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Sams-Iheme, Mira. "The psychological aspects of battered African-American women." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 1996. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/AAIEP15793.
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There is sparse research on the battering phenomena as it relates to African-American women. Therefore, this study was undertaken in order to determine whether a relationship existed between battering, depression and low levels of self-esteem in African-American women. Another purpose of this study was to obtain a profile of demographic characteristics of these battered African-American women.
The study was conducted in two battered women shelters located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The actual site locations were in Fulton and DeKalb counties. A quasi-experimental design was used. The non-random sample consisted of 53 African-American women who resided in the battered women shelters during the research period. The Beck Depression Inventory, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Questionnaire for Battered African- American women were administered. l Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Statistical procedures that were used to analyze the data from this study were frequency analysis and the Pearson R. The results indicated that there was a relationship between battering and depression in African- American women. There were also variations in the demographic data of these women.
Limitations of this research and implications for counselors are included. Recommendations for future research conclude this work.
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Iheme, Mira Sams. "The psychological aspects of battered African-American women." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 1996. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/AAI9821010.
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There is sparse research on the battering phenomena as it relates to African-American women. Therefore, this study was undertaken in order to determine. whether a relationship existed between battering, depression and low levels of self-esteem in African-American women. Another purpose of this study was to obtain a profile of demographic characteristics of these battered African-American women. The study was conducted in two battered women shelters located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The actual site locations were in Fulton and DeKalb counties. A quasi-experimental design was used. The non-random sample consisted of 53 African-American women who resided in the battered women shelters during the research period. The Beck Depression Inventory, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Questionnaire for Battered African-American women were administered. Statistical procedures that were used to analyze the data from this study were frequency analysis and the Pearson R. The results indicated that there was a relationship between battering and depression in African-American women. There were also variations in the demographic data of these women. Limitations of this research and implications for counselors are included. Recommendations for future research conclude this work.
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Pearse, Adetokunbo. "Aspects of madness in contemporary African literature." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250284.
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Abdourahman, Ismaël Monneyron M. Frederic. "Aspects du fantastique et romans négro-africains." Lille : Atelier national de reproduction des thèses, 2003. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/58432535.html.
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Jaffray, Timothy William. "An empirical phenomenological investigations of the experience of being unemployed : a critical study in the South African context." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002068.
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Unemploynent is a problem that confronts many western countries. The aim of this dissertation is to understand, on the basis of a phenomenological investigation, what it means to be an unemployed, white, South African citizen. These meanings are then seen and discussed against the background of the problems associated with the ideological structure within the country. How the latter relates to white employment and psychological life is also explored. The results demonstrate the negative impact unemploynent has upon the psychological functioning of the individual. The results further show the despair such individuals face, having been 'denied' an accepted role within society.
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Okagbue, Osy A. "Aspects of African and Caribbean theatre : a comparative study." Thesis, University of Leeds, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.249811.
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Meissner, Birte Linda. "Attitudes, beliefs and myths about suicidal behaviour : a qualitative investigation of South African male students." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80464.
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Thesis (MSc) -- Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Suicidal behaviour is a serious public health problem. Globally and in South Africa a gendered pattern of suicide rates has been observed, with males being more likely to kill themselves than females. To date little quantitative and qualitative research is available on young male suicidal behaviour in South Africa. This study investigated the attitudes, beliefs and myths young male students hold about suicidal behaviour. Thirteen male university students (ages 20 to 25 years; with and without a history of suicidal behaviour), who volunteered to take part in the present study in response to an email invitation, were interviewed. The attitudes, beliefs and myths identified from the qualitative data are grouped into four themes: 'Moral acceptability of suicidal behaviour', 'Perceived causes and risk factors of suicidal behaviour', 'Perceived motives of suicidal behaviour', and 'Perceived prevention and protective factors of suicidal behaviour'. Besides these four themes, two underlying narratives are identified and discussed: (1) 'Apart or a part: Belonging and suicidal behaviour' is centred on the idea that perceiving oneself to be an integral part of a social system is protective against suicidal behaviour, while a thwarted sense of belonging increases vulnerability to suicidal behaviour. (2) 'Dying to be a man: (Re) negotiating masculinity and suicidal behaviour' is concerned with participants' views that men's relational position to hegemonic (socially most dominant) forms of masculinity is a factor in male suicidal behaviour. Participants regard hegemonic forms of masculinity to be both a part of the problem of suicidal behaviour and a potential solution to suicidal behaviour. These findings are interpreted through a social constructionist lens of gender as performance. Finally, implications of findings for future research, prevention and treatment are discussed.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Selfmoordgedrag is 'n ernstige openbare gesondheidsprobleem. Wêreldwyd en in Suid-Afrika is mans meer geneig as vrouens om selfmoord te pleeg. Tot op hede is daar min kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsing beskikbaar van jong manlike selfmoordgedrag in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie studie ondersoek die houdings, oortuiging en mites oor selfmoordgedrag van jong manlike studente. Dertien manlike universiteitstudente (ouderdomme 20 tot 25 jaar, met en sonder 'n geskiedenis van selfmoordgedrag) het vrywillig aan die huidige studie deel geneem in reaksie op 'n e-pos uitnodiging. Die houdings, oortuiging en mites wat vanaf die kwalitatiewe data geïdentifiseer is, is in vier temas gegroepeer: 'Morele aanvaarbaarheid van selfmoordgedrag', 'Siening van die oorsake en risiko faktore van selfmoordgedrag', 'Waargenome motiewe van selfmoordgedrag', en 'Waargenome voorkoming en beskermende faktore van selfmoordgedrag'. Naas hierdie vier temas, is twee onderliggende temas geïdentifiseer en bespreeek: (1) 'Samehorigheid en selfmoordgedrag' is gemoeid met die idee dat om 'n integrale deel van 'n sosiale sisteem te wees is beskermend teen selfmoordgedrag, terwyl 'n persepsie van isolasie tot selfmoordgedrag kan lei. (2) 'Onderhandeling van manlikheid en selfmoordgedrag' is gemoeid met die deelnemers se sienings dat mans se verhouding tot hegemoniese vorme (sosiaal mees dominante vorme) van manlikheid 'n faktor in manlike selfmoordgedrag is. Deelneemers beskou hegemoniese vorme van manlikheid as beide 'n deel van die probleem en 'n moontlike oplossing vir selfmoordgedrag. Hierdie bevindinge is geïnterpreteer deur middel van 'n sosiale konstruksionistiese lens van geslag as prestasie. Die implikasies van die bevindings vir toekomstige navorsing, voorkoming en behandeling word ten slotte bespreek.
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Cronje, Gretha. "Coping styles and quality of life in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) : a South African perspective." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/79927.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The primary aim of this study was to explore a possible association between the coping styles and the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) in the South African context. Twenty-two PNES patients (aged 14 years or older) with confirmed video EEG were recruited from Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic and Tygerberg Hospital. These participants were matched by age and gender with a healthy control group. Participants had to complete a demographic questionnaire as well as self-reported measures of HRQOL (SF-36v2 health survey) and coping strategies (the Ways of Coping (WOC) and the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI)). Analyses of variances were performed to explore the differences between the PNES group and the healthy control group on the various measurement instruments. The association between specific coping strategies and HRQOL was investigated by calculating Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Multiple regressions were conducted to determine the extent to which HRQOL could be accounted for by each of the coping instruments. The results indicated that the HRQOL of the PNES group were significantly lower than the HRQOL of the healthy control group. The PNES participants utilised significantly more emotion-focused coping strategies, such as escape-avoidance and distancing coping strategies, in comparison to the healthy control group. The WOC and the CSI accounted respectively for 56% and 42% of the variance in the HRQOL of the sample. The results also indicated that the escape-avoidance coping strategies utilised by PNES participants had a significant negative effect on their HRQOL. The findings of this study provided greater insight into the coping strategies utilised by PNES participants, which have been identified as a risk factor in PNES. It also highlights that the type of coping strategies utilised by the PNES participants in our sample had a significant negative influence on their level of HRQOL. This is the first study of this nature on people with PNES in South Africa.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die primêre doel van hierdie studie was om te bepaal of daar 'n verband tussen spesifieke hanteringstyle en die gesondheidssverwante kwaliteit van lewe van pasiënte met psigogeniese nie-epileptiese aanvalle (PNEA) in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks is. Twee-en-twintig PNEA-pasiënte (14 jaar of ouer) met 'n bevestigde video-EEG-diagnose was gewerf uit die Constantiaberg Medi-Kliniek en die Tygerberg Hospitaal. Hulle is ten opsigte van ouderdom en geslag gepaar met 'n gesonde kontrolegroep. Deelnemers moes 'n demografiese vraelys voltooi asook vraelyste wat die gesondheidssverwante lewenskwaliteit (die SF-36v2 gesondheidsvraelys) en hanteringstyle (die hanteringsmeganisme-vraelys (WOC) en die hanteringstrategie-aanduider (CSI)) meet. Analises van variansies is uitgevoer om die moontlike verskille tussen die PNEA-groep en die gesonde kontrolegroep op die verskeie metingsinstrumente te ondersoek. Die verwantskap tussen spesifieke hanteringsmeganismes en gesondheidssverwante lewenskwaliteit is ondersoek deur Pearson se korrelasie-koëffisiënt te bereken. Verskeie regressiewe analises is uitgevoer om te bepaal tot watter mate hanteringsmeganismes gesondheidssverwante lewenskwaliteit kan beïnvloed. Die resultate het aangedui dat die gesondheidssverwante lewenskwaliteit van die PNEA-groep beduidend laer was as dié van die gesonde kontrole groep. Die PNEA-deelnemers het beduidend meer gebruik gemaak van emosie-gefokusde hanteringsmeganismes, soos die ontvlugting-vermyding en distansiëring hanteringsmeganismes, as die gesonde kontrolegroep. Die WOC en die CSI het bygedra tot onderskeidelik 56% en 42% van die variansie in die totale gesondheidssverwante lewenskwaliteit-telling van die steekproef. Die resultate het ook aangedui dat die ontvlugting-vermyding hanteringsmeganisme wat deur PNEA-deelnemers gebruik word 'n beduidende negatiewe invloed op hul lewenskwaliteit gehad het. Die bevindings van die studie bied meer insig oor die hanteringsmeganismes wat die PNEA-deelnemers gebruik het, wat al voorheen as 'n risikofaktor vir die ontwikkeling van PNEA geïdentifiseer is. Dit lig ook uit dat die tipe hanteringsmeganismes wat die PNEA-deelnemers gebruik het, hul gesondheidssverwante lewenskwaliteit negatief beïnvloed het. Dit is die eerste studie van dié aard van persone met PNES in Suid Afrika.
