Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Comments sections'

Departing from the increasing threat that organized hate groups and their manipulative practices pose to contemporary society, this thesis seeks to unravel the workings of digital hate culture and to highlight the potential of civil society-led counter initiatives to combat the spread of hatred online. The research is based on a twofold qualitative content analysis. In a first step, the intended practices of two opposing groups – an organized hate group (Reconquista Germanica) and an organized counter speech group (Reconquista Internet) – are analyzed based on a set of internal strategic communication documents. In a second step, three comment threads on Facebook are examined to illustrate the actualized practices of users spreading hate and users who counter-speak. By drawing on a four-dimensional framework, the analysis thereby considers how practices, discourses, power relations, and the technological affordances of Facebook shape this interplay. With theoretical reference to Mouffe’s (2005) work on the antagonistic nature of the political and today’s post-political Zeitgeist, this thesis ultimately comes to discuss whether such confrontations between exponents of digital hate culture and counter speakers must be understood as irrefutable antagonisms or if productive agonism can be fostered through a mutual understanding of one another as legitimate adversaries.What the analysis evinces is that the discussions carried out between the two opposing camps are highly moralized, resulting in an antagonistic battle between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ that interferes with the possibility for productive agonism. It is further shown that, in this post-political discussion climate, counter speech carries a crucial responsibility to conform to moral values and maintain professional and ethical standards to set itself apart from the harmful practices of digital hate culture. Otherwise, as the analysis indicates, counter efforts are likely to spur on destructive dynamics, further hardening the fronts between opposing positions that characterize today’s increasingly polarized societies.

Allt fler människor använder sig av Youtube och andra öppna internetmiljöer för att lära sig matematik. Enligt tidigare studier finns det en stor spridning när det gäller bostadsort och ålder bland deltagarna i dessa miljöer. Min undersökning visar att ett urval om 10 Youtubevideor om ekvationslösning och deras kommentarsfält också kännetecknas av en stor spridning av matematikdiskurser bland deltagarna. En studie av 85 dialoger i kommentarsfälten visar att i omkring hälften av dialogerna uttrycker sig olika deltagare på sätt som kännetecknar olika matematikdiskurser, medan i den andra hälften alla deltagare uttrycker sig på sätt som kännetecknar samma matematikdiskurs. De förra dialogerna slutar mer sällan med att deltagarna upplever förståelse, medan lärandet i de senare dialogerna begränsas av vad som går att uttrycka inom ramen för den rådande diskursen. Genom att utveckla begrepp och kategorier för att beskriva matematikdiskurserna lägger studien grunden för fortsatt forskning, både kvalitativa med intervjuer av deltagare och kvantitativa med större material.
The use of Youtube and other open internet environments for learning mathematics is becoming increasingly common. According to earlier studies there is a great diversity of ages and nationalities among participants in these environments. My investigation shows that a selection of 10 Youtube videos about equation solving and their comments sections also are characterized by a diversity of mathematics discourses. A study of 85 dialogues in the comments sections shows that in approximately half of the dialogues different participants express themselves in manners characteristic of different mathematics discourses, while in the other half all the participants express themselves in manners characteristic of the same mathematics discourse. The former dialogues more seldom end with experiences of understanding, while learning in the latter group of dialogues is limited by what is possible to express within the dominant discourse. By developing terms and categories for describing the mathematics discourses this study lays the foundation for further research, both qualitative research comprising interviews with participants and quantitative research on greater amounts of data.

This PhD thesis concerns language and racism. The aim is to explore how racism is reproduced in interaction in public debates on immigration, integration and refugee policy. From a constructivist pragmatic perspective, language is considered as a practice that composes and makes sense of our social world and all the phenomena and individuals that we perceive in it. Racist discourses discriminate against and privilege people by categorising them according to notions of cultural, ethnical, racial, religious and national differences. The thesis has two main themes: 1) the linguistic reproduction of, and response to, racist discrimination and privileging in interaction, and 2) the role of language in various public arenas, and the norms and conditions for participation in these arenas. The thesis comprises five studies. Study I examines racist discourses and conditions for participation in an online newspaper comments section. Study II examines how the phrase “politically correct” is used and negotiated in the same comments section, and how its usage leads to the reproduction and normalisation of racism. Another comments section is the focus of Study III, in which discriminating and privileging categorisations of Muslims, Islam, Swedes and Sweden are analysed. Study IV examines an anti-racist forum on the social networking site Instagram. In the study, the reproduction of norms of whiteness is analysed, as well as power relations that are evoked, sustained and transformed in interaction. Finally, Study V is an analysis of linguistic, visual and material reproductions of political positions and racist discourses in a debate among party leaders on Swedish television. The thesis demonstrates how normalisation of racism is accomplished in interaction, and how reproduction of hierarchically structured difference and bigoted stereotypes are performed, and challenged, through language. The medium, combined with the user’s speech acts, set up the norms and conditions for participation, and for the discursive processes that reproduce the relations and structures of power.

