The experiences of recently diagnosed HIV-positive individuals, as shared on an online forum
- Authors: Wylde, Charlotte Anne
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: HIV-positive persons Social networks , HIV infections Diagnosis Psychological aspects , HIV infections Social aspects , HIV infections Electronic discussion groups , Internet Social aspects , Stigma (Social psychology) , Phenomenological psychology
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60222 , vital:27756
- Description: An HIV-positive diagnosis can be an overwhelming and traumatic experience. This study explores the experiences of receiving an HIV-positive diagnosis. Employing an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a sample of the initial posts from threads on an online forum, was collected and explored, in order to determine the dominant themes from the experiences expressed in the posts, as well as the support sought from the forum. The online forum was accessed as an unobtrusive observer, and posts from January to December 2015 were explored. The online forum provides a platform for disclosure following an HIV-positive diagnosis, when anxiety and fear of stigma can impact on an individual’s ability to disclose to their social support network of family and friends. The experiences expressed on the online forum reflect the emotional, mental and physical impact of an HIV-positive diagnosis on an individual. The findings in this study reflected themes of shock, guilt and hopelessness, and concerns and fears regarding disclosure and stigma associated with HIV, as well as the importance of social support for the coping mechanisms of individuals after receiving an HIV-positive diagnosis. This research demonstrates the importance of Internet accessibility for information and support for chronic illnesses, such as HIV, and the role of the online forum platform for providing a safe environment for individuals recently diagnosed HIVpositive.
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- Date Issued: 2018
The power of mysticism: understanding political support for President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Manzira, Rufaro Coucou Annette
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mysticism -- Psychology , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980- , Mugabe, Robert Gabriel, 1924-2019 , Allegiance -- Zimbabwe , Political capital -- Zimbabwe , Political psychology -- Zimbabwe , ZANU-PF (Organization : Zimbabwe) , Apotheosis , Zimbabwe -- Kings and rulers -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63693 , vital:28472
- Description: Significant debate exists within Zimbabwean studies about the basis for which people support on an ongoing basis the ruling Zimbabweans African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) under the leadership of Robert Mugabe. In academic literature, the party and state president (Mugabe) is typically seen as an oppressor such that any support for Mugabe is understood based on compulsion rather than consent. Genuine support for the ruling party though implies that Mugabe is a liberator. In drawing upon Zimbabwean academic literature which seeks to understand why Mugabe might be understood as a liberator, this thesis seeks to provide an innovative sociological analysis focusing on the mysticism surrounding the person and ruler-ship of Mugabe. The mysticism portrays Mugabe as being blessed by the ancestors and spirits, as having divine and sage-like qualities, as speaking for the bones of the dead heroes, and as acting as a modern day national chief who cares for his national subjects and defends his chiefdom against enemies from within or without. This portrait of Mugabe resonates with many Zimbabweans as it speaks to their everyday experiences and their longings for nation-building and national belonging. Hence, it should not be strictly understood as a ruling party ideology foisted upon citizens as a means of political deception. This is explored through interviews with a small number of ZANU-PF supporters.
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- Date Issued: 2018
The relationships between perceived competence, goal orientation and mind sets on the motivation to participate in sport at university
- Authors: Nel, Marcus Craig
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: College sports -- South Africa -- Makhanda , College students -- Attitudes , Sports -- Psychological aspects , Motivation (Psychology) , Competition (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61592 , vital:28040
- Description: The research sought to uncover the links that exist between perceived competence, goal orientations and mind sets with the motivation to participate in sports. The research was conducted in a South African university context and was comprised of 212 participants. Data was collected through the use of Sports Motivation Scale 6, Intrinsic Motivation Inventory: Perceived Competence Subscale, Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire and the Self-Theory Questionnaire. The participants completed the questionnaires using a pen and paper technique at their various sports practices. Data was collected and analysed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient in order to demonstrate the strength and nature of the relationships that existed between the variables. Findings generally supported previous findings. Using a deductive approach, the main findings found that various types of motivation based on Self-Determination Theory demonstrated a proportional relationship with task orientation and little to no relationship was found between motivation and ego orientation. The relationships between motivation and perceived competence were mixed, with the most significant relationship occurring between integrated regulation and perceived competence. Fixed mind sets also showed little to no relationship with motivation, whereas growth mind sets showed proportional relationships with the various kinds of motivation. Further relationships between these variables were also explained. It is recommended that data collection techniques are improved in future research. This research may be useful in indicating what factors are related to motivation to play sport at university.
