WIReDSpace
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For queries relating to content and technical issues, please contact IR specialists via this email address : openscholarship.library@wits.ac.za, Tel: 011 717 4652 or 011 717 1954
Communities in WIReDSpace
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- This community is for all faculties and schools' theses and dissertations by masters and doctoral students.
Recent Submissions
Impact and knowledge dissemination: sharing your research using Open Research(er) Visibility Tools – with elements of Dr Nader Ale Ebrahim’s view
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Matizirofa, Lazarus Gallant
Abstract is not available
Constructing identities through discourse: Examining the textual representation of prostituted women in post-apartheid South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Landman, Tiaan A.
The current study explores the intersectional social identities of four ‘prostituted women’ in post-apartheid South Africa as they are represented through discourse. The socio-cognitive model of critical discourse studies is employed to explore the way in which their social identities are represented through texts. These texts were retrieved from the online blog of a non-profit organisation, Embrace Dignity (2019), which advocates for the rights of women and girls. The texts were written to represent the personal experiences of four black women who identify as ‘prostituted’. This study found, through the engagement with biopolitical and intersectional feminist theory, that conditions which are paramount to a ‘social death’ are often proliferated for the subjects at the intersection of their gender, sex, sexual, and racial identities. Furthermore, these conditions are often concealed through the guise of class. The subjects make meaning of their social identities through a range of experiences, which are facilitated by sociohistorical systems of oppression aimed to disenfranchise feminised and blackened bodies in South Africa. These systems of oppressions are communicated through discourses of Bantu education, unskilled labour, violence, sexual perversion, limited access to services, marginal citizenship, geography, movement, and displacement, as well as a discourse of care, to name a few. The study found that these discourses are fostered and realised through the political project of domination, enforced by white heteropatriarchy that was institutionalised by the apartheid government. The study further indicates how the women who are represented by the texts, have been positioned within contexts that suppress their lives. This study emphasises the importance of exploring the intersectional social identities of black prostituted women in order to appropriately support the women within this community and their voices.
Bolemogi jwa diponagalo tsa ditumisapuo mo tokafatsong ya dipuiso tsa Setswana
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Pule, Violet Maphefo Sefolaro
This study aimed at addressing the impact of prosodic features in reading because of its contribution to meaning in language - Setswana. The study is responding to the literacy report by Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) of 2016 which reported that more than 80% of grade 4 learners who were tested in an African language could not read for meaning. Reading in African languages appears to be problematic in the Intermediate Phase specially to comprehend the meaning intend. The main aim of the study was to investigate the impact of prosodic features in comprehending Setswana readings. The research study noted the lack of prosodic feature awareness in enhancing and supporting learner’s literacy and culture of reading, because of its valuable significance when dealing with reading fluency with regards to speech sounds, tonology and syllable. This research was based on the semiotic theoretical framework, as it is concerned with how signs are used for interpretation. The focus of the study is on the Intermediate Phase of eight schools where Setswana is taught as a Home and/or as a First Additional Language. The mixed method approaches (qualitative and quantitative methods) were used to collect and analysed data. Random sampling was used to select participants. Descriptive method was used to analysed both methods. The study is of the idea that new ways of stressing prosodic markings (such as tones, accent,
stress, and rhythm) must be accorded special attention in the education system in South Africa in such a manner that learners are able to extract meaning and
comprehend what they read. The study found that there is a lot of confusion when words are not marked, as learners cannot know which meaning is intended. As mentioned, the problem in reading Setswana books is not in reading, but in comprehending. The study of prosodic features came as a best study that plays an important role in extracting the meaning from words, reading fluency and enhancing reading culture. Comprehending is a very important elements in the four skills that are focused on in the teaching of reading, and it has only been listed as sub-skill, not as a main skill that needed to be acquired throughout because no skill will be successfully achieved without the skill of comprehending.
Language accessibility in academic publishing: the role of the editor in bridging the linguistic gap
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Tabata, Phindile
Accessibility to academic text has often been understood to refer to factors other than language, such as physically being able to access the text, which has led to discussions on open access systems. In this research, the question of accessibility refers to the editor’s understanding of the reader’s ability to comprehend academic text. The purpose of this research was to understand how editors of academic books consider the varying language backgrounds of South African academics. The research used the concept of the linguistic gap to identify the role of the editor in navigating the gap that exists between academic authors and their audience. The investigation made use of a qualitative research method, which included primary and secondary data collection. This was made up of literature that was consulted to build the literature review, along with the discussions with the participants. The data collection method of the research included the information gathered in the literature review, along with the interviews conducted with the research participants. This method was relevant to understanding the role of the editor in making academic text accessible, because it equipped the researcher to investigate the experiences of academic editors and publishers in ensuring that the text that is published is accessible to the reader. The study showed that there is definitely a gap that exists between the academic author and the reader. The cause of this gap was identified as being two-fold, the first cause being the miscommunication between first language and second language speakers of English. The second reason is the varying levels of education between the author and the reader. The research findings have shown that the role of the editor is to ensure that the message communicated by the author is seamlessly received by the reader. The editor exists within a balance of ensuring that they meet the editing brief that has been specified by the publisher, along with making sure that the author is satisfied with the edit conducted on the text and, lastly, ensuring that the reader is able to understand what is being communicated. Recommendations for further research include, picking up where this research left off, by including academic authors and readers of different levels in the study. This would provide a holistic view on the question of language accessibility in academic publishing.
A practice based inquiry into materiality, minimalism, fantasy and actuality in animated documentary
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Pater, Dominik Łukasz
This thesis is part of a creative practice PhD that explores the creative possibilities of using animation as a documentary medium through the making of a half-hour animated documentary, titled Polonia, that takes as its subject a historical narrative focusing on the emigration of two Polish families from Poland in the early 1980s, set within the context of broader geopolitical events of that time. This written thesis contextualizes the making of the film by outlining a brief history of animated documentary and through a discussion of the key theoretical concepts that inform the discourse around this subgenre of documentary filmmaking. The thesis provides the historical context for the film’s narrative, outlines its production processes and unpacks its creative choices and iconography. The final part of the thesis discusses key theoretical insights that have emerged from the creative process and how they point towards a ways in which animation can be conceptualised as a legitimate documentary medium. The concept of constructedness as a means of self-reflexivity is identified as the key factor that grants animation this legitimacy. This leads to a discussion of the film as a spatial construct, resulting from the dual process of reconstruction and construction, and comprising both archival and cinematic spaces, as well as the liminal space that exists between fantasy and actuality. There is also a discussion of the film’s performance in and of animation, identifying the avatar as a
distinct category of animated character that is granted documentary legitimacy, substance and interiority through its relationship to a real-world referent. Finally, the role of sound is addressed, as relating to the film’s self-reflexive constructedness.