The overall purpose of this essay, “‘I really hope you guys are enjoying this. Thank you so much for watching!’ - a qualitative and quantitative study of the interaction between YouTubers and their audience", is to study how YouTubers that play and comment video games interact with their audience, what kind of response these YouTubers receive and the interaction between viewers and fans in these YouTubers comment sections. This essay also studies if there is a difference between the response female and male YouTubers receive. The study is based on theories about fan culture, participation culture, collective intelligence, feminism and gender. A quantitative content analysis has been used to analyze 600 comments on six YouTube videos uploaded by six different YouTubers. The purpose of the quantitative analysis was to see what content of the comments most often occur as well as if the comment showed a positive, negative or neutral view of the YouTuber. The result of the quantitative analysis was used as a base for a qualitative critical discourse analysis, which also studied how the YouTubers behaved in the videos. The results of this study showed that the YouTubers mostly received positive comments about their personalities and their YouTube channel. They mostly received negative comments about the way they play the game. The female YouTubers received more negative comments than the male YouTubers, who in turn received more positive comments. The study also showed that YouTubers interact by talking directly to the audience and looking into the camera, by using the word “we” when talking about how they play the game as if they are playing with the audience, by asking the audience questions and by answering comments that the YouTubers have received. The YouTubers engage their audience by using strong expressions and by playing the game during a livestream. The YouTubers’ fans engage and interact by showing appreciation of the YouTubers and defend the YouTubers when they receive negative comments in the comment section of their videos. These ways which YouTubers interact with and engage their audience can be seen as part of a discourse about interaction and engagement online.

Den 14 maj 2020 tillbringade Paolo Roberto kvällen i en lägenhet på Östermalm i Stockholm med en kvinna från ett av Europas fattigaste länder och greps på bar gärning i en polisrazzia. Stjärnkocken, skådespelaren och programledaren erkände sig skyldig till sexköp. I en intervju dagen därpå säger Roberto själv att kvinnan kanske var dittvingad. Nyheten väckte starka reaktioner i kommentarsfält på sociala medier. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur användare uttrycker sig i kommentarsfält under en kontroversiell nyhet om ett laddat ämne som skapar delade åsikter. Vi kommer därför att analysera hur användare i kommentarsfältet på Facebook reagerade på intervjun med Paolo Roberto i TV4. Det uppsatsen intresserar sig för är hur deltagarjournalistiken bidrar till den offentliga diskursen om det känsliga ämnet sexköp, samt andra diskurser som uppkommer. Studien har två frågeställningar; en som undersöker vilka reaktioner finns i kommentarsfältet och en som undersöker hur reaktionerna kan förstås i ljuset av diskurserna om sexköp och medieetik. Uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk baseras på deltagarjournalistik och diskursteori. Studien är en kvalitativ textanalys, och genomför den textanalytiska dimensionen av Anabela Carvalhos (2008) apparat för kritisk diskursanalys. Ur det empiriska materialet har mönster identifierats varav tolv stycken har analyserats djupare. Exempel på dessa är att många beskriver Robertos beteende som att ”gråta ut” och att styra narrativet. En stor del av kommentarerna lägger även skuld på TV4 för att de ”låter” honom göra detta. Vissa ifrågasätter TV4:s medieetik och publicistiska beslut medan några ifrågasätter sexköpslagen och den allmänna synen på sexköp vilket snabbt konfronteras av andra. Uppsatsen drar slutsatser som att diskursen om sexköp domineras av perspektivet att det är moraliskt fel att köpa någon annans kropp, att det inte är medieetiskt att intervjua en förövare på sättet TV4 gjorde och att det finns en efterfrågan på ställningstagande och/eller agendadriven journalistik. Till sist dras slutsatsen att uppsatsens författare sällar sig till den stora skara forskare som ser en demokratisk potential i deltagarjournalistik men känner besvikelse över att den i mångt och mycket går förlorad.
May the 14th of 2020 the Swedish celebrity Paolo Roberto spent the evening in an apartment in a fancy neighborhood in Stockholm with a woman from one of the poorest countries in Europe, and was caught in the act of purchasing sexual services from her. The star chef, actor and TV host confessed to the police later that night. In an interview the following day, Roberto himself says that he suspects the woman was not there willingly. The news of his crime generated strong reactions in comment sections on social media. The purpose of the study is to examine how users express themselves in comment sections under a controversial news article about an emotionally charged subject. We will therefore analyze how users in a particular comment section on Facebook reacted to the interview with Paolo Roberto in TV4. The thesis is interested in how participatory journalism contributes to the public discourse about the emotionally charged subject of sex purchases, as well as other discourses that we may encounter. The study aims to answer two research questions; one that examines what reactions the comment section contains and one that examines how these reactions can be understood in the light of discourses of prostitution and media ethics. The theorical framework of the essay is based on participatory journalism and discourse theory. The thesis is a qualitative text analysis and utilizes the textual analytical dimension of Anabela Carvalho’s apparatus for critical discourse analysis (2008). From the empirical material patterns have been identified and 12 of these were selected for deeper analysis. Some examples of these are that many describe Roberto’s behavior as “sobbing” and controlling the narrative. A large part of the comment section blames TV4 for “letting” him do this. Some challenge the ethics and editorial decision of TV4 while others disagree with the Swedish model for prostitution and the mainstream view on purchasing sex, which will quickly be confronted by others. The conclusions of the thesis are that the prostitution discourse is dominated by the perspective that it is morally wrong to purchase someone else’s body, that it is not ethical to interview a perpetrator the way TV4 did and that there is demand for agenda-driven journalism. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that the authors of the essay are part of the large majority of scientists who see a democratic potential in participatory journalism but are disappointed by the fact that it is not harnessed.

