A critical analysis of the de-peasantisation process in Nepal with specific reference to the role of state land policies since the 1950s
- Authors: Basnet, Jagat
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Land tenure -- Nepal , Land reform -- Law and legislation -- Nepal , Nepal -- Politics and government , Peasants -- Nepal -- Economic conditions , Panchayat -- Nepal
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138716 , vital:37667
- Description: The principal objective of this thesis is to offer a critical analysis of the process of de-peasantisation in Nepal since 1950, with a particular focus on the capitalist neo-liberal restructuring of the economy beginning in the early 1990s. The analysis begins by tracing the legacy of feudal land practices and landholdings from the pre-1950 Rana and Shah dynasties. It was under these feudal dynasties that economic and political institutions of extraction first emerged, leading to a landlord-peasant agrarian economy in which peasants (often as tenants/sharecroppers and smallholders) were subordinate to the power nexus between feudal landlords and the ruling dynasties. After 1950, a window of democratic opening was soon interrupted by the formation of the party-less Panchayat system, which lasted from 1960 to 1990. In 1964, a major land reform measure was enacted under the Lands Act, with the goal of enhancing the security and livelihood of the peasantry. However, this process was met with significant resistance by feudal landlords, and actually led to deepening insecurity and the loss of land by peasants, with farmers belonging to lower castes and indigenous groups experiencing this with a greater degree of intensity. The overall result of this period was the beginnings of what is referred to in this study as de-peasantisation. This line of analysis shows that the institutions of extraction remained firmly in place even after the reforms of this period. Finally, the neo-liberal period, which was marked by land titling, the marketisation of land, and the commercialisation of agriculture, represents the late entry of capitalism into Nepal. This period saw the deepening and widening of the process of de-peasantisation, including further loss of peasants’ access to land and a general turn to wage-labour. In this regard, despite propagating the slogan ‘land to the tillers’, the major political parties in Nepal (including the Maoist party) have failed to defend the interests of the peasantry. Some progressive civil society groups have recently sought to do better, but there is also evidence of peasant organisations themselves seeking to resist and oppose the de-peasantisation effects of neo-liberal restructuring. This thesis thus considers the form and extent of de-peasantisation in Nepal, and some responses to it, over an extended period. A broad Marxist-based political economy perspective has been adopted in pursuing the principal thesis objective, but one which argues that there is a symbiotic relationship between economic and political power, such that the latter is not reducible to the former. The thesis draws upon original fieldwork in twenty districts of Nepal, including through the use of a survey, interviews, observations, case studies, and focus group discussions, thus combining both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Based on this fieldwork, it becomes clear that (i) there are major social, economic, and political forces behind the processes of de-peasantisation in the studied districts (and in Nepal more broadly), and that (ii) the Nepali peasantry is becoming increasingly landless, or land-short, and subject to processes of proletarianisation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Basnet, Jagat
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Land tenure -- Nepal , Land reform -- Law and legislation -- Nepal , Nepal -- Politics and government , Peasants -- Nepal -- Economic conditions , Panchayat -- Nepal
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138716 , vital:37667
- Description: The principal objective of this thesis is to offer a critical analysis of the process of de-peasantisation in Nepal since 1950, with a particular focus on the capitalist neo-liberal restructuring of the economy beginning in the early 1990s. The analysis begins by tracing the legacy of feudal land practices and landholdings from the pre-1950 Rana and Shah dynasties. It was under these feudal dynasties that economic and political institutions of extraction first emerged, leading to a landlord-peasant agrarian economy in which peasants (often as tenants/sharecroppers and smallholders) were subordinate to the power nexus between feudal landlords and the ruling dynasties. After 1950, a window of democratic opening was soon interrupted by the formation of the party-less Panchayat system, which lasted from 1960 to 1990. In 1964, a major land reform measure was enacted under the Lands Act, with the goal of enhancing the security and livelihood of the peasantry. However, this process was met with significant resistance by feudal landlords, and actually led to deepening insecurity and the loss of land by peasants, with farmers belonging to lower castes and indigenous groups experiencing this with a greater degree of intensity. The overall result of this period was the beginnings of what is referred to in this study as de-peasantisation. This line of analysis shows that the institutions of extraction remained firmly in place even after the reforms of this period. Finally, the neo-liberal period, which was marked by land titling, the marketisation of land, and the commercialisation of agriculture, represents the late entry of capitalism into Nepal. This period saw the deepening and widening of the process of de-peasantisation, including further loss of peasants’ access to land and a general turn to wage-labour. In this regard, despite propagating the slogan ‘land to the tillers’, the major political parties in Nepal (including the Maoist party) have failed to defend the interests of the peasantry. Some progressive civil society groups have recently sought to do better, but there is also evidence of peasant organisations themselves seeking to resist and oppose the de-peasantisation effects of neo-liberal restructuring. This thesis thus considers the form and extent of de-peasantisation in Nepal, and some responses to it, over an extended period. A broad Marxist-based political economy perspective has been adopted in pursuing the principal thesis objective, but one which argues that there is a symbiotic relationship between economic and political power, such that the latter is not reducible to the former. The thesis draws upon original fieldwork in twenty districts of Nepal, including through the use of a survey, interviews, observations, case studies, and focus group discussions, thus combining both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Based on this fieldwork, it becomes clear that (i) there are major social, economic, and political forces behind the processes of de-peasantisation in the studied districts (and in Nepal more broadly), and that (ii) the Nepali peasantry is becoming increasingly landless, or land-short, and subject to processes of proletarianisation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
The effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on the biological control of invasive aquatic weeds in South Africa
- Authors: Baso, Nompumelelo Catherine
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Aquatic weeds -- Biological control -- South Africa , Plants -- Effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on , Atmospheric carbon dioxide -- Environmental aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140772 , vital:37917
- Description: There has been a rapid increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, from pre-industrial values of 280 ppm to more than 400 ppm currently, and this is expected to more than double by the end of the 21st century. Studies have shown that plants grown above 600 ppm tend to have an increased growth rate and invest more in carbon-based defences. This has important implications for the management of invasive alien plants, especially for the field of biological control which is mostly dependent on herbivorous insects. This is because insects reared on such plants have been shown to have reduced overall fitness. Nevertheless, most of the studies on potential changes in plant-insect interactions under elevated CO2 are based on agricultural systems, with only a limited number of these types of studies conducted on alien invasive weeds. However, climate change and invasive species are two of the most prevalent features of global environmental change. Therefore, this also warrants active research and experimental studies to better understand how these systems will be affected by future climates. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on the biological control of four invasive aquatic weeds (Azolla filiculoides, Salvinia molesta, Pistia stratiotes, and Myriophyllum aquaticum). These species are a threat to natural resources in South Africa but are currently under successful control by their biological control agents (Stenopelmus rufinasus, Cyrtobagous salviniae, Neohydronomus affinis, and Lysathia n. sp.). To achieve this, the selected plant species were grown in a three-factor experimental design in winter (CO2 X nutrients X herbivory), and another two-factorial design in summer (CO2 X herbivory). Atmospheric CO2 concentrations were set at ambient (400 ppm) or elevated (800 ppm), as per the predictions of the IPCC. As per my hypothesis, the results suggest that these species will become more challenging in future due to increased biomass production, asexual reproduction and a higher C: N ratio which is evident under high CO2 concentrations. Although the biological control agents were in some instances able to reduce this CO2 fertilisation effect, their efficacy was significantly reduced compared with the levels of control observed at ambient CO2. These results suggest that additional biological control agents and other management methods may be needed for continued control of these invasive macrophytes, both in South Africa and further afield where they are problematic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Baso, Nompumelelo Catherine
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Aquatic weeds -- Biological control -- South Africa , Plants -- Effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on , Atmospheric carbon dioxide -- Environmental aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140772 , vital:37917
- Description: There has been a rapid increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, from pre-industrial values of 280 ppm to more than 400 ppm currently, and this is expected to more than double by the end of the 21st century. Studies have shown that plants grown above 600 ppm tend to have an increased growth rate and invest more in carbon-based defences. This has important implications for the management of invasive alien plants, especially for the field of biological control which is mostly dependent on herbivorous insects. This is because insects reared on such plants have been shown to have reduced overall fitness. Nevertheless, most of the studies on potential changes in plant-insect interactions under elevated CO2 are based on agricultural systems, with only a limited number of these types of studies conducted on alien invasive weeds. However, climate change and invasive species are two of the most prevalent features of global environmental change. Therefore, this also warrants active research and experimental studies to better understand how these systems will be affected by future climates. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on the biological control of four invasive aquatic weeds (Azolla filiculoides, Salvinia molesta, Pistia stratiotes, and Myriophyllum aquaticum). These species are a threat to natural resources in South Africa but are currently under successful control by their biological control agents (Stenopelmus rufinasus, Cyrtobagous salviniae, Neohydronomus affinis, and Lysathia n. sp.). To achieve this, the selected plant species were grown in a three-factor experimental design in winter (CO2 X nutrients X herbivory), and another two-factorial design in summer (CO2 X herbivory). Atmospheric CO2 concentrations were set at ambient (400 ppm) or elevated (800 ppm), as per the predictions of the IPCC. As per my hypothesis, the results suggest that these species will become more challenging in future due to increased biomass production, asexual reproduction and a higher C: N ratio which is evident under high CO2 concentrations. Although the biological control agents were in some instances able to reduce this CO2 fertilisation effect, their efficacy was significantly reduced compared with the levels of control observed at ambient CO2. These results suggest that additional biological control agents and other management methods may be needed for continued control of these invasive macrophytes, both in South Africa and further afield where they are problematic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Identification of SANCDB compounds against G2019S and I2020T variants of leucine-rich repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) for the development of drugs against Parkinson’s Disease
- Authors: Baye, Bertha Cinthia
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Antiparkinsonian agents , Parkinson's disease -- Treatment , Protein kinases , Parkinson's disease -- Chemotherapy , Molecules -- Models
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138764 , vital:37671
- Description: Parkinson’s disease is a type of movement disorder that occurs when nerve cells in the brain stop producing dopamine. It is the second neurodegenerative disease affecting 1-2% of people above the ages of 65 years old. There is a worldwide prevalence of 7 to 10 million affected people of all cultures and race. Studies have shown that mutation that causes Parkinson’s disease result in increased kinase activity. The c.6055 G > A in exon 41 is the most prevalent LRRK2 variation which causes a substitution of glycine to serine in G2019S in the highly activated loop of its MAP kinase domain. The LRRK2 G2019S variant is the most common genetic determinant of Parkinson’s disease identified to date. This work focused on building accurate 3D models of the LRRK2 kinase domain, that were used for large-scale in silico docking against South African natural compounds from the South African Natural Compounds Database (SANCDB; https://sancdb.rubi.ru.ac.za/). Molecular docking was performed to identify compounds that formed interactions with the active site of the protein and had the lowest binding energy scores. Molecular dynamics simulations showed different movements of the protein-ligand complexes and behavioural difference of the wildtype and the variants, all three structures proved to be compact. Network analysis was done to study residue interactions, contact maps, dynamic cross correlations, average BC and average L were used to study the residue interactions and general residue contribution to the functioning of the protein..
