' is continually being reinterpreted. Despite poverty, a degree of landlessness and heavy reliance on migrant labour, Shixini people maintain an ideal of rural selfsufficiency and are able to partly fulfill this ideal, thereby maintaining a degree of independence and resistance to full incorporation into the wider political economy of southern Africa. They achieve this largely by maintaining a strong sense of community and of household interdependence, linked to a sense of Xhosa tradition. It is this aspect of social practice, manifested in a variety of forms - work parties, ploughing companies, rites of passage, and so on - that is dramatised, reflected upon and reinforced at beer drinks. In a definite sense then, beer drinks may be regarded as a response and a way of adapting to apartheid, and this study one of a community under threat.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
Writing left: Ruth First and radical South African journalism in the 1950's
- Authors: Pinnock, Don
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: First, Ruth, 1925-1982 Journalism -- Political aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2822 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003032
- Description: In a prison cell in Johannesburg in 1953 after months of solitary confinement Ruth First, one of South Africa's finest investigative joumalists, attempted to commit suicide. In a sense, information for this thesis has been gathered around the question of why First felt her life had reached a point where she wished it extinguished. The answer involves who she was, what she believed in and her perception at that moment in time of the magnitude of the defeat of all she had worked for. But this question has broader implications - it has been asked because its answer throws light not only on the particular joumalist, but on the radical press and on the political movements which gave it both life and readers. This study is divided into six sections: Origins and influences looks, firstly, at early Jewish migrations and Ruth's life up to the end of her schooling in Johannesburg, then at her university years and the influence on her life of the Communist Party of South Africa. A vigorously provocative life traces debates which led to the formation of the South African Congress of Democrats and the Congress Alliance. It looks, also, at the political influence of the white Left and the radical social fratemity. Trumpeters of freedom locates the origins of the radical press tradition in South Africa, then looks at the development of the two publications to which Ruth devoted most of her time: The Guardian/New Age and Fighting Talk. Writing left focuses on First's writing in connection with three campaigns: the farm labour and the potato boycott, womens' passes and the bus boycotts. These chapters are not a history of these campaigns, but an analysis of the influence on them of First's joumalism. Word wars is about the Treason Trial of 1956. The contention here is that the trial, in which First was one of the 'chief co-conspirators ', not only put the Congress Alliance in the dock, but was about the definition of three words: communism, violence and treason. In many ways it was a trial of the language of the Left, the tools of First's trade. Shifting focus looks at the period after Sharpeville and the 1960 State of Emergency. It considers the shift in First's writing necessitated by greater political oppression, a banning order and her exploration of the writing of books. Chapter 12 considers the massive setback to the Congress Alliance of the Rivonia Trial and the tactical errors which led the Congress leadership to the conclusion that armed struggle would succeed at that point in time. The final chapter is about First's detention, and her perceived personal defeat which resulted in her attempted suicide. The Postscript looks at First's successful attempts to come to terms with both a political and personal defeat. The work effectively ends, however, with her departure from South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
- Authors: Pinnock, Don
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: First, Ruth, 1925-1982 Journalism -- Political aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2822 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003032
- Description: In a prison cell in Johannesburg in 1953 after months of solitary confinement Ruth First, one of South Africa's finest investigative joumalists, attempted to commit suicide. In a sense, information for this thesis has been gathered around the question of why First felt her life had reached a point where she wished it extinguished. The answer involves who she was, what she believed in and her perception at that moment in time of the magnitude of the defeat of all she had worked for. But this question has broader implications - it has been asked because its answer throws light not only on the particular joumalist, but on the radical press and on the political movements which gave it both life and readers. This study is divided into six sections: Origins and influences looks, firstly, at early Jewish migrations and Ruth's life up to the end of her schooling in Johannesburg, then at her university years and the influence on her life of the Communist Party of South Africa. A vigorously provocative life traces debates which led to the formation of the South African Congress of Democrats and the Congress Alliance. It looks, also, at the political influence of the white Left and the radical social fratemity. Trumpeters of freedom locates the origins of the radical press tradition in South Africa, then looks at the development of the two publications to which Ruth devoted most of her time: The Guardian/New Age and Fighting Talk. Writing left focuses on First's writing in connection with three campaigns: the farm labour and the potato boycott, womens' passes and the bus boycotts. These chapters are not a history of these campaigns, but an analysis of the influence on them of First's joumalism. Word wars is about the Treason Trial of 1956. The contention here is that the trial, in which First was one of the 'chief co-conspirators ', not only put the Congress Alliance in the dock, but was about the definition of three words: communism, violence and treason. In many ways it was a trial of the language of the Left, the tools of First's trade. Shifting focus looks at the period after Sharpeville and the 1960 State of Emergency. It considers the shift in First's writing necessitated by greater political oppression, a banning order and her exploration of the writing of books. Chapter 12 considers the massive setback to the Congress Alliance of the Rivonia Trial and the tactical errors which led the Congress leadership to the conclusion that armed struggle would succeed at that point in time. The final chapter is about First's detention, and her perceived personal defeat which resulted in her attempted suicide. The Postscript looks at First's successful attempts to come to terms with both a political and personal defeat. The work effectively ends, however, with her departure from South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