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Kantor, Barbara. "A Foucauldian discourse analysis of South African women's experience of involuntary childlessness." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2006. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=init_5335_1180442818.
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As a consequence of positioning women within the dominant gender role of motherhood, the inability to have a child has exposed women, and more notably women in Africa, to extreme social consequences that often violate their human rights and lead to socio-economic disempowerment. The aim of this study was to consider prevailing discursive construction that position women within dominant ideologies that engender motherhood for women, and to explore how women make sense of and construct meaning regarding their experience when they desire but are not able to have a child.
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Tennant, Charnel. "Exploring the lived experiences of South African maladaptive gamblers." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5021.
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For many individuals, gambling is regarded as a recreational activity, a socially encompassed pastime. For the individuals who partook in the present study, gambling is an Achilles heel at which the individuals were hopelessly at the mercy of. Initially a ‘fun’ activity, gambling emerged as an activity that provided both an aspect of enjoyment and escapism. Later, as the behaviour increased, interpersonal and intrapersonal consequences emerged; which eventually led participants to take action and break free from the activity once experienced as recreational and now as a “monster”. The aim of the study was to explore the lived experience of six South African individuals who met the criteria for a gambling disorder. Both a phenomenological approach and ecological perspective were used to elicit the essence of this particular phenomenon as experienced by the participants. Purposive sampling procedures were implemented. Data was collected through the use of a biographical questionnaire and individual, open ended conversations with six gamblers. The data was processed and analysed according to qualitative data processing and analysis procedures. Due to the gap in qualitative research in this particular area, specifically in the South African context, this research study has the potential to create a better understanding of the lived experience of gambling addiction through the shared experiences of participants.
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Melia, Francine. "The self at play? : a case study of reification and dereification in the play environment of American college theatre." Virtual Press, 2008. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1397643.
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This case study aims to better understand the process through which a college theatre actor creates and presents a dereified reified "self' (the character(s) they are portraying) in a play environment, and to consider to what extent this process is conscious. In essence, the actor attempts to take nothing for granted, taking apart and examining assumptions and their cultural context. This study posits that the actor is consciously aware of and is able to recognize and manipulate culture to construct a "self' (the character) within a "play universe." This study is unique as it focuses on the actors themselves as the agents of reification as well as dereification as their processes intersect with the director, the script, and eventually the audience. This study also considers the influence of play theory on developing and breaking the "rules" of the created cultural world of the stage play by utilizing the anthropological research methods supplemented with an analysis of the personal journals of cast members. The subject population is a cast of college-age students (18-28 years old), both males (9) and females (8), from Ball State University's Theatre and Dance Department who participated in the fall 2007 production of The Human Faustus Project, directed by Jennifer Blackmer.Department of Anthropology
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Bunyan, David Christopher. "Beyond all words : a psychoanalytic approach to the phenomenon of mysticism in literature." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002285.
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The principal claim of this thesis is that the mystical experience is a wide-ranging influence upon literature. It is a recurrent thematic concern of poets, novelists and playwrights; but even when mysticism is not an overt element in a text, analysis of its symbols can reveal references to emotions and experiences of a mystical character - as is frequently the case with fantasy. In a more essential way, certain widely-used techniques of poetry effectively reproduce the character of mystical events for the reader. Some theory does indeed imply that the mystical bearing is quite fundamental, at a certain level, to all creative literature. This thesis explores the link between mysticism and literature through widely differing examples, to show how it continues to be found in otherwise divergent texts and contexts. Indeed, no attempt is made to provide an exhaustive overview; rather, certain special areas of interest are represented by selected cases. Mystical elements in Modernism, for example (especially in T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf), are contrasted with Romantic attitudes to mysticism, which Wordsworth and Coleridge are taken to represent. A further goal is to analyse the character of literary mysticism, and to account for the connection between mysticism and literary practice. The view is adopted that the circumstances in which the infant first acquires language is of crucial importance in this regard, and that literary language often draws upon submerged recollections of these early circumstances. Literature, it is argued, can employ signs and patterns of symbolisation in ways that actually attempt to 'undo' many of the everyday functions of words. The ultimate ideal of such literary techniques is to 'reverse' the process by which language was acquired and to 'return' the reader to a state resembling pre-linguistic experience, a goal which has much in common with the ambitions of mystics. Jacques Lacan's theoretical writings touch at many points upon the early development of the child and the significance of its acquisition of language. This thesis consequently has recourse to Lacan's work and, where relevant, to related psychoanalytic writings by Sigmund Freud and Julia Kristeva. After an investigation of the main characteristics of mystical experience as such, the Introduction broadly outlines Lacan's theoretical position. Chapter 1 is concerned more specifically with Lacan's discussions of mysticism. Part Two (Chapters 2-4) deals principally with the links between mystical yearnings and the Romantic ideal of the 'sublime'. In Part Three (Chapters 5-7) the relation between mysticism and Modernist developments affecting both theme and artistic technique is examined in works by three writers: T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Fernando Pessoa. Part Four discusses particular literary presentations of 'evil' and of 'good' as embodiments of mystical perceptions. Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century 'supernatural' fiction is selected to represent the first case, and certain New Testament and early Christian texts the second.
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Mudau, Tshinanne. "Age, gender and religiosity as correlates of death anxiety in a rural African context." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/741.
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Thesis ( M.A. (Research psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2012This study sought to investigate the relationship of death anxiety to age, gender and religiosity among Africans in a rural South African context. Two hundred participants completed a questionnaire based on demographic variables, death anxiety scales, and a measure of religiosity Results revealed that intrinsic religious motivation was inversely related to all types of death anxiety measured. Furthermore, age was correlated with death anxiety, such that the experience of death anxiety tended to decrease among older subjects. However, there were no gender effects on the experience of death anxiety.
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Laqabi, Saïd. "Aspects de l'ironie dans la littérature maghrébine d'expression française des années quatre-vingts." Villeneuve d'Ascq : Presses universitaires du Septentrion, 1998. http://books.google.com/books?id=GzNlAAAAMAAJ.
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Thomas, Nigel Richard. "Discursive intersection : cinema, text, architecture." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/23463.
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Graves, Barbara. "A cognitive perspective on expertise in literary understanding." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=40131.
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This research presents a psychological investigation of the characteristics of literary reading and the expertise associated with it. Specifically, it examines the kinds of knowledge about discourse which highly skilled readers use to generate a representation of a fictional narrative. At the same time it investigates their informal reasoning and the role that authorial intentions play in their interpretive strategies.To investigate highly skilled literary readers who are trained to look at texts in multi-dimensional ways, this research applied a cognitive model of literary reading to analyze the readers' verbal protocols in terms of discursive patterns and reasoning strategies.
The findings suggest that as student readers gain knowledge and experience, their developing expertise is demonstrated by their ability to generate knowledge representations of the multiple components of a literary text. The construction of an explicit communicative context, however, is a hallmark of literary expertise and is instrumental in their reasoning since it frames the problem space for their text descriptions. Students, in contrast, appear ambivalent about the author-text relationship.
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Mungadze, Jerry Jesphat. "A Descriptive Study of a Native African Mental Health Problem Known in Zimbabwe as zvirwere zvechivanhu." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1990. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332278/.
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This is a study conducted in Zimbabwe which compared a group of 50 zvirvere zvechivanhu patients and a group of 50 non-patients in age, sex, marital status, level of education and claims of spirit possession. Claims of spirit possessions and types of spirits, as pointed out by Bennel (1982), were used as symptoms of zvirwere zvechivanhu. The two groups were also compared in symptom dimensions of the SCL-90-R used in the study. The SCL-90-R, developed by Derogatis (1975), is a 90-item symptom check list used to screen people for psychological problems reflected in the nine symptom dimensions of somatization, obsessive/ compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism and in the three global scores of Global Severity Index, Positive Symptom Distress Index and Positive Symptom Total. The subjects were chosen from two different sites, using a systematic sampling method. Three statistical methods were used to analyze the data. The Chi-square was used to analyze data on descriptive variables. The T-test and 2 x 2 analysis of variance were used to analyze the data on symptom dimensions and global scores. The study had one main hypothesis and nine subhypotheses. The main hypothesis was that zvirwere zvechivanhu patients were significantly different from the non-patients on the overall global scores. The nine subhypotheses stated that the patient and non-patient groups were significantly different in the nine separate symptom dimensions. The study concluded that the zvirwere zvechivanhu patients were significantly different from the non-patients in the overall global scores. In the nine separate symptom dimensions, it was concluded that the two groups were the same in all except the somatization and obsessive/compulsive system dimensions.