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Baye, Bertha Cinthia
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Antiparkinsonian agents , Parkinson's disease -- Treatment , Protein kinases , Parkinson's disease -- Chemotherapy , Molecules -- Models
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138764 , vital:37671
- Description: Parkinson’s disease is a type of movement disorder that occurs when nerve cells in the brain stop producing dopamine. It is the second neurodegenerative disease affecting 1-2% of people above the ages of 65 years old. There is a worldwide prevalence of 7 to 10 million affected people of all cultures and race. Studies have shown that mutation that causes Parkinson’s disease result in increased kinase activity. The c.6055 G > A in exon 41 is the most prevalent LRRK2 variation which causes a substitution of glycine to serine in G2019S in the highly activated loop of its MAP kinase domain. The LRRK2 G2019S variant is the most common genetic determinant of Parkinson’s disease identified to date. This work focused on building accurate 3D models of the LRRK2 kinase domain, that were used for large-scale in silico docking against South African natural compounds from the South African Natural Compounds Database (SANCDB; https://sancdb.rubi.ru.ac.za/). Molecular docking was performed to identify compounds that formed interactions with the active site of the protein and had the lowest binding energy scores. Molecular dynamics simulations showed different movements of the protein-ligand complexes and behavioural difference of the wildtype and the variants, all three structures proved to be compact. Network analysis was done to study residue interactions, contact maps, dynamic cross correlations, average BC and average L were used to study the residue interactions and general residue contribution to the functioning of the protein..
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
How to do things with speeches: a critical discourse analysis of military coup texts in Nigeria
- Authors: Bello, Umar
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Speeches, addresses, etc., Nigerian -- 20th century -- History and criticism , Critical discourse analysis -- Nigeria , Corpora (Linguistics) , Social sciences -- Philosophy , Intertextuality , Interpellation -- Nigeria , Forensics (Public speaking) , Oratory -- Nigeria , Nigeria -- Politics and government -- 1960- , Nigeria -- Social conditions -- 1960-
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143336 , vital:38234
- Description: Coup speeches that usher the military into political power in Nigeria are the central focus of this thesis. There are seven coup speeches that are notable in the changing of the political course in Nigeria and in enabling the military to rule Nigeria for 30 years, establishing another alternative political construct and party (Bangura 1991). The seven coup speeches along with two others, one a colonial proclamation of conquest and the other a counter coup speech (altogether making nine) constitute the data of this thesis. The analysis done here uses Critical Discourse Analysis, based on a combination of Fairclough (1989, 2001), Fairclough and Fairclough (2012), Thompson’s (1984, 1988 and 1990) works with complementary insights by Chilton (2004), to analyze the speeches in order to understand the ideologies, perceptions and arguments of the coup makers enshrined in the texts. I also employ a concordance analytic system in corpus linguistics to sort uses of important terms and lexical items. The analysis is divided into three broad parts, namely: an analysis of representation of social actors and their action, an analysis of the processes of interpellation and then an analysis of the premises of the arguments contained in the speeches. In the concluding part, there is a discussion of the dialectical nature of the coup speeches especially in the areas of mutual influences which aids in the gradual sedimentation of the political ideology of the military. In particular, there is a longitudinal intertextual analysis across all the speeches, from the earliest to the latest, to see how a coup speech genre is created. The contribution of this work to knowledge is in terms of combining discourse analysis and social theory to illuminate some aspects of Nigeria’s socio- political crises in depth and multifariously. This work helps in understanding the nature of Nigerian autocratic democracy, subservient followership by the citizenry and the supremacy of the military elite. The work employs a novel combination of representation, argumentation, interpellation and constitutive intertextuality in understanding military discourse. It looks at speaker intention, the exploitation of interpretation or reception and the formation of subjects in general and each with its importance and social context. The work as a whole reveals that the military try to build legitimacy by way of establishing authority through rhetorical arguments in varying degrees. These arguments are laid bare, and what they discern is that charges are decidedly trumped up by the military against their opponents and constructed to suit the spin of their moments. The coup makers in some instances construct strawmen of opponents and then go ahead to attack their constructed assumptions or they charge without substance using nominalizations, metaphorical constructions and presuppositions. They apply stipulative definitions and emotionally loaded words in evaluating their actions favourably and also in the negative evaluation of the actions of the opponents. At the level of interpellational analysis, the data reveals the use of language in gradually hailing the citizens as military subjects. The role of the audience changes here i.e. from those to be convinced in rhetorical evaluation of opponents to those to be firmly controlled. The persistent hailing and positioning of the citizens as military subjects help in concretizing their subjecthood. The reaction of the people in affirmation of support to the rule of the military is crucial and it completes the interpellation process. As observed by Clark (2007, 141) “many African societies are so inured to military intervention as not to regard it as aberrant”. This inuring of the societies has to do with hegemonic ideological practices in military discourses claiming legitimacy and the right to rule. At the reception level, this shows that most of the citizens have bought into the dominant ideology and are as such interpellated by it or have adopted what Hall (2015, 125) would call the ‘dominant-hegemonic position’. Aspects of argumentation, speech acts, and deontic modals used by the coup makers help in gradually solidifying the subservient nature of the citizens to the military junta. The diachronic and intertextual nature of the analysis also reveals that the colonial proclamation of conquest in Nigeria by Lord Fredrick Lugard possibly influenced the first coup speech in 1966 in terms of structure and genre. There are traces of the colonial proclamations found in the 1966 coup speech. In substance, the military appear to copy their colonial progenitors. Historically, the military were formed as an army of colonial conquest. There is a dialectical interplay between colonial discourse and military coup speeches. The first coup speech, for its part, influences other coup speeches and they in general impact on civilian political language. The work analyzes from the minute to the global and in this bid unties the layers of assumptions, constructions and points of views that underpin an otherwise objective presentation of reality. The study also engages social theory in illuminating aspects of discourse, social practice and political action. The works of post-structuralists like Foucault, Althusser, Bourdieu, Habermas, Laclau and Mouffe, Derrida etc. are employed in shedding light on the processes of social formation in the interpellation of subjects and in the construction of a new political authority by the military regimes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bello, Umar
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Speeches, addresses, etc., Nigerian -- 20th century -- History and criticism , Critical discourse analysis -- Nigeria , Corpora (Linguistics) , Social sciences -- Philosophy , Intertextuality , Interpellation -- Nigeria , Forensics (Public speaking) , Oratory -- Nigeria , Nigeria -- Politics and government -- 1960- , Nigeria -- Social conditions -- 1960-
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143336 , vital:38234
- Description: Coup speeches that usher the military into political power in Nigeria are the central focus of this thesis. There are seven coup speeches that are notable in the changing of the political course in Nigeria and in enabling the military to rule Nigeria for 30 years, establishing another alternative political construct and party (Bangura 1991). The seven coup speeches along with two others, one a colonial proclamation of conquest and the other a counter coup speech (altogether making nine) constitute the data of this thesis. The analysis done here uses Critical Discourse Analysis, based on a combination of Fairclough (1989, 2001), Fairclough and Fairclough (2012), Thompson’s (1984, 1988 and 1990) works with complementary insights by Chilton (2004), to analyze the speeches in order to understand the ideologies, perceptions and arguments of the coup makers enshrined in the texts. I also employ a concordance analytic system in corpus linguistics to sort uses of important terms and lexical items. The analysis is divided into three broad parts, namely: an analysis of representation of social actors and their action, an analysis of the processes of interpellation and then an analysis of the premises of the arguments contained in the speeches. In the concluding part, there is a discussion of the dialectical nature of the coup speeches especially in the areas of mutual influences which aids in the gradual sedimentation of the political ideology of the military. In particular, there is a longitudinal intertextual analysis across all the speeches, from the earliest to the latest, to see how a coup speech genre is created. The contribution of this work to knowledge is in terms of combining discourse analysis and social theory to illuminate some aspects of Nigeria’s socio- political crises in depth and multifariously. This work helps in understanding the nature of Nigerian autocratic democracy, subservient followership by the citizenry and the supremacy of the military elite. The work employs a novel combination of representation, argumentation, interpellation and constitutive intertextuality in understanding military discourse. It looks at speaker intention, the exploitation of interpretation or reception and the formation of subjects in general and each with its importance and social context. The work as a whole reveals that the military try to build legitimacy by way of establishing authority through rhetorical arguments in varying degrees. These arguments are laid bare, and what they discern is that charges are decidedly trumped up by the military against their opponents and constructed to suit the spin of their moments. The coup makers in some instances construct strawmen of opponents and then go ahead to attack their constructed assumptions or they charge without substance using nominalizations, metaphorical constructions and presuppositions. They apply stipulative definitions and emotionally loaded words in evaluating their actions favourably and also in the negative evaluation of the actions of the opponents. At the level of interpellational analysis, the data reveals the use of language in gradually hailing the citizens as military subjects. The role of the audience changes here i.e. from those to be convinced in rhetorical evaluation of opponents to those to be firmly controlled. The persistent hailing and positioning of the citizens as military subjects help in concretizing their subjecthood. The reaction of the people in affirmation of support to the rule of the military is crucial and it completes the interpellation process. As observed by Clark (2007, 141) “many African societies are so inured to military intervention as not to regard it as aberrant”. This inuring of the societies has to do with hegemonic ideological practices in military discourses claiming legitimacy and the right to rule. At the reception level, this shows that most of the citizens have bought into the dominant ideology and are as such interpellated by it or have adopted what Hall (2015, 125) would call the ‘dominant-hegemonic position’. Aspects of argumentation, speech acts, and deontic modals used by the coup makers help in gradually solidifying the subservient nature of the citizens to the military junta. The diachronic and intertextual nature of the analysis also reveals that the colonial proclamation of conquest in Nigeria by Lord Fredrick Lugard possibly influenced the first coup speech in 1966 in terms of structure and genre. There are traces of the colonial proclamations found in the 1966 coup speech. In substance, the military appear to copy their colonial progenitors. Historically, the military were formed as an army of colonial conquest. There is a dialectical interplay between colonial discourse and military coup speeches. The first coup speech, for its part, influences other coup speeches and they in general impact on civilian political language. The work analyzes from the minute to the global and in this bid unties the layers of assumptions, constructions and points of views that underpin an otherwise objective presentation of reality. The study also engages social theory in illuminating aspects of discourse, social practice and political action. The works of post-structuralists like Foucault, Althusser, Bourdieu, Habermas, Laclau and Mouffe, Derrida etc. are employed in shedding light on the processes of social formation in the interpellation of subjects and in the construction of a new political authority by the military regimes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Satire in J.J. R. Jolobe's literary works : a critique in relation to contemporary South Africa
- Authors: Benayo, Xolela
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Jolobe, James J. R. , Xhosa literature -- History and criticism , Xhosa poetry -- History and criticism , Humor in literature , Xhosa literature -- Humor , Xhosa language
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/161762 , vital:40667