Writing and signing to develop written genres : a study of Nigerian hearing-loss students' writing
- Milaham, Rahila Samuel, Lundgren, Berit
- Authors: Milaham, Rahila Samuel , Lundgren, Berit
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Hearing impaired children -- Nigeria -- Writing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47314 , vital:39842
- Description: The competence in writing of students with hearing loss has continued to generate concern among educational administrators, school authorities, teachers and parents (Oyetunde, 2009). Acquisition of written and signed language is vital for effective functioning of students with hearing loss in school. Writing and signing helps students to interact socially, culturally and intellectually with one another and within their social environment. Therefore, this study explores the writing of specific genres by students with hearing loss using signing and the Language Experience Approach, LEA, among Junior Secondary School (JSS 3) in a Nigerian school for the deaf. The study is a qualitative research study which was underpinned by an interpretive paradigm and was theoretically framed by Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, semiotic theory (Pierce, 1991) and socio-semiotic theory (Thibault, 2004: Kress, 1988 & Van Leeuwen, 2005). The ideological literacy perspective (Street 1984) and literacy as a social practice have provided a lens to analyse and explore the findings Class observations, students’ signed and written text samples as well as communication with teachers were used as the methods for data collection. The intervention study, which went on for 9 weeks, involved teaching and learning of three genres, namely retelling, narrative and descriptive writing. Twenty six students and two teachers were involved in the study. For the purpose of the analysis, six out of the 26 students’ written, and signed texts were purposively selected and analysed. The students’ signed and written texts were analysed according to the structure and special features of the genres. In the retelling genre, two concepts, breadth and depth vocabulary knowledge as special features, were used for the analysis of the texts. While in the narrative, students’ signed texts and written texts were analysed to know how the students use characters, settings and events in their texts. In the descriptive genre, students’ sign and written texts were analysed to see whether they gave concise descriptions, specifically using adjectives, of the object they identified in their signed text. The findings indicate that the students could retell the contextualized event with signs, using a vocabulary mostly from a breadth perspective. They also used the structure of retelling in a chronological order. In signing the narrative genre, the students were engaged in giving examples of the genre from which they derived the components of the story form such as character and events. Some could include aspects of character vi and events in their text, while others missed one structure or the other. In general, their narrative signed texts were better developed and showed a basic understanding of the storyline. In the descriptive genre, the students could describe some objects in their classroom and school environment. These descriptions were limited to adjectives like colours, as only colours were used in the teacher’s example. In general, their descriptive signed texts were short and seemed to follow a list structure. The students’ signing in descriptive genre showed an initial awareness of the genre. In this study, the teachers scaffolded and modelled the different genres with examples, stories and prompt pictures to a varying extent. The narrative writing had more scaffolding and modelling compared with the other genres. It also generated longer texts and an awareness of the structure. The teachers also supported the students with deeper exploration of examples in the narrative genre than in the retelling and descriptive genre. Data shows teacher’s interactions with the students while signing narratives indicates an understanding on how to develop a text in story form using narrative structures. LEA turned out to be a fruitful start in the retelling genre but was not as central in the teaching practice and meaningful in students’ writing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Milaham, Rahila Samuel , Lundgren, Berit
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Hearing impaired children -- Nigeria -- Writing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47314 , vital:39842
- Description: The competence in writing of students with hearing loss has continued to generate concern among educational administrators, school authorities, teachers and parents (Oyetunde, 2009). Acquisition of written and signed language is vital for effective functioning of students with hearing loss in school. Writing and signing helps students to interact socially, culturally and intellectually with one another and within their social environment. Therefore, this study explores the writing of specific genres by students with hearing loss using signing and the Language Experience Approach, LEA, among Junior Secondary School (JSS 3) in a Nigerian school for the deaf. The study is a qualitative research study which was underpinned by an interpretive paradigm and was theoretically framed by Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, semiotic theory (Pierce, 1991) and socio-semiotic theory (Thibault, 2004: Kress, 1988 & Van Leeuwen, 2005). The ideological