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- Date Issued: 2018
The role of African languages in the South African legal system: towards a transformative agenda
- Authors: Docrat, Zakeera
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Forensic linguistics -- South Africa , Communication in law -- South Africa , Language policy -- South Africa , Linguistic rights -- South Africa , Court interpreting and translating -- South Africa , African languages -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60809 , vital:27833
- Description: This interdisciplinary thesis, partly located in the emerging discipline of forensic linguistics, seeks to investigate the status and use of African languages in the South African legal system and how language can be used as a tool to transform the legal system. The research commences with an overview of the development of African languages in the legal system, pre and post Apartheid. The research proceeds to an overview of scholarly literature concerning the role of legislation, language policy and planning in regulating the use of African languages in the legal system, in order to give effect to South Africa’s constitutional provisions and enable linguistic transformation of the legal system. This research furthermore provides a critique of the constitutional language framework in relation to language rights of litigants in the legal system, when accessing justice through the medium of an African language. To this effect the research advances cases conducted in their entirety in an African language, illustrating that it is both possible and practicable. This research engages critically with the legislative and policy frameworks of the legal system, where issues concerning the equal recognition and use of African languages are highlighted. Language demographics in the form of statistics are provided, illustrative of the fact that the majority of South African’s speak an African language as their mother tongue. Additionally, the statistics provide that litigants in the legal system have poor proficiency in English, the language of record in courts. The research addresses the legislative and policy deficiencies of the non insertion of language requirements for legal practitioners and judicial officers that reflect the language demographics. Furthermore the need for linguistically competent legal practitioners and judicial officers is discussed in giving meaning to the constitutional language rights of litigants. A Canadian comparative jurisprudential case study is advanced, that can be emulated by the South African legal system. The Canadian model offers a precise and effective constitutional, legislative and policy framework where language rights are purposively interpreted in cases conducted in the official languages of the country. Furthermore the Canadian model provides that legal practitioners and judicial officers are linguistically competent in the official languages of the province in which they practice. This thesis highlights the issues hindering real transformation of the legal system, and concludes with recommendations which are both legally and linguistically sound.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Themes in self-presentation on a gay male dating site: a content analysis of the profiles of a sample of online daters from the Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Lelimo, Thabang Lucky
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Online dating -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Gay men -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Gay men -- Identity , Self-presentation , Homophobia -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Gay men -- Sexual behavior -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Language and sex , Communication and sex
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60233 , vital:27757
- Description: My thesis research explores themes in self-presentation in the dating profiles of gay men from the Eastern Cape Province on an online dating site for men only. Although there is a growing body of research on this topic, this research is generally located in Europe and North America. In South Africa, research on same-sex intimacies has a chequered history. In the apartheid past, gay men and lesbian women were largely ignored by psychologists and social scientists. And, when they did receive their attention, it was largely discriminatory. In the post-apartheid context, there is far more interest in queer sexualities. However, as this research focuses on HIV transmission and on discrimination and violent homophobia, it too has played a role in painting a gloomy picture of what it means to be queer in South Africa. This study both address a ‘gap in literature’ on gay male dating online by focusing on the South African context, and it addresses the crisis of representation by giving consideration to the ways in which gay men see and present themselves to others. This study takes the form of a content analysis of 200 dating profiles. Key themes in self-presentation emerging in the analysis are: Ethnicity; Age; Education; Geographic Location; Living Arrangements; Sexuality; Relationship Status; Lifestyle; Appearance; Political Outlook; Personality; Faith. I discuss important observations relating to these themes and the insights they provide on key issues shaping public debate on same-sex sexualities in the South African context.