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Nel, Charne. "The subjective experience of well-being : a comparison of South African individuals in early and late adulthood." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/71869.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between age and the following subjective well-being (SWB) variables: global life satisfaction (as measured by the Satisfaction With Life Scale [SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larson, & Griffin, 1985], the temporal (past, present and future) dimensions of life satisfaction (as measured by the Temporal Satisfaction With Life Scale [TSWLS; Pavot, Diener, & Suh, 1998]), gratitude (as measured by the Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form [GQ-6; McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002]) and health satisfaction (as measured by the Health Satisfaction Question [HSQ; Chatters, 1988; Coyle, Lesnick-Emas, & Kinney, 1994; Gwozdoz & Sousa-Poza, 2009]). The interrelationships between these variables were explored, as well as the relationship between certain sociodemographic variables and global life satisfaction in late adulthood. Two groups of male and female South African participants were used, namely, individuals aged between 24-34 years (early adulthood) and 60-75 years (late adulthood). Differences between the two groups with regard to the SWB variables were investigated by using one-way ANOVAs and t-tests, and the interrelationships between the SWB variables were calculated by means of Pearson correlations, for each group seperately, as well as for the two groups combined. Differences in global life satisfaction between different sociodemographic subgroups within the late adulthood group were analysed using one-way ANOVAs and Bonferroni posthoc comparisons. Results indicated that individuals in late adulthood reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction than individuals in early adulthood. Similarly, individuals in late adulthood reported significantly higher levels of health satisfaction when compared to their younger counterparts. Regarding the trajectories of life satisfaction based on the subscales of the TSWLS, t-tests revealed that the early adulthood group considered their present and future (expected) life satisfaction to be significantly higher than their past life satisfaction. On the other hand, individuals in late adulthood considered only their present to be significantly higher than their past life satisfaction. Pearson correlations indicated significant relationships between global life satisfaction, the temporal dimensions of life satisfaction, and gratitude for both the early and late adulthood groups, as well as for both groups combined. Additionally, gratitude correlated significantly with health satisfaction and future life satisfaction for the early adulthood, but not for the late adulthood group. Neither gender, length of retirement or length of widowhood were significantly related to global life satisfaction, although married individuals reported significantly higher global life satisfaction than those who were not married. The results of the study suggest that there are significant differences between South African early and late adults with regard to some SWB variables and their interrelationships. The implications of these findings were discussed.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om die verband tussen ouderdom en die volgende subjektiewe welsyn (SWS) veranderlikes te ondersoek: globale lewensbevrediging (soos gemeet met die Satisfaction With Life Scale [SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larson, & Griffin, 1985], die temporale (verlede, hede en toekoms) dimensies van lewensbevredigings (soos gemeet met die Temporal Satisfaction With Life Scale [TSWLS; Pavot, Diener, & Suh, 1998]), dankbaarheid (soos gemeet met die Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form [GQ-6; McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002]) en gesondheidsbevrediging (soos gemeet met die Health Satisfaction Question [HSQ; Chatters, 1988; Coyle, Lesnick-Emas, & Kinney, 1994; Gwozdoz & Sousa-Poza, 2009]). The interverbande tussen hierdie verandelikes is ondersoek, sowel as die verband tussen sekere sosiodemografiese veranderlikes en globale lewensbevrediging in laat-volwassenheid. Twee groepe manlike en vroulike Suid-Afrikaanse deelnemers is gebruik, naamlik individue tussen die ouderdomme van 24-34 jaar (vroeë volwassenheid) en 60-75 years (laat volwassenheid). Verskille tussen die twee groepe wat betref die SWS veranderlikes is ondersoek met eenkantige variansie-analises en t-toetse, en die interverbande tussen die SWS veranderlikes is bereken met behulp van Pearson-korrelasies, vir elke groep afsonderlik, sowel as vir die twee groepe gekombineer. Verskille in globale lewensbevrediging tussen sosiodemografies-verskillende subgroepe binne die laat-volwassenheidgroep is ondersoek met behulp van eenkantige variansie-analises en Bonferroni opvolg-vergelykings. Resultate het aangetoon dat individue in laat-volwassenheid beduidend hoër vlakke van lewensbevrediging gerapporteer het as individue in vroeë volwassenheid. Individue in laat-volwassenheid het ook beduidend hoër vlakke van gesondheidsbevrediging in vergelyking met die jonger groep getoon. Wat betref die trajektorieë van lewensbevrediging gebaseer op die subskale van die TSWLS, het t-toetse aangetoon dat die vroeë volwassenheidgroep hul huidige en toekomstige (verwagte) lewensbevrediging as beduidend hoër as hul verlede-lewensbevrediging beoordeel het. Hierteenoor het individue in laat-volwassenheid slegs hul huidige lewensbevrediging as beduidend hoër as hul verlede-lewensbevrediging beoordeel. Pearson-korrelasies het beduidende verbande aangetoon tussen globale lewensbevrediging, die temporale dimensies van lewensbevrediging, en dankbaarheid vir beide die vroeë - en laat volwassenheid-groepe, sowel as vir beide groepe gekombineer. Verder het dankbaarheid beduidend gekorreleer met gesondheidsbevrediging en toekomstige lewensbevrediging vir die vroeë volwassenheidgroep, maar nie vir die laat- volwassenheidgroep nie. Nie geslag, tydperk van aftrede of tydperk van weduweeskap/ wewenaarskap het beduidende verbande met globale lewensbevrediging getoon nie, alhoewel getroude individue beduidend hoër globale lewensbevrediging as dié wat nie getroud was nie, gerapporteer het. Die resultate van die studie suggereer dat daar beduidende verskille tussen Suid-Afrikaanse vroeë en laat volwassenes bestaan wat betref sekere SWS veranderlikes en hul interverbande. Die implikasies van hierdie bevindings is bespreek.
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Houliara, Natalia. "A portfolio of research, professional practice and critical literature review in the psychological aspects of pregnancy." Thesis, City University London, 2011. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/1077/.
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Burke, Elspeth. "Taking the psychology of pregnancy seriously : implications for intervention : a review of the psychoanalytic literature." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/52476.
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Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Pregnancy has evolved from being predominantly understood as a medical phenomenon to what psychoanalytic theorists would regard as a holistic experience encompassing both physiological and psychological changes. According to psychoanalytic theorists, pregnancy is a transitional phase and a time of susceptibility and flux for most women. This often results in psychic turmoil where boundaries between conscious and unconscious process become more permeable. The pregnant woman's dreams and fantasies create an inner working model of relationships and this in tum provides a template of how her relationship with her baby will be experienced and conducted. This link to the unconscious increases insight into the process occurring between the woman and her evolving relationship with the fetus and provides the health professional with clues for early intervention. However care should be taken by health-care professionals to communicate the psychological processes during pregnancy within the cultural framework of the pregnancy mother for positive outcomes to be achieved.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die wyse waarop swangerskap verstaan word het ontwikkel vanaf grotendeels mediese verskynsel na wat die psigoanalitiese teoretici sal beskou as 'n holistiese ervaring wat beide die fisiologiese en die sielkundige veranderinge insluit. Die psigoanalitiese teoretici beskou swangerskap as 'n oorgangs fase en 'n periode van vatbaarheid en veranderlikheid vir die meeste vroue. Dit gee dikwels aanleiding tot psigiese wanorde waar die grense tussen bewustelike en onbewustelike prosesse meer deurdringbaar word. Die swanger vrou se drome en fantasië skep 'n innerlike werkende model van verhoudings en op sy beurt voorsien dit templet van hoe haar verhouding met haar baba ervaar en hanteer sal word. Hierdie band met die onbewustelike verleen insig in die proses wat tussen die vrou en haar ontwikkelende verhouding met die fetus voorkom en voorsien die gesondheids werker van leidrade vir vroeë intervensie. Die gesondheids werker moet egter versigtig wees om die sielkundige prosesse gedurende swangerskap binne die kulturele raamwerk van die swanger moeder te interpreteer om sodoende positiewe uitkomste verkry.
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Harris, Chantel. "Relationships between psychological capital, work engagement and organisational citizenship behaviour in South African automative dealerships." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008059.
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Psychological capital (PsyCap), work engagement (WE) and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) are all positive constructs which research has indicated will have a positive impact on the bottom line. In light of Positive Organisational Behaviour, this has become increasingly important, particularly in the service industry where good service leads to satisfied customers and ultimately repeat purchases. This research took on the form of a cross- sectional design, using a composite questionnaire to measure PsyCap, WE and OCB. This was a self-report electronic questionnaire which was distributed via email to customer service representatives (N=276) from a national automotive company with dealerships in Gauteng and the Western Cape. The measurement models were revalidated for the South African sample of customer service representatives through conducting Exploratory Factor Analysis. PsyCap remained a four-factor structure, however lost items in the elimination process. Both the UWES and OCB instruments lost items and became two-factor structures. This makes the notion that these instruments are portable to the South African situation questionable. To confirm these structures, item parcelling was utilised and Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted. The results indicated that the new measurement models were better suited to the South African sample. Demographic groups had significant differences in the means for PsyCap, WE and OCB. Further to this, relationships between the constructs were tested through multiple regression and structural equation modeling. The most significant relationship was found between PsyCap and work engagement. Finally, PsyCap (barring optimism) and WE were found to load onto a single factor when testing for factorial independence, while OCB came out as a separate factor.
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Birdsall, Stephanie. "Meaning and the literary text." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=24076.
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Often debates over literary meaning can get swept up into larger discussions about social significance, political responsibilities, identity struggles and deification of cultural objects. Literary meaning becomes, in these deliberations, not just a theoretical entity but a powerful social force. All of these queries, however, inasmuch as the literary enterprise is a part of human interaction, are dependent on the brute fact of communication. Any notion of literary meaning must ultimately rest upon a concept of meaning that explains, or attempts to explain, how communication is possible. This, in turn, leads down the dark path into human psychology and the relationships of our minds to the world around us. This thesis will attempt to explore various viewpoints about the connections between thought, language, and literature and to argue that these connections necessitate more attention than has been paid to them by literary theorists.
