Consumerism, authenticity and African communalism
- Smook, E https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4226-6029
- Authors: Smook, E https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4226-6029
- Date: 2022-09
- Subjects: Consumption (Economics) , Authenticity (Philosophy) , Philosophy, African
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23958 , vital:62022
- Description: Let me state, from the outset, that the issues raised below may be considered from various vantage points – Capitalism, Marxism, etc. However, this thesis is an endeavour to account for the loss of authenticity due to the most salient features of the consumer paradigm, which is the manufactured object, the production line and the proliferation of said objects. True relationships, or shall we say authentic dialogue, is based upon a difference of viewpoints – or epistemic distance – between the interlocutors. This difference of opinion, it may be argued, allows for a cognitive jostling between the subjects involved and represents, as it were, the reciprocal back and forth movement of ideas that betokens actively engaged dialogue. Crucial, then, to true, and by extension authentic, relationships is an epistemic distance steeped in variegated, heterogeneous points of view. For it is in sharing the differences in our points of view or interpretations of the world that we may start a dialogue far removed from each other and then sustain said dialogue in an attempt to reconcile our differences. The continuation of the dialogue, then, depends upon difference. Without the latter difference, the conditions of true dialogue, which is also a marker of authentic relationships, the need for sustained debate is forfeited and the dialogue ceases to serve a purpose – for the subjects involved in the intellectual jostling and exchange of ideas may already anticipate the thoughts of the other. In so anticipating the thoughts of the other, what is brought to the fore is not the ideas of the other, and by extension the other’s existence distinct from mine, but rather my own existence and thoughts. Were I and the other to share a constellation of beliefs, I am left with only that which I already believe in and so only with my own thoughts. The other’s differing opinion is crucial to their appearing to me as an element discreet and distinct from me. For if the other’s being is in essence of the same ilk as mine – and with that I mean if the other’s points of view and adopted systems of praxis mirror mine – we are like trees in a forest. The existence of collective nouns attests to this latter remark; we are prone to see the forest, not the similar trees that constitute it. Now the question arises as to the constitution of the self; what is it that makes up the character and nature of a person and how, if at all, may subjects be said to differ epistemically? According to Sartre, the ego is a transcendent object for consciousness, meaning that it exists out there in the world just like other objects. This is the case because consciousness is essentially empty. Recall Sartre’s famous claim that existence precedes essence, which in turn means that consciousness, or the ego, is filled up inchmeal with contents outside itself. In other words, that with which we are engaged constitutes the contents of consciousness. Repeated exposure to certain objects, or phenomena, brings about the cultivation of states and qualities – these, as it were, constituting the ego in the end. Moreover, these states and qualities, as arisen from repeated exposure to like phenomena, will instil in the subject a certain proclivity for a certain manner of action under specific conditions. As such, having been presented with something disagreeable many times over, a state of repulsion might gain a foothold in my ego regarding the phenomenon in question. This in turn will dictate how I act in the presence of said phenomenon or any other phenomena that include, adumbrationally, some of the qualities of the original phenomenon. As such, then, my actions are reflections of the states that I experience in the presence of certain objects or phenomena and, it may be argued, reflexively represent the world around me as that which constitutes my ego. The facticity of the world, then, has a great bearing upon the manner in which I perceive and engage the world. However, claims Sartre, facticity is but one side of the coin. The world and its meaning are constituted by what Sartre calls brute meaning. This refers to the fact that meaning is a matter of public opinion and does not precede the phenomenon or object itself – the latter being, in essence, but a bare, pliable, monstrous mass of being-in-itself. Due to this occurrence of meaning being man made, we are in a unique position of freedom. We are, he further claims, capable of transcending these brute meanings, enabling us to avail ourselves of the objects or phenomena in question in a bespoke manner. Freedom to choose how we interact with and interpret the world is thus the ontological ground of choice. We have, on the one side, the world in its undifferentiated state – being-in-itself – and on the other the possibility to give this world a specific meaning in accordance with our intentions – being-for-itself. Freedom to choose, so construed, thus ontologically underlies the very fabric of our existence, hence the claim that we are condemned to be free. Choosing whether to continue along the path set out by our original factual condition or to transcend it and make of it something different altogether is thus not a choice at all, but the obligatory condition of the human condition. Once again, this is the case because consciousness, as per Sartre, is empty to start with and can only be filled with the contents of phenomena or objects in accordance with our intentional engagement of them. However, Sartre continues, this freedom of meaning and the fact that brute existents represent nothing more than the convergence of publicly ascribed meaning awaken in the subject a certain nausea – a nausea born of the fact that we, the people, are at every junction in a position where we have to choose the meaning of life. Determinism, thusly, does not exist and we are not only free to choose the meanings of our own lives, but are responsible for what our lives become. This realisation proves to be too much for most to stomach and leads them along a specific path of choice: over-identification with either their factual realities or with the possibility to transcend the latter. Either way, what they aim to achieve with this overidentification is the suppression of the nauseating reality that reality is nought but what we make it to be and we are thus responsible for what it becomes. Sartre calls this bad faith. Pandering to this proclivity towards bad faith, or alternatively, the propensity for overidentification with either side on the facticity/transcendence dichotomy, we find consumerism. The consumer paradigm delineates happiness as an objective ideal, attainable through the acquisition of specific markers of demonstrable happiness. At the same time, it also provides an answer to the nauseating reality that we, humans, are never fully determined beings, but find ourselves vacillating between our factual constraints and our transcendences thereof. It offers us the crystalised means of becoming this or that individual by way of populating our immediate and personal surroundings with signifiers of happiness. Considering, moreover, that a liberalist conception of human being clearly indicates that individuation of each subject is an important aspect of existence, authenticity in terms of rights emerge as a corollary of said individuation. Each individual, so construed, is given the opportunity, the right, to acquire said markers of happiness and individuation. Obtaining these, it may be argued, allows the individual two things: firstly, to quell the nausea that haunts our dualistic lives by concretising it altogether and so doing highlighting the factual side of things; and secondly, to become discreet and individuated subjects, authentic in their beings. However, the authenticity so begotten provides nought but a thin veneer of idiosyncrasy, as the markers of said authenticity are publicly available and so the same for everyone. The problem, thus, of self-individuation is resolved by providing the subject the means of over-identification with their factual realities whilst convincing them, the consumers, that the objects on offer will afford them a degree of happiness and set them apart from their fellow subjects. The unfortunate upshot of this is that subjects all avail themselves of the same set of objects in an attempt to quell the nausea that besets the individual plunged into an undifferentiated existence. We are here at the heart of the matter. Due to the proliferation of like objects throughout the life-world, a specific system of praxis is implied. So as to navigate the life-world and utilise the similar objects that populate it, consumers are driven towards shared ideologies and courses of action. Moreover, their intentions also converge, as they all seek to establish a web of objects around them that would bespeak their individuation and happiness. Where the life-world has become such a homogeneous landscape, it may be argued, in line with Sartrean thought, that the contents of consciousness would also be similar for all. And where the contents of consciousness is similar for all, we may argue that reasoning would be similar for all. It is at this point that dialogue breaks down, for there is nothing epistemically to separate interlocutors and therefore no differences of opinion to sustain true dialogue. If, as it was reasoned some pages prior, it is the case that sustained dialogue provides the predicate upon which authentic relationships are to be based, the collapse of this epistemic distance between consumers must then also lead to a collapse of authentic relationships. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-09
- Authors: Smook, E https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4226-6029
- Date: 2022-09
- Subjects: Consumption (Economics) , Authenticity (Philosophy) , Philosophy, African
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23958 , vital:62022
- Description: Let me state, from the outset, that the issues raised below may be considered from various vantage points – Capitalism, Marxism, etc. However, this thesis is an endeavour to account for the loss of authenticity due to the most salient features of the consumer paradigm, which is the manufactured object, the production line and the proliferation of said objects. True relationships, or shall we say authentic dialogue, is based upon a difference of viewpoints – or epistemic distance – between the interlocutors. This difference of opinion, it may be argued, allows for a cognitive jostling between the subjects involved and represents, as it were, the reciprocal back and forth movement of ideas that betokens actively engaged dialogue. Crucial, then, to true, and by extension authentic, relationships is an epistemic distance steeped in variegated, heterogeneous points of view. For it is in sharing the differences in our points of view or interpretations of the world that we may start a dialogue far removed from each other and then sustain said dialogue in an attempt to reconcile our differences. The continuation of the dialogue, then, depends upon difference. Without the latter difference, the conditions of true dialogue, which is also a marker of authentic relationships, the need for sustained debate is forfeited and the dialogue ceases to serve a purpose – for the subjects involved in the intellectual jostling and exchange of ideas may already anticipate the thoughts of the other. In so anticipating the thoughts of the other, what is brought to the fore is not the ideas of the other, and by extension the other’s existence distinct from mine, but rather my own existence and thoughts. Were I and the other to share a constellation of beliefs, I am left with only that which I already believe in and so only with my own thoughts. The other’s differing opinion is crucial to their appearing to me as an element discreet and distinct from me. For if the other’s being is in essence of the same ilk as mine – and with that I mean if the other’s points of view and adopted systems of praxis mirror mine – we are like trees in a forest. The existence of collective nouns attests to this latter remark; we are prone to see the forest, not the similar trees that constitute it. Now the question arises as to the constitution of the self; what is it that makes up the character and nature of a person and how, if at all, may subjects be said to differ epistemically? According to Sartre, the ego is a transcendent object for consciousness, meaning that it exists out there in the world just like other objects. This is the case because consciousness is essentially empty. Recall Sartre’s famous claim that existence precedes essence, which in turn means that consciousness, or the ego, is filled up inchmeal with contents outside itself. In other words, that with which we are engaged constitutes the contents of consciousness. Repeated exposure to certain objects, or phenomena, brings about the cultivation of states and qualities – these, as it were, constituting the ego in the end. Moreover, these states and qualities, as arisen from repeated exposure to like phenomena, will instil in the subject a certain proclivity for a certain manner of action under specific conditions. As such, having been presented with something disagreeable many times over, a state of repulsion might gain a foothold in my ego regarding the phenomenon in question. This in turn will dictate how I act in the presence of said phenomenon or any other phenomena that include, adumbrationally, some of the qualities of the original phenomenon. As such, then, my actions are reflections of the states that I experience in the presence of certain objects or phenomena and, it may be argued, reflexively represent the world around me as that which constitutes my ego. The facticity of the world, then, has a great bearing upon the manner in which I perceive and engage the world. However, claims Sartre, facticity is but one side of the coin. The world and its meaning are constituted by what Sartre calls brute meaning. This refers to the fact that meaning is a matter of public opinion and does not precede the phenomenon or object itself – the latter being, in essence, but a bare, pliable, monstrous mass of being-in-itself. Due to this occurrence of meaning being man made, we are in a unique position of freedom. We are, he further claims, capable of transcending these brute meanings, enabling us to avail ourselves of the objects or phenomena in question in a bespoke manner. Freedom to choose how we interact with and interpret the world is thus the ontological ground of choice. We have, on the one side, the world in its undifferentiated state – being-in-itself – and on the other the possibility to give this world a specific meaning in accordance with our intentions – being-for-itself. Freedom to choose, so construed, thus ontologically underlies the very fabric of our existence, hence the claim that we are condemned to be free. Choosing whether to continue along the path set out by our original factual condition or to transcend it and make of it something different altogether is thus not a choice at all, but the obligatory condition of the human condition. Once again, this is the case because consciousness, as per Sartre, is empty to start with and can only be filled with the contents of phenomena or objects in accordance with our intentional engagement of them. However, Sartre continues, this freedom of meaning and the fact that brute existents represent nothing more than the convergence of publicly ascribed meaning awaken in the subject a certain