- Description: J.J.R. Jolobe is regarded as one of the individuals who made a valuable contribution to the development of isiXhosa literature through his works, notably in his poetry (Ilitha, Umyezo; Jolobe 1936). His poetry ranges from abstract subjects to more philosophical matters. This study is aimed at decoding the manner in which he employs satire to conscientise African people of the then horrible situation that they were facing. With that said, poetry will not be the only work that this thesis analyses in the process of evaluating Jolobe’s satire; his essays will also be examined (Amavo; Jolobe 1940). Based on the writings of various authors specialising in the subject, satire has been deemed to be a style of literary writing, one which involves invective satire. For the researcher, that statement will be rebutted, as it will be argued that the mode of satire need not be wholly invective. Jolobe’s light-hearted satire not only showcases the amusing side of his writings, but also indicates the seriousness with which they were intended. Themes covered in Jolobe’s satire have inspired the researcher to evaluate these literary texts in relation to modern contexts, especially when it comes to the relationship between the lines of the author’s experience and the public. With that said, the social role of satire is something that one cannot deny. One could therefore say that there is an urgent need for African satirists to face the existing social and economic reality as authentically as possible. The voice of a satirist should also echo the voice of their society as a whole. Satirical study in post-colonial Africa, in South Africa in particular, is useful due to the idea that the works of the likes of Jolobe may diminish in significance due to neo-colonialism. In fact, this is the point which is considered in this study of Jolobe’s satire. This study also examines stages afforded to the development of satire in Africa, especially in the post-colonial era. The purpose is to identify the effects of satire that are related to socio-political as well as religious factors. These factors are often seen as those that play a vital role is one’s personal morals, and those that are meant to shape the whole community. Jolobe addresses imperialism and the class struggle, which speaks to the society’s loyalties regarding the mobilization toward realizing the dream of being independent. This speaks to the works analysed, revealing protests against oppression and exploitation by imperialists; such works show how inhumane people could be against those who they deem to be beneath their standards. Researchers like Mahlasela (1973), Sirayi (1985), Kwetana (2000) and Khumalo (2015) are amongst those who have made it a point to study Jolobe to ensure that these works are kept alive, along with their significance. Other prospective researchers can follow suite in researching the great Jolobe. In ensuring that the aims of this study come to light, the researcher will be using socialist realism as a way of seeing that the works of Jolobe are realistic in nature. With that said, there will be an exploration of allegoric satire. Satiric allegory will be evaluated with regard to the view that it represents a unique slant on satire, whereby it deems satire to be more than just a supportive method of literary criticism. This allows the researcher to hold the view that satire should not be a restrictive framework when dealing with African literature. Satire as a modern form of criticism can be viewed as having an element of humanism, which would result in the satirist doing all he can to make sure that what is satirized is not isolated from the struggle of the community. It is for the above-mentioned reasons that we see a big challenge in the future development of satiric discourse in African literature.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Benayo, Xolela
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Jolobe, James J. R. , Xhosa literature -- History and criticism , Xhosa poetry -- History and criticism , Humor in literature , Xhosa literature -- Humor , Xhosa language
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/161762 , vital:40667
- Description: J.J.R. Jolobe is regarded as one of the individuals who made a valuable contribution to the development of isiXhosa literature through his works, notably in his poetry (Ilitha, Umyezo; Jolobe 1936). His poetry ranges from abstract subjects to more philosophical matters. This study is aimed at decoding the manner in which he employs satire to conscientise African people of the then horrible situation that they were facing. With that said, poetry will not be the only work that this thesis analyses in the process of evaluating Jolobe’s satire; his essays will also be examined (Amavo; Jolobe 1940). Based on the writings of various authors specialising in the subject, satire has been deemed to be a style of literary writing, one which involves invective satire. For the researcher, that statement will be rebutted, as it will be argued that the mode of satire need not be wholly invective. Jolobe’s light-hearted satire not only showcases the amusing side of his writings, but also indicates the seriousness with which they were intended. Themes covered in Jolobe’s satire have inspired the researcher to evaluate these literary texts in relation to modern contexts, especially when it comes to the relationship between the lines of the author’s experience and the public. With that said, the social role of satire is something that one cannot deny. One could therefore say that there is an urgent need for African satirists to face the existing social and economic reality as authentically as possible. The voice of a satirist should also echo the voice of their society as a whole. Satirical study in post-colonial Africa, in South Africa in particular, is useful due to the idea that the works of the likes of Jolobe may diminish in significance due to neo-colonialism. In fact, this is the point which is considered in this study of Jolobe’s satire. This study also examines stages afforded to the development of satire in Africa, especially in the post-colonial era. The purpose is to identify the effects of satire that are related to socio-political as well as religious factors. These factors are often seen as those that play a vital role is one’s personal morals, and those that are meant to shape the whole community. Jolobe addresses imperialism and the class struggle, which speaks to the society’s loyalties regarding the mobilization toward realizing the dream of being independent. This speaks to the works analysed, revealing protests against oppression and exploitation by imperialists; such works show how inhumane people could be against those who they deem to be beneath their standards. Researchers like Mahlasela (1973), Sirayi (1985), Kwetana (2000) and Khumalo (2015) are amongst those who have made it a point to study Jolobe to ensure that these works are kept alive, along with their significance. Other prospective researchers can follow suite in researching the great Jolobe. In ensuring that the aims of this study come to light, the researcher will be using socialist realism as a way of seeing that the works of Jolobe are realistic in nature. With that said, there will be an exploration of allegoric satire. Satiric allegory will be evaluated with regard to the view that it represents a unique slant on satire, whereby it deems satire to be more than just a supportive method of literary criticism. This allows the researcher to hold the view that satire should not be a restrictive framework when dealing with African literature. Satire as a modern form of criticism can be viewed as having an element of humanism, which would result in the satirist doing all he can to make sure that what is satirized is not isolated from the struggle of the community. It is for the above-mentioned reasons that we see a big challenge in the future development of satiric discourse in African literature.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
The workload of flight attendants during short-haul flight operations: a system analysis
- Authors: Bennett, Chloe Kayla
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Flight attendants -- Health and hygiene , Employees -- South Africa -- Workload
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123431 , vital:35437
- Description: Background and aim: Flight attendants forms a significant part in 24-hour aviation industry. Flight attendant fatigue is a significant problem in the aviation industry as it continues to jeopardize the ability to fulfil important safety and security roles which is critical in performance duty of a flight attendant. However, little attention has been accomplished to the workload, working conditions and fatigue of flight attendants crew in transport aircraft. In addition, there is currently less research that have also embraced the problematic of smaller regional/commercial operation (short-haul flight operations) inducing fatigue among short-haul flight attendants as the nature of this operation are often characterised with high productivity expectations in a demanding environment with high time pressures resulting in high workloads and fatigue. Thus, flight attendant fatigue and workload is a worldwide challenge in this operational environment and less attention has been given to the determining factors. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the workload factors contributing to flight attendant fatigue during short-haul flight operations. Methods (System analysis): To achieve the research aim, the work system analysis, based on the Smith and Carayon-Sainfort model was chosen as the main research approach which was conducted in two ways; based on existing literature and secondly based on expert interviews. This method provided a systemic aspect to understand the whole work system of flight attendants work during short-haul operations in order to identify all the contributing factors to flight attendant fatigue and workload. Results: The literature analysis and the data from the expert interviews highlighted significant findings to flight attendant fatigue and workload. The reasons for flight attendant fatigue operating short-haul flights can be found at organizational, task, individual, environmental levels and tools and technologies and due to the interaction of the factors. The main factors of flight attendants’ fatigue are thought primarily as a function of scheduling due to irregular, mixed schedules with early starts and late finishes, extended duty days (long working hours), as well as high workload, due to the short turnaround flights, the number of sectors flown in a single duty period and duty length and high jobs demands. In addition, flight duty and rest regulations, confined work space in the cabin, vibrations, noise and lighting, sleeping in an unfamiliar environment, family responsibilities all add to additional stress placed on the body which can influence workload and sleep and consequently influencing fatigue. Conclusion: Overall the study determined that flight attendant fatigue is a significant problem in modern industry of short-haul operations. Using this systematic approach (work system analysis based on the framework of the work system model developed by Smith and Carayon-Sainfort (1989) allowed for an accurate representation of the complexity of flight attendant work environment in short-haul aviation industries, thus contributed to an increased understanding of fatigue and risk factors that span the entire work system and aid in identifying the patterns in combination of work system variables that are associated with increased risk to flight attendant fatigue. Overall flight attendant fatigue is a product of interactions with the short-haul environment. It can have a negative impact on safety, performance and well-being. Therefore, it needs to be managed and dealt with in the near future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bennett, Chloe Kayla
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Flight attendants -- Health and hygiene , Employees -- South Africa -- Workload
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123431 , vital:35437
- Description: Background and aim: Flight attendants forms a significant part in 24-hour aviation industry. Flight attendant fatigue is a significant problem in the aviation industry as it continues to jeopardize the ability to fulfil important safety and security roles which is critical in performance duty of a flight attendant. However, little attention has been accomplished to the workload, working conditions and fatigue of flight attendants crew in transport aircraft. In addition, there is currently less research that have also embraced the problematic of smaller regional/commercial operation (short-haul flight operations) inducing fatigue among short-haul flight attendants as the nature of this operation are often characterised with high productivity expectations in a demanding environment with high time pressures resulting in high workloads and fatigue. Thus, flight attendant fatigue and workload is a worldwide challenge in this operational environment and less attention has been given to the determining factors. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the workload factors contributing to flight attendant fatigue during short-haul flight operations. Methods (System analysis): To achieve the research aim, the work system analysis, based on the Smith and Carayon-Sainfort model was chosen as the main research approach which was conducted in two ways; based on existing literature and secondly based on expert interviews. This method provided a systemic aspect to understand the whole work system of flight attendants work during short-haul operations in order to identify all the contributing factors to flight attendant fatigue and workload. Results: The literature analysis and the data from the expert interviews highlighted significant findings to flight attendant fatigue and workload. The reasons for flight attendant fatigue operating short-haul flights can be found at organizational, task, individual, environmental levels and tools and technologies and due to the interaction of the factors. The main factors of flight attendants’ fatigue are thought primarily as a function of scheduling due to irregular, mixed schedules with early starts and late finishes, extended duty days (long working hours), as well as high workload, due to the short turnaround flights, the number of sectors flown in a single duty period and duty length and high jobs demands. In addition, flight duty and rest regulations, confined work space in the cabin, vibrations, noise and lighting, sleeping in an unfamiliar environment, family responsibilities all add to additional stress placed on the body which can influence workload and sleep and consequently influencing fatigue. Conclusion: Overall the study determined that flight attendant fatigue is a significant problem in modern industry of short-haul operations. Using this systematic approach (work system analysis based on the framework of the work system model developed by Smith and Carayon-Sainfort (1989) allowed for an accurate representation of the complexity of flight attendant work environment in short-haul aviation industries, thus contributed to an increased understanding of fatigue and risk factors that span the entire work system and aid in identifying the patterns in combination of work system variables that are associated with increased risk to flight attendant fatigue. Overall flight attendant fatigue is a product of interactions with the short-haul environment. It can have a negative impact on safety, performance and well-being. Therefore, it needs to be managed and dealt with in the near future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
System analysis of fatigue in pilots and co-pilots executing short-hall flight operations
- Authors: Bennett, Cleo Taylor
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Air pilots -- Health and hygiene , Fatigue , Work environment -- Psychological aspects , Work environment -- Physiological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146622 , vital:38543
- Description: Background: This study was conducted as part of Denel’s South African Regional Aircraft (SARA) development project. Regional aircraft have a maximum flight time of 60 minutes. Hence, the study focuses on matters pertaining to the short-haul flight context. Pilot fatigue has been recognised as a safety concern in the aviation industry. It impacts on pilot performance across the board, not least in the short-haul context. However, the specific factors that lead to pilot fatigue in short-haul operations have not been well researched. Research Aim: To identify and examine the factors which influence pilot/co-pilot fatigue in short-haul aviation contexts. Method: Fatigue is multifaceted, and has multiple definitions and descriptions. It is acknowledged as a complex phenomenon, the development of which is dynamically influenced by various factors. Thus, a systems approach based on the work system model by Smith and Carayon-Sainfort (1989) was adopted for this study. A systems analysis was conducted in two parts: 1) a literature analysis, and 2) expert interviews. Results: Both the literature analysis and the interviews indicated that pilot fatigue in short-haul flight operations represent composite system outcomes influenced by various factors. The factors identified were structured (systematised) into categories, namely organizational factors, task-related factors, environmental factors, factors linked to technology and tools, and non-work-related factors specific to the individual pilot. An example of a task-related factor would be the performance by pilots of multiple take-offs and landings; organizational factors include work time arrangements and duty scheduling (e.g. unpredictable schedule, early starts/late finishes, number of flight sectors in a shift, extended working hours, numerous consecutive work days, standby duties, flight, duty and rest limitations (regulations and guidelines); and short turnaround periods); environmental factors might include the small pressurised cockpit environment, movement restriction, very low humidity, low air pressure, vibrations, high noise levels, low light intensity light, and inclement weather); there are many examples of how tools and technology utilized by pilots might affect their fatigue levels; and finally, pilot-specific non-work-related factors would include things like the pilot’s age, health (lifestyle), family stress, work experience and sleep environment. All of these factors were identified during the literature analysis and have a significant bearing on how fatigue could present in short-haul pilots/co-pilots. Other important fatigue-related factors revealed during the expert interviews included, organizational culture, time management, health implications of fatigue, and management of fatigue. Conclusions: Pilot fatigue is a complex and multi-factorial physiological condition. There are many interacting components which contribute to pilot fatigue in short-haul operations. These should be viewed from an integrated perspective and holistic, systems-based approaches should be taken to manage these issues, particularly in the context of short-haul operations. This would optimize pilot performance and well-being and, most importantly, improve the safety of the work environment to enhance overall operation safety. Limitations: The study does not quantify the contributions made to pilot fatigue by the various factors explored. Therefore, care needs to be taken when designing and implementing interventions based on this research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bennett, Cleo Taylor
