Embodied difference in manhood: A sociological analysis of the intersection of visible physical impairments and manhood among Xhosa men in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Sipungu, Thoko Andy
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Masculinity South Africa Eastern Cape , Sex role South Africa Eastern Cape , Sex role Psychological aspects , Men with disabilities South Africa Eastern Cape , People with disabilities Social conditions , Xhosa (African people) South Africa Eastern Cape Social life and customs , Male domination (Social structure) South Africa Eastern Cape , Circumcision Social aspects South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191658 , vital:45145 , 10.21504/10962/191658
- Description: In this thesis, I outline possible answers to the question of what it means to be a Xhosa man living with a visible physical impairment. Drawing on 17 one-on-one in-depth interviews and through an interpretive phenomenological thematic analysis, this thesis explores the intersection of physical disabilities and manhood masculinity in Xhosa men in selected rural areas in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The intention for this study is to better our understanding concerning the creation, negotiation, maintenance, and recreation of manhood identities by traditionally circumcised Xhosa men in the Eastern Cape who by birth, accident, or illness find themselves at the intersections of masculinity and physical disability. Research notes that the bodies of men with disabilities serve as a continual reminder that they are at odds with the expectations of the dominant manhood cultures. The main argument from this area of research is that men with disabilities are outside the hegemony because they undermine the normative role and shape of the body in Western cultures. However, this line of argumentation stands in sharp contrast to arguments that the hegemony in Xhosa manhood masculinity is primarily and conclusively achieved by having a traditionally circumcised penis without any consideration of the full embodiments of men. Therefore, this study, in the first instance, seeks to bring embodiment into the analyses of manhood by focusing on physical disability amongst traditionally circumcised Xhosa men. Through an embodied theoretical approach to their disabilities that accounts for the corporeal experience of impairment, and theories of masculinity that centre the context, this thesis establishes, in the first instance, the significance of embodiment in doing Xhosa manhood. Concerning the research aims and objectives, this study sheds light on what it means to be a Xhosa man living with visible physical impairment. In this regard, the original findings are classified according to each research aims and objective, as outlined below. Concerning the first research aim, I found that the participants struggle to speak about their bodies outside of physical labour/work despite their impairments. I explain their inability to talk about their disabled bodies by looking at traditional Xhosa initiation as a grantor of equality and sameness. Secondly, I argue that there is a higher premium on social bodies rather than physical bodies in this context, thus their inability to speak about their conditions. Lastly, I make connections between the participants’ inabilities to talk about their bodies and the lasting impact of colonial and apartheid histories. Concerning the second research aim, I explore ways and strategies they employ to respond to and negotiate Xhosa manhood masculinity's dominant cultural demands. In this regard, I note that the participants who acquired their impairments after initiation consider their disability as a second initiation because they see it as having set them back to square one regarding their manhood responsibilities. In contrast, the participants who acquired their disabilities post-initiation saw initiation as a gateway to a more respectable personhood status. I also note that there is an emergence of alternative Xhosa manhood masculinities. Lastly, I also found that contrary to western scholarship on disability and manhood, the participants distinguish between threatened manhood identity versus threatened status as a man. I outline how they arrive at this distinction. In terms of researching the last research aim, this thesis explores how the participants negotiate their ‘embodied difference’ in mundane everyday living. I explore their taken-for-granted routines in doing and being disabled Xhosa men every day. In this regard, this study presents original and interesting findings regarding sex and intimacy, social interactions and sociability, and everyday home living. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Sipungu, Thoko Andy
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Masculinity South Africa Eastern Cape , Sex role South Africa Eastern Cape , Sex role Psychological aspects , Men with disabilities South Africa Eastern Cape , People with disabilities Social conditions , Xhosa (African people) South Africa Eastern Cape Social life and customs , Male domination (Social structure) South Africa Eastern Cape , Circumcision Social aspects South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191658 , vital:45145 , 10.21504/10962/191658
- Description: In this thesis, I outline possible answers to the question of what it means to be a Xhosa man living with a visible physical impairment. Drawing on 17 one-on-one in-depth interviews and through an interpretive phenomenological thematic analysis, this thesis explores the intersection of physical disabilities and manhood masculinity in Xhosa men in selected rural areas in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The intention for this study is to better our understanding concerning the creation, negotiation, maintenance, and recreation of manhood identities by traditionally circumcised Xhosa men in the Eastern Cape who by birth, accident, or illness find themselves at the intersections of masculinity and physical disability. Research notes that the bodies of men with disabilities serve as a continual reminder that they are at odds with the expectations of the dominant manhood cultures. The main argument from this area of research is that men with disabilities are outside the hegemony because they undermine the normative role and shape of the body in Western cultures. However, this line of argumentation stands in sharp contrast to arguments that the hegemony in Xhosa manhood masculinity is primarily and conclusively achieved by having a traditionally circumcised penis without any consideration of the full embodiments of men. Therefore, this study, in the first instance, seeks to bring embodiment into the analyses of manhood by focusing on physical disability amongst traditionally circumcised Xhosa men. Through an embodied theoretical approach to their disabilities that accounts for the corporeal experience of impairment, and theories of masculinity that centre the context, this thesis establishes, in the first instance, the significance of embodiment in doing Xhosa manhood. Concerning the research aims and objectives, this study sheds light on what it means to be a Xhosa man living with visible physical impairment. In this regard, the original findings are classified according to each research aims and objective, as outlined below. Concerning the first research aim, I found that the participants struggle to speak about their bodies outside of physical labour/work despite their impairments. I explain their inability to talk about their disabled bodies by looking at traditional Xhosa initiation as a grantor of equality and sameness. Secondly, I argue that there is a higher premium on social bodies rather than physical bodies in this context, thus their inability to speak about their conditions. Lastly, I make connections between the participants’ inabilities to talk about their bodies and the lasting impact of colonial and apartheid histories. Concerning the second research aim, I explore ways and strategies they employ to respond to and negotiate Xhosa manhood masculinity's dominant cultural demands. In this regard, I note that the participants who acquired their impairments after initiation consider their disability as a second initiation because they see it as having set them back to square one regarding their manhood responsibilities. In contrast, the participants who acquired their disabilities post-initiation saw initiation as a gateway to a more respectable personhood status. I also note that there is an emergence of alternative Xhosa manhood masculinities. Lastly, I also found that contrary to western scholarship on disability and manhood, the participants distinguish between threatened manhood identity versus threatened status as a man. I outline how they arrive at this distinction. In terms of researching the last research aim, this thesis explores how the participants negotiate their ‘embodied difference’ in mundane everyday living. I explore their taken-for-granted routines in doing and being disabled Xhosa men every day. In this regard, this study presents original and interesting findings regarding sex and intimacy, social interactions and sociability, and everyday home living. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Competing policy imperatives in Post-Apartheid South Africa: An analysis of the effects and larger significance of ESKOM restructuring on the South African automotive industry, 2005-2014
- Authors: Sibuyi, Lucas Nkosana
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Eskom (Firm) , South Africa Colonial influence , Electric power Conservation South Africa , Electric utilities Government ownership South Africa , Electric utilities Privatization South Africa , Import substitution South Africa , Government business enterprises South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192911 , vital:45278 , 10.21504/10962/192911