nausea – a nausea born of the fact that we, the people, are at every junction in a position where we have to choose the meaning of life. Determinism, thusly, does not exist and we are not only free to choose the meanings of our own lives, but are responsible for what our lives become. This realisation proves to be too much for most to stomach and leads them along a specific path of choice: over-identification with either their factual realities or with the possibility to transcend the latter. Either way, what they aim to achieve with this overidentification is the suppression of the nauseating reality that reality is nought but what we make it to be and we are thus responsible for what it becomes. Sartre calls this bad faith. Pandering to this proclivity towards bad faith, or alternatively, the propensity for overidentification with either side on the facticity/transcendence dichotomy, we find consumerism. The consumer paradigm delineates happiness as an objective ideal, attainable through the acquisition of specific markers of demonstrable happiness. At the same time, it also provides an answer to the nauseating reality that we, humans, are never fully determined beings, but find ourselves vacillating between our factual constraints and our transcendences thereof. It offers us the crystalised means of becoming this or that individual by way of populating our immediate and personal surroundings with signifiers of happiness. Considering, moreover, that a liberalist conception of human being clearly indicates that individuation of each subject is an important aspect of existence, authenticity in terms of rights emerge as a corollary of said individuation. Each individual, so construed, is given the opportunity, the right, to acquire said markers of happiness and individuation. Obtaining these, it may be argued, allows the individual two things: firstly, to quell the nausea that haunts our dualistic lives by concretising it altogether and so doing highlighting the factual side of things; and secondly, to become discreet and individuated subjects, authentic in their beings. However, the authenticity so begotten provides nought but a thin veneer of idiosyncrasy, as the markers of said authenticity are publicly available and so the same for everyone. The problem, thus, of self-individuation is resolved by providing the subject the means of over-identification with their factual realities whilst convincing them, the consumers, that the objects on offer will afford them a degree of happiness and set them apart from their fellow subjects. The unfortunate upshot of this is that subjects all avail themselves of the same set of objects in an attempt to quell the nausea that besets the individual plunged into an undifferentiated existence. We are here at the heart of the matter. Due to the proliferation of like objects throughout the life-world, a specific system of praxis is implied. So as to navigate the life-world and utilise the similar objects that populate it, consumers are driven towards shared ideologies and courses of action. Moreover, their intentions also converge, as they all seek to establish a web of objects around them that would bespeak their individuation and happiness. Where the life-world has become such a homogeneous landscape, it may be argued, in line with Sartrean thought, that the contents of consciousness would also be similar for all. And where the contents of consciousness is similar for all, we may argue that reasoning would be similar for all. It is at this point that dialogue breaks down, for there is nothing epistemically to separate interlocutors and therefore no differences of opinion to sustain true dialogue. If, as it was reasoned some pages prior, it is the case that sustained dialogue provides the predicate upon which authentic relationships are to be based, the collapse of this epistemic distance between consumers must then also lead to a collapse of authentic relationships. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-09
Listeners’ Participation in Community Radio: A Case Study of Forte FM Radio
- Authors: Bamigboye, Foluke Bosede
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Community radio Radio in community development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc (Communications)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16254 , vital:40703
- Description: This dissertation investigates listeners’ participation in community radio, drawing on Forte FM radio in Nkonkobe Municipality in Alice, Eastern Cape. The aim of the study was therefore to explore how listeners are been involved in the activities of Forte FM radio station. This study adopts qualitative research approach. Convenience, and purposive non-probability samplings techniques were subsequently used to select samples for this study. In-depth interviews was conducted with the radio station manager while one focus group discussion each was held with residents of Golf Course and Ntselamanzi areas with eight participants in each focus group, making a total number of sixteen participants for the focus group discussions. The collected data were interpreted and analyzed thematically. The findings of this research showed a remarkable disparity between the listeners of the radio station and perceptions of participation on one hand, and the listeners’ opinion and perceptions of them vice versa. Also, programming is often conceptualized with little or no community involvement and interaction. Listeners interviewed in the course of carrying out the focus group discussion in the two sampled areas were of the views that they only get connected to Forte FM radio station on social grounds of greetings and “shout outs”, through public spheres and for self-representation in the variety of public spaces of Forte FM radio. Another critical finding of this study indicated that, Forte FM is doing its best towards involving listeners in its programming.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Bamigboye, Foluke Bosede
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Community radio Radio in community development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc (Communications)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16254 , vital:40703
- Description: This dissertation investigates listeners’ participation in community radio, drawing on Forte FM radio in Nkonkobe Municipality in Alice, Eastern Cape. The aim of the study was therefore to explore how listeners are been involved in the activities of Forte FM radio station. This study adopts qualitative research approach. Convenience, and purposive non-probability samplings techniques were subsequently used to select samples for this study. In-depth interviews was conducted with the radio station manager while one focus group discussion each was held with residents of Golf Course and Ntselamanzi areas with eight participants in each focus group, making a total number of sixteen participants for the focus group discussions. The collected data were interpreted and analyzed thematically. The findings of this research showed a remarkable disparity between the listeners of the radio station and perceptions of participation on one hand, and the listeners’ opinion and perceptions of them vice versa. Also, programming is often conceptualized with little or no community involvement and interaction. Listeners interviewed in the course of carrying out the focus group discussion in the two sampled areas were of the views that they only get connected to Forte FM radio station on social grounds of greetings and “shout outs”, through public spheres and for self-representation in the variety of public spaces of Forte FM radio. Another critical finding of this study indicated that, Forte FM is doing its best towards involving listeners in its programming.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A comparative appraisal of access and quality of sexual and reproductive health services for gays and lesbians in Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) and Pretoria (South Africa)
- Authors: Jasi, Phineas
- Date: 2021-11
- Subjects: Reproductive health , Sexual health
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21959 , vital:51854
- Description: This study investigated the extent to which gays and lesbians access quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in Pretoria and Bulawayo. The study also examines the facilitators and barriers for accessing the same services. Theoretically, the study was grounded in the Health Belief Model (Hochbaum, 1958, modified by Rosenstock, 1974 and Siddiqui, 2016). To answer the research questions, a mixed methods approach was applied involving both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. A total of 30 key informant interviews, eight focus group discussions and 387 questionnaires were administered using purposive, time location and snowball sampling approaches in the two cities. The study found that the most commonly available sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services were contraceptive services, sexually transmitted infections (STI) services and Human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) services. The services were provided at public health facilities, drop-in centres and through outreach activities operated by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The least available services that gays and lesbians required as part of a comprehensive package were access to information, education and communications (IEC) materials and mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS). Several service providers were not adhering to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for provision of comprehensive services for key populations including gays and lesbians. Critical gaps noted included the absence of key populations-only service hours, lack of options for clinicians to attend to them, presence of a stigma and discrimination free environment and provision of comprehensive package of services under one roof. Most of the referral facilities had limited drugs, equipment and supplies for cancer screening and they had no HIV prevention, sex change, in-vitro fertilization, and sterilization services and procedures. The quality of physical facilities and SRH services in both cities did not meet the expectations of gays and lesbians, acting as a barrier to their health seeking behaviour. Stigma and discrimination from healthcare workers was a huge barrier affecting access across all public health facilities. The acts of stigmatisation and discrimination affected the perceptions that gays and lesbians had regarding the quality of the services and compromised access of the same. In view of these health system challenges, the study recommends that there is need for public authorities in both cities to address the bottlenecks and barriers affecting access to SRH services and products such as lubricants, affordable quality condoms, dental dams and latex gloves while reinforcing the facilitating factors promoting access. Healthcare workers need further training on how to provide comprehensive services for gays and lesbians according to the WHO guidelines. Public health authorities in Bulawayo and Pretoria should build upon the identified factors which facilitated the access to SRH services and use of products such as condoms and lubricants. These factors require strengthening of community-based organizations and networks that work directly with gays and lesbians in both Bulawayo and Pretoria. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-11
- Authors: Jasi, Phineas
- Date: 2021-11
- Subjects: Reproductive health , Sexual health
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21959 , vital:51854
- Description: This study investigated the extent to which gays and lesbians access quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in Pretoria and Bulawayo. The study also examines the facilitators and barriers for accessing the same services. Theoretically, the study was grounded in the Health Belief Model (Hochbaum, 1958, modified by Rosenstock, 1974 and Siddiqui, 2016). To answer the research questions, a mixed methods approach was applied involving both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. A total of 30 key informant interviews, eight focus group discussions and 387 questionnaires were administered using purposive, time location and snowball sampling approaches in the two cities. The study found that the most commonly available sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services were contraceptive services, sexually transmitted infections (STI) services and Human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) services. The services were provided at public health facilities, drop-in centres and through outreach activities operated by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The least available services that gays and lesbians required as part of a comprehensive package were access to information, education and communications (IEC) materials and mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS). Several service providers were not adhering to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for provision of comprehensive services for key populations including gays and lesbians. Critical gaps noted included the absence of key populations-only service hours, lack of options for clinicians to attend to them, presence of a stigma and discrimination free environment and provision of comprehensive package of services under one roof. Most of the referral facilities had limited drugs, equipment and supplies for cancer screening and they had no HIV prevention, sex change, in-vitro fertilization, and sterilization services and procedures. The quality of physical facilities and SRH services in both cities did not meet the expectations of gays and lesbians, acting as a barrier to their health seeking behaviour. Stigma and discrimination from healthcare workers was a huge barrier affecting access across all public health facilities. The acts of stigmatisation and discrimination affected the perceptions that gays and lesbians had regarding the quality of the services and compromised access of the same. In view of these health system challenges, the study recommends that there is need for public authorities in both cities to address the bottlenecks and barriers affecting access to SRH services and products such as lubricants, affordable quality condoms, dental dams and latex gloves while reinforcing the facilitating factors promoting access. Healthcare workers need further training on how to provide comprehensive services for gays and lesbians according to the WHO guidelines. Public health authorities in Bulawayo and Pretoria should build upon the identified factors which facilitated the access to SRH services and use of products such as condoms and lubricants. These factors require strengthening of community-based organizations and networks that work directly with gays and lesbians in both Bulawayo and Pretoria. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-11
Empowerment of women victicms of domestic violence in Ntabethemba ,Tsolwana Municipality:an ecclesiastical function of Evangelical Presbyterian church of South Africa
- Authors: Mraji, Thomakazi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Church work with abused women - - South Africa Abused women -- Pastoral counseling of Family violence -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Th
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10382 , vital:35443