literacy perspective (Street 1984) and literacy as a social practice have provided a lens to analyse and explore the findings Class observations, students’ signed and written text samples as well as communication with teachers were used as the methods for data collection. The intervention study, which went on for 9 weeks, involved teaching and learning of three genres, namely retelling, narrative and descriptive writing. Twenty six students and two teachers were involved in the study. For the purpose of the analysis, six out of the 26 students’ written, and signed texts were purposively selected and analysed. The students’ signed and written texts were analysed according to the structure and special features of the genres. In the retelling genre, two concepts, breadth and depth vocabulary knowledge as special features, were used for the analysis of the texts. While in the narrative, students’ signed texts and written texts were analysed to know how the students use characters, settings and events in their texts. In the descriptive genre, students’ sign and written texts were analysed to see whether they gave concise descriptions, specifically using adjectives, of the object they identified in their signed text. The findings indicate that the students could retell the contextualized event with signs, using a vocabulary mostly from a breadth perspective. They also used the structure of retelling in a chronological order. In signing the narrative genre, the students were engaged in giving examples of the genre from which they derived the components of the story form such as character and events. Some could include aspects of character vi and events in their text, while others missed one structure or the other. In general, their narrative signed texts were better developed and showed a basic understanding of the storyline. In the descriptive genre, the students could describe some objects in their classroom and school environment. These descriptions were limited to adjectives like colours, as only colours were used in the teacher’s example. In general, their descriptive signed texts were short and seemed to follow a list structure. The students’ signing in descriptive genre showed an initial awareness of the genre. In this study, the teachers scaffolded and modelled the different genres with examples, stories and prompt pictures to a varying extent. The narrative writing had more scaffolding and modelling compared with the other genres. It also generated longer texts and an awareness of the structure. The teachers also supported the students with deeper exploration of examples in the narrative genre than in the retelling and descriptive genre. Data shows teacher’s interactions with the students while signing narratives indicates an understanding on how to develop a text in story form using narrative structures. LEA turned out to be a fruitful start in the retelling genre but was not as central in the teaching practice and meaningful in students’ writing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Woody plant encroachment in arid and mesic South African savanna-grasslands: same picture, different story?
- Authors: Skowno, Andrew Luke
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Savanna ecology South Africa Eastern Cape , Remote sensing , Woody plants South Africa Eastern Cape , Grasslands South Africa Eastern Cape , Plant invasions South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62603 , vital:28212
- Description: Woody plant encroachment in South Africa’s savanna-grasslands has been considered a rangeland management problem since the early 1900s. This phenomenon, which has been observed globally, is particularly important in Africa given the extent of tropical grassy biomes on the continent and their importance for rural livelihoods. In this study, local and regional scale approaches were used to investigate woody cover change in South Africa across the important savanna-grassland rainfall threshold of 650 mm mean annual precipitation (MAP). The aim was to test this threshold using remote sensing and demographic surveys in order to better understand the patterns, mechanisms and drivers of encroachment. Rates of encroachment and population demographics of Vachelia karroo were compared at arid and mesic savanna sites in the Eastern Cape, using time-series analysis of historical aerial photographs in conjunction with field surveys. Changes in the extent of woodland vs. grassland were then quantified at a national scale (1990-2013) by combining optical and synthetic aperture radar remote sensing data. This produced the first map of woodland- grassland shifts for South Africa and provided the basis for a spatially explicit investigation of the key drivers of change. The local studies revealed higher rates of encroachment at mesic sites than at arid sites, with a correlation between drought and rate of encroachment at the arid site. Vachelia karroo seedlings and stunted saplings were more prevalent at mesic sites than at arid sites and the growth form of adult trees differed significantly between sites. The national remote sensing investigation showed that woodland replaced grassland in over 5% of South Africa’s savanna- grasslands between 1990 and 2014, at rates consistent with other global and regional studies. Spatially explicit models showed a pattern of incremental expansion of woodland along a ‘tree front’ and complex relationships between woodland increase and fire, rainfall, terrain ruggedness and temperature. Overall, the local and regional scale findings of this work highlight the importance of the savanna rainfall threshold (~650 mm MAP) and the presence / absence of fire in understanding savanna dynamics and woody cover change in the context of global drivers such as elevated atmospheric CO2.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Skowno, Andrew Luke
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Savanna ecology South Africa Eastern Cape , Remote sensing , Woody plants South Africa Eastern Cape , Grasslands South Africa Eastern Cape , Plant invasions South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62603 , vital:28212