- Description: The state has played an indispensable, major role in the industrialisation of South Africa, and its transformation from an economy of agriculture and mining to one based on manufacturing and services by the 1970s. Large state-owned corporations in communications and transportation, finance, industry and power have been key to this process, which also involved an extensive (and racist form of) import substitution industrialisation (ISI) from the 1920s. The 1970s saw a shift towards neoliberal policies, first under the National-Party-led apartheid government and then under the African-National-Congress-led democratic government formed in 1994. Since the 1980s, this restructuring has profoundly affected state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including the monopoly electricity utility ESKOM, and manufacturing industries, such as the automotive sector. This thesis examines the evolution of and interaction between different areas of neoliberal policy, and their evolution over time through a consideration of the relationship between the restructuring of SOEs and manufacturing, with a focus on ESKOM and autotomotives respectively. Relying on interviews with senior officials, policymakers, union leaders and industrialists, as well as primary documents, the study examines the responses of OEMs in South Africa (BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes Benz/Daimler, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen) to ESKOM’s actions, and analyses the root of these actions. It argues that while restructuring has been framed by a common framework, policy development and implementation is not coordinated or cohesive. ESKOM, for example, gutted investment in electricity and maintenance generation capacity to become profitable and create space for Independent Power Providers (IPPs) – neoliberal measures for which it was rewarded and lauded. This took place at a time when national policy emphasised the need to grow manufacturing and attract direct investment by creating an investor-friendly climate resting on infrastructure. It also took place when the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) rolled out highly successful plans – also praised and rewarded – to help adjust automotives to open markets; the sector grew much larger than under ISI, while other sectors like textiles collapsed. ESKOM’s measures, however, led to a rapid decline in the capacity and stability of the power system, and directly contradicted the drive to expand and globalise manufacturing, in which automotives was now the leading edge. Corruption in the utility worsened, much of it through subcontracting measures rooted in neoliberal reforms, but this did not cause the basic problems. It is argued that this situation of competing policy imperatives reflects deeper, long-term problems in the South African state, including contradictory policies, uneven capacity and a lack of coordination. For example, there was no coordination between the DTI and stakeholder departments that regulate ESKOM, being the shareholder ministry, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and its policy ministry, and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). These types of problems did not start postapartheid, and post-1994 reforms have not adequately addressed them. What exists is not a “developmental” state, as policymakers hope, but a fractured state of an intermediate type that combines “developmental” and “predatory” features in a oneparty dominant system in which lines between ruling party and state blur, and state resources are leveraged for elite class formation. Such was the case under apartheid skippered by the NP, with Afrikanerisation, and it continues today post-apartheid under the ANC with BEE. Major reforms are needed, but not just in SOE governance or budgets, as many have suggested. If we are to take the nation forward, the basic design of the state must be reformed. The state needs professionalised, coherent policy-making and implementation, proper coordination of state entities and hard decisions. It should manage high levels of public infrastructure, guarantee political stability and credit ratings, and provide policy certainty and predictability. Without big reforms it will remain a chronic underperformer. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Sibuyi, Lucas Nkosana
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Eskom (Firm) , South Africa Colonial influence , Electric power Conservation South Africa , Electric utilities Government ownership South Africa , Electric utilities Privatization South Africa , Import substitution South Africa , Government business enterprises South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192911 , vital:45278 , 10.21504/10962/192911
- Description: The state has played an indispensable, major role in the industrialisation of South Africa, and its transformation from an economy of agriculture and mining to one based on manufacturing and services by the 1970s. Large state-owned corporations in communications and transportation, finance, industry and power have been key to this process, which also involved an extensive (and racist form of) import substitution industrialisation (ISI) from the 1920s. The 1970s saw a shift towards neoliberal policies, first under the National-Party-led apartheid government and then under the African-National-Congress-led democratic government formed in 1994. Since the 1980s, this restructuring has profoundly affected state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including the monopoly electricity utility ESKOM, and manufacturing industries, such as the automotive sector. This thesis examines the evolution of and interaction between different areas of neoliberal policy, and their evolution over time through a consideration of the relationship between the restructuring of SOEs and manufacturing, with a focus on ESKOM and autotomotives respectively. Relying on interviews with senior officials, policymakers, union leaders and industrialists, as well as primary documents, the study examines the responses of OEMs in South Africa (BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes Benz/Daimler, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen) to ESKOM’s actions, and analyses the root of these actions. It argues that while restructuring has been framed by a common framework, policy development and implementation is not coordinated or cohesive. ESKOM, for example, gutted investment in electricity and maintenance generation capacity to become profitable and create space for Independent Power Providers (IPPs) – neoliberal measures for which it was rewarded and lauded. This took place at a time when national policy emphasised the need to grow manufacturing and attract direct investment by creating an investor-friendly climate resting on infrastructure. It also took place when the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) rolled out highly successful plans – also praised and rewarded – to help adjust automotives to open markets; the sector grew much larger than under ISI, while other sectors like textiles collapsed. ESKOM’s measures, however, led to a rapid decline in the capacity and stability of the power system, and directly contradicted the drive to expand and globalise manufacturing, in which automotives was now the leading edge. Corruption in the utility worsened, much of it through subcontracting measures rooted in neoliberal reforms, but this did not cause the basic problems. It is argued that this situation of competing policy imperatives reflects deeper, long-term problems in the South African state, including contradictory policies, uneven capacity and a lack of coordination. For example, there was no coordination between the DTI and stakeholder departments that regulate ESKOM, being the shareholder ministry, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and its policy ministry, and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). These types of problems did not start postapartheid, and post-1994 reforms have not adequately addressed them. What exists is not a “developmental” state, as policymakers hope, but a fractured state of an intermediate type that combines “developmental” and “predatory” features in a oneparty dominant system in which lines between ruling party and state blur, and state resources are leveraged for elite class formation. Such was the case under apartheid skippered by the NP, with Afrikanerisation, and it continues today post-apartheid under the ANC with BEE. Major reforms are needed, but not just in SOE governance or budgets, as many have suggested. If we are to take the nation forward, the basic design of the state must be reformed. The state needs professionalised, coherent policy-making and implementation, proper coordination of state entities and hard decisions. It should manage high levels of public infrastructure, guarantee political stability and credit ratings, and provide policy certainty and predictability. Without big reforms it will remain a chronic underperformer. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
A sociological analysis of the experiences of Zimbabwean teachers in South Africa: the case of KwaZulu-Natal townships and township secondary schools
- Authors: Daki, Andile Lebohang
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Xenophobia South Africa KwaZulu-Natal , Teachers, Foreign South Africa KwaZulu-Natal , Zimbabweans South Africa KwaZulu-Natal , Teachers, Foreign Social conditions , Marginality, Social , Culture conflict South Africa KwaZulu-Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365953 , vital:65805 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365953