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- Date Issued: 2018
There’s another story here
- Authors: Nkosi, Lindokuhle
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- South Africa , South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63065 , vital:28360
- Description: Written in fragments and combining fiction and narrative non-fiction, this novella explores how South Africa's history of violence and current violence against women affects and influences how women relate to each other. Based in the knowledge that our memories and behaviours are linked to the experiences of our ancestors via our bodies, I engage what our violent history and the disappearing myths that are still embedded in our bloodstream mean for life today. Drawing on the experiences of several generations of women in my family, current affairs and the lives of women close to me, my novella picks at the fragile things that hold us together. I take influence from the prose poetry in Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, and the use of fragmentation, myth and biography in Lydia Yuknavitch’s A Chronology of Water and Lily Hoang’s A Bestiary, and use an amalgam of genres to ask how we hold each other; how we breath, create, love and dream.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Witches & villains: the nasty tales
- Authors: Dalldorf, Tamaryn
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century , Fairy tales -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63087 , vital:28362
- Description: My thesis compromises a variety of short stories which are modern re-writes of dark fairy tales. Fairy Tales often explore the dark side of human nature and in these stories I focus on the voices of female villains and the strange psychology which drives them. I find Fairy Tales absorbing because they reveal the vulnerabilities, dreams and fears of the human consciousness. My stories contain some satirical expositions of human nature and society. My influences are the anthology of short stories, “My mother She Killed Me and My Father He Ate Me”, The Grimm Fairy Tales (original) and The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault as well as the writing of Horacio Moya, Angela Carter and Alissa Nutting for their dark satire and mockery of social eccentricities. Kate Bernheimer’s “Form is Fairy Tale and Fairy Tale is Form” is very influential in terms of the style it recommends in writing such as: “every day magic”, “flatness” (a form of narration), abstraction and intuitive logic.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Yancothulwa ingqambu
- Authors: Komanisi, Nomnikelo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Xhosa poetry -- 21st century , Women in literature , Stereotypes (Social psychology) in literature , Xhosa poetry -- 21st century fiction -- History and criticism
- Language: Xhosa
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63448 , vital:28412
- Description: I have written a collection of isiXhosa poems for my thesis. I was influenced by the conditions in life women often find themselves, as well as the cultural stereotypes that perpetuate these conditions. Writers who have had an impact on my writing are W. B. Rubusana, S. E. K. Mqhayi and J. J. R. Jolobe because of their language, rhythm and the richness of their writing more generally. It is as if they are voices of a past generation who reach out on us, today. More recent American poets such as Amiri Baraka, on the other hand, have shown me how poems can meet you, can come as bullets that pierce your heart, soul and brain. Combining these old and new poetic styles, I intend for my poems to be of value and benefit to women who seek mental, spiritual and physical healing.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Young men’s talk about menstruation and hegemonic masculinity in the South African context: a discursive analysis
- Authors: Glover, Jonathan
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Menstruation -- Social aspects -- -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Hegemony -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Masculinity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sex role -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Men -- Attitudes , Men -- Psychology , Human body -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Men's studies -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60244 , vital:27758
- Description: Current research in the sub-Saharan and other resource poor contexts indicates the largely negative social constructions of menstruation and menstruating women. Young men have been shown to reproduce these negative constructions and reinforce the stigmatized status of menstruation in these contexts. To my knowledge no studies have examined the ways in which young men talk about menstruation and menstruating women in South Africa. In this research, I aimed to explore the ways in which young men (in a resource poor area in the Eastern Cape) talk about menstruation in with their male peers in a focus group context and how this talk serves to enable specific subject positions (both masculine and feminine) that may reproduce, comply with and resist constructions of hegemonic masculinity (as outlined in previous South African research). By drawing on Raewyn Connell’s influential framework of masculinities and augmenting this with Margaret Wetherell and Nigel Edley’s contributions, this research adds to the growing body of research on masculinities in the South African context. I utilized a discursive framework in which to understand the interpretative repertoires drawn on in everyday talk about menstruation and the specific subject positions made available by these. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a total of 37 participants from two former Department of Education and Training schools in the Eastern Cape. Participants were young ‘black’ men with a mean age of 18.3 In analyzing and interpreting the data two overarching patterns emerged. In the first, the participants discursively distanced themselves from menstruation (and femininity in general) in order to avoid possible marginalisation and subordination in relation to local hegemonic masculine ideals. In doing this, the participants drew on a number of interpretative repertoires including: a dualistic repertoire, a bad (versus ideal) femininity repertoire and an abject femininity repertoire, which assisted in creating numerous subject positions. These subject positions allowed the young men to align themselves closer to hegemonic masculine ideals, and create distance by positioning menstruating women as the ‘other’. In the second overarching pattern, menstruation was constructed as a threat to masculine identity; within this construction, the young men discursively negotiated the ideological dilemmas surrounding this ‘highly feminine’ topic in ways that bolstered their positions within the gender hierarchy. Overall, hegemonic masculinities in this context were discursively reproduced and complied with in the participants’ accounts.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Zooming in: an ethnographic study of visual journalism for smartphones - journalistic roles and routines at South Africa’s largest graphics unit, Graphics24