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Air pilots -- Health and hygiene , Fatigue , Work environment -- Psychological aspects , Work environment -- Physiological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146622 , vital:38543
- Description: Background: This study was conducted as part of Denel’s South African Regional Aircraft (SARA) development project. Regional aircraft have a maximum flight time of 60 minutes. Hence, the study focuses on matters pertaining to the short-haul flight context. Pilot fatigue has been recognised as a safety concern in the aviation industry. It impacts on pilot performance across the board, not least in the short-haul context. However, the specific factors that lead to pilot fatigue in short-haul operations have not been well researched. Research Aim: To identify and examine the factors which influence pilot/co-pilot fatigue in short-haul aviation contexts. Method: Fatigue is multifaceted, and has multiple definitions and descriptions. It is acknowledged as a complex phenomenon, the development of which is dynamically influenced by various factors. Thus, a systems approach based on the work system model by Smith and Carayon-Sainfort (1989) was adopted for this study. A systems analysis was conducted in two parts: 1) a literature analysis, and 2) expert interviews. Results: Both the literature analysis and the interviews indicated that pilot fatigue in short-haul flight operations represent composite system outcomes influenced by various factors. The factors identified were structured (systematised) into categories, namely organizational factors, task-related factors, environmental factors, factors linked to technology and tools, and non-work-related factors specific to the individual pilot. An example of a task-related factor would be the performance by pilots of multiple take-offs and landings; organizational factors include work time arrangements and duty scheduling (e.g. unpredictable schedule, early starts/late finishes, number of flight sectors in a shift, extended working hours, numerous consecutive work days, standby duties, flight, duty and rest limitations (regulations and guidelines); and short turnaround periods); environmental factors might include the small pressurised cockpit environment, movement restriction, very low humidity, low air pressure, vibrations, high noise levels, low light intensity light, and inclement weather); there are many examples of how tools and technology utilized by pilots might affect their fatigue levels; and finally, pilot-specific non-work-related factors would include things like the pilot’s age, health (lifestyle), family stress, work experience and sleep environment. All of these factors were identified during the literature analysis and have a significant bearing on how fatigue could present in short-haul pilots/co-pilots. Other important fatigue-related factors revealed during the expert interviews included, organizational culture, time management, health implications of fatigue, and management of fatigue. Conclusions: Pilot fatigue is a complex and multi-factorial physiological condition. There are many interacting components which contribute to pilot fatigue in short-haul operations. These should be viewed from an integrated perspective and holistic, systems-based approaches should be taken to manage these issues, particularly in the context of short-haul operations. This would optimize pilot performance and well-being and, most importantly, improve the safety of the work environment to enhance overall operation safety. Limitations: The study does not quantify the contributions made to pilot fatigue by the various factors explored. Therefore, care needs to be taken when designing and implementing interventions based on this research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
A q-metholological approach to audience reception of public awareness messages on sexual violence
- Authors: Bennie, Rachel
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Psychology -- Research -- Methodology , Psychology -- Research , Communication in social action -- South Africa , Psychology -- Research -- South Africa , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140805 , vital:37920
- Description: Public awareness poster campaigns are an often-used method for raising awareness about, and engaging audiences on the topic of rape and other forms of sexual violence (Potter, 2012). However, poster campaigns, as social artefacts, operate in a public arena in which numerous discourses about a phenomenon are produced, reproduced and interact with each other, with sometimes unintended/unanticipated discursive consequences (Böhmke, Bennie, Minnie, Moore, Pilusa & Pollock, 2015). How messages aimed at raising awareness of sexual violence are framed has the potential to reproduce dominant social narratives and gendered subject positions in ways that reinforce notions of men as active sexual agents and potential perpetrators, and women as sexually passive and potential victims (Gavey, 2005). Other approaches, such as bystander intervention, seek to move away from a focus on victims and perpetrators to emphasise the role that community members can play in risk detection, safety promotion and the prevention of sexual violence (McMahon & Banyard, 2012). Since a range of possible messages about sexual violence can be communicated through poster campaigns, it is important to critically examine the content and orientation of campaign material. This study focused on intended audience views regarding messages about sexual violence contained in anti-sexual violence poster materials. The purpose was to collaborate with a selected audience to better understand which messages are effective and which strategies of communication are perceived to be less so. Through the use of Q-methodology, volunteer participants were invited to express their opinions in relation to messages about sexual violence from a range of posters from several international campaigns. The analysis focused on uncovering the discursive subject positions that participants’ express in their attitudinal responses to the poster messages, providing not only a description of these positions, but also illustrating the level of resonance that the poster messages may find with intended audiences. The aim of the study is to potentially inform the development of more focused campaign material, tailored to the specific context from which participants were drawn. Analysis shows clear patterns of audience resistance towards stereotypical representations of sexual violence and messages that are geared towards the simple prohibition of behaviours. The findings highlight the need for the development of alternative strategies of engagement that focus on specific engagement with understandings of sexual violence in the context of intimate and/or acquaintance relationships and which are aimed at inviting audiences to take up a position in relation to sexual violence phenomena that troubles the reproduction of received notions of gendered subjectivities and (hetero) sexuality
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bennie, Rachel
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Psychology -- Research -- Methodology , Psychology -- Research , Communication in social action -- South Africa , Psychology -- Research -- South Africa , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140805 , vital:37920
- Description: Public awareness poster campaigns are an often-used method for raising awareness about, and engaging audiences on the topic of rape and other forms of sexual violence (Potter, 2012). However, poster campaigns, as social artefacts, operate in a public arena in which numerous discourses about a phenomenon are produced, reproduced and interact with each other, with sometimes unintended/unanticipated discursive consequences (Böhmke, Bennie, Minnie, Moore, Pilusa & Pollock, 2015). How messages aimed at raising awareness of sexual violence are framed has the potential to reproduce dominant social narratives and gendered subject positions in ways that reinforce notions of men as active sexual agents and potential perpetrators, and women as sexually passive and potential victims (Gavey, 2005). Other approaches, such as bystander intervention, seek to move away from a focus on victims and perpetrators to emphasise the role that community members can play in risk detection, safety promotion and the prevention of sexual violence (McMahon & Banyard, 2012). Since a range of possible messages about sexual violence can be communicated through poster campaigns, it is important to critically examine the content and orientation of campaign material. This study focused on intended audience views regarding messages about sexual violence contained in anti-sexual violence poster materials. The purpose was to collaborate with a selected audience to better understand which messages are effective and which strategies of communication are perceived to be less so. Through the use of Q-methodology, volunteer participants were invited to express their opinions in relation to messages about sexual violence from a range of posters from several international campaigns. The analysis focused on uncovering the discursive subject positions that participants’ express in their attitudinal responses to the poster messages, providing not only a description of these positions, but also illustrating the level of resonance that the poster messages may find with intended audiences. The aim of the study is to potentially inform the development of more focused campaign material, tailored to the specific context from which participants were drawn. Analysis shows clear patterns of audience resistance towards stereotypical representations of sexual violence and messages that are geared towards the simple prohibition of behaviours. The findings highlight the need for the development of alternative strategies of engagement that focus on specific engagement with understandings of sexual violence in the context of intimate and/or acquaintance relationships and which are aimed at inviting audiences to take up a position in relation to sexual violence phenomena that troubles the reproduction of received notions of gendered subjectivities and (hetero) sexuality
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
History on trial: a study of the Salem commonage land claim
- Authors: Bezuidenhout, GJW
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South Africa. Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 , Salem (South Africa) -- History , Land tenure -- Law and legilstion -- South Africa , Land reform -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146647 , vital:38545
- Description: This thesis critically examines the Salem commonage claim, a dispute that has shaken the hamlet of Salem to its core. On ground level it has caused racialized fault lines to reopen, while suspicion and distrust has also grown between the black Africans of the area as well. On a national level, the Constitutional Court judgement has potentially set a precedent with regards to its jurisprudential approach in determining the validity of land claims in South Africa. Its interpretation of the law was determined by the restorative justice jurisprudence enshrined in the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 (the Act). It based its own understanding of the history of the commonage on this jurisprudence. In a bold step towards realising the aims and purposes of the Act, the Constitutional Court found that both the black African claimants as well as the white landowners have equal rights to the land. One of the reasons why the decision of the Constitutional Court is ground-breaking is that the dispute involves a former commonage – land used for common purpose. The Constitutional Court emphasised that the Act was an “extraordinary piece of legislation” and had to be interpreted in such a way so as to address the injustices of the past. This included provisions of the Act which dealt with how oral testimonies from claimants would be dealt with. Another interesting feature was the heavy reliance by all parties on expert witnesses in the persons of eminent historians, Professors Martin Legassick and Herman Giliomee. This case gave much-needed clarification as to what the appropriate role of an expert historian witness may be in a land claim. The success or failure of land claims often depend on the weight of the evidence supplied by the expert historian witness. But the historian must also take cognisance of the fact that the evidence s/he gives is appropriate according to the scope of law. This case also dismisses the assumption that colonial instruments of land assignation are beyond reproach. These instruments which grant rights to land may also be scrutinised in a court of law, just like when oral testimony is tested for its credibility. This is important to note, especially when balancing land rights of the claimants against those of the landowners. This thesis agrees with the decision taken by the Constitutional Court in this instance. However, it also cautions that such softly-softly approaches may appear as a suitable compromise on paper, but the feeling on the ground may not be as receptive to reconciliation as what the courts would have hoped for. To the jurist, this judgement accurately encapsulates the purpose and aims of the Act. However, such a judgement may not seem satisfactory to the people of Salem. The decisions of the Salem commonage case are sure to inform the discourse of land claims in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bezuidenhout, GJW
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South Africa. Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 , Salem (South Africa) -- History , Land tenure -- Law and legilstion -- South Africa , Land reform -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146647 , vital:38545