- Description: This research study investigated the empowerment of women victims of domestic violence in Ntabethemba, Tsolwana Municipality: An Ecclesiastical Function of Evangelical Presbyterian Church of South Africa. The study intended to achieve the following objectives: (i) to examine the intervention and involvement of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of South Africa in social development of women victims of domestic violence; and (ii) to investigate whether there are any available programs within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of South Africa to empower women victims of domestic violence in Ntabethemba. This study used a qualitative paradigm and an exploratory research approach. It also employed in-depth one-on-one interviews complemented by focus group discussions as a method of data collection. The study used non-probability sampling, specifically purposive sampling technique. 32 participants were sampled, including: participants from Focus Group Discussions, which consisted of 7 clergy members, 7 members of Association of Presbyterian Women Executive Committee, 6 members of Men’s Christian Guild Executive Committee, 7 members of Imanyano Yee-Ntombi ZamaRabe Avangelayo Executive Committee, 5 members of Presbytery Council and 65 participants from Focused Group Discussions. These 65 participants derive from four congregations, namely; Trinity congregation, St. James congregation, St. Phillips congregation and Calvin congregation and from three associations, namely; APW, IYZA and MCG. The data was analysed qualitatively through content thematic analysis which used the interpretative approach and textual presentation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Mraji, Thomakazi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Church work with abused women - - South Africa Abused women -- Pastoral counseling of Family violence -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Th
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10382 , vital:35443
- Description: This research study investigated the empowerment of women victims of domestic violence in Ntabethemba, Tsolwana Municipality: An Ecclesiastical Function of Evangelical Presbyterian Church of South Africa. The study intended to achieve the following objectives: (i) to examine the intervention and involvement of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of South Africa in social development of women victims of domestic violence; and (ii) to investigate whether there are any available programs within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of South Africa to empower women victims of domestic violence in Ntabethemba. This study used a qualitative paradigm and an exploratory research approach. It also employed in-depth one-on-one interviews complemented by focus group discussions as a method of data collection. The study used non-probability sampling, specifically purposive sampling technique. 32 participants were sampled, including: participants from Focus Group Discussions, which consisted of 7 clergy members, 7 members of Association of Presbyterian Women Executive Committee, 6 members of Men’s Christian Guild Executive Committee, 7 members of Imanyano Yee-Ntombi ZamaRabe Avangelayo Executive Committee, 5 members of Presbytery Council and 65 participants from Focused Group Discussions. These 65 participants derive from four congregations, namely; Trinity congregation, St. James congregation, St. Phillips congregation and Calvin congregation and from three associations, namely; APW, IYZA and MCG. The data was analysed qualitatively through content thematic analysis which used the interpretative approach and textual presentation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
The role of custodial grandparents in psychosocial well-being of adolescents from single parents in Buffalo City Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Adenike,Folorunsho Fausat
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Grandparents as parents Grandparent and child Grandparenting
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD(Social Work)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17943 , vital:41994
- Description: It has been a historical norm in African societies for children to leave in the homes of caregivers. Among these caregivers are the grandparents, who are from time immemorial, being a pillar of support to their children in caring for their grandchildren. Against this background, the study assesses custodial the role of grandparents in the psychosocial well-being of adolescent children from single parents' homes in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The study was guided theoretically by Role and Ryff's psychosocial well-being theories. Four sets of participants totaling 323 gathered using a mixed-method approach comprised of 150 adolescents and 136 custodial grandparents through questionnaires, 30 single parents, through in-depth interviews, and seven social workers through focus group discussions. The study utilized a multi-stage sampling technique to select adolescents and their grandparents, a purposive sampling technique for single parents, and a convenient sampling technique for social workers. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, while the qualitative data were categorized manually into themes and subthemes. Findings indicated a correlation between the attainment of the adolescent children's psychosocial well-being and the effectiveness of the custodial grandparents' role. More also, the challenges encountered by custodial grandparents do affect the attainment of the psychosocial well-being of adolescent children. Furthermore, finding from the study revealed that non-governmental organizations in the municipality were not rendering social support for the custodial grandparents. Finally, the child-support grant received by poor grandparents is grossly inadequate to meet up with the astronomical needs of the adolescent children. The study concluded that custodial grandparents' social support is an effective mechanism in meeting adolescent children's psychosocial well-being. Several recommendations were made from the conclusions to various stakeholders and proposed a responsive conceptual grand-parenting model to cater for effective parenting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Adenike,Folorunsho Fausat
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Grandparents as parents Grandparent and child Grandparenting
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD(Social Work)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17943 , vital:41994
- Description: It has been a historical norm in African societies for children to leave in the homes of caregivers. Among these caregivers are the grandparents, who are from time immemorial, being a pillar of support to their children in caring for their grandchildren. Against this background, the study assesses custodial the role of grandparents in the psychosocial well-being of adolescent children from single parents' homes in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The study was guided theoretically by Role and Ryff's psychosocial well-being theories. Four sets of participants totaling 323 gathered using a mixed-method approach comprised of 150 adolescents and 136 custodial grandparents through questionnaires, 30 single parents, through in-depth interviews, and seven social workers through focus group discussions. The study utilized a multi-stage sampling technique to select adolescents and their grandparents, a purposive sampling technique for single parents, and a convenient sampling technique for social workers. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, while the qualitative data were categorized manually into themes and subthemes. Findings indicated a correlation between the attainment of the adolescent children's psychosocial well-being and the effectiveness of the custodial grandparents' role. More also, the challenges encountered by custodial grandparents do affect the attainment of the psychosocial well-being of adolescent children. Furthermore, finding from the study revealed that non-governmental organizations in the municipality were not rendering social support for the custodial grandparents. Finally, the child-support grant received by poor grandparents is grossly inadequate to meet up with the astronomical needs of the adolescent children. The study concluded that custodial grandparents' social support is an effective mechanism in meeting adolescent children's psychosocial well-being. Several recommendations were made from the conclusions to various stakeholders and proposed a responsive conceptual grand-parenting model to cater for effective parenting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Afro-communitarianism, social architecture, and the moral education of children as strategies for social integration in South Africa
- Authors: Ofana , Diana E
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Social integration
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M.A
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17674 , vital:41135
- Description: South African society has long been bedeviled by racial segregation and oppression. Apartheid policies structured South Africa in a segregated and hierarchical manner to prevent inter-group contact and relations. Despite twenty-five years of a democratic dispensation and the many positive institutional and policy changes it has provided, South Africans are still struggling to build an integrated society of equals. This thesis uses Afro-communitarianism as a framework to analyse this challenge of continued racial segregation in post-Apartheid South Africa, and to provide tools to encourage integration. Afro-communitarianism holds that the essence of the human person is incomplete without the recognition of one’s nature as one amongst others. Afro-communitarianism emphasizes deep communal relationships between individuals and their community, it conceptualizes a person as only truly a person in relation to others. Drawing from this core idea, this thesis develops a conception of personhood as complementary. Complementary personhood argues that no human person is self-sufficient, and as such a mutual complementarity between and amongst them serves to positively enhance the quality of one’s social, moral, political, and existential realities. An Afro-communitarian understanding of integration is built upon this mutual complementarity, and as such focuses on the need for interaction, relationship, and communal space. The thesis develops this Afro-communitarian concept of social integration and uses it as a framework to identify the core relational problem underlying racial tensions in contemporary South Africa. I argue that my Afro-communitarian account of complementary personhood provides us with two mutually reinforcing strategies to respond to this core relational problem. First, I present 4 an account of Afro-communitarian social architecture which prioritizes communal engagement through the creation of communal spaces that promote humane relationships. Second, I argue for an Afro-communitarian understanding of moral education that is centred on instilling communal values and a complementary understanding of personhood. Together, these two strategies provide resources toward developing a new and innovative path toward an integrated South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Ofana , Diana E
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Social integration
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M.A
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17674 , vital:41135
- Description: South African society has long been bedeviled by racial segregation and oppression. Apartheid policies structured South Africa in a segregated and hierarchical manner to prevent inter-group contact and relations. Despite twenty-five years of a democratic dispensation and the many positive institutional and policy changes it has provided, South Africans are still struggling to build an integrated society of equals. This thesis uses Afro-communitarianism as a framework to analyse this challenge of continued racial segregation in post-Apartheid South Africa, and to provide tools to encourage integration. Afro-communitarianism holds that the essence of the human person is incomplete without the recognition of one’s nature as one amongst others. Afro-communitarianism emphasizes deep communal relationships between individuals and their community, it conceptualizes a person as only truly a person in relation to others. Drawing from this core idea, this thesis develops a conception of personhood as complementary. Complementary personhood argues that no human person is self-sufficient, and as such a mutual complementarity between and amongst them serves to positively enhance the quality of one’s social, moral, political, and existential realities. An Afro-communitarian understanding of integration is built upon this mutual complementarity, and as such focuses on the need for interaction, relationship, and communal space. The thesis develops this Afro-communitarian concept of social integration and uses it as a framework to identify the core relational problem underlying racial tensions in contemporary South Africa. I argue that my Afro-communitarian account of complementary personhood provides us with two mutually reinforcing strategies to respond to this core relational problem. First, I present 4 an account of Afro-communitarian social architecture which prioritizes communal engagement through the creation of communal spaces that promote humane relationships. Second, I argue for an Afro-communitarian understanding of moral education that is centred on instilling communal values and a complementary understanding of personhood. Together, these two strategies provide resources toward developing a new and innovative path toward an integrated South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Customary marriage and family practices that discriminate against amaXhosa women: a critical study of selected isixhosa literary text
- Authors: Mbatyoti, Pheliwe Yvonne
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Forced marriage -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Customary law -- South Africa Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Litt et Phil (African Studies)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10736 , vital:35731
- Description: In many parts of Africa, the cultural practices and customs that were in use over the ages are still largely in place today. Many of these practices discriminate against individuals and compromise their human rights, particularly the rights of African women. The aim of this investigation is to study customary marital practices among the amaXhosa in order to establish their effect on modern amaXhosa society. In addition, this includes other discriminatory practices, such as the diminished status of wedded women. Within the study, the social status of women before and after 1994 is dealt with as depicted in the selected texts. The study further determines the current social status of married women under the current dispensation and finds out whether the rights of married women are sufficiently recognised in the texts under discussion. It is clear therefore that whilst Africa has made good progress on the political front, the same cannot be said for some of the cultural values that are still adhered to in the present age. This applies in particular to the rights of women in an African society. Globally, women and girls suffer the harmful and life-threatening effects of discriminatory traditional and cultural practices that continue under the guise of social, cultural and religious ceremonies. In the democratic South Africa, there is growing concern and awareness that some cultural practices are harmful to women and girls. The study analyses a number of texts namely, novels and drama, that were published before and after the 1994 era in South Africa with aims and objectives being outlined in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 is devoted to the theoretical framework, which includes the general theory pertaining to the status of women, feminism and human rights. Secondly, it deals with African theory pertaining to the status of African women as well as their rights; finally, it reflects on the role of women in societies where traditional marriage custom is still in use. Chapter 3 analyses the depiction of customary marriage as a theme in isiXhosa prose before and after 1994. Chapter 4 examines the depiction of customary marriage in v isiXhosa drama before and after 1994 and focuses more on human rights elements. Chapter 5 summarises the arguments distilled from the analysed works. The researcher came to the conclusion that the practice of forced marriage does not occur in amaXhosa society only but it is also found on a wider scale on the rest of the African continent and beyond. The study was concluded with a set of recommendations that were made to combat the scourge of anti-feminism that is found in modern society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mbatyoti, Pheliwe Yvonne