- Authors: Gouws, Andries Jacobus
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Journalism -- Technological innovations -- South Africa , Smartphones , Visual communication -- Digital techniques , News Web sites -- South Africa , Online journalism -- South Africa , Information visualization , Graphic arts , Graphics24 , Netwerk24
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63154 , vital:28368
- Description: This study examines the changing roles of graphics journalists in the digital era at Graphics24, the largest information graphics newsroom in South Africa, in the context of their work for Netwerk24, an online news site published in Afrikaans with a strong focus on mobile-first news. The study examines the discursive construction of these new journalistic roles in the digital era where even the core conceptualisation of what journalism is, is being re-examined. It considers external factors affecting the discourse of change, drawing on a hierarchy of influences analytical model, as well as norms specific to the creation of information graphics. Data for this study was gathered by using ethnographic immersion and semi-structured interviews. This study specifically looks at graphics journalists working in a mobile-first environment, and how the pressures of producing information graphics for consumption on smartphones affects their roles. Evidence of two widely differing discourses in the Graphics24 and Netwerk24 newsrooms was found. Visual journalists in this study have created a discourse around being distinct “service providers”, rather than mobile-first journalists, who do not see the need for full integration in the fast-paced mobile news environment of Netwerk24. Word-centric journalists have, by contrast, created a mobile-first discourse. They experience the separateness of the graphics team as a barrier that impedes the creation of good information graphics for mobile phone consumption. Although this is a very localised study in a very particular context, this study contributes to broader thinking in what is a very under-researched field: The changing roles of visual journalists in the digital era and the discursive construction of these roles. The study suggests that even in the digital era where the definition of newsrooms has become much more fluid and less fixed physically, ethnographic methods can still offer a meaningful way to explore journalistic roles.
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- Date Issued: 2018
“Don’t forget to be awesome”: the role of social learning as a component of belonging in virtual communities: a case study of the Youtube fan community “Nerdfighteria”
- Authors: Steenkamp, Elri Colleen
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Nerdfighteria (Online) , Social learning , Online social networks , Belonging (Social psychology) , Communities of practice , YouTube (Firm)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63753 , vital:28484
- Description: The growth of the Internet has allowed fans who consume various media products, to interact and convene with other who share similar interests in online fan communities. Historically the study of fans has focused on pleasure and enjoyment as the main motivating factors why individual fans join, stay and participate in fan communities. This study, however, suggests that learning as a component of belonging has been underestimated within contemporary fan studies. Close examination of the literature of fan studies and the social practices of online fan communities reveal that these spaces may serve as fertile spaces for learning and the sharing of knowledge. Daily learning occurs within multiple spheres, including personal interests, peer culture, and academic content; all elements which can be found within fan communities. This study used the social learning theory “communities of practice” (CoP) model developed by Wenger (1998) to understand of this element of learning and knowledge sharing that seems to take places within fan communities. This study explores learning as a component of belonging to online fan communities by using the fan community of the YouTube personalities Vlogbrothers, which has named itself Nerdfighteria, as a case study. Through a qualitative research approach, which includes participation observation methods and qualitative interviews, this thesis has analysed the fan community Nerdfighteria, and used two Nerdfighter fan Facebook groups, the global NERDFIGHTEIRIA and local Nerdfighters South Africa, as case studies to evaluate whether the elements of learning taking place within these spaces serves as a motivating factor for belonging and participation. The results of this research support the idea that learning plays a role within the fan community Nerdfighteria and thus that it functions as a CoP. Fans within the global NERDFIGHTERIA Facebook group use this fan space to discuss and debate content related to their media of choice; thereby learning and acquiring knowledge as a CoP. The Nerdfighters South Africa Facebook group, despite the learning potential, fails to function as a CoP because it is no longer functionally allows for shared learning. Online fan communities, this research found, have the potential to serve as functioning communities of practice (CoP) only if they embody the characteristics and practicalities consistent with a learning space. Overall these fan groups may be categorised as communities of interests but sub-sections within these communities fit the criteria of a community of practice due to the kind of learning that is taking place. This research supports an alternative, yet promising, approach to the study of fan online communities which prioritises learning.