- Description: This thesis critically examines the Salem commonage claim, a dispute that has shaken the hamlet of Salem to its core. On ground level it has caused racialized fault lines to reopen, while suspicion and distrust has also grown between the black Africans of the area as well. On a national level, the Constitutional Court judgement has potentially set a precedent with regards to its jurisprudential approach in determining the validity of land claims in South Africa. Its interpretation of the law was determined by the restorative justice jurisprudence enshrined in the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 (the Act). It based its own understanding of the history of the commonage on this jurisprudence. In a bold step towards realising the aims and purposes of the Act, the Constitutional Court found that both the black African claimants as well as the white landowners have equal rights to the land. One of the reasons why the decision of the Constitutional Court is ground-breaking is that the dispute involves a former commonage – land used for common purpose. The Constitutional Court emphasised that the Act was an “extraordinary piece of legislation” and had to be interpreted in such a way so as to address the injustices of the past. This included provisions of the Act which dealt with how oral testimonies from claimants would be dealt with. Another interesting feature was the heavy reliance by all parties on expert witnesses in the persons of eminent historians, Professors Martin Legassick and Herman Giliomee. This case gave much-needed clarification as to what the appropriate role of an expert historian witness may be in a land claim. The success or failure of land claims often depend on the weight of the evidence supplied by the expert historian witness. But the historian must also take cognisance of the fact that the evidence s/he gives is appropriate according to the scope of law. This case also dismisses the assumption that colonial instruments of land assignation are beyond reproach. These instruments which grant rights to land may also be scrutinised in a court of law, just like when oral testimony is tested for its credibility. This is important to note, especially when balancing land rights of the claimants against those of the landowners. This thesis agrees with the decision taken by the Constitutional Court in this instance. However, it also cautions that such softly-softly approaches may appear as a suitable compromise on paper, but the feeling on the ground may not be as receptive to reconciliation as what the courts would have hoped for. To the jurist, this judgement accurately encapsulates the purpose and aims of the Act. However, such a judgement may not seem satisfactory to the people of Salem. The decisions of the Salem commonage case are sure to inform the discourse of land claims in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Passphrase and keystroke dynamics authentication: security and usability
- Authors: Bhana, Bhaveer
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Computer security -- Management , Computers -- Access control -- Codewords , Computers -- Access control -- Keystroke timing authentication , Entropy (Information theory)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146663 , vital:38546
- Description: It was found that employees spend a total 2.25 days within a 60 day period on password related activities. Another study found that over 85 days an average user will create 25 accounts with an average of 6.5 unique passwords. These numbers are expected to increase over time as more systems become available. In addition, the use of 6.5 unique passwords highlight that passwords are being reused which creates security concerns as multiple systems will be accessible by an unauthorised party if one of these passwords is leaked. Current user authentication solutions either increase security or usability. When security increases, usability decreases, or vice versa. To add to this, stringent security protocols encourage unsecure behaviours by the user such as writing the password down on a piece of paper to remember it. It was found that passphrases require less cognitive effort than passwords and because passphrases are stronger than passwords, they don’t need to be changed as frequently as passwords. This study aimed to assess a two-tier user authentication solution that increases security and usability. The proposed solution uses passphrases in conjunction with keystroke dynamics to address this research problem. The design science research approach was used to guide this study. The study’s theoretical foundation includes three theories. The Shannon entropy formula was used to calculate the strength of passwords, passphrases and keystroke dynamics. The chunking theory assisted in assessing password and passphrase memorisation issues and the keystroke-level model was used to assess password and passphrase typing issues. Two primary data collection methods were used to evaluate the findings and to ensure that gaps in the research were filled. A login assessment experiment collected data on user authentication and user-system interaction for passwords and passphrases. Plus, an expert review was conducted to verify findings and assess the research artefact in the form of a model. The model can be used to assist with the implementation of a two-tier user authentication solution which involves passphrases and keystroke dynamics. There are a number of components that need to be considered to realise the benefits of this solution and ensure successful implementation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bhana, Bhaveer
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Computer security -- Management , Computers -- Access control -- Codewords , Computers -- Access control -- Keystroke timing authentication , Entropy (Information theory)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146663 , vital:38546
- Description: It was found that employees spend a total 2.25 days within a 60 day period on password related activities. Another study found that over 85 days an average user will create 25 accounts with an average of 6.5 unique passwords. These numbers are expected to increase over time as more systems become available. In addition, the use of 6.5 unique passwords highlight that passwords are being reused which creates security concerns as multiple systems will be accessible by an unauthorised party if one of these passwords is leaked. Current user authentication solutions either increase security or usability. When security increases, usability decreases, or vice versa. To add to this, stringent security protocols encourage unsecure behaviours by the user such as writing the password down on a piece of paper to remember it. It was found that passphrases require less cognitive effort than passwords and because passphrases are stronger than passwords, they don’t need to be changed as frequently as passwords. This study aimed to assess a two-tier user authentication solution that increases security and usability. The proposed solution uses passphrases in conjunction with keystroke dynamics to address this research problem. The design science research approach was used to guide this study. The study’s theoretical foundation includes three theories. The Shannon entropy formula was used to calculate the strength of passwords, passphrases and keystroke dynamics. The chunking theory assisted in assessing password and passphrase memorisation issues and the keystroke-level model was used to assess password and passphrase typing issues. Two primary data collection methods were used to evaluate the findings and to ensure that gaps in the research were filled. A login assessment experiment collected data on user authentication and user-system interaction for passwords and passphrases. Plus, an expert review was conducted to verify findings and assess the research artefact in the form of a model. The model can be used to assist with the implementation of a two-tier user authentication solution which involves passphrases and keystroke dynamics. There are a number of components that need to be considered to realise the benefits of this solution and ensure successful implementation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
An analysis of indicators disclosed in the integrated annual reports of selected South African retailers
- Authors: Blignaut, Anna Cornelia
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Financial statements -- South Africa -- Case studies , Retail trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140859 , vital:37924
- Description: This study aimed to analyse the indicators disclosed in the Integrated Annual Reports (IARs) of selected South African retailers. This was firstly done by identifying the six capital and governance indicators retailers report on in order to analyse the commonalities and differences between them, secondly by identifying and assessing evidence of integrated thinking and lastly by making recommendations for optimal retail sector reporting. IARs from Pick n Pay Stores Ltd, Shoprite Holdings Ltd, Spar Group Ltd and Woolworths Holdings Ltd were analysed using content analysis. The results found noteworthy differences in IAR composition in terms of report length and the sections retailers devoted more or less of their report to. Governance and Remuneration indicator disclosure did not allow for broad comparison among all four retailers. In terms of indicator disclosure few indicators were disclosed by all retailers, whilst many were only disclosed by one retailer. Disclosures related to all six capitals were found, yet some indicators were disclosed excessively. Paradoxically, insufficient disclosure of indicators that are easily measurable and low levels of negative or unfavourable indicator disclosure was also apparent in this study. The comparability of indicators was influenced by the aggregation and disaggregation of indicators as well as the lack of consistency in the terminology used in IARs. Indicator disclosure also revealed several trends in the South African retail industry. This research identified the following six themes related to integrated thinking in the sample IARs. Retailers understand the connection between capitals, express consideration for multiple stakeholders and appreciate the context in which they operate, to some extent. Retailers were also found to have different interpretations of sustainability as part of their strategy and risk management whilst the completeness and consistency of information disclosed and retailers’ conceptualisation of value-added in IAR has not yet developed to the same extent across the retail industry. This study finally makes recommendations that may be used for optimal retail sector reporting with regards to the integrated reporting process as well as the integrated report itself. Addressing the former it is recommended that: integrated reporting be viewed as a means to build an internal understanding of their sustainability practices; integrated thinking be included as part of their strategic planning process; all capitals be considered in decision making; communication be established with others in the retail industry and that retailers engage with the IIRC on integrated reporting issues. In terms of the IAR itself, it is recommended that retailers ensure consistency in the terminology used and that the disaggregation of indicators is done in a consistent way. Retailers should include a balance of positive and negative disclosures as well as context-based indicators and seek assurance of the social, environmental and ethical information in their IARs. Finally, retailers need to set measurable sustainability performance targets and link them to specific performance indicators. The results of this study are not without limitations. The identification and categorisation of an indicator was largely based on the researcher’s own judgement in the content analysis process and can be highlighted as the main limitation of this research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Blignaut, Anna Cornelia
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Financial statements -- South Africa -- Case studies , Retail trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140859 , vital:37924
- Description: This study aimed to analyse the indicators disclosed in the Integrated Annual Reports (IARs) of selected South African retailers. This was firstly done by identifying the six capital and governance indicators retailers report on in order to analyse the commonalities and differences between them, secondly by identifying and assessing evidence of integrated thinking and lastly by making recommendations for optimal retail sector reporting. IARs from Pick n Pay Stores Ltd, Shoprite Holdings Ltd, Spar Group Ltd and Woolworths Holdings Ltd were analysed using content analysis. The results found noteworthy differences in IAR composition in terms of report length and the sections retailers devoted more or less of their report to. Governance and Remuneration indicator disclosure did not allow for broad comparison among all four retailers. In terms of indicator disclosure few indicators were disclosed by all retailers, whilst many were only disclosed by one retailer. Disclosures related to all six capitals were found, yet some indicators were disclosed excessively. Paradoxically, insufficient disclosure of indicators that are easily measurable and low levels of negative or unfavourable indicator disclosure was also apparent in this study. The comparability of indicators was influenced by the aggregation and disaggregation of indicators as well as the lack of consistency in the terminology used in IARs. Indicator disclosure also revealed several trends in the South African retail industry. This research identified the following six themes related to integrated thinking in the sample IARs. Retailers understand the connection between capitals, express consideration for multiple stakeholders and appreciate the context in which they operate, to some extent. Retailers were also found to have different interpretations of sustainability as part of their strategy and risk management whilst the completeness and consistency of information disclosed and retailers’ conceptualisation of value-added in IAR has not yet developed to the same extent across the retail industry. This study finally makes recommendations that may be used for optimal retail sector reporting with regards to the integrated reporting process as well as the integrated report itself. Addressing the former it is recommended that: integrated reporting be viewed as a means to build an internal understanding of their sustainability practices; integrated thinking be included as part of their strategic planning process; all capitals be considered in decision making; communication be established with others in the retail industry and that retailers engage with the IIRC on integrated reporting issues. In terms of the IAR itself, it is recommended that retailers ensure consistency in the terminology used and that the disaggregation of indicators is done in a consistent way. Retailers should include a balance of positive and negative disclosures as well as context-based indicators and seek assurance of the social, environmental and ethical information in their IARs. Finally, retailers need to set measurable sustainability performance targets and link them to specific performance indicators. The results of this study are not without limitations. The identification and categorisation of an indicator was largely based on the researcher’s own judgement in the content analysis process and can be highlighted as the main limitation of this research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Decent work and informal employment: the case of Bulawayo Metropolitan Province (Central Business District) Zimbabwe
- Authors: Bob, Shaka Keny
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Labor -- Zimbabwe , Informal sector (Economics) -- Zimbabwe , Job creation -- Zimbabwe , Poor -- Zimbabwe -- Employment , Labor policy -- Zimbabwe , Football coaches -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115241 , vital:34104