- Description: This thesis seeks to understand the social and cultural experiences of Zimbabwean teachers, as foreigners, in KwaZulu-Natal townships, and KwaZulu-Natal township secondary schools, in South Africa. It examines the ways in which Zimbabwean teachers negotiate the social, cultural, and institutional milieu of KwaZulu-Natal townships and secondary schools. In doing so, the thesis draws upon social interface theory, as this theory facilitates an examination and understanding of the ways in which the Zimbabwean teachers interpret the spaces (and lifeworld) of South Africans and, simultaneously, navigate their way in and through these spaces along social and cultural interfaces. While the focus is on the perspectives and practices of the Zimbabwean teachers, the thesis recognises and shows that their socio-cultural experiences are constituted and configured in significant ways by their daily encounters with South Africans. The fieldwork for the thesis involved primarily in-depth interviews with thirty Zimbabwean teachers residing in six selected KwaZulu-Natal townships (and teaching at six different secondary schools), as well as fifteen South African teachers, five school administrators and thirty other South African citizens. The sample of Zimbabwean teachers was stratified in relation to the different townships, as well as gender and the number of years teaching in South Africa, so as to investigate whether and how these variables may configure the socio-cultural experiences of these teachers. A consideration of variation in the number of years of teaching in South Africa in particular allowed for an examination of possible shifts in socio-cultural experiences over time, as negotiation along interfaces is an ongoing and contingent process. The findings demonstrate a range of experiences and challenges faced by Zimbabwean teachers in KwaZulu-Natal (with regard to both township and school life), some of which they share with South African teachers but many of which are unique to them. At the same time, there are important differences amongst Zimbabwean teachers in relation to how they interface with South African citizens and teachers. While some teachers negotiate local spaces through active socialising and assimilating into the lifeworld (township life of South Africans and the institutional culture of township schools), other teachers move through the space by way of isolation, withdrawal, and alienation. In general, in terms of adjusting to the lifeworld of South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal townships and schools, Zimbabwean teachers pursue different routes which, in the end, made sense to them and about which they express some degree of personal comfort. , Lo mbhalo wobuhlakani uzama ukuqonda inhlalo kanye namasiko abahlangabezana nako othisha baseZimbabwe njengabantu bokufika emalokishini akwaZulu-Natal, kanye nasezikoleni zamabanga athe thuthu zasemalokishini akwaZulu-Natal eNingizimu-Afrika. Uhlolisisa izindlela labo thisha ababonisana ngazo ngamasiko kanye nenhlalakahle yasezikoleni zasemalokishini akwaZulu-Natal. Ngokwenzanjalo, lo mbhalo udonsa umhlahlandlela wenhlalakahle nokuhlangana ngoba ukungena kwabo endaweni yakwaZulu-Natal, labo thisha bahumusha indawo baphinde babonisane bachushisane ngenqubekela phambili yabo nangenhlalo namasiko abahlangabezana nawo. Ukuhlanganisa othisha baseNingizimu-Afrika nezakhamuzi kumele kusebenzisane ngokulingana. Abahlangabezana nakho kwakhiwa ngokubambisana phakathi kwabaseZimbabwe kanye nabaseNingizimu-Afrika ukuze izwi labaseNingizimu-Afrika lingagqibeki ngoba sekunakekelwa kakhulu abseZimbabwe. Umsebenzi wasensimini walo mbhalo wobuhlakani uhlanganisa ucwaningo kothisha abangani-30 baseZimbabwe abahlala ezindaweni ezingu-6 ezikhethekile ezisemalokishini akwaZulu-Natal, nothisha abayi-15 baseNingizimu-Afrika kanye nabaphathi bezikole abayi-5. Kubuye kwenziwa ucwaningo kwizakhamuzi ezingama-30 zaseNingizimu-Afrika. Isampula lihlanganiswe ngokubuka indawo lapho aphuma khona umuntu, kanye neminyaka aseyifundisile eNingizimu-Afrika. Ucwaningo lubukisise kakhulu indlela ababuka ngayo inhlalakahle namasiko kube kubukisiswa nenani leminyaka aseyifundisile umuntu ngamunye ukuze kuhlolisiswe izinguquko zokuxoxisana ezidalwe yisikhathi asihlalile umuntu phakathi kothisha abasebancane nalabo asebekhulile. Imiphumela yocwaningo iveza iznselele ezahlukene ababhekene nazo othisha baseZimbabwe njengoba bengabahlali baseNingizimu-Afrika. Ezinye zalezi nselele ziqhamuka ngokwehlukana kwemiphakathi kwabaseZimbabwe kanye nabaseNingizimu-Afrika. Ngokunjalo kunomehluko obalulekayo kothisha baseZimbabwe mayelana nendlela ukuxoxisana nokubonisana okuqhubeka ngayo. Kukhona labo ukungena bathi khaxa emiphakathini nasezimpilweni abakuzo eNingizimu-Afrika nasezikoleni abakuzo namasiko nenhlalakahle yakulezo zindawo ngakolunye uhlangothi abanye othisha bazithole bephila njengenhlwa bephila ngabodwana eNingizimu-Afrika. Kodwa ekugcineni kwakho konke, lolu cwaningo luthola ukuthi othisha baseZimbabwe ezikoleni zasemalokishini akwaZulu-Natal lapha eNingizimu-Afrika bazakhela impilo eyenza umuntu ngamunye azizwe ehlaliseke kahle eNingizimu- Afrika ngendlela ephelele nethokomalisa yena ngo kwakhe. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Daki, Andile Lebohang
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Xenophobia South Africa KwaZulu-Natal , Teachers, Foreign South Africa KwaZulu-Natal , Zimbabweans South Africa KwaZulu-Natal , Teachers, Foreign Social conditions , Marginality, Social , Culture conflict South Africa KwaZulu-Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365953 , vital:65805 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365953
- Description: This thesis seeks to understand the social and cultural experiences of Zimbabwean teachers, as foreigners, in KwaZulu-Natal townships, and KwaZulu-Natal township secondary schools, in South Africa. It examines the ways in which Zimbabwean teachers negotiate the social, cultural, and institutional milieu of KwaZulu-Natal townships and secondary schools. In doing so, the thesis draws upon social interface theory, as this theory facilitates an examination and understanding of the ways in which the Zimbabwean teachers interpret the spaces (and lifeworld) of South Africans and, simultaneously, navigate their way in and through these spaces along social and cultural interfaces. While the focus is on the perspectives and practices of the Zimbabwean teachers, the thesis recognises and shows that their socio-cultural experiences are constituted and configured in significant ways by their daily encounters with South Africans. The fieldwork for the thesis involved primarily in-depth interviews with thirty Zimbabwean teachers residing in six selected KwaZulu-Natal townships (and teaching at six different secondary schools), as well as fifteen South African teachers, five school administrators and thirty other South African citizens. The sample of Zimbabwean teachers was stratified in relation to the different townships, as well as gender and the number of years teaching in South Africa, so as to investigate whether and how these variables may configure the socio-cultural experiences of these teachers. A consideration of variation in the number of years of teaching in South Africa in particular allowed for an examination of possible shifts in socio-cultural experiences over time, as negotiation along interfaces is an ongoing and contingent process. The findings demonstrate a range of experiences and challenges faced by Zimbabwean teachers in KwaZulu-Natal (with regard to both township and school life), some of which they share with South African teachers but many of which are unique to them. At the same time, there are important differences amongst Zimbabwean teachers in relation to how they interface with South African citizens and teachers. While some teachers negotiate local spaces through active socialising and assimilating into the lifeworld (township life of South Africans and the institutional culture of township schools), other teachers move through the space by way of isolation, withdrawal, and alienation. In general, in terms of adjusting to the lifeworld of South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal townships and schools, Zimbabwean teachers pursue different routes which, in the end, made sense to them and about which they express some degree of personal comfort. , Lo mbhalo wobuhlakani uzama ukuqonda inhlalo kanye namasiko abahlangabezana nako othisha baseZimbabwe njengabantu bokufika emalokishini akwaZulu-Natal, kanye nasezikoleni zamabanga athe thuthu zasemalokishini akwaZulu-Natal eNingizimu-Afrika. Uhlolisisa izindlela labo thisha ababonisana ngazo ngamasiko kanye nenhlalakahle yasezikoleni zasemalokishini akwaZulu-Natal. Ngokwenzanjalo, lo mbhalo udonsa umhlahlandlela wenhlalakahle nokuhlangana ngoba ukungena kwabo endaweni yakwaZulu-Natal, labo thisha bahumusha indawo baphinde babonisane bachushisane ngenqubekela phambili yabo nangenhlalo namasiko abahlangabezana nawo. Ukuhlanganisa othisha baseNingizimu-Afrika nezakhamuzi kumele kusebenzisane ngokulingana. Abahlangabezana nakho kwakhiwa ngokubambisana phakathi kwabaseZimbabwe kanye nabaseNingizimu-Afrika ukuze izwi labaseNingizimu-Afrika lingagqibeki ngoba sekunakekelwa kakhulu abseZimbabwe. Umsebenzi wasensimini walo mbhalo wobuhlakani uhlanganisa ucwaningo kothisha abangani-30 baseZimbabwe abahlala ezindaweni ezingu-6 ezikhethekile ezisemalokishini akwaZulu-Natal, nothisha abayi-15 baseNingizimu-Afrika kanye nabaphathi bezikole abayi-5. Kubuye kwenziwa ucwaningo kwizakhamuzi ezingama-30 zaseNingizimu-Afrika. Isampula lihlanganiswe ngokubuka indawo lapho aphuma khona umuntu, kanye neminyaka aseyifundisile eNingizimu-Afrika. Ucwaningo lubukisise kakhulu indlela ababuka ngayo inhlalakahle namasiko kube kubukisiswa nenani leminyaka aseyifundisile umuntu ngamunye ukuze kuhlolisiswe izinguquko zokuxoxisana ezidalwe yisikhathi asihlalile umuntu phakathi kothisha abasebancane nalabo asebekhulile. Imiphumela yocwaningo iveza iznselele ezahlukene ababhekene nazo othisha baseZimbabwe njengoba bengabahlali baseNingizimu-Afrika. Ezinye zalezi nselele ziqhamuka ngokwehlukana kwemiphakathi kwabaseZimbabwe kanye nabaseNingizimu-Afrika. Ngokunjalo kunomehluko obalulekayo kothisha baseZimbabwe mayelana nendlela ukuxoxisana nokubonisana okuqhubeka ngayo. Kukhona labo ukungena bathi khaxa emiphakathini nasezimpilweni abakuzo eNingizimu-Afrika nasezikoleni abakuzo namasiko nenhlalakahle yakulezo zindawo ngakolunye uhlangothi abanye othisha bazithole bephila njengenhlwa bephila ngabodwana eNingizimu-Afrika. Kodwa ekugcineni kwakho konke, lolu cwaningo luthola ukuthi othisha baseZimbabwe ezikoleni zasemalokishini akwaZulu-Natal lapha eNingizimu-Afrika bazakhela impilo eyenza umuntu ngamunye azizwe ehlaliseke kahle eNingizimu- Afrika ngendlela ephelele nethokomalisa yena ngo kwakhe. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Socio-historical analysis of organisational change: a case study of Zimbabwe posts (Zimpost), 2010–2020