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- Date Issued: 2018
A case-series evaluation of the impact and processes of a service-learning programme on and for caregivers and their children with neurodevelopmental disabilities
- Authors: Cooke, Nicole
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Developmentally disabled children -- Care , Caregivers -- Training of , Service learning -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96691 , vital:31309
- Description: This thesis presents a series of three case studies from data collected as part of a research project exploring the process and impact of a service-learning programme with caregivers and their children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Following a descriptive case series design, both quantitative and qualitative data are presented to create a comprehensive and rich understanding of each case. In particular, the data tracks change processes in the subjective well-being of the caregiver, the quality of the caregiver-child relationship and the functional development of the child over a twenty-one-week period of receiving public health services and an eight-week period of adding the service-learning programme. The paper also presents qualitative data on the caregivers’ perceptions of and experiences of the public services and the servicelearning programme that the caregivers and their children received. The findings provide important insight into the caregivers’ perceptions of giving and receiving care, with the caregivers’ experiencing significant levels of distress and prominent barriers to accessing healthcare that were seemingly eased with the addition of the service-learning programme. The findings also point to a notable disparity between the quantitative findings and the qualitative interviews with questions being raised about the research being viewed as an intervention in itself.
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- Date Issued: 2019
A content analysis of psychology Masters theses from South African universities
- Authors: Robson, Brian
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113924 , vital:33845
- Description: Expected release date-April 2022
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
A correlational analysis investigating relationships between gender role ideology and attitudes towards gender-based violence
- Authors: Krutani, Siposetu
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Women -- Violence against -- South Africa , Sex role -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa , Male domination (Social structure) -- South Africa , Rhodes University -- Students -- Attitudes , Rape in universities and colleges -- South Africa , Social movements -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Women college students -- Violence against -- South Africa , Male college students -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Women college students -- Psychology -- South Africa , Male college students -- Psychology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96658 , vital:31305
- Description: This study forms part of a larger project investigating attitudes towards intimate partner violence, dating violence and other forms of gender-based violence with the Rhodes University context. The primary purpose was to establish a baseline descriptive understanding of participants‟ attitudes towards and perceptions of gender-based violence. With the aim to generate results that would somehow inform the larger project, the current study sought to investigate whether a relationship exists between gender-role ideology and attitudes towards gender-based violence amongst a university population which was inclusive of registered students and employees of the university (n = 308). Four samples were categorised: student sample, academic staff sample, administrative support staff sample and operational support staff sample. A once-off, cross sectional survey design was used to obtain the data. The results of the study revealed that the participants in the study uphold largely non-traditional gender-role ideologies, are generally intolerant of dating violence and are rejecting of rape myths. As predicted in the literature, the study revealed that demographics such as gender, religion, age, level of education, number of years spent in the institution, race, and student accommodation have an impact on the relationship between adherence to traditional gender-role ideology and tolerance towards dating violence, as well as on the relationship between adherence to traditional gender-role ideology and rape myth acceptance and the relationship between rape myth acceptance and tolerance towards dating violence. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on gender-based violence in institutions of higher learning and could help improve sexual violence prevention programmes in such contexts.
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- Date Issued: 2019
A historical sociolinguistic study on the conceptualisation and application of justice and law kwisizwe samaXhosa as documented in and extracted From SEK Mqhayi And W.W. Gqoba’s selected writings
- Authors: Ntshingana, Sanele
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Gqoba, William Wellington , Mqhayi, S. E. K. , Xhosa literature -- History and criticism , Law in literature , Justice in literature
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115339 , vital:34115