Depuis longtemps, déjà, les recherches sur l'apprentissage se multiplient et tentent, chacune à leur manière de faire avancer la compréhension de ce processus complexe. Si l'acte d'apprendre est également au coeur de notre travail, il est appréhendé ici sous l'angle du désir, le désir de savoir, présent dans l'histoire singulière de chacun, étant à la source même de l'acte d'apprendre. Notre travail tente d'analyser le désir d'apprendre à travers la mobilisation scolaire, appréhendée comme une des voies d'expression du désir d'apprendre. Pour cela nous avons privilégié l'observation directe de vingt élèves de grande section de maternelle. Les observations nous révèlent d'abord que les conduites des élèves différent globalement, selon leur profil mais aussi en fonction de leur sexe et de leurs compétences scolaires. Elles nous dévoilent ensuite que la mobilisation des élèves peut s'exprimer à travers des attitudes plurielles et diversifiées et qu'elle n'est pas sans lien avec le rapport à l'école des élèves
Researches on learning have multiplied. Each one has tried in its own way to enhance the understanding of this intricate process. If the action of learning is also at the core of our study, it is considered here from the point of view of desire. The desire for knowledge which is part of everyone's personal story and which is at the root of the act of learning. Our work is an attempt to analyse the desire of knowledge through school work and behaviour seen here as a means of expressing one's desire to learn. We have favoured direct observation of twenty pupils in their last year at infant school. Our observations first display that the behaviours of the pupils vary not only according to their profile but also depend on their sexes and their abilities at school. They then reveal that pupils involvement can express itself through many different attitudes and that it is connected to their relation to school

The aim of this thesis is to provide insight into how YouTube audiences perceive theprofessionalization of vlog production styles and what happens to the parasocial relationshipbetween viewer and vlogger, especially in relation to authenticity, in relation to this. This is doneby a thematic analysis of comments on Valeria Lipovetsky’s YouTube video “We Need ToTalk”, which serves as a case study. The analysis is done in background to theories ofprofessionalization of influencers, parasocial relationships and authenticity. The results show thatthere is a tension between the perceived authenticity of the vlogger and the professionalizationof vlog production style that is affecting the parasocial relationship between viewer and vloggernegatively. The distinguished themes point to vlogs filmed by a camera team being perceived toresemble reality television which is making the viewers feel disconnected with the vlogger. It isrevealed that the audience prefers vlogs where the vlogger is holding the camera themselves, asthat is perceived as more personal and authentic.