- Kambarami-Zengeni, Faith Chipo
- Authors: Kambarami-Zengeni, Faith Chipo
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Organizational change Zimbabwe , Fordism , Industrial management , Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 1856-1915 , Industrial relations , Postal service Management
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327920 , vital:61170 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327920
- Description: Postal organisations play an important role in the provision of basic communication services. In Zimbabwe, post offices have a large physical distribution network of over 240 post offices country-wide to make communication services accessible to the populace. However, e-substitution has threatened mail business significantly. Postal operators globally are experiencing declining mail volumes in the face of advanced information and communication technologies. The overall goal of this thesis was to undertake a socio-historical analysis of organisational change at ZimPost using Taylorism, Fordism and post-Fordism as broad ideal types to explain how industry evolves in different phases of capitalism. National politics and economics play an integral role in how Taylorism, Fordism and post-Fordism assumed at ZimPost. Studies on these broad organising types have mainly focused on private sector organisations. However, this thesis argues that these analytical paradigms are also valid in public sector organisations, but they will unfold differently given the context in which change is experienced. Using a qualitative approach, the study established that the 1980s and 1990s can best be described as the ‘golden years’ of postal services in Zimbabwe, characterised by mass production and mass consumption of postal products and services. At that time the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation enjoyed a monopoly of postal services in the country. The stable market share, competitive salaries for postal workers, increased unionisation and a fairly stable economy enabled a Fordist regime of accumulation to develop. The cycle broke down when the mode of regulation was weakened by national economic and political changes towards the late 1990s. PTC started to experience a decline in the consumption of postal products. The decline was also attributed to increased competition from smaller private courier operators that could provide specialised services to a market with changing needs. With increased competition, the advancement of information, and communication technologies, mail volumes dwindled. This period can best be described as the crisis of Fordism at ZimPost. In the year 2000, the government unbundled the posts and telecommunications corporation to create four companies including Zimbabwe Posts. This was perceived as one of the most radical organisational changes in the history of postal services in Zimbabwe. More organisational changes took place at ZimPost that can best be described as characteristics of post-Fordism. These changes were attempts by ZimPost to remain relevant in light of the economic, political and technological changes taking place in the country. The postal operator introduced customised products in the form of agency services, supported by increased use of information and communication technologies in the post office. Organisational changes at ZimPost were shaped mainly by the economic and political environment in which they took place. Organisational change is complex, changes do not follow a linear pattern, they are processual. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Kambarami-Zengeni, Faith Chipo
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Organizational change Zimbabwe , Fordism , Industrial management , Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 1856-1915 , Industrial relations , Postal service Management
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327920 , vital:61170 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327920
- Description: Postal organisations play an important role in the provision of basic communication services. In Zimbabwe, post offices have a large physical distribution network of over 240 post offices country-wide to make communication services accessible to the populace. However, e-substitution has threatened mail business significantly. Postal operators globally are experiencing declining mail volumes in the face of advanced information and communication technologies. The overall goal of this thesis was to undertake a socio-historical analysis of organisational change at ZimPost using Taylorism, Fordism and post-Fordism as broad ideal types to explain how industry evolves in different phases of capitalism. National politics and economics play an integral role in how Taylorism, Fordism and post-Fordism assumed at ZimPost. Studies on these broad organising types have mainly focused on private sector organisations. However, this thesis argues that these analytical paradigms are also valid in public sector organisations, but they will unfold differently given the context in which change is experienced. Using a qualitative approach, the study established that the 1980s and 1990s can best be described as the ‘golden years’ of postal services in Zimbabwe, characterised by mass production and mass consumption of postal products and services. At that time the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation enjoyed a monopoly of postal services in the country. The stable market share, competitive salaries for postal workers, increased unionisation and a fairly stable economy enabled a Fordist regime of accumulation to develop. The cycle broke down when the mode of regulation was weakened by national economic and political changes towards the late 1990s. PTC started to experience a decline in the consumption of postal products. The decline was also attributed to increased competition from smaller private courier operators that could provide specialised services to a market with changing needs. With increased competition, the advancement of information, and communication technologies, mail volumes dwindled. This period can best be described as the crisis of Fordism at ZimPost. In the year 2000, the government unbundled the posts and telecommunications corporation to create four companies including Zimbabwe Posts. This was perceived as one of the most radical organisational changes in the history of postal services in Zimbabwe. More organisational changes took place at ZimPost that can best be described as characteristics of post-Fordism. These changes were attempts by ZimPost to remain relevant in light of the economic, political and technological changes taking place in the country. The postal operator introduced customised products in the form of agency services, supported by increased use of information and communication technologies in the post office. Organisational changes at ZimPost were shaped mainly by the economic and political environment in which they took place. Organisational change is complex, changes do not follow a linear pattern, they are processual. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
An ethnographic exploration of black lesbians rape survivors’ access to support services in Cape Town South Africa
- Wilson, Kaythrine Esther Jacqueline
- Authors: Wilson, Kaythrine Esther Jacqueline
- Date: 2022-04
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232646 , vital:50010
- Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-04
- Authors: Wilson, Kaythrine Esther Jacqueline
- Date: 2022-04
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232646 , vital:50010
- Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-04
Demand-side factors and the employment of young people: A case study of the recruitment and selection strategies of selected firms in Johannesburg
- Gabobegwe, Maoshadi Keletso Amanda
- Authors: Gabobegwe, Maoshadi Keletso Amanda
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Unemployment South Africa , Underemployment South Africa , Unemployed youth South Africa , Labor market South Africa , Employees Recruiting South Africa , Employer attitude surveys South Africa , International Labour Organisation
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327294 , vital:61101 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327294