- Description: This study seeks to investigate the original meanings contained in lexical terms relating to law (umthetho) and justice (ubulungisa) and their application in the precolonial Xhosa social society as they make appearance in SEK Mqhayi’s novel Ityala lamawele (1914) and WW Gqoba’s Isizwe esinembali, (1873-188/2015). Both of these works were written and initially published at the early point of contact of amaXhosa with the art of writing, and so are set in a ‘traditional’ setting (in the case of Mqhayi) and at early contact with European societies in Eastern Nguni region. This academic endeavour is undertaken by employing critical discourse theoretical framework. The purpose is to investigate the conceptualisation of law and justice amongst amaXhosa, and the extent to which this conceptualisation reflects the philosophical worldview of amaXhosa, as embedded in their language. The paper makes inferences about conceptualisation of law and justice in precolonial Xhosa social settings, and offers proposals on what this conceptual understanding could mean if its potential contribution to the contemporary understanding and application of law and justice in South Africa could be tapped into. The motivation for this study emanates from the current intellectual contestations in higher education that today’s curricula present western knowledge systems as universal while marginalising indigenous epistemologies in teaching, learning and research practices. At the centre of these debates is how research, social and scientific thinking in humanities, is profoundly shaped by imported, racist, western “canonical” texts and theories. The arguments presented by various scholars argue that this enterprise firmly roots the collective imagination of students about the past and present in racist Eurocentric schematic frames, thus creating a problem of identity loss, and an intentional distortion of historical truths. The space for knowledge systems and experiences reflecting African memory and imagination is not only neglected, but distorted too. In this context, the study seeks to delve deeper into how African languages can be used to reconstruct knowledge systems that reflect African ways of understanding society as part of creating a curriculum that depicts “multiversal” ways of knowing (Tisani 2000; Santos, 2014). This study makes several findings, chief amongst which is that the legal and justice systems of the precolonial Xhosa society was both corrective as opposed to today’s punitive court system that South Africa inherited, largely from the West. It seeks to prove that AmaXhosa’s precolonial legal and justice system was focused more on reintegrating the offender back into society. The study further will show how the precolonial amaXhosa justice system was embedded in the concepts of ubulungisa (correct and re-intergrate) and isohlwayo (that which brings one to basics). Through discourse analysis of the early literary isiXhosa texts, the thesis discovers that the application of ubulungisa amongst amaXhosa back then was consistent with the philosophies embedded in the concepts. By exposing the collaboration networks between the white missionaries and the colonial administrators of the nineteenth century, the thesis will show how conspiracies were directed at erasing and displacing these indigenous epistemologies and to replacing them with colonial memories. To this end, missionary accounts, explorer diary entries and reports and early lexicographic material were produced and archived. Furthermore, this study makes a proposition that early written Xhosa texts be entrenched in the today’s curricula in order inform the process of making sense of the social experiences and knowledge systems of the indigenous people of South Africa, from the precolonial-past to the present. Throughout the study, the thesis presents a proposition these early Xhosa texts be studied in relation to their intellectual contributions. This, it is hoped, will boldly challenge the canonised knowledge and racist assumptions about the African knowledge systems and experiences.
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- Date Issued: 2019
A local portrait of South African counselling psychologists’ endorsement of the values and scope of practice of their profession in relation to their career satisfaction
- Authors: Ngobeni, Nhlori
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Counseling psychology -- South Africa , Counseling psychologists -- South Africa , Psychology -- South Africa , Psychologists -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/94350 , vital:31038
- Description: The 2011 revision to the scope of practice of counselling psychology in South Africa has renewed debates about what is it that should distinguish counselling psychology as a distinctive area of practice and research in South Africa. This study reports the findings of a survey of a sample of 228 South African registered counselling psychologists, including the extent to which they endorse the traditional values of their category, the extent to which they endorse the current scope of practice for counselling psychology, and measures of career satisfaction. Findings are that women and white practitioners comprise the large majority of the category. Counselling psychologists strongly endorse most of the traditional values of the category and are generally highly satisfied with their careers. Surprisingly, given these findings, only a large minority indicate that they would choose counselling psychology again knowing what they know now. Most significant, the findings of a multiple regression analysis indicate that endorsement of the scope of practice most strongly predicts career satisfaction scores, followed closely by black racial identification, years of experience, and then endorsement of counselling psychology values. Logistic regression analysis to predict which counselling psychologists would choose counselling psychology again knowing what they know now, revealed that only endorsement of counselling psychology values and endorsement of the scope practice made a significant contribution to predictions. This study provides a snapshot of the current status of South African counselling psychology today and it remains that in the next ten years, there will be significant changes as the category changes across the globe.