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Forced marriage -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Customary law -- South Africa Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , D Litt et Phil (African Studies)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10736 , vital:35731
- Description: In many parts of Africa, the cultural practices and customs that were in use over the ages are still largely in place today. Many of these practices discriminate against individuals and compromise their human rights, particularly the rights of African women. The aim of this investigation is to study customary marital practices among the amaXhosa in order to establish their effect on modern amaXhosa society. In addition, this includes other discriminatory practices, such as the diminished status of wedded women. Within the study, the social status of women before and after 1994 is dealt with as depicted in the selected texts. The study further determines the current social status of married women under the current dispensation and finds out whether the rights of married women are sufficiently recognised in the texts under discussion. It is clear therefore that whilst Africa has made good progress on the political front, the same cannot be said for some of the cultural values that are still adhered to in the present age. This applies in particular to the rights of women in an African society. Globally, women and girls suffer the harmful and life-threatening effects of discriminatory traditional and cultural practices that continue under the guise of social, cultural and religious ceremonies. In the democratic South Africa, there is growing concern and awareness that some cultural practices are harmful to women and girls. The study analyses a number of texts namely, novels and drama, that were published before and after the 1994 era in South Africa with aims and objectives being outlined in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 is devoted to the theoretical framework, which includes the general theory pertaining to the status of women, feminism and human rights. Secondly, it deals with African theory pertaining to the status of African women as well as their rights; finally, it reflects on the role of women in societies where traditional marriage custom is still in use. Chapter 3 analyses the depiction of customary marriage as a theme in isiXhosa prose before and after 1994. Chapter 4 examines the depiction of customary marriage in v isiXhosa drama before and after 1994 and focuses more on human rights elements. Chapter 5 summarises the arguments distilled from the analysed works. The researcher came to the conclusion that the practice of forced marriage does not occur in amaXhosa society only but it is also found on a wider scale on the rest of the African continent and beyond. The study was concluded with a set of recommendations that were made to combat the scourge of anti-feminism that is found in modern society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Concerning care in the context of the nursing profession: a phenomenological investigation
- O’Donnell, Neal Garth Mandy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3534-6522
- Authors: O’Donnell, Neal Garth Mandy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3534-6522
- Date: 2015-06
- Subjects: Nursing
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26638 , vital:65684
- Description: This dissertation is concerned with the phenomenological question of lack of care in the face of Martin Heidegger’s placing care as a base for being. More specifically with the question: How is Heidegger’s ontological notion of care to be understood from within the contexts of healthcare, in general, and nursing in particular. Furthermore, deep within this notion of care there is always the option to not care which, although care is always contained in the various modes of Heidegger's Dasein, can be a contemporary enigma demanding investigation. In approaching the interpretation of what it is to care, the question will be confronted on three fronts a to interrogate, in the context of healthcare, Heidegger’s conception of the phenomenological situation of care in his writings up to and including his Being and Time; b then to delve into the phenomenon of lack of care that seems to have appeared in the provision of healthcare in recent times; and, in an attempt to explain this lack, c to expand on Heidegger’s early conception of care more broadly out into the world by postulating a diachronic emphasis by introducing elements from the developmental psychology of Erik Erikson. It is argued that this is necessary in order to begin to understand provenance of the notion of lack of care within the sphere of healthcare. As nursing is considered an epitome of caring, the profession will be used as a vehicle to illustrate the phenomenon of lack of care and how this is possible when care is the basis of Being in the world. Thus the final section will bring out through the lens of lack of care the predicates of caring as they apply to the healthcare professions, and, just as importantly, other areas of human endeavour, for that matter. Thes predicates, it is postulated, are an accretion of five elements: development of the care-of, assumption of some level of authority, introduction of curiosity into the engagement with the world of people and things, an understanding of the role of empathy, and, finally, advocacy in the face of disturbance. It is further postulated that none of these predicates are a given, that, in an enabling environment, they unfold out of each other to create a caring person. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2015
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015-06
- Authors: O’Donnell, Neal Garth Mandy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3534-6522
- Date: 2015-06
- Subjects: Nursing
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26638 , vital:65684
- Description: This dissertation is concerned with the phenomenological question of lack of care in the face of Martin Heidegger’s placing care as a base for being. More specifically with the question: How is Heidegger’s ontological notion of care to be understood from within the contexts of healthcare, in general, and nursing in particular. Furthermore, deep within this notion of care there is always the option to not care which, although care is always contained in the various modes of Heidegger's Dasein, can be a contemporary enigma demanding investigation. In approaching the interpretation of what it is to care, the question will be confronted on three fronts a to interrogate, in the context of healthcare, Heidegger’s conception of the phenomenological situation of care in his writings up to and including his Being and Time; b then to delve into the phenomenon of lack of care that seems to have appeared in the provision of healthcare in recent times; and, in an attempt to explain this lack, c to expand on Heidegger’s early conception of care more broadly out into the world by postulating a diachronic emphasis by introducing elements from the developmental psychology of Erik Erikson. It is argued that this is necessary in order to begin to understand provenance of the notion of lack of care within the sphere of healthcare. As nursing is considered an epitome of caring, the profession will be used as a vehicle to illustrate the phenomenon of lack of care and how this is possible when care is the basis of Being in the world. Thus the final section will bring out through the lens of lack of care the predicates of caring as they apply to the healthcare professions, and, just as importantly, other areas of human endeavour, for that matter. Thes predicates, it is postulated, are an accretion of five elements: development of the care-of, assumption of some level of authority, introduction of curiosity into the engagement with the world of people and things, an understanding of the role of empathy, and, finally, advocacy in the face of disturbance. It is further postulated that none of these predicates are a given, that, in an enabling environment, they unfold out of each other to create a caring person. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2015
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015-06
Newspaper coverage of the 2016 #feesmustfall students' protests in Eastern Cape universities : a content analysis of daily dispatch
- Ayodeji-Falade, Monisola Bolajoko
- Authors: Ayodeji-Falade, Monisola Bolajoko
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Journalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Mass media -- Political aspects -- South Africa Press -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Communication
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9894 , vital:35115
- Description: This study evaluated the coverage of the 2016 #FeeMustFall students’ protests in Eastern Cape Universities by the Daily Dispatch, which is a daily newspaper published in the Eastern Cape Province. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed through content analysis of the Daily Dispatch Newspaper while the qualitative data collected through focus group discussions among selected students of the University of Fort Hare were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that 31 stories were published by the Daily Dispatch Newspaper during the period of the protest. The tone of the stories suggested that the Daily Dispatch Newspaper was objective in its reportage. Furthermore, framing analysis of the stories showed that conflict news frame was most prominent in the #FeeMustFall students’ protest stories followed by the attribution of responsibility and human-interest frames. Thematic analysis of the focus group discussions revealed that the type of news frame used for the #FeeMustFall student’s protest stories influenced the thoughts and perceptions of readers as the news frames generated similar audience frames. These findings confirm the views highlighted by the agenda setting and framing theories, which underpin this study. This study indicates that news framing plays a significant role in readers’ perception and as well, defines the way information is presented by readers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ayodeji-Falade, Monisola Bolajoko
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Journalism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Mass media -- Political aspects -- South Africa Press -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Communication
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9894 , vital:35115
- Description: This study evaluated the coverage of the 2016 #FeeMustFall students’ protests in Eastern Cape Universities by the Daily Dispatch, which is a daily newspaper published in the Eastern Cape Province. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed through content analysis of the Daily Dispatch Newspaper while the qualitative data collected through focus group discussions among selected students of the University of Fort Hare were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that 31 stories were published by the Daily Dispatch Newspaper during the period of the protest. The tone of the stories suggested that the Daily Dispatch Newspaper was objective in its reportage. Furthermore, framing analysis of the stories showed that conflict news frame was most prominent in the #FeeMustFall students’ protest stories followed by the attribution of responsibility and human-interest frames. Thematic analysis of the focus group discussions revealed that the type of news frame used for the #FeeMustFall student’s protest stories influenced the thoughts and perceptions of readers as the news frames generated similar audience frames. These findings confirm the views highlighted by the agenda setting and framing theories, which underpin this study. This study indicates that news framing plays a significant role in readers’ perception and as well, defines the way information is presented by readers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Children’s Grants and Social Security Communities in the Eastern Cape : The Case of Nqabarha Administrative Area
- Authors: Mwangolela, Tafadzwa Fungay
- Date: 2013-01
- Subjects: Children -- Services for -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Grants in aid , Social Security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23159 , vital:55664
- Description: This study examines the impact of children’s grants on household access to food, education and health care. In the face of increased poverty and socio-economic inequalities, social grants are a critical poverty alleviation intervention implemented by the government of South Africa. The children’s grants are offered as part of the social security system which is provided for in the Republic of South Africa Constitution of 1996 and the Social Assistance Act of 2004. The basic needs conceptual framework is the lens informing the focus of the study. Among other major findings, the study reveals that (a) childrens grants play a critical role in improvement of access to food, health care and education, (b) childrens grants are used as collateral, to access short term loans, and (c) social networks and home gardens play a significant role in aiding children’s grants to ensure household access to food, education and health care. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty Social Sciences and Humanities, 2013
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013-01
- Authors: Mwangolela, Tafadzwa Fungay
- Date: 2013-01
- Subjects: Children -- Services for -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Grants in aid , Social Security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23159 , vital:55664
- Description: This study examines the impact of children’s grants on household access to food, education and health care. In the face of increased poverty and socio-economic inequalities, social grants are a critical poverty alleviation intervention implemented by the government of South Africa. The children’s grants are offered as part of the social security system which is provided for in the Republic of South Africa Constitution of 1996 and the Social Assistance Act of 2004. The basic needs conceptual framework is the lens informing the focus of the study. Among other major findings, the study reveals that (a) childrens grants play a critical role in improvement of access to food, health care and education, (b) childrens grants are used as collateral, to access short term loans, and (c) social networks and home gardens play a significant role in aiding children’s grants to ensure household access to food, education and health care. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty Social Sciences and Humanities, 2013
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013-01
A systematic review on contributing factors leading to prison (Correctional Service) escapes.