- Description: Zimbabwe, similar to other developing countries experiences a high level of informal employment. However, most informal jobs are situated in very poor working conditions and are characterised by decent work deficits. Despite the fact that various studies have shown the importance of the informal economy in that it provides livelihood earning opportunities for the majority of people in the Global South, it has remained a largely forgotten sector in policy making in most countries. It is, therefore, important that informal work be taken seriously and efforts must be made to improve working conditions for the urban working poor in the developing world. The purpose of this study is to investigate on the self-reported experiences of informal workers to understand their perspectives surrounding the concept of decent work in the Zimbabwean context. The case study is the Bulawayo metropolitan province, and this study targeted informal workers who trade within the central business district. The study also aimed to measure the decent work deficit scores between two economic sectors (food and clothing traders). This was done by testing the suitability of the Edward Webster Decent Work Deficit Index as a methodology of measuring decent work at a micro level. The analysis is based on a mixed methods study which was carried out through the use of a semi-structured survey. The study revealed that decent work for the sampled informal workers meant work related improvements, insurances and risk management, right of expression and business advancement skills which closely resembles the International Labour Organisation's conceptualisation of decent work. The study also highlighted that childcare assistance and disability insurance are concepts which remained excluded in the current conceptualisation of decent work. The thesis offers a new policy angle which shows that to promote decent work the concept of heterogeneity must be adopted because inequalities persist within the informal economy. The study also suggested that the Edward Webster Decent Work Deficit Index can be used as an appropriate methodology of monitoring the progress towards achieving decent work at the micro level i.e. industry or individual level. This is because since the formation of the decent work concept; the International Labour Organisation has only provided a methodology of how to measure the progress of decent work at the county level. The survey findings revealed that food vendors scored more poorly on the decent work deficit index compared to the clothing traders. The study also identified that food vendors and clothing traders are faced with different challenges which suggests that policy makers must take that into consideration when attempting to design policies or programmes which are aimed at assisting informal workers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bob, Shaka Keny
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Labor -- Zimbabwe , Informal sector (Economics) -- Zimbabwe , Job creation -- Zimbabwe , Poor -- Zimbabwe -- Employment , Labor policy -- Zimbabwe , Football coaches -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115241 , vital:34104
- Description: Zimbabwe, similar to other developing countries experiences a high level of informal employment. However, most informal jobs are situated in very poor working conditions and are characterised by decent work deficits. Despite the fact that various studies have shown the importance of the informal economy in that it provides livelihood earning opportunities for the majority of people in the Global South, it has remained a largely forgotten sector in policy making in most countries. It is, therefore, important that informal work be taken seriously and efforts must be made to improve working conditions for the urban working poor in the developing world. The purpose of this study is to investigate on the self-reported experiences of informal workers to understand their perspectives surrounding the concept of decent work in the Zimbabwean context. The case study is the Bulawayo metropolitan province, and this study targeted informal workers who trade within the central business district. The study also aimed to measure the decent work deficit scores between two economic sectors (food and clothing traders). This was done by testing the suitability of the Edward Webster Decent Work Deficit Index as a methodology of measuring decent work at a micro level. The analysis is based on a mixed methods study which was carried out through the use of a semi-structured survey. The study revealed that decent work for the sampled informal workers meant work related improvements, insurances and risk management, right of expression and business advancement skills which closely resembles the International Labour Organisation's conceptualisation of decent work. The study also highlighted that childcare assistance and disability insurance are concepts which remained excluded in the current conceptualisation of decent work. The thesis offers a new policy angle which shows that to promote decent work the concept of heterogeneity must be adopted because inequalities persist within the informal economy. The study also suggested that the Edward Webster Decent Work Deficit Index can be used as an appropriate methodology of monitoring the progress towards achieving decent work at the micro level i.e. industry or individual level. This is because since the formation of the decent work concept; the International Labour Organisation has only provided a methodology of how to measure the progress of decent work at the county level. The survey findings revealed that food vendors scored more poorly on the decent work deficit index compared to the clothing traders. The study also identified that food vendors and clothing traders are faced with different challenges which suggests that policy makers must take that into consideration when attempting to design policies or programmes which are aimed at assisting informal workers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Synthesis and in vitro biological evaluation of 2,3-substituted quinoline derivatives
- Bokosi, Fostino Raphael Bentry
- Authors: Bokosi, Fostino Raphael Bentry
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Quinoline , Malaria Chemotherapy , Tuberculosis Chemotherapy , African trypanosomiasis Chemotherapy
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163193 , vital:41017
- Description: The urgent need for new systemic pharmacological entities prompted us to report a library of 2,3-substituted quinoline derivatives. Considering the ubiquity of quinoline-containing compounds in pharmacologically active small molecules, synthesized 2,3-substituted quinoline derivatives were in vitro biologically evaluated for their potential antitubercular, antimalarial and antitrypanosomal activities. Quinoline scaffold was achieved by the Vilsmeier-Haack methodology, affording synthetically useful chloro and formyl substituents on C-2 and C-3 respectively. These two substituents acted as handles in expanding the chemical space around the quinoline ring. Target compounds were synthesized in six to seven steps, employing conventional synthetic organic protocols adapted from various literature. The final compounds were accessed in moderate to good yields. The structural identity of each compound was confirmed by common spectroscopic techniques. Aryl quinoline carboxamide derivatives 3.113 – 3.126 were isolated as rotamers, hence, Variable-Temperature Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (VT-NMR) was employed in resolving 1H splitting. At elevated temperature (~328 K); N-methylene carbons were not visible on 13C NMR due to signal line broadening effects. The presence of these nuclei in such cases was, however, supported by 2-dimensional NMR and high-resolution MS data. Most of the compounds achieved in this study displayed promising antimalarial activity against chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum compared to antitrypanosomal activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei 427 strain. In particular, compounds 3.80 and 3.108 showed superior activity against chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 P. falciparum strain with IC50 values < 1 μM. More importantly, most of the compounds were non-toxic as determined by HeLa cells, indicating their selectivity towards the parasites. Exploring the space provided on the quinoline scaffold revealed that methoxy incorporation on C-2 is very critical in enhancing antimalarial activity of this class of quinoline compounds. The preliminary SAR of compounds 3.57 – 3.72 showed that compounds containing the 3-cinnamate exhibited enhanced antimalarial activity compared to 2 and 4-cinnamates. Finally, benzamide compounds 3.113 − 3.126 showed poor activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain with only compounds 3.113, 3.117 – 3.120 and 3.126 showing appreciable MIC90 values in the range of 40 – 85 μM. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Chemistry, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bokosi, Fostino Raphael Bentry
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Quinoline , Malaria Chemotherapy , Tuberculosis Chemotherapy , African trypanosomiasis Chemotherapy
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163193 , vital:41017
- Description: The urgent need for new systemic pharmacological entities prompted us to report a library of 2,3-substituted quinoline derivatives. Considering the ubiquity of quinoline-containing compounds in pharmacologically active small molecules, synthesized 2,3-substituted quinoline derivatives were in vitro biologically evaluated for their potential antitubercular, antimalarial and antitrypanosomal activities. Quinoline scaffold was achieved by the Vilsmeier-Haack methodology, affording synthetically useful chloro and formyl substituents on C-2 and C-3 respectively. These two substituents acted as handles in expanding the chemical space around the quinoline ring. Target compounds were synthesized in six to seven steps, employing conventional synthetic organic protocols adapted from various literature. The final compounds were accessed in moderate to good yields. The structural identity of each compound was confirmed by common spectroscopic techniques. Aryl quinoline carboxamide derivatives 3.113 – 3.126 were isolated as rotamers, hence, Variable-Temperature Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (VT-NMR) was employed in resolving 1H splitting. At elevated temperature (~328 K); N-methylene carbons were not visible on 13C NMR due to signal line broadening effects. The presence of these nuclei in such cases was, however, supported by 2-dimensional NMR and high-resolution MS data. Most of the compounds achieved in this study displayed promising antimalarial activity against chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum compared to antitrypanosomal activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei 427 strain. In particular, compounds 3.80 and 3.108 showed superior activity against chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 P. falciparum strain with IC50 values < 1 μM. More importantly, most of the compounds were non-toxic as determined by HeLa cells, indicating their selectivity towards the parasites. Exploring the space provided on the quinoline scaffold revealed that methoxy incorporation on C-2 is very critical in enhancing antimalarial activity of this class of quinoline compounds. The preliminary SAR of compounds 3.57 – 3.72 showed that compounds containing the 3-cinnamate exhibited enhanced antimalarial activity compared to 2 and 4-cinnamates. Finally, benzamide compounds 3.113 − 3.126 showed poor activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain with only compounds 3.113, 3.117 – 3.120 and 3.126 showing appreciable MIC90 values in the range of 40 – 85 μM. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Chemistry, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Making sense of a scam: MMM Mutual Fund participants in Kagiso negotiate dissenting mainstream new coverage on social media
- Authors: Boqo, Bella Makhulu
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Ponzi schemes -- South Africa , Fraud -- South Africa , Social media -- Influence -- South Africa , Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox -- In mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145771 , vital:38465
- Description: Pyramid, Ponzi and various fraudulent investment schemes are common feature in post-apartheid South Africa. The record levels of participation have generated much discussion in public discourse. Newspapers often abound with reports of participants who’ve lost large sums of money – in many instances their life savings. While on social media, thousands debate the merits and threats of new ventures as they emerge, in some instances using these platforms as the newest recruitment platforms. The sheer size and frequency of their appearance especially in post-revolutionary societies – those which experienced dramatic structural transformation following the end of the Cold War and growth of a neoliberal market economy – has drawn substantive scholarly attention. Much like media reports, however, this research often points to the morality of such practices, asking questions like what factors lead people to make the apparently irrational decision to participate in a scam? This study, however, contributes to a different body of emerging literature concerned with the larger structural contexts in which such forms of economic practice and organisation exist, and the meanings participants make of their involvement. Looking at the recently high profile of case of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), it employs a qualitative research methodology rooted in cultural studies to examine how participants based in the Johannesburg township of Kagiso used social media, specifically WhatsApp, to make sense of and contest the dissenting mainstream news coverage about MMM. Ultimately, it is a question of how their participation in particularly illegal pyramid or Ponzi type schemes and opposition to traditional news reports are rooted in their lived experiences, and what opportunities social media offer as alternate platforms for meaning-making, deliberation and public contestation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Boqo, Bella Makhulu
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Ponzi schemes -- South Africa , Fraud -- South Africa , Social media -- Influence -- South Africa , Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox -- In mass media
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145771 , vital:38465
- Description: Pyramid, Ponzi and various fraudulent investment schemes are common feature in post-apartheid South Africa. The record levels of participation have generated much discussion in public discourse. Newspapers often abound with reports of participants who’ve lost large sums of money – in many instances their life savings. While on social media, thousands debate the merits and threats of new ventures as they emerge, in some instances using these platforms as the newest recruitment platforms. The sheer size and frequency of their appearance especially in post-revolutionary societies – those which experienced dramatic structural transformation following the end of the Cold War and growth of a neoliberal market economy – has drawn substantive scholarly attention. Much like media reports, however, this research often points to the morality of such practices, asking questions like what factors lead people to make the apparently irrational decision to participate in a scam? This study, however, contributes to a different body of emerging literature concerned with the larger structural contexts in which such forms of economic practice and organisation exist, and the meanings participants make of their involvement. Looking at the recently high profile of case of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), it employs a qualitative research methodology rooted in cultural studies to examine how participants based in the Johannesburg township of Kagiso used social media, specifically WhatsApp, to make sense of and contest the dissenting mainstream news coverage about MMM. Ultimately, it is a question of how their participation in particularly illegal pyramid or Ponzi type schemes and opposition to traditional news reports are rooted in their lived experiences, and what opportunities social media offer as alternate platforms for meaning-making, deliberation and public contestation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Between nationalism and transnationalism: entanglements of history, individual narrative, and memory in diaspora spaces in selected transnational fiction
- Authors: Bosman, Sean James
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Literature and transnationalism , Gurnah, Abdulrazak, 1948- , Gurnah, Abdulrazak, 1948- -- By the sea , Gurnah, Abdulrazak, 1948- -- Gravel heart , Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971- , Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971- -- The sympathizer , Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971- -- The refugees , Urrea, Luis Alberto , Urrea, Luis Alberto -- The house of broken angels , Urrea, Luis Alberto -- The water museum