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- Date Issued: 2019
A social capital analysis of citizen participation and service delivery in metropolitan government in Zimbabwe: the case of Glenview, Harare since 2013
- Authors: Sachikonye, Tafadzwa I
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Social capital (Sociology) -- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Municipal services -- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Local government -- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Public administration -- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Citizen particpation -- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Local government --Citizen participation -- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Harare (Zimbabwe). City Council
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96236 , vital:31253
- Description: Significant challenges exist in contemporary Zimbabwe with regard to urban government, including with specific reference to citizenship participation and service delivery capacities. One of the crucial factors considered in the existing literature when examining urban government is the extent to which the central government intrudes in the affairs of urban government. This is particularly important given that, in recent years, many urban governments have been controlled by the main opposition party in the country. In this context, the thesis offers a critical examination of urban government in contemporary Zimbabwe by focusing on urban government in Harare (the capital) and, even more specifically, on the high-density, low-income area of Glenview. Harare is one of two metropolitan urban areas in Zimbabwe, along with Bulawayo, and is governed by the Harare City Council. While the central state’s relationship with urban governments (including Harare) in Zimbabwe is important, and is examined in this thesis, the primary concern is how this and other factors affect citizenship participation and service delivery in Harare. In pursuing this, the thesis draws upon social capital theory (including questions around trust and networks) to facilitate a critical analysis of urban government, citizenship participation and service delivery in Harare and Glenview specifically. The fieldwork for this thesis involved a qualitative research methodology, including informal interviews with relevant local stakeholders in Harare and associated documents. The thesis concludes that localised political, social and other contextual factors in Harare undercut the prospects for meaningful citizenship participation (with forms of social exclusion existing) and that this has negative implications for effective and efficient service delivery mechanisms.
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- Date Issued: 2019
A sociological study to explore the knowledge of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis at Rhodes University
- Authors: Ntshinga, Throny
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Pre-exposure prophylaxis -- South Africa , HIV infections -- Prevention -- South Africa , AIDS (Disease) -- Prevention -- South Africa , AIDS (Disease) -- Government policy -- South Africa , AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Health education (Higher) -- South Africa , Rhodes University -- Students -- Health and hygiene
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96247 , vital:31254
- Description: South Africa has a very high prevalence rate of HIV infections, this is why this exploratory qualitative study examines the Rhodes University’s HIV policy and its awareness programmes, with a specific focus on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). The World Health Organisation’s (2016-2017) recommendations for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis has been accepted and rolled-out nationwide by the South African Department of Health. This is to maintain the HIV-negative status of not only the general public, but specifically students at higher institutions of learning. PrEP has been integrated with other HIV prevention methods through the Higher Education and Training HIV/AIDS programme. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with five female and four male students, and six health care staff members at Rhodes University. Data was thematically analysed, and the findings show that there is a lack of knowledge of both the HIV policy and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis among the participating students. However, the staff members are knowledgeable due to the fact that they work in health care.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Absent parent/s: Psychological implications on children
- Authors: Magqamfana, Simnikiwe Happy
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Single parent families -- South Africa , Father and child -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa , Father figures -- Psychological aspects , -- Children, Black -- South Africa -- Psychology , College students, Black -- South Africa -- Psychology , Child development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96886 , vital:31343
- Description: The present study intends to explore the psychological implications on the university students who grew up in households where their biological fathers are absent. Most studies associate the absence of the biological fathers with psychological challenges which, among others, include negative emotions such as anger, challenges with maintaining romantic relationships and tend to perform poorly at school. Such research on absence of fathers tends to privilege the biological father discourse in its analysis and often mentions in passing the role played by ‘other’ family members as ‘fathers’. Since during data collection participants kept on referring to the role of other family members or father figures, the study then expanded its scope of inquiry to include this phenomenon. Semi-structured face to face interviews were used to collect data from five university students and thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Psychoanalytic theory was used to specifically to understand or conceptualize the psychological implications on participants caused by the absence of the biological father. Black Social organization theory and Structural Functionalism theory were used to conceptualize the role of other family members/families or father figures in participants’ experiences and the influence of the society they grew up in. This study found that the participants accepted the role of the biological father as central in their lives and its absence resulted in psychological and economical difficulties. To cope with such difficulties, the support from other family members or other father figures was found to be significant in participants lives. Also, this study found that father absence motivates the participants to succeed to better their lives and majority of the participants regarded their grandmothers as father figures.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Acorn girl
- Authors: Kukard, Gina
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: South African fiction (English)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96969 , vital:31382
- Description: My thesis encapsulates a coming-of-age novella told through short vignettes of flash fiction and prose poetry. It makes use of the distillation and fragmentation of these forms to explore themes such as the nature of violation, and works between genres to engage the tension between inner and outer realities, and the blurred lines between passivity and resistance. Moving fluidly between memoir and fiction and set in modern day South Africa, it draws inspiration from both my own experiences and the writing of others, especially Raul Zurita’s resistance poetry in Dreams for Kurosawa, Claudia Rankine’s subtle absurdity in Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, bizarro elements as seen in Athena Villaverde’s The Clockwork Girl and the use of physicality to explore the emotional world, as seen in Shelley Jackson’s The Melancholy of Anatomy: Stories.
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- Date Issued: 2019