- Description: Unemployment is a long-standing and pressing socio-economic phenomenon that affects, markedly, both developed and developing countries. Although, in one way or another, many people are affected by unemployment, the reviewed literature concurs that youth unemployment is a critical component of the overall unemployment challenge. Indeed, the burden of unemployment is borne, tremendously, by young people, especially those who are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEETs). The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has declared youth unemployment a global crisis, with approximately 67,6 million unemployed young people worldwide in 2018. In South Africa, the youth unemployment rate escalated to 56.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2019. This disturbing level of unemployment among young people poses a serious threat—for as long as young people stay unemployed. Indeed, the cost of unemployment is too high, not only does it engender discontent among young people who are floundering in poverty and frustration, but it can also trigger or perpetuate all sorts of social, political, and economic effects. These effects only exacerbate the already intricate and onerous global agenda of tackling unemployment— because they give rise to other socio-economic ills (e.g., crime, among others) that also need to be addressed. Owing to this grave and perpetual challenge of unemployment, exploring and understanding the dynamics of youth unemployment continues to be of paramount importance worldwide. This thesis, in particular, seeks to investigate the factors that impede on the employment of the NEETs category, as it may be extremely difficult for them to enter the labour market— and they may lose hope of entering the labour market later in life, if they are unsuccessful while still young. Unlike graduates or other youth categories (i.e., matriculants) who have better chances in the labour market, some young people (by virtue of being ‘dropouts’, teenage moms/dads, having failed matric, among other reasons), remain the most vulnerable to unemployment. For this reason, the primary aim of this thesis is to examine the ways in which employers’ recruitment strategies advantage or disadvantage young people (NEETs). The secondary aims include: (a) examining how employers' perceptions and attitudes, regarding the NEETs youths, influence their recruitment decisions when it comes to employing young people; and (b) understanding the ways in which government strategies (devised to combat youth unemployment) influence employers’ decisions to recruit the youths’ or not. In essence, this study seeks to explore the demand-side factors in the labour market that can help us understand how employers’ recruitment decisions (or recruitment behaviour) affect the employment prospects of young people in the labour market. The focus on demand-side factors is motivated by Labour Market Segmentation (LMS) theories, which serve as the theoretical framework of this thesis. LMS theories’ significance lies in their opposition to neoclassical economics, that posit the existence of a unified labour market (which operates like all other markets), consisting of buyers and sellers in ‘free’ competition. According to neoclassical theory, the difference between workers’ employment and wages is determined by ‘individual preferences’ and investments in ‘human capital’ (skills, experience, formal education, etc.). By contrast, LMS theorists argue that labour markets are fragmented, and that differences on the demand side imply differences in compensations that are not totally determined by individual workers' human capital. Inspired by the claims of LMS theories, this study elected to explore demand-side factors by applying qualitative research methods and techniques to gather and analyse the data gathered, and to ultimately address the research objectives. In particular, non-probability sampling was used to sample 20 firms from four sectors (manufacturing, retail/hospitality, finance, transportation) in the Johannesburg (CBD) region. The respondents were all asked a series of semi-structured questions in order to yield qualitative results that would help determine the employers’ dispositions towards young people; and about the government’s strategies that address youth unemployment. The aim is to provide an in-depth, nuanced understanding of how the respondents’ dispositions influence the inclusion or exclusion of young people in the employers’ recruitment considerations. The aggregate results of the study generally indicate that—although there are innumerable factors that affect young peoples' employment prospects—young people (without skills and tertiary education or matric) are actually being employed, and are still being considered for employment by the majority of the sampled employers (predominantly from retail/hospitality firms). Only a minority of employers stated, categorically, that they do not employ young people, and do not intend to do so. Conversely, the results also reveal that the the majority of employers often recruit young people for general and entry-level jobs that are often offered on a non-standard employment basis. At face value, the employment of young people (without skills) in the majority of the sampled firms may seem to make a difference—and it probably does, for as long as young people are exposed to the world of work. However, in the 4 grand scheme of things, the kind of employment offered in these firms is also problematic, because it is, basically, transient and unsustainable. As such, the young people that occupy these jobs are most likely to find themselves back in the unemployment queues whenever the ‘part-time’ or ‘temporary’ employment contracts are terminated. These jobs are especially problematic because policies such as the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030—in line with Sustainable Development Goals—aim to reduce poverty by creating sustainable employment. Contrarily, these kinds of jobs make it hard to achieve poverty reduction, because they are inherently unsustainable and barely lift people (especially young people) from unemployment and poverty. Based on these results, it can be asserted that the proliferation of non-standard employment compromises the agenda for decent work, and it delays the already sluggish Sustainable Development goal of creating sustainable employment (among other goals). This, then, reveals that there is still a stark and long-standing need for more radical strategies that will ensure the creation of sustainable jobs—without which the unemployment crisis will be far from over. Moreover, the results further indicate that the reasons why the minority of the sampled employers do not employ young people boil down to the fact that young people usually do not have what employers look for in their potential recruits; or that young people do not have what employers believe will contribute to the growth and productivity of their firms. In essence, employers will never employ any young person (or any jobseeker in general) that will be a liability than an asset in their firms. Over and above, this thesis corroborates many of the explanations—encapsulated in the growing literature—for rising unemployment, as well as the claims that unemployment is highly pronounced among young people. However, the contribution of this thesis is that it further offers a nuanced view to understanding the demand-side factors (as additional determinants) that hinder the employment of young people (especially those who make up the NEETs category). , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Gabobegwe, Maoshadi Keletso Amanda
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Unemployment South Africa , Underemployment South Africa , Unemployed youth South Africa , Labor market South Africa , Employees Recruiting South Africa , Employer attitude surveys South Africa , International Labour Organisation
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327294 , vital:61101 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327294
- Description: Unemployment is a long-standing and pressing socio-economic phenomenon that affects, markedly, both developed and developing countries. Although, in one way or another, many people are affected by unemployment, the reviewed literature concurs that youth unemployment is a critical component of the overall unemployment challenge. Indeed, the burden of unemployment is borne, tremendously, by young people, especially those who are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEETs). The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has declared youth unemployment a global crisis, with approximately 67,6 million unemployed young people worldwide in 2018. In South Africa, the youth unemployment rate escalated to 56.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2019. This disturbing level of unemployment among young people poses a serious threat—for as long as young people stay unemployed. Indeed, the cost of unemployment is too high, not only does it engender discontent among young people who are floundering in poverty and frustration, but it can also trigger or perpetuate all sorts of social, political, and economic effects. These effects only exacerbate the already intricate and onerous global agenda of tackling unemployment— because they give rise to other socio-economic ills (e.g., crime, among others) that also need to be addressed. Owing to this grave and perpetual challenge of unemployment, exploring and understanding the dynamics of youth unemployment continues to be of paramount importance worldwide. This thesis, in particular, seeks to investigate the factors that impede on the employment of the NEETs category, as it may be extremely difficult for them to enter the labour market— and they may lose hope of entering the labour market later in life, if they are unsuccessful while still young. Unlike graduates or other youth categories (i.e., matriculants) who have better chances in the labour market, some young people (by virtue of being ‘dropouts’, teenage moms/dads, having failed matric, among other reasons), remain the most vulnerable to unemployment. For this reason, the primary aim of this thesis is to examine the ways in which employers’ recruitment strategies advantage or disadvantage young people (NEETs). The secondary aims include: (a) examining how employers' perceptions and attitudes, regarding the NEETs youths, influence their recruitment decisions when it comes to employing young people; and (b) understanding the ways in which government strategies (devised to combat youth unemployment) influence employers’ decisions to recruit the youths’ or not. In essence, this study seeks to explore the demand-side factors in the labour market