The aim of this thesis is to provide insight into how YouTube audiences perceive the professionalization of vlog production styles and what happens to the parasocial relationship between viewer and vlogger, especially in relation to authenticity, in relation to this. This is done by a thematic analysis of comments on Valeria Lipovetsky’s YouTube video “We Need To Talk”, which serves as a case study. The analysis is done in background to theories of professionalization of influencers, parasocial relationships and authenticity. The results show that there is a tension between the perceived authenticity of the vlogger and the professionalization of vlog production style that is affecting the parasocial relationship between viewer and vlogger negatively. The distinguished themes point to vlogs filmed by a camera team being perceived to resemble reality television which is making the viewers feel disconnected with the vlogger. It is revealed that the audience prefers vlogs where the vlogger is holding the camera themselves, asthat is perceived as more personal and authentic.

Le but de cette étude a été de décrire la représentation du bon élève en petite section et ses mécanismes et de montrer son lien avec la relation pédagogique enseignant/enfant sur la communication et la socialisation. Suite à des entretiens et des questionnaires, le bon élève a été défini comme communicant, attentif, comprenant les consignes. Les observations effectuées sur deux ans, portaient sur une comparaison des interactions entre deux enseignants et leurs élèves considérés comme bons et faibles. Les résultats ont devoilé que les statuts étaient similaires entre chaque année de maternelle. Les bons élèves réels bénéficiaient quantitativement et qualitativement de meilleures interventions en petite section. Ils coïncidaient à l'image idéale de l'écolier. En moyenne section la tendance s'inversait : les élèves faibles faisaient l'objet d'une attention particulière, mais elle était plus négative. En conclusion, la petite section s'adresserait à des enfants déjà socialisés et volubiles. De la représentation du bon élève découlerait une prédiction émise sur le statut en début de scolarité qui se confirmerait. Elle s'élaborerait sur les normes scolaires des programmes, une observation, une sélection et une interprétation d'indices concrets menant à une sélectivité communicationnelle et pro socialisante
The goal of this study was to describe the representation of good pupil in small section and its mechanisms to show its link with pedagogic relation betwen teacher and child on communication and socialization. Following talks and questionnaires, the good pupil was defined like communicating, attentive and understanding the instructions. The observations carried out over two years, related to a comparison of interactions between two teachers and their pupils considered as goods or weaks. The results revealed that the status were similar between each year of nursery school the real good pupils profited quantitatively and qualitalively from better interventions in small section. They coincided with the ideal picture of schoolchild on average section the tendency was reversed : the weak pupils were the subjet of a detailed attention, but it was more negative. In conclusion, the small section would be addressed to already socialized and voluble children. Representation of the good pupil would rise a prediction emitted on the status at the beginning of schooling which would be confirmed it would be worked out on the school standards of programs. An observation, a selection and an interpretation of concret indices carrying out to a communicative and pro socializing selectivity

The idea that the internet enables disparate individuals to link together easily has focused attention on characterising collective action under these circumstances. My research looks instead at a situation which mixes the disparate and those united by various forms of shared identity, and material grievance. The case I focus on involves overlapping groups of benefits claimants: disabled people, carers and older people. These groups are under-represented online and their political activity in a digital environment has rarely been researched. The context of my research is a consultation over social care, which provoked a campaign of opposition and the posting online of nearly 3,000 comments on the green paper’s executive summary. This constitutes collective action because it was undertaken for a collective purpose: to defend disability benefits from a perceived threat. In order to take the focus I want, I develop a conceptual framework that includes all three drivers of collective action that feature in social psychology models - efficacy, injustice and identity. Much comparable research considers just one or two of these drivers. My analytical approach is primarily inductive but I employ a mixed-methods design, including digital tracing, inductive thematic coding and basic statistical analysis. The data is drawn from the campaign and the comments. I find that most of the comments exhibit a shared sense of injustice. They also frequently include expressions of collective identity made with reference to various groups, rather than to one overarching group. Personal narratives often accompany these collective expressions. The campaign messages spread horizontally among varied, but mostly pre-existing, forums, social networking sites and blogs. The mobilisation also had a vertical element due to the involvement of private company acting, in a hybrid manner, as a campaigning organisation. My research contributes to knowledge by showing that when online action includes people who are motivated by collective identity, traditional and more contemporary collective action processes do not simply co-exist: there is a dynamic interplay between them. It also demonstrates the value of focusing on lower-level networks. This shows that the role of the drivers can vary among the groups of actors involved and, where the drivers combine, they have a reinforcing tendency.