- Authors: Nunze, Ncediswa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Prisoners -- South Africa Escapes -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc. Sci (Criminology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16506 , vital:40726
- Description: The study presents a systematic literature on contributing factors leading to prison escape. The purpose of this study is to systematically review the contributing factors that are associated with escape from correctional centre. Objectives of the study: To investigate the impact of social and cultural dynamics and triggers that motivates inmates to escape from correctional centre e.g. the internal factors and the external factors and to establish prevention strategies to deal with escapes. Method: Secondary data was employed in the study. The researcher collected the data using qualitative approach from different sources, including newspaper, prison journals, articles and the data that was originally collected for other research purposes on prison escape, both internationally and nationally. Specific data within the studies and articles is used to determine the contributing factors leading to prison escape. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: External factors such as: (family problems, missing family, the external environment and contact with the external environment, residency, loss loved ones, loss of liberty and lack of stimulation and loss of control), and internal factors such as: structural factors (e.g., crowding and size of prison, transfers, loss of security); management practices (e.g., management style, staff culture, inadequate institutional management); and environmental influences (e.g., alcohol and drug abuse, institutional crisis situations, parole problems, institutional misconduct and punishment, institutional programs, violence in prison (vulnerability to violence and gang related), limitation of goods and services, limitation of autonomy, sexual deprivation, inadequate facilities, unnatural environmental conditions are contributing factors leading to prison escapes. Conclusion: The more closely the conditions of imprisonment approximate those normally seen outside, the better the inmates can learn to survive without resorting to criminal. This allows them to also learn the ways that will help them survive outside the correctional centre and function as normal citizens. More opportunities must be created for inmates to pursue a meaningful life in prison and the existing programmes should be continuously checked if they are being practised properly. Encourage inmates to keep contact with relatives and mends so that they do not lose contact with the outside world. Correctional staff and administrators pay close attention to the policies and practices for circumstances in which violence is likely to occur, such as during inmate transport.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Nunze, Ncediswa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Prisoners -- South Africa Escapes -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc. Sci (Criminology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16506 , vital:40726
- Description: The study presents a systematic literature on contributing factors leading to prison escape. The purpose of this study is to systematically review the contributing factors that are associated with escape from correctional centre. Objectives of the study: To investigate the impact of social and cultural dynamics and triggers that motivates inmates to escape from correctional centre e.g. the internal factors and the external factors and to establish prevention strategies to deal with escapes. Method: Secondary data was employed in the study. The researcher collected the data using qualitative approach from different sources, including newspaper, prison journals, articles and the data that was originally collected for other research purposes on prison escape, both internationally and nationally. Specific data within the studies and articles is used to determine the contributing factors leading to prison escape. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: External factors such as: (family problems, missing family, the external environment and contact with the external environment, residency, loss loved ones, loss of liberty and lack of stimulation and loss of control), and internal factors such as: structural factors (e.g., crowding and size of prison, transfers, loss of security); management practices (e.g., management style, staff culture, inadequate institutional management); and environmental influences (e.g., alcohol and drug abuse, institutional crisis situations, parole problems, institutional misconduct and punishment, institutional programs, violence in prison (vulnerability to violence and gang related), limitation of goods and services, limitation of autonomy, sexual deprivation, inadequate facilities, unnatural environmental conditions are contributing factors leading to prison escapes. Conclusion: The more closely the conditions of imprisonment approximate those normally seen outside, the better the inmates can learn to survive without resorting to criminal. This allows them to also learn the ways that will help them survive outside the correctional centre and function as normal citizens. More opportunities must be created for inmates to pursue a meaningful life in prison and the existing programmes should be continuously checked if they are being practised properly. Encourage inmates to keep contact with relatives and mends so that they do not lose contact with the outside world. Correctional staff and administrators pay close attention to the policies and practices for circumstances in which violence is likely to occur, such as during inmate transport.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Impact of press freedom on reportage of corruption in the Nigerian oil and gas industry : a comparative content analysis of four Nigerian Newspapers
- Ayodeji-Falade, Monisola Bolajoko
- Authors: Ayodeji-Falade, Monisola Bolajoko
- Date: 2021-10
- Subjects: Newspapers -- Nigeria , Freedom of the press , Mass media -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21805 , vital:51787
- Description: A free press is pivotal to eradication of corruption in the society as the press remains the most powerful channel of communication that cut across all publics. Thus, this study seeks to evaluate the impact of press freedom on reportage of corruption in the oil and gas industry through a content analysis of four Nigerian newspapers (The Punch, Vanguard, Guardian and Nigerian Tribune). The study adopted a mixed research method involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data were collected and analysed through content analysis of the selected newspapers while the qualitative data collected through interview of the respective newspaper correspondents were analysed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that 534 stories were published on corruption in the Nigerian oil and gas sector by all the newspapers within the study period (July 2018-June 2019), with the Punch having the highest magnitude of stories (n = 196, 36.70percent) while Nigerian Tribune had the highest number of stories reported on its front and back pages (n = 143, 92.25percent). However, Guardian had the highest number of full-paged stories (n = 15, 20percent) whereas the Punch and Nigerian Tribune adopted the widest range of publication formats with news being the most dominant format employed by all the dailies (n = 462, 86.52percent). Although, all the newspapers employed more episodic frame (n = 432, 80.89percent) than thematic frame (n = 93,17.41percent), framing analysis revealed oil theft, vandalism, alleged-fraud, environmental consequences and economic consequences as the major frames used in the coverage of stories on corruption in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Thematic analysis showed that the newspaper correspondents did not have access to adequate information on corruption in the sector while journalists in the country are still being subjected to intimidation, arrest and imprisonment. These findings suggest that the selected newspapers gave prominence to reportage of corruption in the oil and gas sector in country, which implies that the newspapers are fulfilling their agenda-setting roles and social responsibility in the society. Nevertheless, the level of press freedom in Nigeria has partly affected the reportage of corruption in the oil and gas sector of the country as this has restricted the use of investigative reporting occasioned by the lack of access to classified information on corruption and envisaged harm by potential sources and journalists. Nevertheless, this study proposes an anticorruption-media model, which focuses on the significance of the media as an anticorruption agent in a developing country. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10
- Authors: Ayodeji-Falade, Monisola Bolajoko
- Date: 2021-10
- Subjects: Newspapers -- Nigeria , Freedom of the press , Mass media -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21805 , vital:51787
- Description: A free press is pivotal to eradication of corruption in the society as the press remains the most powerful channel of communication that cut across all publics. Thus, this study seeks to evaluate the impact of press freedom on reportage of corruption in the oil and gas industry through a content analysis of four Nigerian newspapers (The Punch, Vanguard, Guardian and Nigerian Tribune). The study adopted a mixed research method involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data were collected and analysed through content analysis of the selected newspapers while the qualitative data collected through interview of the respective newspaper correspondents were analysed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that 534 stories were published on corruption in the Nigerian oil and gas sector by all the newspapers within the study period (July 2018-June 2019), with the Punch having the highest magnitude of stories (n = 196, 36.70percent) while Nigerian Tribune had the highest number of stories reported on its front and back pages (n = 143, 92.25percent). However, Guardian had the highest number of full-paged stories (n = 15, 20percent) whereas the Punch and Nigerian Tribune adopted the widest range of publication formats with news being the most dominant format employed by all the dailies (n = 462, 86.52percent). Although, all the newspapers employed more episodic frame (n = 432, 80.89percent) than thematic frame (n = 93,17.41percent), framing analysis revealed oil theft, vandalism, alleged-fraud, environmental consequences and economic consequences as the major frames used in the coverage of stories on corruption in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Thematic analysis showed that the newspaper correspondents did not have access to adequate information on corruption in the sector while journalists in the country are still being subjected to intimidation, arrest and imprisonment. These findings suggest that the selected newspapers gave prominence to reportage of corruption in the oil and gas sector in country, which implies that the newspapers are fulfilling their agenda-setting roles and social responsibility in the society. Nevertheless, the level of press freedom in Nigeria has partly affected the reportage of corruption in the oil and gas sector of the country as this has restricted the use of investigative reporting occasioned by the lack of access to classified information on corruption and envisaged harm by potential sources and journalists. Nevertheless, this study proposes an anticorruption-media model, which focuses on the significance of the media as an anticorruption agent in a developing country. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10
Exploring the perceptions and attitudes of University of Fort Hare students towards seeking psychological counselling services
- Authors: Pantshwa, Siziphiwe
- Date: 2022-09
- Subjects: Counseling , Helping behavior , Psychology, Applied
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23809 , vital:60807
- Description: The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the perceptions and attitudes of Fort Hare students towards seeking psychological help. It provided an understanding of factors that influence the help-seeking behaviours of university students. The study used an explorative qualitative approach in collecting data to find problems frequently encountered by students, their preferred sources of help for those problems, and their attitudes towards seeking psychological help. The sample was selected through a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Six participants, undergraduate and post-graduate students from the University of Fort Hare, East London campus, participated in the study. The data was collected in face-to-face semi-structured individual interviews in which participants were questioned orally. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data collected from the semi-structured interviews were thematically analysed by employing Braun and Clarke’s six steps of thematic analysis. Social constructionism as a meta-theory and Ecosystems theory provided the theoretical underpinning for the interpretation of the study. The study results revealed that close friends and family members were the preferred sources of help chosen by students. Five significant problems were experienced by students. Financial issues, difficulty adjusting to the university environment, academic stress, being away from home and managing time were at the top list of the challenges experienced by students. The factors that inhibited -seeking for psychological help were social stigma, access to a psychologist, financial constraints, and viewing a psychologist as a stranger. However the study further found that students had a positive attitude toward professional psychological help. This indicates a slight shift from previous studies, which reported negative attitudes among university students. Participants also reported on the influence of their socio-cultural background, the opinions held by their family and community members towards seeking psychological help. This study recommends specific interventions in which seeking psychological help can be reinforced, such as holding workshops to psycho-educate students about the benefits of using counselling services and the negative implications of not seeking professional help when experiencing psychological distress. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-09