that can help us understand how employers’ recruitment decisions (or recruitment behaviour) affect the employment prospects of young people in the labour market. The focus on demand-side factors is motivated by Labour Market Segmentation (LMS) theories, which serve as the theoretical framework of this thesis. LMS theories’ significance lies in their opposition to neoclassical economics, that posit the existence of a unified labour market (which operates like all other markets), consisting of buyers and sellers in ‘free’ competition. According to neoclassical theory, the difference between workers’ employment and wages is determined by ‘individual preferences’ and investments in ‘human capital’ (skills, experience, formal education, etc.). By contrast, LMS theorists argue that labour markets are fragmented, and that differences on the demand side imply differences in compensations that are not totally determined by individual workers' human capital. Inspired by the claims of LMS theories, this study elected to explore demand-side factors by applying qualitative research methods and techniques to gather and analyse the data gathered, and to ultimately address the research objectives. In particular, non-probability sampling was used to sample 20 firms from four sectors (manufacturing, retail/hospitality, finance, transportation) in the Johannesburg (CBD) region. The respondents were all asked a series of semi-structured questions in order to yield qualitative results that would help determine the employers’ dispositions towards young people; and about the government’s strategies that address youth unemployment. The aim is to provide an in-depth, nuanced understanding of how the respondents’ dispositions influence the inclusion or exclusion of young people in the employers’ recruitment considerations. The aggregate results of the study generally indicate that—although there are innumerable factors that affect young peoples' employment prospects—young people (without skills and tertiary education or matric) are actually being employed, and are still being considered for employment by the majority of the sampled employers (predominantly from retail/hospitality firms). Only a minority of employers stated, categorically, that they do not employ young people, and do not intend to do so. Conversely, the results also reveal that the the majority of employers often recruit young people for general and entry-level jobs that are often offered on a non-standard employment basis. At face value, the employment of young people (without skills) in the majority of the sampled firms may seem to make a difference—and it probably does, for as long as young people are exposed to the world of work. However, in the 4 grand scheme of things, the kind of employment offered in these firms is also problematic, because it is, basically, transient and unsustainable. As such, the young people that occupy these jobs are most likely to find themselves back in the unemployment queues whenever the ‘part-time’ or ‘temporary’ employment contracts are terminated. These jobs are especially problematic because policies such as the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030—in line with Sustainable Development Goals—aim to reduce poverty by creating sustainable employment. Contrarily, these kinds of jobs make it hard to achieve poverty reduction, because they are inherently unsustainable and barely lift people (especially young people) from unemployment and poverty. Based on these results, it can be asserted that the proliferation of non-standard employment compromises the agenda for decent work, and it delays the already sluggish Sustainable Development goal of creating sustainable employment (among other goals). This, then, reveals that there is still a stark and long-standing need for more radical strategies that will ensure the creation of sustainable jobs—without which the unemployment crisis will be far from over. Moreover, the results further indicate that the reasons why the minority of the sampled employers do not employ young people boil down to the fact that young people usually do not have what employers look for in their potential recruits; or that young people do not have what employers believe will contribute to the growth and productivity of their firms. In essence, employers will never employ any young person (or any jobseeker in general) that will be a liability than an asset in their firms. Over and above, this thesis corroborates many of the explanations—encapsulated in the growing literature—for rising unemployment, as well as the claims that unemployment is highly pronounced among young people. However, the contribution of this thesis is that it further offers a nuanced view to understanding the demand-side factors (as additional determinants) that hinder the employment of young people (especially those who make up the NEETs category). , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The nexus between territorial border controls, informal cross border trading and economic security in Zimbabwe: the case of Beitbridge Border Post
- Authors: Nare, Hilary
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Informal sector (Economics) Zimbabwe , South Africa Commerce Zimbabwe , Border security Zimbabwe , Economic security Zimbabwe , Beitbridge (Zimbabwe) , Zimbabwe Politics and government , Zimbabwe Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365977 , vital:65807 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365977
- Description: Informal cross border trade is central to the lives of many Zimbabweans, with informal trade across the Zimbabwean-South African border being of particular importance. This entails travelling through the Beitbridge border post on the Zimbabwean side, with Zimbabwean informal traders purchasing items in South Africa for resale in Zimbabwe. In doing so, they contribute not only to their own economic security but likely to the economic security of other Zimbabweans deeply affected by the ongoing crisis in the country. Often times, when examining the lives of Zimbabwe’s informal traders, the border post is not subjected to sustained focus and analysis. Yet, border posts (like the Beitbridge border post) are complex social institutions which configure the lives and livelihoods of cross border traders in multiple ways, and which informal traders often have to negotiate their way through. In this context, this thesis provides a critical analysis of border control management at the Beitbridge border post with particular reference to the activities of Zimbabwean informal cross border traders. The Beitbridge border post, like all border posts, has multiple functions. As a territorial border post, it seeks to maintain the national sovereignty of the Zimbabwean nation- state, and it monitors and controls the movement of people and goods in both directions. Currently, it is doing so at a time when the vast majority of Zimbabweans are suffering from varying levels of economic insecurity. The extent to which these functions are performed, and the manner in which they are performed, depends fundamentally on what takes place at the Beitbridge border post. This refers to the performance of both human subjects (border control officers of various kinds) and inanimate objects (such as scanners and cameras), both of which enact agency. Combined with these is the agency of cross border traders, who are compelled to navigate their way in and through these dimensions of the border control system. The thesis examines this by drawing heavily upon Actor-Network Theory. It is based on research undertaken at Beitbridge border post, involving 50 interviews with primarily current and former border control officers as well as informal cross border traders. Findings of this study show that deficiencies in border control management and border porosity at Beitbridge have led to a flourishing of informal cross border trade and, in turn, contributed to economic security in Zimbabwe, including during the time of Covid-19. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Nare, Hilary
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Informal sector (Economics) Zimbabwe , South Africa Commerce Zimbabwe , Border security Zimbabwe , Economic security Zimbabwe , Beitbridge (Zimbabwe) , Zimbabwe Politics and government , Zimbabwe Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365977 , vital:65807 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365977
- Description: Informal cross border trade is central to the lives of many Zimbabweans, with informal trade across the Zimbabwean-South African border being of particular importance. This entails travelling through the Beitbridge border post on the Zimbabwean side, with Zimbabwean informal traders purchasing items in South Africa for resale in Zimbabwe. In doing so, they contribute not only to their own economic security but likely to the economic security of other Zimbabweans deeply affected by the ongoing crisis in the country. Often times, when examining the lives of Zimbabwe’s informal traders, the border post is not subjected to sustained focus and analysis. Yet, border posts (like the Beitbridge border post) are complex social institutions which configure the lives and livelihoods of cross border traders in multiple ways, and which informal traders often have to negotiate their way through. In this context, this thesis provides a critical analysis of border control management at the Beitbridge border post with particular reference to the activities of Zimbabwean informal cross border traders. The Beitbridge border post, like all border posts, has multiple functions. As a territorial border post, it seeks to maintain the national sovereignty of the Zimbabwean nation- state, and it monitors and controls the movement of people and goods in both directions. Currently, it is doing so at a time when the vast majority of Zimbabweans are suffering from varying levels of economic insecurity. The extent to which these functions are performed, and the manner in which they are performed, depends fundamentally on what takes place at the Beitbridge border post. This refers to the performance of both human subjects (border control officers of various kinds) and inanimate objects (such as scanners and cameras), both of which enact agency. Combined with these is the agency of cross border traders, who are compelled to navigate their way in and through these dimensions of the border control system. The thesis examines this by drawing heavily upon Actor-Network Theory. It is based on research undertaken at Beitbridge border post, involving 50 interviews with primarily current and former border control officers as well as informal cross border traders. Findings of this study show that deficiencies in border control management and border porosity at Beitbridge have led to a flourishing of informal cross border trade and, in turn, contributed to economic security in Zimbabwe, including during the time of Covid-19. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