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Jadezweni, Mhlobo Wabantwana. "Aspects of isiXhosa poetry with special reference to poems produced about women." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006364.
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This study investigates the use of modern and izibongo (praise poetry) techniques in representing women in selected isiXhosa poems. The main interest of the study is to determine whether the same techniques to depict men are used when writing about women. It is also the interest of the study to ascertain how gender issues are dealt with in the selected poems. Seminal studies on izibongo by eminent scholars in this field show a serious lack of critique and little recognition of women in African languages’ poetry in general and in isiXhosa in particular. Pioneering studies in Nguni poetry about women have thus recommended that serious studies on poetry about women be undertaken. The analyses of selected poems by established isiXhosa poets show that modern poetry conventions are significantly used together with izibongo techniques. These techniques are used without any gender differentiation, which is another point of interest of this study. There are however instances where images specific to women are used. Such use has however not been found to be demeaning of women in any way. Poems where modern poetry forms and conventions are used tend to deal with subjects who have international or an urban area background. Even though the modern poetry conventions are used with izibongo techniques the presence of the modern literary conventions is prominent. This is the case particularly with poems about women in politics. That some female poet seems to accept some cultural practices that are viewed to be undermining the status of women does not take away the voice of protest against this oppression by some of the selected poets. These two voices, one of acceptance and the other one of protest are used as a basis for a debate around a need for a literary theory that addresses the question of African culture with special reference to isiXhosa poetry about women. The success of the selected poets with both modern and izibongo techniques is a good sign for the development of isiXhosa poetry in general and isiXhosa poetry about women. It is strongly recommended that continued research of a serious nature concerning poetry about, and produced by women, be undertaken.
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Van, der Spuy Tanya Monique. "Dissociation as a defensive strategy in pregnant low-income women : a review of the literature." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/52805.
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Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This paper is an attempt to explore the appropriateness of the use of the specific psychological paradigm of dissociation as a possible response to pregnancy in lowincome women. Low-income women who fail to acknowledge their pregnancies may do so in an attempt to defend against feelings of fear, anxiety and helplessness engendered by the crisis of pregnancy. A dissociative response may serve to protect the expectant mother from conscious awareness of the full impact of what is happening, in other words, to provide psychological escape when physical escape is not possible. Such a response may initially be adaptive in that it provides these women with a means of coping. Dissociative processes allow, in the context of an inescapable crisis, the economizing of already limited physical and psychological resources. However, the prolonged use of dissociative strategies during pregnancy may have far-reaching implications, and, as such, be a hindrance to adaptive functioning.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie poog om ondersoek in te stel na die geskiktheid van die gebruik van die spesifieke psigiese meganisme van dissosiasie as 'n moontlike reaksie tot swangerskap in lae-inkomste vroue. Lae-inkomste vroue mag hul swangerskappe ontken in 'n poging om verweer te bied teen gevoelens van vrees, angs en hulpeloosheid wat deur swangerskap teweegebring word. 'n Dissosiatiewe respons mag dien om die verwagtende moeder te beskerm teen die volle impak van die gebeurtenis, met ander woorde, om psigiese ontvlugting te bied waar fisiese ontvlugting onmoontlik is. Welke respons mag aanvanklik adaptief wees in dat dit 'n manier van streshantering is. Dissosiatiewe meganismes bevorder, in die konteks van 'n onvermydelike krisis, die besparing van reeds beperkte fisiese en psigiese bronne. Die langtermyn gebruik van dissosiatiewe strategieë gedurende swangerskap mag egter verreikende gevolge inhou, en as sulks adaptiewe funksionering strem.
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Murry, Sherri Linise. "African American adolescent females and the career self-efficacy model." Virtual Press, 1996. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1020176.
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The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a career workshop on the career self-efficacy of a group of African American adolescent females (AAAF). The study assessed the preand post-test differences of treatment and level of parental education for change in career self-efficacy after an intervention. A total of 21 AAAF completed the pre- and post-test of the Career Attitude Survey. The data was analyzed by carrying out four t-tests on each of the two independent groups. The results of the study suggest that the career workshop was more effective for change in career self-efficacy for traditionally female careers. The change was more significant for the treatment group and AAAF with at least one parent with some college education. Implications for research and practice were presented.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
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Coleman, De'Nean MeChele. "The effect of discrimination on hiring practices." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1992. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/524.
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White, Monica Latrice. "A study of the historical, the psychological, and the spiritual aspects of "passing" in the house behind the cedars and passing." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 1996. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/647.
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This study investigates the phenomenon of “passing” for white and its effects on individuals, who “pass” or attempt to “pass.” The effects of “passing” that the study examines are the loss of the historical identity and the constant trauma of the psyche. Furthermore, this study examines the importance of the spirit(soul) of the “passing” person in returning to the African American community. The study is based on the premise that in order to gain the economic stability, education, and true freedom that are enjoyed by white society, persons have to “pass.” Therefore, African Americans who can cross the color line risk their lives and their sanity in hopes of capturing the American Dream. However, over time, these persons realize that the price of “passing” is too high, and thus, return to the African American community via the spirit. Thus, this study concludes that although the person who “passes” relinquishes the history and suffers emotionally by way of the psyche, the spiritual connection plays an integral role of restoring him/her to the African American community.
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Sully, Preis Max. "The meaning of work in a developing society a rural South African study." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002575.
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The primary aim of this thesis is to explore, at a psychological level, the meaning of work in a rural developing society context. Additional aims comprise: the examination of distinctions in the meaning of work between different occupational niches; and the development of an appropriate conceptual and methodological approach for understanding meaning of work issues in developing society contexts. The research was conducted in the Keiskammahoek district situated in Ciskei, a South African homeland area. Demographically, the area comprises farms, small rural villages and one small town. It has traditionally fulfilled the role of a labour reserve, and the local economy largely depends on income generated through migrant labour. The population predominantly comprises indigenous Xhosa speakers, although a few whites, individuals of mixed racial origin and other ethnic groups are represented. In order to accommodate the diversity of work experience in rural society, an approach was adopted which relied on the participants' subjective definition of work. A conscious attempt was made to avoid defining work exclusively as remunerated employment. At a metatheoretical level, the meaning of work model used is grounded in Kelly's (1955) Personal Construct Theory. It comprises three facets, namely process, context and content. A multiple case study analysis was carried design was used, through to a in which nomothetic idiographic level of understanding. The primary' research instrument comprised an interview, in which data was derived from life-history material, a repertory grid, and focused interview questions. In the development of case studies, a process of triangulation was used to link the three sources of data. The thesis explores the relationship between participants and their work in several ways. First, it looks at how work and non-work are constituted and related to one another, and at how personally valuable work is contrasted to less valuable work. Second, it explores the relationship between the individual's orientation to work and their life and occupational context. Finally, it discusses the proposal that work meanings change and evolve with the development of the individual, and with shifts in social and historical circumstance.
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Webber, Heidi. "Exploring perspectives of South African fathers of a child with Down syndrome." Thesis, Nelson Mandela University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13535.
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A mere glance at a family photograph of the Victorian era leaves little doubt of the position of the figure exuding impervious, authoritarian detachment. Austere, rigid and solemn, it is not hard to guess who cast the shadow over the picture. Arrestingly imposing in his role as backbone of the family, this is the nineteenth century legacy image of the father. However, the last century has seen fatherhood redefine itself and the more liberal, lenient and openly loving figure replaced the strict patriarchal model. In contemporary times, fathers are regularly seen comfortably behind a stroller, outdoors with children on their shoulders, at home tousling with their children, and considerably more involved in school and social events. Unashamedly, fathers have moved toward both acknowledging and displaying a softer paternal image. By definition fatherhood is a decidedly individual concept and a unique experience, involving much more than being the male parent in a family, the family protector, or the provider of paycheques. Although the past decade has seen a surge of research and interest in fatherhood with an increased recognition that the involvement of fathers contribute to the well-being, cognitive growth and social competence of their children, there remains a deficit in research on the experiences, perceptions and involvement of fathers of children diagnosed with Down syndrome. And whilst most of this knowledge base is extrapolated from studies about the mother’s experience, true understanding requires that fathers are studied directly. Mothers and fathers respond differently to the pressure associated with raising a child with Down syndrome and literature supports the common view that men are less likely and easy to engage in therapy than women, are less likely to attend therapy, or seek help for physical or psychological problems. For fathers of any differently abled child, the distance between the idealized fathering experience and the actual one may be enormous. Based upon the patriarchy model of the family, in many conventional homes, the wife and mother is like a thermometer, sensing and reflecting the home’s temperature, whilst the father and husband is like the home’s thermostat, which determines and regulates the temperature. The equilibrium of the father plays an important role in his ‘thermostat settings’ to set the right temperature in the marriage and his family. Having a differently abled child is almost never expected and often necessitates a change in plans as the family members adjust their views of their own future, their future with their child, as well as how they will henceforth operate as a family.Some fathers may experience uncertainty about their parenting role of a child diagnosed with Down syndrome, often resulting in peculiar behaviours of the father. This may include engrossing themselves into their work, hobbies, sport, and so forth, almost abdicating their duty as father; believing that the mother knows best (sometimes using their own lack of knowledge as a cop-out); or, they simply withdraw because the mother takes such complete control of every aspect of the child that the father feels inadequate, superfluous, and peripheral as parent. Each parent grieves the ‘loss’ of the child they expected in their own individual way. However, such a highly emotive situation may be compounded by the following aspects: the undeniable pressure of caring for the differently abled child; the additional financial burden; a waning social life; and, the incapacity to cope emotionally whilst invariably displaying the contrary purely to create the illusion that they are indeed coping. Fathers need to develop strategies and skills to cope with the very real and practical needs of parenting their child with Down syndrome, to furthermore minimize relationship conflict and misunderstanding, and to support their child’s optimal development. How these specific issues are embraced and managed may dramatically influence the peace and harmony of family life as well as the marital relationship. This study explores the perspectives of fathers of a child with Down syndrome to ultimately support this unique journey as they navigate their way through “Down”town Holland, as illustrated in the analogy to follow.