- Authors: Pantshwa, Siziphiwe
- Date: 2022-09
- Subjects: Counseling , Helping behavior , Psychology, Applied
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23809 , vital:60807
- Description: The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the perceptions and attitudes of Fort Hare students towards seeking psychological help. It provided an understanding of factors that influence the help-seeking behaviours of university students. The study used an explorative qualitative approach in collecting data to find problems frequently encountered by students, their preferred sources of help for those problems, and their attitudes towards seeking psychological help. The sample was selected through a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Six participants, undergraduate and post-graduate students from the University of Fort Hare, East London campus, participated in the study. The data was collected in face-to-face semi-structured individual interviews in which participants were questioned orally. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data collected from the semi-structured interviews were thematically analysed by employing Braun and Clarke’s six steps of thematic analysis. Social constructionism as a meta-theory and Ecosystems theory provided the theoretical underpinning for the interpretation of the study. The study results revealed that close friends and family members were the preferred sources of help chosen by students. Five significant problems were experienced by students. Financial issues, difficulty adjusting to the university environment, academic stress, being away from home and managing time were at the top list of the challenges experienced by students. The factors that inhibited -seeking for psychological help were social stigma, access to a psychologist, financial constraints, and viewing a psychologist as a stranger. However the study further found that students had a positive attitude toward professional psychological help. This indicates a slight shift from previous studies, which reported negative attitudes among university students. Participants also reported on the influence of their socio-cultural background, the opinions held by their family and community members towards seeking psychological help. This study recommends specific interventions in which seeking psychological help can be reinforced, such as holding workshops to psycho-educate students about the benefits of using counselling services and the negative implications of not seeking professional help when experiencing psychological distress. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-09
Municipal governance and the space for meaningful engagement: local government, citizenship and public participation in Amahlati and great Kei Municipalities
- Sokupa, Thabile https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2265-477X
- Authors: Sokupa, Thabile https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2265-477X
- Date: 2015-01
- Subjects: Municipal government--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Local government--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25107 , vital:63978
- Description: Since the dawn of democracy in 1994 and the subsequent adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in 1996, new forms of “wall to wall” municipalities were created throughout South Africa in 2000 and given a mandate of a local developmental sphere. The founding blocks of this was through the creation of the three spheres of government mechanism, namely national, provincial and local, each sphere of government was regarded as distinctive, interrelated and interdependent from one another. The local government sphere however has since mid-2000’s been marred by persistent service delivery protests throughout the country, in recent years the service delivery protests have been accompanied by violence and intimidation. The Eastern Cape Province has not been spared from this phenomenon, media reports, independent monitoring think tanks and yearly statistical results released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) through the ‘Gatherings Act’ indicates that service delivery protests in the province has been on an upward trend on yearly basis since the mid-2000’s. But much more detail is required in understanding the causes behind what are sometimes termed “civil unrest.” The thesis attempts to highlight trends regarding reasons for protest, methods of protest, and the profiling of areas where the protests occur. The findings would meaningfully contribute to the local government discourse and foster alternative mechanisms of engaging communities through better governance and development mechanism by local authorities. The ultimate goal is to create alternative solutions in addressing communities’ needs at local level for policy makers. Currently there is an existing gap in investigating service delivery protests especialy in rural municipalities, most of the municipal research findings and policies are predominantly urban oriented and are not tailor made in addressing rural community’s needs on governance and development. Although the South African Constitution makes provision on steps to be followed on governance and development at local level both vertical and horizontal integration, the Constitution is however silent on addressing governance and development needs of rural communities. As a result of this silence, rural municipalities are confined to develop policies that are not specific to their local needs. Hence the research was conducted in rural communities of Amahlathi and Great Kei municipalities respectively through mixed methods between quantitative and qualitative research. The thesis primarily sought to assess the actual nature and content of forms of engagement in the current public participation discourse at the two municipalities and perceptions thereof of communities on this matter. The information gathered in this research is intended to provide policy makers and those with interests on local government with a better understanding on the dynamics of public participation involvement and service delivery protests on rural based municipalities. The research also seeks to generate new information, insights and perspectives on service delivery protests in order to develop alternative strategies in addressing and minimising service delivery protests. This would assist local government practitioners on the one hand, with planning and implementing a focused approach on governance and development for communities while on the other, introduce an alternative perspective that is evidence based for policy makers. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2015
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015-01
- Authors: Sokupa, Thabile https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2265-477X
- Date: 2015-01
- Subjects: Municipal government--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Local government--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25107 , vital:63978
- Description: Since the dawn of democracy in 1994 and the subsequent adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in 1996, new forms of “wall to wall” municipalities were created throughout South Africa in 2000 and given a mandate of a local developmental sphere. The founding blocks of this was through the creation of the three spheres of government mechanism, namely national, provincial and local, each sphere of government was regarded as distinctive, interrelated and interdependent from one another. The local government sphere however has since mid-2000’s been marred by persistent service delivery protests throughout the country, in recent years the service delivery protests have been accompanied by violence and intimidation. The Eastern Cape Province has not been spared from this phenomenon, media reports, independent monitoring think tanks and yearly statistical results released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) through the ‘Gatherings Act’ indicates that service delivery protests in the province has been on an upward trend on yearly basis since the mid-2000’s. But much more detail is required in understanding the causes behind what are sometimes termed “civil unrest.” The thesis attempts to highlight trends regarding reasons for protest, methods of protest, and the profiling of areas where the protests occur. The findings would meaningfully contribute to the local government discourse and foster alternative mechanisms of engaging communities through better governance and development mechanism by local authorities. The ultimate goal is to create alternative solutions in addressing communities’ needs at local level for policy makers. Currently there is an existing gap in investigating service delivery protests especialy in rural municipalities, most of the municipal research findings and policies are predominantly urban oriented and are not tailor made in addressing rural community’s needs on governance and development. Although the South African Constitution makes provision on steps to be followed on governance and development at local level both vertical and horizontal integration, the Constitution is however silent on addressing governance and development needs of rural communities. As a result of this silence, rural municipalities are confined to develop policies that are not specific to their local needs. Hence the research was conducted in rural communities of Amahlathi and Great Kei municipalities respectively through mixed methods between quantitative and qualitative research. The thesis primarily sought to assess the actual nature and content of forms of engagement in the current public participation discourse at the two municipalities and perceptions thereof of communities on this matter. The information gathered in this research is intended to provide policy makers and those with interests on local government with a better understanding on the dynamics of public participation involvement and service delivery protests on rural based municipalities. The research also seeks to generate new information, insights and perspectives on service delivery protests in order to develop alternative strategies in addressing and minimising service delivery protests. This would assist local government practitioners on the one hand, with planning and implementing a focused approach on governance and development for communities while on the other, introduce an alternative perspective that is evidence based for policy makers. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2015
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015-01
The impact of cultural attrition on youth behaviour :the case of ulwaluko and Intonjane cultural practices in Mthatha and Mount Frere, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Nomngcoyiya, Thanduxolo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Afrocentrism Female circumcision -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Initiation rites -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , Degree
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5576 , vital:29346
- Description: This study explored the impact of cultural attrition on youth behaviour: A case of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices in Mthatha and Mount Frere areas, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study endeavoured to achieve the following specific objectives: (i) to respectively examine youth perceptions of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices and their impact towards their behaviour; (ii) to establish different stakeholders’ perceptions on the link between current youth behaviours and attrition of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices; (iii) to explore the extent to which cultural attrition has impacted upon the cultural goal posts of both ulwaluko and intonjane practices; and (iv) to establish the effectiveness of policy environment designed to uphold cultural preservation, integrity, growth and development. The study was premised on theoretical lenses of anomie theory, socio-cultural theory, cultural imperialism theory, and cultural feminism theory. Methodologically, the study used both qualitative and quantitative paradigm and was thus guided by mixed research design which was case study and mini survey. The data was collected through in-depth one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions and key informants i n t h e qualitative aspect of the study. In addition, the quantitative data was gathered through distribution of questionnaires. The study used both non-probability and probability methods sample selection, specifically purposive sampling (for qualitative data) and cluster random sampling (for quantitative) techniques were used. Using these techniques, forty-two (42) participants were selected for qualitative interviews, and comprised of eighteen (18) young men and women of both gender divides. Moreover, nine (9) key informants were included in the qualitative data collection. Therefore, the total number of both participants and respondents was 105. Data was analysed qualitatively through thematic analysis, while descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data through the use of SPSS software versions 24. The study revealed the following: a state of cultural crossroad for both intonjane and ulwaluko rites; cultural attrition is indeed a reality; culture incapable of holding their goal posts; modern era a huge driver to cultural attrition; unfriendly policies on cultures a driver to cultural attrition; human rights’ wave and advocacy aiding cultural attrition; political infiltration of cultures; human rights’ wave and advocacy aiding cultural attrition; and community forums as avenues of disseminating the benefits of cultural practices. Based on the evidence gathered in this study, the following recommendations are made: purposive use of mass media to promote indigenous cultures; community awareness in promoting and maintaining cultures; formulating cultural policies that embed stakeholders’ self-determination, and youth ownership and participation in cultural preservation. The study concludes that cultural practices such as ulwaluko and intonjane play a pivotal role in shaping young people’s behaviours and moral conducts. However, modernity forces and various omissions by stakeholders of these cultural practices have contributed to their attrition.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Nomngcoyiya, Thanduxolo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Afrocentrism Female circumcision -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Initiation rites -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , Degree