A critical analysis of the Urban Food System, Urban Governance and Household Food Security in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Maphosa, Mandlenkosi
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Food security Zimbabwe Bulawayo , City planning Government policy Zimbabwe Bulawayo , Urban poor Zimbabwe Bulawayo , Urban agriculture Zimbabwe Bulawayo , COVID-19 (Disease) Zimbabwe Bulawayo , Agent (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327165 , vital:61087 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327165
- Description: Urbanisation is occurring on a massive scale globally and even more so in the less developed regions of the Global South including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Like other developing regions of the world, urbanisation in SSA is not occurring alongside a corresponding growth in urban economies. Resultantly, it is taking place in tandem with the rising scourge of urban poverty, including food insecurity. While urban food insecurity is a clear challenge in SSA, the challenge has however not been met with equal vigour in policy making and implementation circles and even in academia. Problematically, the urban food security literature often focuses on one element of the food system without giving due attention to other components of the system. Resultantly, broader systemic failures and the dynamics related to the different actors across the system-elements are missed. There has thus been recent calls to embrace urban governance in studying urban food systems, which this study does. The thesis examines the urban food system in Bulawayo (in Zimbabwe) with specific reference to urban governance and household food security to understand sociologically the complex multi-dimensional processes, structures, systems, and practices underpinning the urban food system. As a result of the complex nature of food systems, an eclectic analytical framework is employed encompassing Obeng Odoom’s DED framework, Clapp and Fuchs’ framework of power, Gaventa’s power cube and theories of everyday life derived from de Certeau and Lefebvre. Methodologically, the study is informed by a Critical Realism paradigm which accommodates the convergent mixed methods research design employed. The research strategy employed was that of a survey and case study. Key findings reveal that the Bulawayo food system, from production to consumption, is complex and is nested within broader national and international food systems. Although without a direct and explicit mandate on food security, the local authority is at the centre of urban governance processes as it employs a plethora of strategies to influence the nature of the food system. However, the study reveals that the food system is as much a construction from below through the agential activities of the urban poor. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Maphosa, Mandlenkosi
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Food security Zimbabwe Bulawayo , City planning Government policy Zimbabwe Bulawayo , Urban poor Zimbabwe Bulawayo , Urban agriculture Zimbabwe Bulawayo , COVID-19 (Disease) Zimbabwe Bulawayo , Agent (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327165 , vital:61087 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327165
- Description: Urbanisation is occurring on a massive scale globally and even more so in the less developed regions of the Global South including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Like other developing regions of the world, urbanisation in SSA is not occurring alongside a corresponding growth in urban economies. Resultantly, it is taking place in tandem with the rising scourge of urban poverty, including food insecurity. While urban food insecurity is a clear challenge in SSA, the challenge has however not been met with equal vigour in policy making and implementation circles and even in academia. Problematically, the urban food security literature often focuses on one element of the food system without giving due attention to other components of the system. Resultantly, broader systemic failures and the dynamics related to the different actors across the system-elements are missed. There has thus been recent calls to embrace urban governance in studying urban food systems, which this study does. The thesis examines the urban food system in Bulawayo (in Zimbabwe) with specific reference to urban governance and household food security to understand sociologically the complex multi-dimensional processes, structures, systems, and practices underpinning the urban food system. As a result of the complex nature of food systems, an eclectic analytical framework is employed encompassing Obeng Odoom’s DED framework, Clapp and Fuchs’ framework of power, Gaventa’s power cube and theories of everyday life derived from de Certeau and Lefebvre. Methodologically, the study is informed by a Critical Realism paradigm which accommodates the convergent mixed methods research design employed. The research strategy employed was that of a survey and case study. Key findings reveal that the Bulawayo food system, from production to consumption, is complex and is nested within broader national and international food systems. Although without a direct and explicit mandate on food security, the local authority is at the centre of urban governance processes as it employs a plethora of strategies to influence the nature of the food system. However, the study reveals that the food system is as much a construction from below through the agential activities of the urban poor. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Land degradation and livelihood strategies in rural Zimbabwe: the case of two A1 farms in Shurugwi District
- Authors: Nciizah, Tendai
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Land degradation Zimbabwe , Sustainable livelihood , Shurugwi District , Conservation of natural resources Zimbabwe , Land reform Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365989 , vital:65808 , https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365989
- Description: Land degradation is a global phenomenon which is having serious negative consequences for rural livelihoods, which depend quite fundamentally on land and its resources. At the same time, one of the key conditions contributing to land degradation relates to rural livelihood practices, insofar as these practices fail to protect the land. Hence, there sometimes exists a mutually-reinforcing process of decline, in relation to both land vitality and livelihoods vitality over time. This thesis seeks to investigate and understand this complex land-livelihoods process through a case study of two fast track farms in the Shurugwi District of contemporary Zimbabwe. In the year 2000, the Zimbabwean government introduced the fast track land reform programme which fundamentally reconfigured the rural landscape. In particular, it led to the formation of A1 farms (containing small-scale farming units called A1 plots), onto which people were resettled for purposes of enhancing their livelihoods. The case study focuses on two A1 farms in the district, namely, Selukwe Peak and Adare farms. Through a longitudinal study of land and livelihoods on these A1 farms, this study seeks to identify the multi-faceted character of land degradation on the farms, the multi-layered conditions (or causes) facilitating land degradation (specifically, the farm-based livelihood practices) and the effects of this land degradation on these very livelihood practices. This includes a focus on farmers’ understandings of land degradation and how these understandings may or may not condition livelihood practices on the two farms. Of particular importance is the presence of not only agricultural practices, but also high levels of illegal and legal mining on the farms and in the surrounding areas. In pursuing this study, the thesis draws upon the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach alongside Margaret Archer’s morphogenetic sociological perspective. Combined, they provide an intricate understanding of the relevance of both structure and agency to the analysis. A qualitative methodology was used, and this involved a questionnaire survey, in- depth interviews, life histories, focus group discussions and transect walks. The study concludes that the livelihood strategies undertaken by the villagers of Selukwe Peak and Adare farms are key causes of land degradation, as are the land-degrading activities of illegal and legal miners. The A1 villagers are aware that their activities are causing land degradation but they continue these activities because they are pushed by circumstances beyond their control. Hence, both proximate and underlying causes are of some significance in understanding land degradation and livelihoods on the two farms, and their interrelationships. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Nciizah, Tendai