La césarienne est une intervention obstétricale majeure qui peut sauver la vie de la mère et de l’enfant. En Afrique sub-saharienne, il persiste une grande inégalité d’accès à la césarienne et une grande variation des pratiques autour des indications d’intervention. D’un côté, des barrières financières, géographiques, culturelles privent des femmes d’une intervention qui peut sauver leur vie. De l’autre, la pratique grandissante de césariennes sans indication médicale, dans un contexte de mauvaise qualité de soins, entraine une sur-morbidité et mortalité iatrogènes et évitables.

L’objectif de notre thèse est de contribuer à une meilleure connaissance des déterminants d’une césarienne de qualité et de montrer comment en situation réelle (cas d’un district urbain au Burkina Faso) on peut agir sur ces déterminants pour améliorer la qualité des césariennes.

Dans le cadre d’un projet multidisciplinaire (santé publique, mobilisation politique et sociale, anthropologie) d’Amélioration de la QUalité et de l’Accès aux Soins Obstétricaux d’Urgence - le projet AQUASOU (2003-2006) - nous avons pu mettre en œuvre des activités visant à améliorer l’accès à une césarienne de qualité dans le district du Secteur 30) à Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Nous avons mené une étude Avant-Après et utilisé des méthodes d’évaluation mixtes quantitatives et qualitatives pour comprendre dans quelle mesure et comment ce type d’approche globale améliore la qualité de la césarienne. Nous avons utilisé le cadre d’analyse de Dujardin et Delvaux (1998) qui présente les différents déterminants de la césarienne pour organiser et structurer nos résultats. Cette expérience s’étant déroulée dans le cadre d’un projet pilote nous avons également évalué le degré de pérennité du projet AQUASOU quatre ans après sa clôture officielle et analysé sa diffusion au niveau région et national.

Le cadre d’analyse de la césarienne de qualité avec ses quatre piliers (Accès, Diagnostic, Procédure, Soins postopératoires) a permis d’aller au-delà de la simple évaluation de la qualité technique de l’acte césarienne. Il a structuré l’analyse des différentes barrières à l’accès à la césarienne comme par exemple l’acceptabilité des services par la population et le coût de la prise en charge.

L’analyse des discours des femmes césarisées a mis en lumière le sentiment de culpabilité des femmes d’avoir eu une césarienne - ne pas avoir été « une bonne mère » capable d’accoucher normalement. Les questionnements sur la récurrence de la césarienne pour les prochaines grossesses, les dépenses élevées à la charge du ménage, la fatigue physique et les complications médicales possibles après l’opération mettent la femme dans une situation de vulnérabilités plurielles au sein de son couple et de sa famille.

L’évaluation du système de partage des coûts pour les urgences obstétricales mis en place en 2005 dans le district du Secteur 30 a montré qu’il était possible de mobiliser les collectivités locales de la ville et des communes rurales pour la santé des femmes. La levée des barrières financières a pu bénéficier à la fois aux femmes du milieu urbain et rural mais l’écart d’utilisation des services entre le milieu de résidence n’a pas été comblé et cela confirme l’importance des barrières géographiques (distance, route impraticable pendant la saison des pluies, manque de moyen de transport) et socioculturelles.

L’étude sur le rôle des audits cliniques ou revues de cas dans l’amélioration de la qualité des soins a montré que les soignants avaient une bonne connaissance du but de l'audit et qu’ils classaient l'audit comme le premier facteur de changement dans leur pratique, comparé aux staffs matinaux, aux formations et aux guides cliniques. Cependant, l’institutionnalisation des audits se révèle difficile dans un contexte de manque de ressources qui affecte les conditions de travail et dans un environnement peu favorable à la remise en question de sa pratique professionnelle.

L’évaluation de la pérennité du projet pilote quatre ans après la fin du soutien financier et technique montre que les bénéfices pour la population sont toujours là en terme d’accessibilité à la césarienne :coûts directs pour les ménages de 5000 FCFA (US $ 9.8), qualité des soins maintenue avec une diminution de la mortalité périnatale précoce pour les accouchements par césarienne de 3,6% en 2004 à 1,8% en 2008.