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5576 , vital:29346
- Description: This study explored the impact of cultural attrition on youth behaviour: A case of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices in Mthatha and Mount Frere areas, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study endeavoured to achieve the following specific objectives: (i) to respectively examine youth perceptions of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices and their impact towards their behaviour; (ii) to establish different stakeholders’ perceptions on the link between current youth behaviours and attrition of ulwaluko and intonjane cultural practices; (iii) to explore the extent to which cultural attrition has impacted upon the cultural goal posts of both ulwaluko and intonjane practices; and (iv) to establish the effectiveness of policy environment designed to uphold cultural preservation, integrity, growth and development. The study was premised on theoretical lenses of anomie theory, socio-cultural theory, cultural imperialism theory, and cultural feminism theory. Methodologically, the study used both qualitative and quantitative paradigm and was thus guided by mixed research design which was case study and mini survey. The data was collected through in-depth one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions and key informants i n t h e qualitative aspect of the study. In addition, the quantitative data was gathered through distribution of questionnaires. The study used both non-probability and probability methods sample selection, specifically purposive sampling (for qualitative data) and cluster random sampling (for quantitative) techniques were used. Using these techniques, forty-two (42) participants were selected for qualitative interviews, and comprised of eighteen (18) young men and women of both gender divides. Moreover, nine (9) key informants were included in the qualitative data collection. Therefore, the total number of both participants and respondents was 105. Data was analysed qualitatively through thematic analysis, while descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data through the use of SPSS software versions 24. The study revealed the following: a state of cultural crossroad for both intonjane and ulwaluko rites; cultural attrition is indeed a reality; culture incapable of holding their goal posts; modern era a huge driver to cultural attrition; unfriendly policies on cultures a driver to cultural attrition; human rights’ wave and advocacy aiding cultural attrition; political infiltration of cultures; human rights’ wave and advocacy aiding cultural attrition; and community forums as avenues of disseminating the benefits of cultural practices. Based on the evidence gathered in this study, the following recommendations are made: purposive use of mass media to promote indigenous cultures; community awareness in promoting and maintaining cultures; formulating cultural policies that embed stakeholders’ self-determination, and youth ownership and participation in cultural preservation. The study concludes that cultural practices such as ulwaluko and intonjane play a pivotal role in shaping young people’s behaviours and moral conducts. However, modernity forces and various omissions by stakeholders of these cultural practices have contributed to their attrition.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Unravelling the myths about unplanned pregnancy among female students at University of Fort Hare East London Campus, South Africa
- Authors: Chukwunyere , Amadi P
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Unwanted pregnancy , Women college students , College students
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25415 , vital:64237
- Description: This research study examined: 1. the attitudes and perceptions of female university students towards unplanned pregnancies, their (pregnancies’) associated influences and their social economic consequences on the participants and their family. 2. The level of knowledge, the sources thereof, and the girls’ attitudes and perceptions toward contraception, abortion and their actual use as possible barriers in the prevention of unplanned pregnancies. 3. The possible interventions in curbing the phenomenon of unplanned pregnancies. Data for the study was gathered through in-depth-interviews with ten female undergraduate students at the University of Fort Hare in East London campus, who had the experience of unplanned pregnancy while studying. Selection of participants was done through snowball sampling. A number of factors responsible for the unplanned pregnancy are revealed, including: Inadequate and inconsistent use of contraceptives, ignorance about contraception or rejection of contraceptive use due to religious beliefs. Influential factors regarding unplanned child bearing include: The role of the mother and the boyfriend, traditional and religious beliefs, and the desire for child bearing and motherhood. Although the majority of the girls are knowledgeable about contraception, and their right to abortion, a number of barriers hinder them from putting this knowledge into practical use. Some of the most highlighted consequences of unplanned/unwanted pregnancy are the financial burden on the family and loss of study time. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2015
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Chukwunyere , Amadi P
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Unwanted pregnancy , Women college students , College students
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25415 , vital:64237
- Description: This research study examined: 1. the attitudes and perceptions of female university students towards unplanned pregnancies, their (pregnancies’) associated influences and their social economic consequences on the participants and their family. 2. The level of knowledge, the sources thereof, and the girls’ attitudes and perceptions toward contraception, abortion and their actual use as possible barriers in the prevention of unplanned pregnancies. 3. The possible interventions in curbing the phenomenon of unplanned pregnancies. Data for the study was gathered through in-depth-interviews with ten female undergraduate students at the University of Fort Hare in East London campus, who had the experience of unplanned pregnancy while studying. Selection of participants was done through snowball sampling. A number of factors responsible for the unplanned pregnancy are revealed, including: Inadequate and inconsistent use of contraceptives, ignorance about contraception or rejection of contraceptive use due to religious beliefs. Influential factors regarding unplanned child bearing include: The role of the mother and the boyfriend, traditional and religious beliefs, and the desire for child bearing and motherhood. Although the majority of the girls are knowledgeable about contraception, and their right to abortion, a number of barriers hinder them from putting this knowledge into practical use. Some of the most highlighted consequences of unplanned/unwanted pregnancy are the financial burden on the family and loss of study time. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2015
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The effectiveness of juvenile delinquents rehabilitation programmes in Zimbabwe : a case study of Harare Central Prison
- Authors: Nyakatawa, Rumbidzai
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquents Rehabilitation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12436 , vital:39263
- Description: The Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services records show that there are around 300 children incarcerated every year. Most of these children commit crimes such as rape, murder, theft, possession of drugs due to issues like poverty, substance abuse, peer pressure and neglect. A number of these children face many forms of abuse in their homes, including physical, emotional, mental abuse as well as rape. The major aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of juvenile delinquents’ rehabilitation programmes at Harare Central Prison. The qualitative methodology was appropriate for this study because it gives in depth information through conducting interviews and focus groups with participants. The sampling procedure involved deliberate choice of an informant due to the qualities the informant possessed. A sample size of thirty-seven participants comprising sixteen juvenile delinquents, four social workers, five prison guards, five probation officers and seven community members, were selected for this study. Their perceptions provided baseline data that helped in gaining a deeper understanding of the juvenile rehabilitation programmes. Despite the findings, gaps remain in the current system, for instance children continue to spend prolonged periods of time in adult prisons while they await repatriation to institutions due to resource constraints, and the rehabilitation programmes have proved to be partially effective, yet at the same time the post rehabilitation programmes are not being provided to juveniles after their release from prison. Key recommendations include expanding the Pre-trial Diversion Programme to all the provinces as it has yielded results that benefit the child as well introduction of alternatives of institutionalisation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Nyakatawa, Rumbidzai
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquents Rehabilitation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12436 , vital:39263
- Description: The Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services records show that there are around 300 children incarcerated every year. Most of these children commit crimes such as rape, murder, theft, possession of drugs due to issues like poverty, substance abuse, peer pressure and neglect. A number of these children face many forms of abuse in their homes, including physical, emotional, mental abuse as well as rape. The major aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of juvenile delinquents’ rehabilitation programmes at Harare Central Prison. The qualitative methodology was appropriate for this study because it gives in depth information through conducting interviews and focus groups with participants. The sampling procedure involved deliberate choice of an informant due to the qualities the informant possessed. A sample size of thirty-seven participants comprising sixteen juvenile delinquents, four social workers, five prison guards, five probation officers and seven community members, were selected for this study. Their perceptions provided baseline data that helped in gaining a deeper understanding of the juvenile rehabilitation programmes. Despite the findings, gaps remain in the current system, for instance children continue to spend prolonged periods of time in adult prisons while they await repatriation to institutions due to resource constraints, and the rehabilitation programmes have proved to be partially effective, yet at the same time the post rehabilitation programmes are not being provided to juveniles after their release from prison. Key recommendations include expanding the Pre-trial Diversion Programme to all the provinces as it has yielded results that benefit the child as well introduction of alternatives of institutionalisation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Public goods and social resistance: A study of the perceptions of risk and vulnerability in the n2 toll road project in the wild coast of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Mambiravana, Tafadzwa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7543-2989
- Authors: Mambiravana, Tafadzwa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7543-2989
- Date: 2022-08
- Subjects: Infrastructure (Economics) , Roads -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23910 , vital:61293
- Description: The construction of the N2 Toll Road in the Wild Coast has been lauded for its ‘developmental agenda’, as the government envisages, this 550 km road project linking Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal provinces will act as a game changer to the socio-economic status of the region in a manner beneficial to local people and the nation in general. However, the road project has equally been criticised by several local communities and environmental advocacy groups who suspect the road is associated with controversial titanium mining and its anticipated socio-ecological disasters in the region. Drawing from this conundrum, this study explores intersections of the diverse perceptions of stakeholders on infrastructural provisioning for development purposes in a historically deprived area in South Africa. Using a qualitative research approach in the form of face-to-face interviews with the participants, focus group discussions, secondary data review and observations, the study found that the diverse perceptions of risk and vulnerability have divided the stakeholders into those who support and those who oppose the road project. Most importantly, the study has also found that although there is deep-seated resentment towards the road project among certain grassroots groups, the general view shared among the study communities is nuanced. In other words, there is no ‘hardline collective opposition’ against the road project among local communities. Drawing from these findings, the study recommends that land audit need to be conducted prior to the commencement of infrastructure projects in order to highlight possible tenure blockages. In addition, the study recommends that it is critical for developers and policy makers to recognize the significance of cultural spaces and sacred places for community cultural health. These factors are critical to weigh against the proposed infrastructure developments as they sometimes outweigh the benefits. The study was anchored on the cultural theory of risk perception, which helped to explore the complex interactions between different actors on infrastructural development and environmental policy discourse. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-08