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140932 , vital:37930
- Description: This thesis offers close readings and a comparative analysis of selected works by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Luis Alberto Urrea. The selected primary texts used are Gurnah’s By the Sea (2000) and Gravel Heart (2017), Nguyen’s The Sympathizer (2015) and The Refugees (2017), and Urrea’s The Water Museum (2015) and The House of Broken Angels (2018). Analyses are informed by a conceptual framework that draws on critical works by Avtar Brah, J. U. Jacobs, Sarah Nuttall, Homi K. Bhabha, Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, Paul Ricoeur, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Christopher B. Patterson. These theories are deployed to analyse how the selected works engage with the entanglements of history, individual narratives, and memory in the diaspora spaces they articulate. The thesis argues that the selected works indicate an emerging subgenre within the broader category of transnational literature. This subgenre rejects disempowering interpolations of transnational identities. Instead, it prioritises ethical forms of memory. These acknowledge that transnational subjects share at least partial accountability for the precarity they experience in diaspora spaces. The selected literature limns how this may be accomplished by rejecting the label of victim. In so doing, the selected literature also suggests that the elevation of transnationals to full ethical agency would enable them to exercise power in their diaspora spaces. All three authorial projects studied here also give rise to uncomfortable juxtapositions that suggest a mounting fear that, as nationalisms become more pronounced in the UK and the USA, transnationals may have to re-experience conditions from which they have already fled. The thesis concludes by identifying four additional areas of confluence amongst the selected literature worthy of future study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bosman, Sean James
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Literature and transnationalism , Gurnah, Abdulrazak, 1948- , Gurnah, Abdulrazak, 1948- -- By the sea , Gurnah, Abdulrazak, 1948- -- Gravel heart , Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971- , Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971- -- The sympathizer , Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971- -- The refugees , Urrea, Luis Alberto , Urrea, Luis Alberto -- The house of broken angels , Urrea, Luis Alberto -- The water museum
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140932 , vital:37930
- Description: This thesis offers close readings and a comparative analysis of selected works by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Luis Alberto Urrea. The selected primary texts used are Gurnah’s By the Sea (2000) and Gravel Heart (2017), Nguyen’s The Sympathizer (2015) and The Refugees (2017), and Urrea’s The Water Museum (2015) and The House of Broken Angels (2018). Analyses are informed by a conceptual framework that draws on critical works by Avtar Brah, J. U. Jacobs, Sarah Nuttall, Homi K. Bhabha, Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, Paul Ricoeur, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Christopher B. Patterson. These theories are deployed to analyse how the selected works engage with the entanglements of history, individual narratives, and memory in the diaspora spaces they articulate. The thesis argues that the selected works indicate an emerging subgenre within the broader category of transnational literature. This subgenre rejects disempowering interpolations of transnational identities. Instead, it prioritises ethical forms of memory. These acknowledge that transnational subjects share at least partial accountability for the precarity they experience in diaspora spaces. The selected literature limns how this may be accomplished by rejecting the label of victim. In so doing, the selected literature also suggests that the elevation of transnationals to full ethical agency would enable them to exercise power in their diaspora spaces. All three authorial projects studied here also give rise to uncomfortable juxtapositions that suggest a mounting fear that, as nationalisms become more pronounced in the UK and the USA, transnationals may have to re-experience conditions from which they have already fled. The thesis concludes by identifying four additional areas of confluence amongst the selected literature worthy of future study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Chasing Eden: Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy and the value of reading in a technological age
- Authors: Bosman, Zoë June
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Atwood, Margaret, 1939- MaddAddam trilogy , Speculative fiction -- History and criticism , Capitalism in literature , Dystopias in literature , Science fiction -- History and criticism , Technology in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145796 , vital:38467
- Description: This thesis is focussed on Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy: Oryx and Crake (2003) The Year of the Flood (2009) and MaddAddam (2013). Detailing Atwood’s own specifications as to why these texts should be categorised as works of speculative fiction, the thesis examines how this literary genre, and Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy in particular, is uniquely capable of encouraging readers to interrogate critically the socio-economic, environmental, and ethical problems to which she, and the contemporary reader, bear witness in the present technological age. With reference to Atwood’s essays and critical writings, Darko Suvin’s Metamorphoses of Science Fiction, and Wolfgang Iser’s The Act of Reading, this project explores the value of reading speculative fiction and details how Atwood has constructed the fictional, yet plausible, possible future world of her trilogy by extrapolating our current scientific capabilities, environmental challenges, and political configurations to their logical conclusions. It explores the close relationship that exists between the near-future world of Atwood’s texts and the contemporary context from which she has drawn her subject matter, and argues that the trilogy demonstrates graphically the long-term consequences of capitalism, sustainability, and the doctrine of human exceptionalism, which this project, following Yuval Harari, defines as orthodox guiding narratives: fictions that humanity has created, and which structure our perception of reality and guide our behaviour. The project maintains that Atwood’s trilogy presents the reader with a hypothetical future that looks towards and beyond the end of contemporary technological society in order to urge her reader to imagine, and actualize, alternatives to the scenarios that these texts depict. The most significant question Atwood’s texts ask is whether contemporary technological society is willing and able to transform in order to avert the ecological apocalypse that is the logical conclusion to the Anthropocene?
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bosman, Zoë June
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Atwood, Margaret, 1939- MaddAddam trilogy , Speculative fiction -- History and criticism , Capitalism in literature , Dystopias in literature , Science fiction -- History and criticism , Technology in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145796 , vital:38467
- Description: This thesis is focussed on Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy: Oryx and Crake (2003) The Year of the Flood (2009) and MaddAddam (2013). Detailing Atwood’s own specifications as to why these texts should be categorised as works of speculative fiction, the thesis examines how this literary genre, and Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy in particular, is uniquely capable of encouraging readers to interrogate critically the socio-economic, environmental, and ethical problems to which she, and the contemporary reader, bear witness in the present technological age. With reference to Atwood’s essays and critical writings, Darko Suvin’s Metamorphoses of Science Fiction, and Wolfgang Iser’s The Act of Reading, this project explores the value of reading speculative fiction and details how Atwood has constructed the fictional, yet plausible, possible future world of her trilogy by extrapolating our current scientific capabilities, environmental challenges, and political configurations to their logical conclusions. It explores the close relationship that exists between the near-future world of Atwood’s texts and the contemporary context from which she has drawn her subject matter, and argues that the trilogy demonstrates graphically the long-term consequences of capitalism, sustainability, and the doctrine of human exceptionalism, which this project, following Yuval Harari, defines as orthodox guiding narratives: fictions that humanity has created, and which structure our perception of reality and guide our behaviour. The project maintains that Atwood’s trilogy presents the reader with a hypothetical future that looks towards and beyond the end of contemporary technological society in order to urge her reader to imagine, and actualize, alternatives to the scenarios that these texts depict. The most significant question Atwood’s texts ask is whether contemporary technological society is willing and able to transform in order to avert the ecological apocalypse that is the logical conclusion to the Anthropocene?
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Detecting the transnational space: metaphysical detecting in Kazuo Ishiguro’s When we were orphans, Michiel Heyns’s Lost ground, and Amitav Gosh’s The Calcutta chromosome
- Authors: Botes, Niki
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Literature and transnationalism , Detective and mystery stories -- History and criticism , Ishiguro, Kazuo, 1954- , Ishiguro, Kazuo, 1954- -- When we were orpahns , Heyns, Michiel , Heyns, Michiel -- Lost ground , Ghosh, Amitav, 1956- , Ghosh, Amitav, 1956- -- The Calcutta chromosome
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140971 , vital:37933
- Description: The transnational detectives in the three primary texts under scrutiny—Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans, Michiel Heyns’s Lost Ground, and Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome—are regarded as metaphysical detectives in this thesis. As transnational figures, they criss-cross physical and national borders, but their investigations also often require the crossing of epistemological and ontological borders, as well as thinking outside of binaries. The fictional transnational, postcolonial worlds presented in these texts all feature a lack of change and the persistence of the socio-economic inequalities and discriminations of the colonial or, in the case of Lost Ground, the apartheid past. This thesis will argue that the three texts foreground the inability to break free from conceptual frameworks and a lack in human relationships as two possible reasons why the communities and societies in question have not been able to affect change. To solve the various mysteries in the texts, the transnational detectives need to find new ways of knowing and being. The lessons that these detectives learn and the personal changes they experience serve as synecdoche for how a better tomorrow for the transnational, postcolonial world could possibly be achieved. The methodology employed in this thesis involves a comparative reading of the three primary texts. To analyse and interpret these texts, this thesis draws on the philosophies of postmodern philosophers such as Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Emmanuel Levinas, as well as postcolonial theorists like Edward Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Homi K. Bhabha. The thesis will contend that especially Derrida’s work on deconstruction, which forms the conceptual basis for Bhabha’s notion of the ‘third space,’ as well as Levinas’s anti-totalitarian approach with regard to the ethical relationship between the self and the other, are viable better ways of knowing and being in the transnational, postcolonial worlds presented in the texts. Derrida’s notion of différance and the trace, as well as Bhabha’s third space, this thesis contends, completely destabilises binary thinking and offers ways to think outside of the limited frameworks of ideological discourse. This thesis also posits that Levinas’s metaphysical and pluralistic interpretation of how the self should, and can, relate to the other, presents a better way of forming human relationships and has the potential to affect positive change.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Botes, Niki
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Literature and transnationalism , Detective and mystery stories -- History and criticism , Ishiguro, Kazuo, 1954- , Ishiguro, Kazuo, 1954- -- When we were orpahns , Heyns, Michiel , Heyns, Michiel -- Lost ground , Ghosh, Amitav, 1956- , Ghosh, Amitav, 1956- -- The Calcutta chromosome
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140971 , vital:37933
- Description: The transnational detectives in the three primary texts under scrutiny—Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans, Michiel Heyns’s Lost Ground, and Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome—are regarded as metaphysical detectives in this thesis. As transnational figures, they criss-cross physical and national borders, but their investigations also often require the crossing of epistemological and ontological borders, as well as thinking outside of binaries. The fictional transnational, postcolonial worlds presented in these texts all feature a lack of change and the persistence of the socio-economic inequalities and discriminations of the colonial or, in the case of Lost Ground, the apartheid past. This thesis will argue that the three texts foreground the inability to break free from conceptual frameworks and a lack in human relationships as two possible reasons why the communities and societies in question have not been able to affect change. To solve the various mysteries in the texts, the transnational detectives need to find new ways of knowing and being. The lessons that these detectives learn and the personal changes they experience serve as synecdoche for how a better tomorrow for the transnational, postcolonial world could possibly be achieved. The methodology employed in this thesis involves a comparative reading of the three primary texts. To analyse and interpret these texts, this thesis draws on the philosophies of postmodern philosophers such as Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Emmanuel Levinas, as well as postcolonial theorists like Edward Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Homi K. Bhabha. The thesis will contend that especially Derrida’s work on deconstruction, which forms the conceptual basis for Bhabha’s notion of the ‘third space,’ as well as Levinas’s anti-totalitarian approach with regard to the ethical relationship between the self and the other, are viable better ways of knowing and being in the transnational, postcolonial worlds presented in the texts. Derrida’s notion of différance and the trace, as well as Bhabha’s third space, this thesis contends, completely destabilises binary thinking and offers ways to think outside of the limited frameworks of ideological discourse. This thesis also posits that Levinas’s metaphysical and pluralistic interpretation of how the self should, and can, relate to the other, presents a better way of forming human relationships and has the potential to affect positive change.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
The novobiocin-induced turnover of fibronectin via low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 alters matrix morphology with physiological consequences on cell growth and migration
- Authors: Boёl, Natasha Marie-Eraine
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114778 , vital:34034 , 10.21504/10962/114778