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Doctorat en Sciences de la santé publique
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The essay To negotiate truth is a cultural analytical study of the boundary work that takes place in the comment sections, more specifically in relations to the climate change debate and Greta Thunberg’s climate activism. This paper deals with empirical material in the form of comments obtained from the Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet’s and Expressen’s comment field on Facebook. The data-gathering method used for this paper is digital ethnography. This study aims to create an understanding of how argumentation is presented in open social arenas such as Expressen and Aftonbladet's comments field. The purpose of the study has been to show how the contested claims and facts are legitimized and negotiated in the comment fields. The theoretical framework has consisted of discourse theory and Boundary objects theory. The questions to be answered in the study is: In what way is truth constructed in the debate? How are the various claims of truth legitimized? In what way are facts and science used in the legitimization of the different claims of truths? The analysis shows that truth is constructed in many different ways, partly through what i choose to call denial and distrust discourse. The analysis also showed how climate research and the climate can be seen as a boundary object and be used to stabilize the denial discourse further. The result also showed that scientific evidence can be used in a variety of ways in the legitimization of the different claims of truth. On the one hand, there is a demand for more nuanced research to be presented in the media, this creates an image that there are two sides of climate science that are of equal importance. The analysis also showed how mistrust and doubt against established media, political processes and science in general can be used in the legitimization of various statements of truth. I also claim that Greta can be seen as a boundary object in the ongoing negotiation. The use of religious metaphors also proves to be of great importance in trying to undermine the climate issue and climate research in general.

碩士
國立交通大學
管理學院科技法律學程
99
The defamation in the criminal law claims balance as well as defense in order to protect freedom of speech. There exists high extension between the right to reputation and freedom of speech, and the interpretation of the terms in the acts is very abstract. Accordingly, the terms apply to fact of individual case result in many differentiations. After the J. Y. Interpretation 509 has been issued, many dissertations respecting Truth of Justification were published by scholars and researchers. Another subject, however, in regard to fair comment is less studied. This thesis deliberates from the basic characteristic of speech, and furthermore classifies speech into three different categories: Abstract Abuse, Statements of Fact, Expression of Opinion. The Statements of Fact is to fulfill justification by means of defense of truth; Expression of Opinion is to fulfill by means of fair comment. With regard to Abstract Abuse, neither defense of truth nor fair comment apply to fulfillment of justification. This thesis researches the fundamental subjects of fair comment including applied codes, theoretical definition, relations to defense of truth, consideration of the comment, applied procedure; moreover, studies issues raised in real practice through empirical research on cases. Also, this thesis set forth suggestions and recommendations to legislations and expects to build criteria between the right to reputation and freedom of speech.

The right to claim for civil damages in terms of section 65 of the Competition Act No. 89 of 1998 of South Africa (“CA of 1998”) is likely to contribute significantly to the objectives of the competition law in the country by serving as a deterring measure for companies to engage in anti-competitive behavior. Companies infringing the Competition Act will know that upon a finding of an infringement, they will have to pay back to consumers whatever profits they would have made illegally plus the litigation costs. These payments will be made in addition to the administrative penalties levied by the Competition Commission of South Africa, the Competition Tribunal of South Africa or the Competition Appeal Court of South Africa (“collectively referred to as the competition authorities”) and the possibility of directors’ criminal liability for causing companies to engage in cartel behavior. Therefore, the achievement of the objectives of the CA of 1998 as amended also depends on the effectiveness of civil damages claim provisions of section 65. However, the effectiveness of civil damages claims in terms of section 65 is compromised when consumers are incapable of exercising the right conferred to them in terms of this section. The recent increase on the findings by the competition authorities for an infringement of the prohibited practices in terms of chapter 2 of the CA of 1998, the period in which the respondents had engaged in those prohibited practices, the financial losses or damages suffered by consumers who in most cases are end users of the products or services and most importantly consumers inactiveness in exercising their rights to claim for such damages in terms of section 65 of the CA of 1998 have influenced the researcher to investigate the relevant section and the impediments to pursuing civil damages claims in terms thereof. The investigation both from the comparative law and individual consumer response shows amongst others the following as challenges that consumers will normally face to pursue their right in terms of section 65: the cost of litigation, lack of knowledge of consumer rights, lack of consumer activism, financial assistance, dragging of matters before the courts to frustrate consumers, complex procedures to claim damages before civil courts etc. There appears to be general consensus throughout the data collected by the researcher that private enforcement will discourage companies to engage in any form of anti-competitive behavior thereby serving as a deterrent mechanism for infringement in addition to the administrative penalties and directors’ criminal liability. Copyright
Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Mercantile Law
unrestricted