- Authors: Mambiravana, Tafadzwa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7543-2989
- Date: 2022-08
- Subjects: Infrastructure (Economics) , Roads -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23910 , vital:61293
- Description: The construction of the N2 Toll Road in the Wild Coast has been lauded for its ‘developmental agenda’, as the government envisages, this 550 km road project linking Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal provinces will act as a game changer to the socio-economic status of the region in a manner beneficial to local people and the nation in general. However, the road project has equally been criticised by several local communities and environmental advocacy groups who suspect the road is associated with controversial titanium mining and its anticipated socio-ecological disasters in the region. Drawing from this conundrum, this study explores intersections of the diverse perceptions of stakeholders on infrastructural provisioning for development purposes in a historically deprived area in South Africa. Using a qualitative research approach in the form of face-to-face interviews with the participants, focus group discussions, secondary data review and observations, the study found that the diverse perceptions of risk and vulnerability have divided the stakeholders into those who support and those who oppose the road project. Most importantly, the study has also found that although there is deep-seated resentment towards the road project among certain grassroots groups, the general view shared among the study communities is nuanced. In other words, there is no ‘hardline collective opposition’ against the road project among local communities. Drawing from these findings, the study recommends that land audit need to be conducted prior to the commencement of infrastructure projects in order to highlight possible tenure blockages. In addition, the study recommends that it is critical for developers and policy makers to recognize the significance of cultural spaces and sacred places for community cultural health. These factors are critical to weigh against the proposed infrastructure developments as they sometimes outweigh the benefits. The study was anchored on the cultural theory of risk perception, which helped to explore the complex interactions between different actors on infrastructural development and environmental policy discourse. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-08
Practices, dynamics and discourses of cross-racial adoption: the case of Buffalo city municipality in South Africa
- Authors: Nyasha, Kausi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Interracial adoption -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Adoption -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD(Social Work)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18009 , vital:42003
- Description: This study investigated the practices, dynamics, and discourses pertaining to crossracial adoption (CRA) in the Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) in South Africa. The researcher made use of qualitative methods to collect and analyse relevant data, which was made from both the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The research sample comprised of six adoption social workers, ten adoptive parents and ten adoptees, who were selected by means of purposive non-random sampling. The researcher also made use of observations, in order to that relevant, valuable, and rich information could be obtained. All the data was subsequently analysed by means of thematic analysis. The principal findings of the study revealed that although it has been legal since 1991, the practices of CRA in South Africa continues to be controversial and that, in the vast majority of cases, it entails black children being adopted by white parents. Relevant discourses covered cultural genocide, the best interests of adopted children, racial identity, colour-blindness, acculturation, and racial consciousness. The phenomenon of CRA needed to be evaluated from all of these standpoints, owing to the racial, cultural, and political perceptions which continue to linger after generations of enforced racial segregation in South Africa. It is evident from the findings that perceptions pertaining to race, culture, and politics exert a significant influence on social relations in the caring for and protection of vulnerable children and on family dynamics in adoptive families. It also emerged from the findings that CRA placements have begun to decline significantly, owing to factors such as long and tedious assessment processes, the xviii attitudes of social workers, a general lack of adequate pre- and post-adoption support for adoptive parents, and shortages of adoption social work staff and resources. The researcher endeavoured to assess the roles of adoption social workers within the adoption triad with respect to determining the adoptability of children and matching them with prospective adoptive parents, recruiting and selecting prospective adoptive parents, counselling prospective parents, counselling biological parents, counselling adopted children, and the providing of post-adoption services. It could be concluded from the findings that although the practice of CRA is an efficacious and desirable form of care for children who are in need of protection, despite any present shortcomings in relation to legislation pertaining to the practice, the phenomenon requires considerably more attention from relevant academics and researchers than it has received to date. The overarching conclusion which emerged from the findings was that although the practice of CRA has attracted controversy and denunciations from several racial groups, it has unlimited potential for erasing the racial stigmas which continue to haunt South African society as well as affording permanency care to those children who are in need of it. The study ends with some recommendations as well as a conceptual framework to deal with the issues of the practices, dynamics and discourses of CRA in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Nyasha, Kausi
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Interracial adoption -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Adoption -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD(Social Work)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18009 , vital:42003
- Description: This study investigated the practices, dynamics, and discourses pertaining to crossracial adoption (CRA) in the Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) in South Africa. The researcher made use of qualitative methods to collect and analyse relevant data, which was made from both the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The research sample comprised of six adoption social workers, ten adoptive parents and ten adoptees, who were selected by means of purposive non-random sampling. The researcher also made use of observations, in order to that relevant, valuable, and rich information could be obtained. All the data was subsequently analysed by means of thematic analysis. The principal findings of the study revealed that although it has been legal since 1991, the practices of CRA in South Africa continues to be controversial and that, in the vast majority of cases, it entails black children being adopted by white parents. Relevant discourses covered cultural genocide, the best interests of adopted children, racial identity, colour-blindness, acculturation, and racial consciousness. The phenomenon of CRA needed to be evaluated from all of these standpoints, owing to the racial, cultural, and political perceptions which continue to linger after generations of enforced racial segregation in South Africa. It is evident from the findings that perceptions pertaining to race, culture, and politics exert a significant influence on social relations in the caring for and protection of vulnerable children and on family dynamics in adoptive families. It also emerged from the findings that CRA placements have begun to decline significantly, owing to factors such as long and tedious assessment processes, the xviii attitudes of social workers, a general lack of adequate pre- and post-adoption support for adoptive parents, and shortages of adoption social work staff and resources. The researcher endeavoured to assess the roles of adoption social workers within the adoption triad with respect to determining the adoptability of children and matching them with prospective adoptive parents, recruiting and selecting prospective adoptive parents, counselling prospective parents, counselling biological parents, counselling adopted children, and the providing of post-adoption services. It could be concluded from the findings that although the practice of CRA is an efficacious and desirable form of care for children who are in need of protection, despite any present shortcomings in relation to legislation pertaining to the practice, the phenomenon requires considerably more attention from relevant academics and researchers than it has received to date. The overarching conclusion which emerged from the findings was that although the practice of CRA has attracted controversy and denunciations from several racial groups, it has unlimited potential for erasing the racial stigmas which continue to haunt South African society as well as affording permanency care to those children who are in need of it. The study ends with some recommendations as well as a conceptual framework to deal with the issues of the practices, dynamics and discourses of CRA in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Exploring psycho-social effects of behaviour modification programmes on children with behavioural challenges : a case study of Gali Thembani Child and Youth Care Centre Queenstown Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Fulani, Anathi Simnikiwe
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Social case work Behavior modification Behaviorism (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9853 , vital:35072
- Description: This research study explored and examined the psycho-social effects of behaviour modification programmes on children with behavioural challenges, at Gali Thembani Child and Youth Care Centre, in the Eastern Cape Province. The study was premised by four objectives, firstly to investigate the effects of behaviour modification programmes on children, secondly to investigate the challenges faced by children who are on behaviour modification programmes, thirdly examine the support systems available from the social networks of the children, and lastly, to examine the intervention strategies provided by professionals. The researcher adopted a qualitative research method as it provides for an in-depth understanding of the research topic furthermore qualitative research provides for a more thick, descriptive, and detailed, interpersonal research findings which perfectly aliens with the psycho-social understandings and human centred research findings as compared to the more numerical and statistic producing results of a more quantitative study. The study employed an array of qualitative research methods including but not limited to in-depth interviews, open ended questions group discussions and sessions and observations. The study has been underpinned by both the social learning and behavioural theory respectively. The population in this study was made up of fifteen participants. The participants come from different towns in the Eastern Cape. The researcher has utilized a non-probability sampling method specifically purposive technique. The data was analysed using a qualitative approach in a comprehensive thematic way. A collection of psycho - social effects of behaviour modification programmes on children with behavioural challenges in Gali Thembani Child and Youth Care Centre were the study outcomes.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Fulani, Anathi Simnikiwe
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Social case work Behavior modification Behaviorism (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9853 , vital:35072
- Description: This research study explored and examined the psycho-social effects of behaviour modification programmes on children with behavioural challenges, at Gali Thembani Child and Youth Care Centre, in the Eastern Cape Province. The study was premised by four objectives, firstly to investigate the effects of behaviour modification programmes on children, secondly to investigate the challenges faced by children who are on behaviour modification programmes, thirdly examine the support systems available from the social networks of the children, and lastly, to examine the intervention strategies provided by professionals. The researcher adopted a qualitative research method as it provides for an in-depth understanding of the research topic furthermore qualitative research provides for a more thick, descriptive, and detailed, interpersonal research findings which perfectly aliens with the psycho-social understandings and human centred research findings as compared to the more numerical and statistic producing results of a more quantitative study. The study employed an array of qualitative research methods including but not limited to in-depth interviews, open ended questions group discussions and sessions and observations. The study has been underpinned by both the social learning and behavioural theory respectively. The population in this study was made up of fifteen participants. The participants come from different towns in the Eastern Cape. The researcher has utilized a non-probability sampling method specifically purposive technique. The data was analysed using a qualitative approach in a comprehensive thematic way. A collection of psycho - social effects of behaviour modification programmes on children with behavioural challenges in Gali Thembani Child and Youth Care Centre were the study outcomes.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2017