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Land degradation Zimbabwe , Sustainable livelihood , Shurugwi District , Conservation of natural resources Zimbabwe , Land reform Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365989 , vital:65808 , https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365989
- Description: Land degradation is a global phenomenon which is having serious negative consequences for rural livelihoods, which depend quite fundamentally on land and its resources. At the same time, one of the key conditions contributing to land degradation relates to rural livelihood practices, insofar as these practices fail to protect the land. Hence, there sometimes exists a mutually-reinforcing process of decline, in relation to both land vitality and livelihoods vitality over time. This thesis seeks to investigate and understand this complex land-livelihoods process through a case study of two fast track farms in the Shurugwi District of contemporary Zimbabwe. In the year 2000, the Zimbabwean government introduced the fast track land reform programme which fundamentally reconfigured the rural landscape. In particular, it led to the formation of A1 farms (containing small-scale farming units called A1 plots), onto which people were resettled for purposes of enhancing their livelihoods. The case study focuses on two A1 farms in the district, namely, Selukwe Peak and Adare farms. Through a longitudinal study of land and livelihoods on these A1 farms, this study seeks to identify the multi-faceted character of land degradation on the farms, the multi-layered conditions (or causes) facilitating land degradation (specifically, the farm-based livelihood practices) and the effects of this land degradation on these very livelihood practices. This includes a focus on farmers’ understandings of land degradation and how these understandings may or may not condition livelihood practices on the two farms. Of particular importance is the presence of not only agricultural practices, but also high levels of illegal and legal mining on the farms and in the surrounding areas. In pursuing this study, the thesis draws upon the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach alongside Margaret Archer’s morphogenetic sociological perspective. Combined, they provide an intricate understanding of the relevance of both structure and agency to the analysis. A qualitative methodology was used, and this involved a questionnaire survey, in- depth interviews, life histories, focus group discussions and transect walks. The study concludes that the livelihood strategies undertaken by the villagers of Selukwe Peak and Adare farms are key causes of land degradation, as are the land-degrading activities of illegal and legal miners. The A1 villagers are aware that their activities are causing land degradation but they continue these activities because they are pushed by circumstances beyond their control. Hence, both proximate and underlying causes are of some significance in understanding land degradation and livelihoods on the two farms, and their interrelationships. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Socio-historical analysis of organisational change: a case study of Zimbabwe Posts (Zimpost), 2010–2020
- Kambarami-Zengeni, Faith Chipo
- Authors: Kambarami-Zengeni, Faith Chipo
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/422518 , vital:71954 , DOI 10.21504/10962/422518
- Description: Postal organisations play an important role in the provision of basic communication services. In Zimbabwe, post offices have a large physical distribution network of over 240 post offices country-wide to make communication services accessible to the populace. However, e-substitution has threatened mail business significantly. Postal operators globally are experiencing declining mail volumes in the face of advanced information and communication technologies. The overall goal of this thesis was to undertake a socio-historical analysis of organisational change at ZimPost using Taylorism, Fordism and post-Fordism as broad ideal types to explain how industry evolves in different phases of capitalism. National politics and economics play an integral role in how Taylorism, Fordism and post-Fordism assumed at ZimPost. Studies on these broad organising types have mainly focused on private sector organisations. However, this thesis argues that these analytical paradigms are also valid in public sector organisations, but they will unfold differently given the context in which change is experienced. Using a qualitative approach, the study established that the 1980s and 1990s can best be described as the ‘golden years’ of postal services in Zimbabwe, characterised by mass production and mass consumption of postal products and services. At that time the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation enjoyed a monopoly of postal services in the country. The stable market share, competitive salaries for postal workers, increased unionisation and a fairly stable economy enabled a Fordist regime of accumulation to develop. The cycle broke down when the mode of regulation was weakened by national economic and political changes towards the late 1990s. PTC started to experience a decline in the consumption of postal products. The decline was also attributed to increased competition from smaller private courier operators that could provide specialised services to a market with changing needs. With increased competition, the advancement of information, and communication technologies, mail volumes dwindled. This period can best be described as the crisis of Fordism at ZimPost. In the year 2000, the government unbundled the posts and telecommunications corporation to create four companies including Zimbabwe Posts. This was perceived as one of the most radical organisational changes in the history of postal services in Zimbabwe. More organisational changes took place at ZimPost that can best be described as characteristics of post-Fordism. These changes were attempts by ZimPost to remain relevant in light of the economic, political and technological changes taking place in the country. The postal operator introduced customised products in the form of agency services, supported by increased use of information and communication technologies in the post office. Organisational changes at ZimPost were shaped mainly by the economic and political environment in which they took place. Organisational change is complex, changes do not follow a linear pattern, they are processual. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Kambarami-Zengeni, Faith Chipo
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/422518 , vital:71954 , DOI 10.21504/10962/422518
- Description: Postal organisations play an important role in the provision of basic communication services. In Zimbabwe, post offices have a large physical distribution network of over 240 post offices country-wide to make communication services accessible to the populace. However, e-substitution has threatened mail business significantly. Postal operators globally are experiencing declining mail volumes in the face of advanced information and communication technologies. The overall goal of this thesis was to undertake a socio-historical analysis of organisational change at ZimPost using Taylorism, Fordism and post-Fordism as broad ideal types to explain how industry evolves in different phases of capitalism. National politics and economics play an integral role in how Taylorism, Fordism and post-Fordism assumed at ZimPost. Studies on these broad organising types have mainly focused on private sector organisations. However, this thesis argues that these analytical paradigms are also valid in public sector organisations, but they will unfold differently given the context in which change is experienced. Using a qualitative approach, the study established that the 1980s and 1990s can best be described as the ‘golden years’ of postal services in Zimbabwe, characterised by mass production and mass consumption of postal products and services. At that time the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation enjoyed a monopoly of postal services in the country. The stable market share, competitive salaries for postal workers, increased unionisation and a fairly stable economy enabled a Fordist regime of accumulation to develop. The cycle broke down when the mode of regulation was weakened by national economic and political changes towards the late 1990s. PTC started to experience a decline in the consumption of postal products. The decline was also attributed to increased competition from smaller private courier operators that could provide specialised services to a market with changing needs. With increased competition, the advancement of information, and communication technologies, mail volumes dwindled. This period can best be described as the crisis of Fordism at ZimPost. In the year 2000, the government unbundled the posts and telecommunications corporation to create four companies including Zimbabwe Posts. This was perceived as one of the most radical organisational changes in the history of postal services in Zimbabwe. More organisational changes took place at ZimPost that can best be described as characteristics of post-Fordism. These changes were attempts by ZimPost to remain relevant in light of the economic, political and technological changes taking place in the country. The postal operator introduced customised products in the form of agency services, supported by increased use of information and communication technologies in the post office. Organisational changes at ZimPost were shaped mainly by the economic and political environment in which they took place. Organisational change is complex, changes do not follow a linear pattern, they are processual. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
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