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Johnson, Beverly Yvonne. "Vocal Self-identification, Singing Style, and Singing Range in Relationship to a Measure of Cultural Mistrust in African-American Adolescent Females." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1994. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278339/.
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The purpose was to determine the relationship between high or low cultural mistrust and vocal characteristics in African-American adolescent females. The vocal characteristics were vocal self-identification, singing style, and singing range.
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Muzerengwa, Cedric. "Personality and self-esteem as predictors of employability among final year students at a previously disadvantaged South African University." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4594.
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Orientation: The high unemployment level in South Africa has caused even graduates to be unemployed and yet they hold university degrees. This has increased pressure on the job seeking students to develop factors that influence employability, hence the study seeks to identify whether personality and self-esteem act as predictors of employability among final year university students. Research purpose: The objectives of this investigation were to examine whether personality, as is typically found in personality type research tool such as the, (Myers Briggs personality indicator) and self-esteem positively predict employability among final year university students. Secondly, to determine the personality types that significantly predict employability among final year university students. The last objective was to determine whether self-esteem significantly predicts employability among final year university students. Motivation for the study: This investigation is particularly important because it looks at the non-academic attributes that make job-seeking students able to attain a job and also sustain that job. The 21st century workplace is ever changing, and students are required to build proactive personalities that help them increase their employability level and stand a higher chance of getting employed. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative survey research design was used and a questionnaire was self-administered to a stratified simple random sample consisting of 238 Management and Commerce final year students at the university of Fort Hare. The study used quantitative approach and a positivism paradigm. To measure personality, TIPI scale was used and had 10 items. Employability was measured using the student self-perceived employability scale and self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Main findings: The results of this study showed a similarity with others obtained in prior studies. The results drawn from the statistical analysis of this study showed that there is a significant relationship between personality types such as perceiving, extraversion and feeling with employability among final year management and commerce students at the university of Fort Hare. However, the results showed that there is no positive relationship that exists between self-esteem and employability among final year job-seeking students. Practical implications: The research findings provided evidence that personality had a positive relationship with employability in an academic context. This makes it clear that student career exploration process can only be successful when special attention is given to developing individual’s human capital skills and proactive personalities. Institutions of higher learning should take advantage of some career experts in their countries and in their universities to provide students with employability lessons and guidelines. Contribution: The most important contribution of this study is that it helps to extend knowledge and understanding on the issues concerning the relationship between personality, self-esteem and employability in an academic setting. The research magnified the frame of information in the area personality in relation to employability in academic contexts. It makes available more literature that looks into these two variables (personality and self-esteem) in an African context.
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Wittenberg, Hermann. "The sublime, imperialism and the African landscape." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2004. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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In this dissertation the author argued for a postcolonial reading of the sublime that takes into account the racial and gendered underpinnings of Immanuel Kant's and Edmund Burke's classic theories. The thesis used the understanding of the sublime as a lens for an analysis of the cultural politics of landscape in a range of late imperial and early modern texts about Africa. A re-reading of Henry Morton Stanley's central African exploration narratives, John Buchan's African fiction and political writing, and later texts such as Alan Paton's fiction, autobiographies and travel writing, together with an analysis of colonial mountaineering discourse, suggest that non-metropolitan discourses of the sublime, far from being an outmoded rhetoric, could manage and contain the contradictions inherent in the aesthetic appreciation and appropriation of contested colonial landscapes.
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Hayward, Brett Anthony. "Relationship between employee performance, leadership and emotional intelligence in a South African parastatal organisation." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019740.
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This research investigates the relationship between employee performance, leadership and emotional intelligence in a South African parastatal. The literature provided discusses the three variables of performance, leadership and emotional intelligence. Information was gathered, using three instruments, from a sample of 160 leaders and 800 raters. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to determine leadership style within the parastatal, while the Emotional Competency Profiler was used to determine the emotional intelligence of the leaders within the parastatal. Employee performance was captured and recorded using the parastatal’s performance appraisal process. Leadership and emotional intelligence were identified as the independent variables and employee performance as the dependent variable. Data obtained from each of the research instruments was then statistically analysed. Through linear regression analysis it was concluded that there is a significant relationship between employee performance and an emotionally intelligent, transactional leader. However, no significant linear relationship was found between employee performance and an emotionally intelligent, transformational leader. Simple correlation analysis showed that there is a relatively weak significant linear relationship between emotional intelligence and transactional leadership. Moreover, it was found that there is a very strong significant linear relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. This research therefore adds a new dimension to employee performance, leadership and emotional intelligence, since no similar study has been conducted. As this research takes place in the South African context, it contributes to the bank of findings relating to the concepts.
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Lenihan, Elizabeth. "Drawing the reader in : a collection of short stories." Thesis, McGill University, 1988. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=61240.
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Why do people tell stories? Whether it be the oft repeated, endlessly varied fairy tales passed from one generation to the next, the carefully patterned and strictly worded epics of the ancients or tall-tales told around the kitchen table, people have been telling stories to themselves or others since the day someone uttered the first words ever heard on this planet. In the following essay story-telling is called narrativity and is discussed as a function of the desire to impose meaning on experience. The six stories of Drawing the Reader In are about story-telling and how people fail or succeed as story-tellers. Neither can be said to fully answer the question above, rather they elaborate on the possibilities of there being an answer.
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Barrett, Redfern Jon. "Queer friendship : same sex love in the works of Thomas Gray, Anna Seward, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin." Thesis, Swansea University, 2010. https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa43030.
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Dukas, Carla Justine. "A feminist phenomenological description of depression in low-income South African women." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86512.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A review of the past decade of literature on the subject of depression in South African women revealed a paucity of research that documents the perspectives of low-income women who have been diagnosed with depression. Informed by this and recent feminist critiques of the concept of depression, this study aimed to bring traditionally overlooked perspectives to the fore by providing rich descriptions of the subjectively lived experience of depression, as recounted by low-income women themselves. This feminist phenomenological study took place in a poor, rural community in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with ten low-income women who had been diagnosed with depression. The transcribed interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. A number of important findings emerged. Firstly, participants were seen to express somatic complaints ahead of (and more frequently than) disclosures of sadness. Secondly, participants often described experiencing their psychological distress as anger, anxiety and a changed sense of self. Thirdly, participants generally attributed these experiences (and their overall distress) to a history of childhood trauma, the loss of important relationships, being physically, sexually or emotionally abused, feeling under supported and overburdened by multiple responsibilities, living in dangerous communities, and/or the various consequences of poverty. Finally, it was observed that while symptoms of suicidal ideation and intent were present in many of the women interviewed, strong religious and cultural norms existed and generally functioned to silence and deny the subject. Overall, the women’s subjective experiences, understandings and descriptions of depression allowed a more complex picture to emerge than that which is currently offered by mainstream biomedical models. Consequentially, the current conceptualisation of the term “depression” was deemed to be inadequate, specifically because it does not fully capture low-income women’s experiences of distress, and also because it tends to obscure the possible impact of socio-economic and political contexts on their mental health. Implications of these findings include firstly, that not only does the diagnosis of depression serve to medicalise women’s misery, but it may simultaneously serve to obscure their feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, hopelessness and other symptoms of distress that are intrinsically linked to their disadvantageous social and living conditions. Secondly, the findings indicate that the use of traditional diagnostic and suicide assessment interviews may be unhelpful or even irresponsible in some South African contexts. Finally, many of the study findings warrant further investigation and psychological research. Recommendations to this end are thus included and stress the need to use theoretical perspectives and research methodologies that are sensitive to the multilayered, complex psychological experiences of depression in low-income women.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ’n Oorsig van die afgelope dekade se literatuur oor depressie by Suid-Afrikaanse vroue dui op ’n gebrek aan navorsing oor die perspektiewe van vroue uit lae-inkomstegroepe wat met dié toestand gediagnoseer word. Na aanleiding hiervan sowel as onlangse feministiese kritiek op die konsep van depressie, was hierdie studie dus daarop toegespits om tradisioneel miskende perspektiewe na vore te bring deur middel van ’n ryke beskrywing van die subjektiewe ervaring van die lewe met depressie soos vroue uit lae-inkomstegroepe self daarvan vertel. Hierdie feministiese fenomenologiese studie is in ’n arm, landelike gemeenskap in die provinsie Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika, onderneem. Semigestruktureerde diepte-onderhoude is gevoer met tien vroue in die laeinkomstekategorie wat met depressie gediagnoseer is. Die getranskribeerde onderhoude is op vertolkende fenomenologiese wyse ontleed. ’n Aantal belangrike bevindinge is gemaak. Eerstens het die meeste deelnemers somatiese klagtes gehad voordat (en meer dikwels as wat) hulle oor hul neerslagtigheid en terneergedruktheid gepraat het. Tweedens het heelwat deelnemers hul sielkundige nood as woede, angs en ’n gewysigde selfbeskouing beskryf. Derdens het die vroue merendeels hul ervarings (en hul algehele nood) aan ’n geskiedenis van kindertrauma, die verlies van belangrike verhoudings, fisiese, seksuele of emosionele mishandeling, ’n gebrek aan ondersteuning tesame met ’n oormaat verantwoordelikhede, hul gevaarlike woonbuurte en/of die verskillende gevolge van armoede toegeskryf. Laastens is waargeneem dat hoewel die ideasie en voorneme van selfdood wél as simptome by baie van die respondente opgemerk is, daar terselfdertyd sterk godsdienstige en kulturele norme bestaan waarvolgens dié onderwerp oor die algemeen doodgeswyg en ontken word. In die geheel skets die vroue se subjektiewe ervarings, begrippe en beskrywings van depressie ’n meer komplekse prentjie as wat hoofstroom- biomediese modelle tot dusver gebied het. Dus blyk die huidige konseptualisering van die term ‘depressie’ onvoldoende te wees, veral omdat dit nie die ervarings en nood van vroue uit lae-inkomstegroepe ten volle vasvang nie, en ook geneig is om die moontlike impak van sosio-ekonomiese en politieke kontekste op dié vroue se geestesgesondheid te misken. Die implikasies van hierdie bevindinge sluit eerstens in dat die diagnose van depressie nie net hierdie vroue se nood ‘medikaliseer’ nie, maar terselfdertyd dalk ook hul gevoelens van woede, angs, hartseer, hopeloosheid en ander simptome van nood wat ten nouste met hul minderbevoorregte maatskaplike en lewensomstandighede verband hou, verberg. Tweedens dui die bevindinge daarop dat die gebruik van tradisionele diagnostiese en selfdoodevalueringsonderhoude in sekere Suid-Afrikaanse kontekste nutteloos en selfs onverantwoordelik kan wees. Laastens regverdig baie van die studie se bevindinge verdere ondersoek en sielkundige navorsing. Aanbevelings in hierdie verband word dus ingesluit, en beklemtoon onder meer die behoefte aan teoretiese perspektiewe en navorsingsmetodologieë wat gevoelig is vir die meervlakkige, komplekse sielkundige ervarings van depressie by vroue uit laeinkomstegroepe.