- Description: Fibronectin (FN), an extracellular matrix protein, is secreted as a soluble dimer which is assembled into an insoluble extracellular matrix. The dynamics of FN matrix assembly and degradation play a large role in cell migration and invasion thereby contributing to the metastatic potential of cancer cells. Previous studies have shown the direct binding of Heat Shock Protein 90 kDa (Hsp90) and FN in vitro, and that inhibition of Hsp90 with novobiocin (NOV) caused internalisation of the FN matrix. Low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) is a ubiquitous receptor known to bind both Hsp90 and FN. Using an LRP1 expressing Hs578T breast cancer cell line and an isogenic mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) model system of differential LRP1 expression we demonstrate that LRP1 is involved in turnover of FN in response to C-terminal Hsp90 inhibition. The first objective of this study was to identify the mechanism of NOV-induced LRP1-mediated FN turnover. Our data show that NOV-mediated FN turnover via LRP1 did not require the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which play an important role in processing and degradation of the extracellular matrix and FN. In addition, the levels of the main FN receptor responsible for its extracellular assembly, β1-integrin, did not change in response to NOV. LRP1 is known to undergo regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) which generates smaller fragments that may translocate to the nucleus and modulate gene transcription. Using inhibitors of LRP1 cleavage and nuclear fractionation we determined that LRP1 processing was not required for the NOV-induced FN response suggesting that a mechanism unrelated to LRP1 RIP is involved. A possible mechanism may be in altered Hsp90-LRP1 cell signalling as we observed disruption of the FN-Hsp90-LRP1 complex at the cell surface in NOV treated cells. How this affects downstream eHsp90-LRP1 signalling is still to be determined but may be related to a significant increase in phospho-AKT and loss of phospho-ERK upon NOV-treatment; two key signalling proteins involved in FN matrix regulation and which are downstream of LRP1 signalling. The second objective of this study was to determine the physiological consequences associated with FN turnover in response to NOV treatment. Using migration assays we demonstrated that levels of insoluble matrix-associated FN and FN concentration are not solely responsible for migratory capacity of cells on decellularized extracellular matrices, but rather that structural composition and integrity of the matrix plays a bigger role. Using confocal and scanning electron microscopy, we identified NOV treated matrices to be flatter, less mature and contain thicker, rope-like FN fibrils to which cells adhered better but were generally less proliferative. Comparatively, cells adhered less to the more mature and 3-dimensional untreated matrices but exhibited increased spreading and cell growth, which may in part be due to the thinner fibrils and web-like matrix. In summary, this study substantiates the role of LRP1 in NOV-mediated FN turnover, and provides new insights into the possible mechanisms of the Hsp90-LRP1 mediated loss of FN matrix. This is the first study to demonstrate some of the functional consequences related to FN turnover by NOV at the ECM level. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2020
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Boёl, Natasha Marie-Eraine
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114778 , vital:34034 , 10.21504/10962/114778
- Description: Fibronectin (FN), an extracellular matrix protein, is secreted as a soluble dimer which is assembled into an insoluble extracellular matrix. The dynamics of FN matrix assembly and degradation play a large role in cell migration and invasion thereby contributing to the metastatic potential of cancer cells. Previous studies have shown the direct binding of Heat Shock Protein 90 kDa (Hsp90) and FN in vitro, and that inhibition of Hsp90 with novobiocin (NOV) caused internalisation of the FN matrix. Low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) is a ubiquitous receptor known to bind both Hsp90 and FN. Using an LRP1 expressing Hs578T breast cancer cell line and an isogenic mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) model system of differential LRP1 expression we demonstrate that LRP1 is involved in turnover of FN in response to C-terminal Hsp90 inhibition. The first objective of this study was to identify the mechanism of NOV-induced LRP1-mediated FN turnover. Our data show that NOV-mediated FN turnover via LRP1 did not require the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which play an important role in processing and degradation of the extracellular matrix and FN. In addition, the levels of the main FN receptor responsible for its extracellular assembly, β1-integrin, did not change in response to NOV. LRP1 is known to undergo regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) which generates smaller fragments that may translocate to the nucleus and modulate gene transcription. Using inhibitors of LRP1 cleavage and nuclear fractionation we determined that LRP1 processing was not required for the NOV-induced FN response suggesting that a mechanism unrelated to LRP1 RIP is involved. A possible mechanism may be in altered Hsp90-LRP1 cell signalling as we observed disruption of the FN-Hsp90-LRP1 complex at the cell surface in NOV treated cells. How this affects downstream eHsp90-LRP1 signalling is still to be determined but may be related to a significant increase in phospho-AKT and loss of phospho-ERK upon NOV-treatment; two key signalling proteins involved in FN matrix regulation and which are downstream of LRP1 signalling. The second objective of this study was to determine the physiological consequences associated with FN turnover in response to NOV treatment. Using migration assays we demonstrated that levels of insoluble matrix-associated FN and FN concentration are not solely responsible for migratory capacity of cells on decellularized extracellular matrices, but rather that structural composition and integrity of the matrix plays a bigger role. Using confocal and scanning electron microscopy, we identified NOV treated matrices to be flatter, less mature and contain thicker, rope-like FN fibrils to which cells adhered better but were generally less proliferative. Comparatively, cells adhered less to the more mature and 3-dimensional untreated matrices but exhibited increased spreading and cell growth, which may in part be due to the thinner fibrils and web-like matrix. In summary, this study substantiates the role of LRP1 in NOV-mediated FN turnover, and provides new insights into the possible mechanisms of the Hsp90-LRP1 mediated loss of FN matrix. This is the first study to demonstrate some of the functional consequences related to FN turnover by NOV at the ECM level. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2020
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2020
Analysing emergent time within an isolated Universe through the application of interactions in the conditional probability approach
- Authors: Bryan, Kate Louise Halse
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Space and time , Quantum gravity , Quantum theory , Relativity (Physics)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146676 , vital:38547
- Description: Time remains a frequently discussed issue in physics and philosophy. One interpretation of growing popularity is the ‘timeless’ view which states that our experience of time is only an illusion. The isolated Universe model, provided by the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, supports this interpretation by describing time using clocks in the conditional probability interpretation (CPI). However, the CPI customarily dismisses interaction effects as negligible creating a potential blind spot which overlooks the potential influence of interaction effects. Accounting for interactions opens up a new avenue of analysis and a potential challenge to the interpretation of time. In aid of our assessment of the impact interaction effects have on the CPI, we present rudimentary definitions of time and its associated concepts. Defined in a minimalist manner, time is argued to require a postulate of causality as a means of accounting for temporal ordering in physical theories. Several of these theories are discussed here in terms of their respective approaches to time and, despite their differences, there are indications that the accounts of time are unified in a more fundamental theory. An analytic analysis of the CPI, incorporating two different clock choices, and a qualitative analysis both confirm that interactions have a necessary role within the CPI. The consequence of removing interactions is a maximised uncertainty in any measurement of the clock and a restriction to a two-state system, as indicated by the results of the toy models and qualitative argument respectively. The philosophical implication is that we are not restricted to the timeless view since including interactions as agents of causal interventions between systems provides an account of time as a real phenomenon. This result highlights the reliance on a postulate of causality which forms a pressing problem in explaining our experience of time.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bryan, Kate Louise Halse
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Space and time , Quantum gravity , Quantum theory , Relativity (Physics)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146676 , vital:38547
- Description: Time remains a frequently discussed issue in physics and philosophy. One interpretation of growing popularity is the ‘timeless’ view which states that our experience of time is only an illusion. The isolated Universe model, provided by the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, supports this interpretation by describing time using clocks in the conditional probability interpretation (CPI). However, the CPI customarily dismisses interaction effects as negligible creating a potential blind spot which overlooks the potential influence of interaction effects. Accounting for interactions opens up a new avenue of analysis and a potential challenge to the interpretation of time. In aid of our assessment of the impact interaction effects have on the CPI, we present rudimentary definitions of time and its associated concepts. Defined in a minimalist manner, time is argued to require a postulate of causality as a means of accounting for temporal ordering in physical theories. Several of these theories are discussed here in terms of their respective approaches to time and, despite their differences, there are indications that the accounts of time are unified in a more fundamental theory. An analytic analysis of the CPI, incorporating two different clock choices, and a qualitative analysis both confirm that interactions have a necessary role within the CPI. The consequence of removing interactions is a maximised uncertainty in any measurement of the clock and a restriction to a two-state system, as indicated by the results of the toy models and qualitative argument respectively. The philosophical implication is that we are not restricted to the timeless view since including interactions as agents of causal interventions between systems provides an account of time as a real phenomenon. This result highlights the reliance on a postulate of causality which forms a pressing problem in explaining our experience of time.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Exploring how mobile phones mediate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in a South African rural area
- Buthelezi, Stella Mbalenhle Nomfundo
- Authors: Buthelezi, Stella Mbalenhle Nomfundo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Social capital (Sociology) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phone users -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phones -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phones -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social media -- Influence -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , WhatsApp (Application software) -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163419 , vital:41035
- Description: Many contemporary ICT for development (ICT4D) studies focus on the benefits of mobile phones on the socio-economic development of marginalised communities. For many people in poorly resourced rural areas, one of the significant benefits of mobile phone usage is the expansion of social networks for resources or support. Social capital is one of the concepts that have been found to directly or indirectly influence many aspects of social life, communities and development. In the present study, I explore how mobile phones mediate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in a rural area on the Wild Coast of South Africa, Dwesa. I use individual semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected participants who are mobile phone owners in the area. I employ a thematic analysis to analyse their responses in relation to three dimensions of social capital, i.e. 1) trust and solidarity, 2) social cohesion and inclusion and 3) collective action and empowerment. Like in many South African rural areas, in Dwesa there is endemic poverty, inadequate services and infrastructure and high unemployment. The study found that by increased communication, mobile phones mostly strengthen bonding social capital between close ties who rely on each other for various forms of support. Mobile phones also facilitate the building of bridging social capital among members of various community groups by using WhatsApp group chats and Facebook. The little evidence on the relationship between mobile phone use and linking social capital in the area relates to group networks providing opportunities for interaction between community members and individuals in tertiary institutions and local government positions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Buthelezi, Stella Mbalenhle Nomfundo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Social capital (Sociology) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phone users -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phones -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cell phones -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social media -- Influence -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , WhatsApp (Application software) -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/163419 , vital:41035
- Description: Many contemporary ICT for development (ICT4D) studies focus on the benefits of mobile phones on the socio-economic development of marginalised communities. For many people in poorly resourced rural areas, one of the significant benefits of mobile phone usage is the expansion of social networks for resources or support. Social capital is one of the concepts that have been found to directly or indirectly influence many aspects of social life, communities and development. In the present study, I explore how mobile phones mediate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in a rural area on the Wild Coast of South Africa, Dwesa. I use individual semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected participants who are mobile phone owners in the area. I employ a thematic analysis to analyse their responses in relation to three dimensions of social capital, i.e. 1) trust and solidarity, 2) social cohesion and inclusion and 3) collective action and empowerment. Like in many South African rural areas, in Dwesa there is endemic poverty, inadequate services and infrastructure and high unemployment. The study found that by increased communication, mobile phones mostly strengthen bonding social capital between close ties who rely on each other for various forms of support. Mobile phones also facilitate the building of bridging social capital among members of various community groups by using WhatsApp group chats and Facebook. The little evidence on the relationship between mobile phone use and linking social capital in the area relates to group networks providing opportunities for interaction between community members and individuals in tertiary institutions and local government positions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020