- Description: Woody plant encroachment in South Africa’s savanna-grasslands has been considered a rangeland management problem since the early 1900s. This phenomenon, which has been observed globally, is particularly important in Africa given the extent of tropical grassy biomes on the continent and their importance for rural livelihoods. In this study, local and regional scale approaches were used to investigate woody cover change in South Africa across the important savanna-grassland rainfall threshold of 650 mm mean annual precipitation (MAP). The aim was to test this threshold using remote sensing and demographic surveys in order to better understand the patterns, mechanisms and drivers of encroachment. Rates of encroachment and population demographics of Vachelia karroo were compared at arid and mesic savanna sites in the Eastern Cape, using time-series analysis of historical aerial photographs in conjunction with field surveys. Changes in the extent of woodland vs. grassland were then quantified at a national scale (1990-2013) by combining optical and synthetic aperture radar remote sensing data. This produced the first map of woodland- grassland shifts for South Africa and provided the basis for a spatially explicit investigation of the key drivers of change. The local studies revealed higher rates of encroachment at mesic sites than at arid sites, with a correlation between drought and rate of encroachment at the arid site. Vachelia karroo seedlings and stunted saplings were more prevalent at mesic sites than at arid sites and the growth form of adult trees differed significantly between sites. The national remote sensing investigation showed that woodland replaced grassland in over 5% of South Africa’s savanna- grasslands between 1990 and 2014, at rates consistent with other global and regional studies. Spatially explicit models showed a pattern of incremental expansion of woodland along a ‘tree front’ and complex relationships between woodland increase and fire, rainfall, terrain ruggedness and temperature. Overall, the local and regional scale findings of this work highlight the importance of the savanna rainfall threshold (~650 mm MAP) and the presence / absence of fire in understanding savanna dynamics and woody cover change in the context of global drivers such as elevated atmospheric CO2.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Women's empowerment in the post-1994 Rwanda: the case study of Mayaga Region
- Authors: Hategekimana, Celestin
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Women in development -- Rwanda , Women -- Rwanda -- Social conditions , Women -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1314 , Women in development -- Rwanda , Women -- Rwanda -- Social conditions , Women -- Economic conditions
- Description: This research looks at the process of women’s empowerment in post- 1994 Rwanda, with special focus on twelve cooperatives working in Mayaga region and the way these cooperatives empower women, their households and the community at large. Traditional Rwandan society has been always bound by patriarchy which has not valued the reproductive roles of women as economically productive in their households and the society as a whole. On the one hand, this understanding was reversed in the post-1994 Rwanda by the commitment of the government to gender equality at the highest level of political leadership through progressive policies and legislation. On the other hand, in Mayaga region, cooperatives brought about socio-economic development and changed relationships of gender and power in a patriarchal post-conflict society. The findings from cooperatives in Mayaga region show that to prevent women from reaching their full potential is economic folly. If women are empowered, they can generate important development outcomes such as improved health, education, income levels and conflict resolution. The findings further indicate how women’s empowerment is determined by the livelihood strategies women adopt themselves to respond to their vulnerability, and by the ways in which they express their agency in making a living in a sustainable way, with the available community assets that they have access to (financial, social, human, natural and physical). This research highlights that the accessibility of the community assets used by women in Mayaga region and in Rwanda as a whole is also determined by policies, institutions and processes that are able to influence their livelihoods positively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Hategekimana, Celestin
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Women in development -- Rwanda , Women -- Rwanda -- Social conditions , Women -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1314 , Women in development -- Rwanda , Women -- Rwanda -- Social conditions , Women -- Economic conditions
- Description: This research looks at the process of women’s empowerment in post- 1994 Rwanda, with special focus on twelve cooperatives working in Mayaga region and the way these cooperatives empower women, their households and the community at large. Traditional Rwandan society has been always bound by patriarchy which has not valued the reproductive roles of women as economically productive in their households and the society as a whole. On the one hand, this understanding was reversed in the post-1994 Rwanda by the commitment of the government to gender equality at the highest level of political leadership through progressive policies and legislation. On the other hand, in Mayaga region, cooperatives brought about socio-economic development and changed relationships of gender and power in a patriarchal post-conflict society. The findings from cooperatives in Mayaga region show that to prevent women from reaching their full potential is economic folly. If women are empowered, they can generate important development outcomes such as improved health, education, income levels and conflict resolution. The findings further indicate how women’s empowerment is determined by the livelihood strategies women adopt themselves to respond to their vulnerability, and by the ways in which they express their agency in making a living in a sustainable way, with the available community assets that they have access to (financial, social, human, natural and physical). This research highlights that the accessibility of the community assets used by women in Mayaga region and in Rwanda as a whole is also determined by policies, institutions and processes that are able to influence their livelihoods positively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011