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Oppelt, Riaan N. "C. Louis Leipoldt and the making of a South African modernism." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80232.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: C. Louis Leipoldt had, in his lifetime and after his death, a celebrated reputation as an important Afrikaans poet in South Africa. He remains most remembered for his contribution to the growth of Afrikaans literature and for the significance of his poetry in helping to establish Afrikaans literature in the early part of the twentieth century in South Africa. He is also mostly remembered for his recipe books and food and wine guides, as well as his career as a paediatrician. Between 1980 and 2001, scholarly work was done to offer a reappraisal of Leipoldt’s literary works. During this period, previously unpublished material written by Leipoldt was made publicly available. Three novels by Leipoldt, written in English, were published at irregular intervals between 1980 and 2001. The novels cast Leipoldt in a different light, suggesting that as an English-language writer he was against many of the ideas he was associated with when viewed as an Afrikaans-language writer. These ideas, for the most part, linked Leipoldt to the Afrikaner nationalist project of the twentieth century and co-opted him to Afrikaner nationalist policies of racial segregation based on the campaigning for group identity. The three English-language novels, collectively making up the Valley trilogy, not only reveal Leipoldt’s opposition to the nationalist project but also draw attention to some of his other work in Afrikaans, in which this same ideological opposition may be noted. In this thesis I argue that Leipoldt’s Valley trilogy, as well as some of his other, Afrikaans works, not only refute the nationalist project but offer a reading of South African modernity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This reading of historical events in South Africa that reveals the trajectory of the country’s modernity is strongly indicative of a unique literary modernism. It is my argument that Leipoldt’s Valley trilogy shows a modernist critique of the historical events it presents. Because the concept of a South African modernism in literature has not yet been fully defined, it is also an aim of this thesis to propose that Leipoldt’s works contribute a broad but sustained literary outlook that covers his own lifespan (1880-1947) as well as the historical period he examines in the Valley trilogy (the late 1830s -the late 1920s/early 1930s). This literary outlook, I argue, is a modernist outlook, but also a transplantation of a Western understanding of what modernism is to the South African context in which there are crucial differences. This thesis hopes to arrive at an outcome that binds Leipoldt’s anti-nationalism to his literary critique of the modernity he explores in the Valley trilogy, thereby proving that Leipoldt could be read as a South African literary modernist.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: C. Louis Leipoldt het in sy leeftyd en na sy dood 'n gevierde reputasie behou as 'n belangrike Afrikaanse digter in Suid-Afrika. Hy word die meeste onthou vir sy bydrae tot die groei van die Afrikaanse letterkunde en die belangrikeheid van sy poësie tot die Afrikaanse letterkunde, se stigting in die vroë deel van die twintigste eeu in Suid-Afrika. Hy word meestal ook onthou vir sy resepteboeke en kos en wyn gidse, sowel as vir sy loopbaan as 'n pediater. Tussen 1980 en 2001, is navorsingswerk gedoen om ‘n herwaardering van Leipoldt se literêre werk aan te bied. Gedurende hierdie tydperk was voorheen ongepubliseerde material geskryf deur Leipoldt publiek sigbaar gestel. Drie romans deur Leipoldt, wat in Engels geskryf is, is gepubliseer op ongereelde tussenposes tussen 1980 en 2001. Die romans stel Leipoldt in ‘n ander lig, wat daarop dui dat as 'n Engelse skrywer was hy gekant teen baie van die idees waarmee hy geassosieer was toe hy as 'n Afrikaanstalige skrywer beskou was. Hierdie idees het grootendeels vir Leipoldt gekoppel aan die Afrikaner-nasionalistiese projek van die twintigste eeu en het hom gekoöpteer tot Afrikaner nasionalistiese beleide van rasse-segregasie gegrond op die veldtog vir groepidentiteit. Die drie Engelstalige romans, gesamentlik die Valley-trilogie, openbaar nie net Leipoldt se teenkanting van die nasionalistiese projek nie, maar vestig ook aandag op sommige van sy ander werk in Afrikaans waarin hierdie selfde ideologiese opposisie aangeteken kan word. In hierdie tesis voer ek aan dat Leipoldt se Valley-trilogie, sowel as sommige van sy ander, Afrikaans werke, nie net die nasionalistiese projek weerlê nie, maar ook ‘n lesing aanbied van Suid-Afrikaanse moderniteit in die negentiende en twintigste eeus. Hierdie lesing van historiese gebeure in Suid-Afrika wat die trajek van die land se moderniteit openbaar is sterk aanduidend van 'n unieke literêre modernisme. Dit is my redenering dat Leipoldt se Valley-trilogie 'n modernistiese kritiek toon van die historiese gebeurtenisse wat dit aanbied. Omdat die konsep van 'n Suid-Afrikaanse modernisme in die letterkunde nog nie ten volle gedefineer is nie, is dit ook 'n doel van hierdie tesis om voor te stel dat Leipoldt se werke 'n breë maar volgehoue literêre kritiek bydra wat sy eie leeftyd dek (1880-1947) asook die historiese tydperk wat hy ondersoek in die Valley-trilogie (die laat 1830s tot die laat 1920s/vroë 1930s). Hierdie literêre vooruitsig, redeneer ek, is 'n modernistiese vooruitsig, maar ook 'n oorplanting van 'n Westerse begrip van wat die modernisme is tot die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks waarin daar belangrike verskille is. Hierdie tesis hoop tot 'n uitkoms wat Leipoldt se anti-nasionalisme bind tot aan sy literêre kritiek van die moderniteit wat hy ondersoek in die Valley-trilogie, en daardeur bewys dat Leipoldt gelees kan word word as 'n Suid-Afrikaanse literêre modernis
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Van, Ewyk Johanna Jacquetta. "Lesbian mothers' lived psychological experience of planned motherhood in three South African cities : an exploratory study." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/85801.
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Thesis (MA)-- Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The concept of what constitutes a “normal” family has changed within recent years. This is because various family forms have been found viable. The current study is exploratory and focuses on the planned lesbian family. It aims to describe lesbian mothers’ lived psychological experience of planned motherhood. Utilising a feminist phenomenological approach, the narratives of 10 lesbian couples were obtained. Their emotional experiences are discussed under four headings, namely; the decision to become mothers; the actual process of becoming mothers; motherhood experience; and the anticipation of and actual responses to lesbian motherhood, lesbian families and children of lesbian mothers. Significant findings reveal the decision making involved in becoming mothers; the influence the type of donor has on the couple and their child; the joys and challenges of raising children; the fair division of childcare and household chores; the importance of partner support; the level of bonding with social and adoptive mothers; society’s lack of parental validation; the issue of homophobia and the preparation of their children against homophobia. Lesbian mothers seem to experience motherhood in very similar ways to heterosexual mothers, except that they do not seem as lonely and isolated. The aim of this study was not only to explore the experiences of lesbian mothers, but also to give them a voice within the psychological literature and to strive towards the acceptance of diverse families within mainstream psychology and the broader South African community.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die konsep van wat ’n “normale“ familie behels het in die afgelope jare verander. Die rede is dat verskeie gesinsvorme as lewensvatbaar bevind is. Die gesinsvorm onder bestudering is die beplande lesbiese gesin. Hierdie was ’n verkennende studie wat gefokus het op die beskrywing van lesbiese ouers se sielkundige ervaring van beplande lesbiese moederskap. Daar is gebruik gemaak van ’n feministies-fenomenologiese benadering om die verhale van 10 lesbiese paartjies te verkry. Hulle ervarings word onder vier adelings bespreek, naamlik; die besluit om moeders te word; die werklike proses om moeders te word; moederskap ervarings; en die verwagte en werklike reaksies tot lesbiese moederskap van lesbiese families en kinders van lesbiese moeders. Noemenswaardige bevindings onthul die besluitneming betrokke om moeders te word; die invloed wat die tipe skenker op die paartjie en hulle kind het; die vreugde en vereistes van kinders grootmaak; die regverdige verdeling van kindersorg en huishoudelike take; die belangrikheid van lewensmaat ondersteuning; die krag van kinders se band met sosiale en aangenome moeders; die samelewing se tekort aan ouerlike bekragtiging; die kwessie van homofobie en die voorbereiding van hulle kinders hierteen. Dit wil voorkom of lesbiese moeders moeders in baie opsigte dieselfde ervaar as heteroseksuele moeders, behalwe dat hulle nie so alleen en geïsoleerd voorkom nie. Die studie se voorneme was nie net om die ervarings van lesbiese moeders te verken nie, maar ook om aan hulle ’n stem te bied binne die sielkundige literatuur en om te streef na die aanvaarding van uiteenlopende gesinsvorme binne hoofstroom sielkunde asook die breër Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap.
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De, Swardt Maray Annelise. "Factors influencing the choice to shop online a psychological study in a South African context /." Diss., Pretoria : [s.n.], 2008. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-11252008-120107.
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Ntozini, Anathi. "Psychological well-being of institutionalised and non-institutionalised isiXhosa and English ethnic speaking elderly south African residing within the Buffalo City area." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/6368.
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Background: International research has clearly indicated that the world’s population is ageing: almost all countries in the world are experiencing a significant growth in the proportion of older persons in their population. This is also true for developing countries such as South Africa that are beginning to show signs and symptoms of an ageing population. Among Southern African Development Communities (SADC), South Africa has the highest number of ‘senior citizens’. Population reports indicate that the population of old people rose from paltry 2.8 million in 1996 to more than 4 million in 2011 and this is expected to skyrocket to seven million by 2030. In spite of the increasing number of senior citizens in socio-structural landscapes in South Africa, there is still lack of adequate, workable and effective policy frameworks for the wellbeing of the elderly. There is also paucity of psychological data of the elderly, especially along racial divides to determine whether the after-effects of apartheid still hold sway or not in post-apartheid South Africa. This study was conceived to investigate the psychological well-being of the elderly in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape, South Africa between two racial-ethnic elderly groups. The specific objectives of the study were to explore the relationship between the socio-demographic characteristics and psychological well-being of the black (Xhosa) and white (English) elderly in Buffalo City, South Africa and second, to validate the relationship between psychological well-being and physical activity, loneliness, spirituality/religiosity as well as ageism among the sampled population. The set-point theory, selective optimisation compensation theory (SOCT) as well as the continuity theory were employed to guide the conduct of the study. Method: Psychological measuring instruments were deployed to collect data for the study from a total of 301 elderly respondents in retirement and private individual homes (191 isiXhosa and 110 English speaking elderly). Both simple random sampling (SRS) and purposive sampling procedures were used to select the respondents. The measuring instruments included the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-being (RSPWB), Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), Assessment of Spiritual and Religious Sentiments Scale (ASPIRES), University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale, the Palmore Ageism Survey scale and a biographical questionnaire. Data was analysed using MANOVA, One-way variance analysis and regression coefficient. The racial differences logically influenced the selection of the respondents for the study. Results: The study revealed a significant statistical relationship between physical activity (PA) and psychological well-being of the elderly, regardless of the sociodemographic variables. PA showed a significant relationship with psychological wellbeing of the elderly. The study also discovered that loneliness correlates significantly with all four of the psychological well-being scales. It shows that the higher the levels of loneliness experienced by the elderly, socio-demographic variables controlled, the lower the levels of psychological well-being in terms of autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. However, with the exception of the relationship between loneliness and purpose in life, ethnic affiliation moderates autonomy, environmental mastery and self-acceptance. English elderly constantly experienced higher levels of autonomy than the isiXhosa elderly do with an increase in loneliness. The study also found a positive relationship between ageism and psychological well- being. However, with low levels of ageism, the English elderly, in comparison with the isiXhosa elderly, is likely to show higher levels of autonomy. In addition, a significant statistical relationship between ageism and environmental mastery and purpose in life was found among the isiXhosa elderly. Although, with an increase in ageism, there is a slight increase in autonomy in both groups, the English elderly throughout showed higher levels of autonomy than the isiXhosa elderly showed. The study found a positive relationship between religiosity/spirituality and psychological well-being of the elderly. However, race could moderate the relationship between prayer fulfillment and psychological well-being at all four levels (autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and self-acceptance). With an increase in prayer fulfillment, the autonomy of the English elderly increases fairly quickly, while the autonomy of the isiXhosa elderly decreases slightly. Comparatively, the study found that isiXhosa elderly reported lower levels of psychological well-being than the English elderly. Conclusion/Recommendation: The study concludes that there is the need to develop a solid national data bases on needs and use of services, and process of ageing in order to access research data to assist planning, dissemination, delivery and evaluation of effective service delivery for the elderly population in South Africa, especially along racial divides.
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Philaretou, Andreas Georgiou. "Premarital and marital determinants of affect: a propositional approach to the family-related literature, 1980-1992." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/44170.
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Burkhardt, Irmgard Kathe-Erla. "An assessment instrument for fear in middle childhood South African children." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1147.
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Thesis (DSc (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.Fears are a normal part of development but excessive fears may interfere with daily functioning and may reflect serious anxiety problems. In order to determine whether fears are excessive or not, as well as to implement prevention programmes, an assessment instrument is needed that is socially and scientifically relevant to the context in which the child lives. Furthermore, normative data is necessary in order to understand the concept of fear. The primary aim of the study was to develop a measuring instrument that is scientifically and socially relevant within the South African context. This entailed a qualitative stage where semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 middle childhood children attending four local primary schools in the Stellenbosch area. These interviews were transcribed and analysed for emerging themes. The emerging themes were then added to the existing Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R). Reliability analyses were conducted on the data obtained by the adapted FSSC-R. Item-total correlations and exploration of the item construct resulted in 23 items being deleted. The remaining items on the scale demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0,97). The factor structure of the remaining items was explored by means of principal factor analysis with varimax rotation. Various factor solutions were explored and the five-factor solution was found to be the best conceptual fit for the data. The five factors are: Factor I-Fear of Danger and Death, Factor II-Fear of the Unknown, Factor III-Worries, Factor IV-Fear of Animals, Factor V-Situational Fears. The adapted scale is a South African version of Ollendick’s FSSC-R and is referred to as the FSSC-SA. The secondary aim was to determine the content, number, level and pattern of fear of a selected group of middle childhood South African children, living in the Western Cape, based on the results of the South African Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-SA). This entailed a quantitative stage. The adapted FSSC-R was completed by 646 middle childhood children between the ages of 7 and 12 years, attending four primary schools in the Stellenbosch area in the Western Cape Province. The participants were also requested to complete a biographical questionnaire before they completed the adapted FSSC-R. Culture was defined with respect to the main representative cultural communities in the Stellenbosch area, namely black, coloured and white. The results of the South African fear instrument indicate that the most feared item for the South African children is ‘getting HIV’. The ten most common fears indicate that fears are to a certain extent universal but that some fears also reflect the context in which a child lives. Furthermore the added items also featured among the most fear eliciting items suggest that these items reflect the societal concerns, issues and fears of South African children. Black South African children displayed the highest number as well as level of fear, followed by the coloured South African children and then the white South African children. This was also applicable to the pattern of fear. Gender differences are apparent with respect to number, level and pattern of fears with girls consistently expressing more fears than boys. This applies to all cultural groups. In conclusion, implications of the present study’s results in the South African context as well as shortcomings and recommendations for future studies are discussed.
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Iguisi, Osarumwense V. "Cultural dynamics of African management practice." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/2409.
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This research study looked at the cultural value preferences in Western management practice for African manager and non-manager employees exemplified by Nigerian cement industries. The study specifically focused on management practice of leadership, motivation, recruitment and promotion around which their cultural values, the meaning of their work-world and their coping strategies are structured. From management and culture theory perspectives, managerial practices are affected both by Western factors, such as education, money, challenging tasks, and by traditional factors, such as family, ethnicity, social connections etc. The theoretical bases for this study drew largely from three streams of literature. The first theoretical base for the study relates to traditional African environment of management, especially the cultural perspectives. The second drew largely from the theoretical discourse on culture, management and organisation perspectives. The mainstream schools of management discourse on management theories and models as proposed by Western management theorists represent the third stream. As a methodology, the study used a quantitative questionnaire survey and qualitative open-ended interviews to collect data on the manager and non-manager employees in the organisations. The quantitative questionnaires and open-ended interviews centered national dimensions of cultures and on these Western and traditional factors of: leadership styles, motivation, dedication, satisfaction, ethnicity, family and social connections. The survey confirms that the dimension of national cultures of Nigeria as measured by the work-values and desires of the employees population are somehow different from those obtained by Hofstede’s study for the West African Region. Nigeria is still more collectivistic, although at least Nigeria has become relatively more individualist since Hofstede’s study. Over the years between Hofstede’ IBM study and the present study, there has been no change in the difference in Power Distance. Power Distance is much higher in Nigeria, like elsewhere in Africa, and this is unlikely to change for the foreseeable future. The large Power Distance in Nigeria means that the ideal manager is benevolent paternalistic. On recruitment and promotion, one major point made is that the traditional factors are generally felt by the respondents as influencing employees’ recruitment and promotion more than the modern (intrinsic) factors. The employees however, generally felt that the modern (intrinsic) factors should or ought to have greater influence. Building on the premises that every society is unique and its trajectory is shaped by its unique historical events, cultural norms and values, it can be argued that since the history of Western management concept in Africa is short, Africa then has a unique opportunity to develop its own unique management values based on its unique traditions. However, the increasing globalisation of market economies suggests that management values in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general can hardly be realised without proactively contributing to the Western management concepts in its unique ways. As the intensity of interaction between Western management practices and African traditional values increases, we can anticipate the increase in the importance of a new form of management concepts and practices in various African countries. Based on others and this study, the study proposes a “management heterogeneity” concept that reflects this new and unique perspective. Management heterogeneity perspective endorses the view that the practice of leadership, motivation, recruitment and promotion are developed differently in different cultural societies and organisations. But it adopts a pragmatic position on the mounting social and economic challenges now facing African organisations and argues further that management techniques, skills and behaviours practiced in different cultures and organisations can be brought together in a positive synergistic blend to address the needs of a given society and organisation and improve its ability to deliver effective and relevant values to its actors. It is the ability to judiciously select and combine the Western and traditional values and practices into new practices that fit the managerial requirements of a given group of organisational members that provides management its competitive edge in a culturally dynamic management environment.
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Nicol, Tracy-Lee. "Aspects of memory in the sculptural work of Jane Alexander 1982-2009." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002213.
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Over three decades of research has shown that memories have significant effect on the behaviour, attitudes, beliefs, and identities of individuals and collectives, revealing also how experiences of trauma and acts of narrativisation have pertinence to the ways in which memories are stored and reconstructed. In this thesis a link is developed between memory, trauma, narrativisation processes and the interpretation of works by Jane Alexander, a contemporary artist whose work is informed by observations about South African life. Alexander’s sculptures are revealed to be not only important vessels of collective memories and experiences, but also evocations of individuals’ countermemories and traumas that remain unarticulated and invisible. Through an exploration of the workings of memory and its relation to her art, it is revealed how the past continues to exert its influence on many of South Africa’s present sociopolitical concerns and interpersonal dynamics. Indeed constantly changing memories have a significant effect on future generations’ perceptions of, and connectedness to, the past. While theories about memory have been deployed in Art History as well as the Humanities in general, Alexander’s work has not previously been considered in light of the influence of these ideas. This thesis thus contributes a new dimension to literature on the artist.
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Sefoto, Cedrick Ngwako. "Theme of mourning in post-apatheid South African Literature." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1346.
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Thesis (M.A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015This dissertation discusses the significance of the concept of mourning in post-apartheid South Africa as presented in the following selected post-apartheid South African literary texts: Ways of dying, a novel by Zakes Mda; Nothing but the truth, a play by John Kani and Freedom lament and song, a poem by Mongane Wally Serote. The dissertation interrogates the legitimacy of the prefix ‘post’ in ‘post-apartheid’ as a point of departure. It discusses the theories of key thinkers on the concept mourning and then applies their theories to the analysis of the selected literary texts thereby interpreting the selected literary texts as symbolic codes communicating messages about the state of politics in post-apartheid South Africa. 5
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Macleod, Catriona Ida. "The governmentality of teenage pregnancy : scientific literature and professional practice in South Africa." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/6096.
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Teenage pregnancy is seen, on the whole, by researchers and service providers as a social
problem. Various theoretical approaches have been utilised in the attempt to explain teenage
pregnancy, and to find 'solutions' to the problem. What is common to these approaches is the
assumption of the reality of teenage pregnancy, and the legitimation of the intervention of the
expert. This thesis is concerned with these fundamental premises of the scientific literature and
professional practice with regard to young women, their sexuality and reproductive behaviour.
A feminist post-structuralist approach, which draws on the insights of Derrida concerning the
absent trace and Foucault's analytics of power and governmentality, is taken. The tensions and
commonalities between feminism and a Foucauldian approach are explored, and a radically
plural post-structural feminism is explicated. The data used in this study consisted of South
African scientific literature on teenage pregnancy (the technologies of representation), and
transcriptions of interviews with service providers at a regional hospital (the technologies of
intervention). The bulk ofthe thesis is taken up with analysis of the first of these. The aims of
these chapters are to analyse how: (1) a range oftaken-for-granted assumptions or absent traces
regarding, inter alia, the nature of adolescence, adolescent sexuality, mothering, and family
formation and function underlie the scientific statements regarding the causes and consequences
of teenage pregnancy; (2) the governmental tactics of medicalisation, psychologisation and
pedagogisation are invoked in the literature with regard to teenage pregnancy; and (3) broader
governmental tactics (the familialisation of alliance, the conjugalisation of reproduction,
racialisation, the economisation of activity) are deployed in the literature to achieve particular
gendering, racialising and class-based effects. The section on the technologies of intervention
analyses how the governmental tactics described above are installed in the everyday lives of
teenagers and their families through the deployment of the mechanisms of security at the
interface between the service provider and the teenager or her parents. Finally, the undermining
of the assumption of the reality of teenage pregnancy, the link between expertise and
government, and the efficacy of the feminist post-structural approach are reviewed.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.
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Moleba, Eliot Mmantidi. "Marikana youth: (re)telling stories of ourselves and our place." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/22238.
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This is a research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Diversity Studies, in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.Prior to and immediately following 1994, South African youth literature has largely focused on atypical groups, especially young people’s participation in political protest and violence (Marks 2001; Ntsebeza 1993; Seekings 1993; Straker 1992; Van Kessel 2000). The challenge for new research is to grapple more broadly with the question of how young people construct ordinary lives and identities amid the changing and transforming socio-cultural, economic and political landscape. As such, this study aimed to focus on the ordinary, quotidian narratives of youth in an extraordinary place of Marikana, where the massacre of striking mineworkers took place in 2012. Face-to-face, individual interviews were conducted with 8 participants (aged between 19 and 31 years) living in Marikana, including people who were born in or had migrated to Marikana. Both structural and thematic analyses were used to analyse the transcribed texts. The structural analysis was used to examine how poverty plays a role in the form of stories told. The thematic analysis focused on the content of the narratives, drawing linkages across participants’ stories to understand how they make meaning of events and experiences in their lives. The themes identified were organised as follows: Marikana (nostalgia about the place of Marikana, and belonging to the place of Marikana), childhood in Marikana and elsewhere (growing up in Marikana, and growing up elsewhere), families and their structure (single-parent headed and transnational families, (grand)mothers as pillars of family, and (inter)generational absence/presence of fathers), education (lack of funds for schooling), and possibilities for the future (dreams and futures deferred, and fantasies of escape). The findings indicate that the trauma and violence of the Marikana Massacre was remarkably marginal in their narratives. Instead, participants stressed poverty as a systemic problem that is far more pervasive in how they (re)produce(d) their stories. This core finding reveals poverty as a perpetual structural violence, a repeated state of trauma that is inflicted on their lives and reflected in their stories. Further findings show that many biological fathers are absent in the lives of their children, mostly due to migration or death. Consequently, sons follow in their fathers’ footsteps, leaving their new families behind (some becoming transnational parents). This produces a prevalent intergenerational absence of fathers in Marikana. As a result, mothers and grandmothers are the main breadwinners and emotional pillars of the family.
MT2017
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Pelser, Anna C. "Letterkunde in tweedetaalonderrig : 'n psigolinguistiese perspektief." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/9228.
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M.A. (Applied Linguistics)There is widespread concern regarding the second language communicative competence of first year university students. This inadequacy has necessitated the introduction of special language courses at various universities. After eleven years of second language study, and the attainment of good matric symbols, many students are still not able to converse adequately. Teachers using cramming methods, especially with regard to the prescribed books, are often blamed for this. In this study an attempt is made to demonstrate that the particular nature of literature makes it a valuable adjunct in the process of language acquisition. Through this medium students can gain insight into the cultural-set and world-view ·of those whose language he is studying - hence the requirements for both psycho- and socio-linguistic input are satisfied. Recent theories regarding language acquisition place particular emphasis on the role of the student in the learning process: Internal factors inclUding attitudinal and personality tendencies are particularly.relevant in this context. The most important external factor is the nature of the input itself for this to effect an optimal impact on the internal aspects of a student specific requirements must be met, the most important criteria being interest-value and comprehensibility. In order to determine whether standard nine and ten setbooks.
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Symonds, Genevieve. "Psychological aspects of long-distance running among South African marathon runners." 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/16163.
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The purpose of this study was to determine why South African
long-distance runners start and continue to run long distances,
what perceived psychological benefits and negative effects they
experience as a result of their involvement in the sport, and
what thoughts and emotions are associated with the runner's high.
Questionnaires were sent to 2 000 1992 Two Oceans Marathon
participants and 777 responded. Results show that South African
long-distance runners start running chiefly for physical fitness
and health reasons, and continue for these reasons as well as
psychological benefit reasons. As a result of their involvement
in the sport, they experience psychological benefits such as a
positive mood, positive self-image and positive mental outlook.
When unable to run, these benefits are reversed. They also
experience negative effects such as relationship problems because
of long-distance running. Many thoughts and emotions are
associated with the runner's high, but most define it as an
euphoric feelingArt History, Visual Arts & Musicology
M.A. (Psychology)
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Msibi, Bongumusa Collen. "Transvaluative analysis of Zulu terms that relate to women : a case study of a TV drama series, Kwakhalanyonini, with reference to gender stereotypes." Thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/6173.
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The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between media, language and gender stereotypes. It assumes that language usage in mass media creates and reproduces gender inequalities. Its main objectives are firstly, to randomly select terms for Zulu women from the chosen TV case study, Kwakhalanyonini. Secondly, selected terms will be analyzed, using the 'transvaluative analysis technique', in order to explain their meaning and hierarchy. This having been done, an attempt will be made to show how the usage of these terms reflect gender stereotypes, by locating women into subordinate positions. A question may well be asked; why Zulu language? I am a native Zulu speaker, with Zulu speaking parents.Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.