http://hdl.handle.net/10539/104 Collection of Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2013-05-22T12:08:41Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12730 Constructions of masculinity and violence in a popular daily tabloid newspaper. Matoushaya, Fadzai The research was premised on the notion that gender is a social construct that is inextricably linked with masculinity and violence. This view of gender was used in an attempt to understand how masculinity and violence are constructed in the tabloid newspaper, the Daily Sun. The research used a discourse analysis, specifically looking at the various subject positions that are afforded to both men and women in this publication and how such positions foreclose other ways of thinking about and understanding gendered violence. The data set consisted of 23 information rich articles that were selected through the use of a purposeful sampling strategy. Results suggest while the Daily Sun positions itself as a medium that aims to ‘educate’ men (particularly working class men) against committing gendered violence, the Daily Sun may serve to reinforce the system of patriarchy that it claims to want to dismantle. In particular, the report highlights the problematic nature and implications of providing individual psychological explanations for gendered violence without acknowledging the contextual issues that are at play. 2013-05-22T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12729 The impact of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in the teaching of "capacitance" to grade 11 physical sciences learners in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Nkuna, Bailey Haizane There has been poor performance of learners doing Physical Sciences in Mpumalanga in the past 6 years. This was evident on the exam statistics provided by the National department of education. (DoBE, 2012). The statistics show that learners from previously disadvantaged schools obtained an average performance of between 20% and 40% in their end of year results. The topic on “Capacitance” was previously taught to first year university students but has now been included to grade 11 and grade 12 syllabi as a new topic. The teachers’ ability to construct effective lessons on “Capacitance” has been blamed by both circuit managers and subject advisors for Physical Sciences. This study has investigated the impact of teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in teaching the topic on “Capacitance”. The investigation focused on the teaching strategies that teachers use to help learners address learning problems in Physical Sciences, in the topic on “Capacitance”. The choice of this topic followed an interview conducted with two teachers attached to a teacher development programme. “Capacitance” is one of the new topics in which learners performed poorly. The research was guided by the following two research questions: 1. How is the teachers’ pedagogical knowledge (PCK) portrayed in teaching Capacitance? 2. To what extent have teachers’ mastered the Content Knowledge about Capacitance? A case study involving two grade 11 Physical Sciences teachers was utilized to gain the understanding of the teaching strategies. Data was collected through interviews and classroom observations. The data was analyzed by first discussing the two teachers’ depth of PCK during their teaching of the lessons on “Capacitance”. The data analysis also focused on the two teachers’ integration of Content Knowledge (CK) in their teaching. In addition, the data analysis enquired the teachers’ extent of content mastery. This was achieved by discussing the teachers’ Subject Matter Knowledge (SMK) and curricular saliency based on the observed lessons and recorded interviews. 2013-05-22T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12728 The construction of transitioning in popular websites aimed at transsexuals and significant others, family, friends and allies of transgendered persons (SOFFAs) Bosworth, Jonathan Since the 17th century there has been a proliferation of discourse on sex and a host of sexual identities have been surfaced. One such sexuality that is particularly marginalised is transsexuality; central to which is the management of the transsexual self. The critical study of such practices has often been neglected in favour of ‘mainstream’ research on transsexuality’s deviance, aetiology and treatment. Furthermore, internet-based resources have been identified as a key site for the management of the transsexual self. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the constructions of transitioning in popular websites aimed at transsexuals and significant others, family, friends and allies of transgendered persons (SOFFAs). A search strategy was adapted to select the most popular websites for analysis. A discourse analysis – guided by Parker’s (1992) 20 ‘steps’ – was conducted on 12 webpages. The construction of transitioning was dominated by biomedicine and the ‘psy’ professions. Due to these hegemonic powers the transsexual identity was associated with distress and thus a number of technologies of self – particularly medical intervention – were ‘needed’ for the management of the transsexual self. This construction spoke to the rights and health of transsexuals but also appeared to limit their freedom and serve capitalist gain rather than the interests of trans persons. Uncovering these power dynamics may have important implications for the Standards of Care, the controversial status of gender identity disorder in the DSM and allowing for the creation of alternative power strategies which may permit more freedom in the care of the gendered self. 2013-05-22T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12727 The interplay between teachers and texts in adult basic education and training (ABET) : a case study. Steinberg, Carola This research report explores the implications of one central question: ‘In what ways can course materials support and improve ABET teachers’ ability in the classroom and what are the limits of that support?’ Methodologically it is an ethnographic case study of five teachers at company literacy programmes using The ELP English Literacy Course for Adults to prepare learners for examinations at ABET English Communications Levels 1&2. Conceptually it makes use of Shirley Grundy’s exposition of different paradigms for thinking about curriculum and Jean Lave’s notion of learning in a community of practice. It portrays literacy as a social practice in which people learn to master skills, make decisions about the applications of those skills and develop an emancipatory awareness. The research enables insights into the relationship between ABET teachers and texts, outlining their respective responsibilities and some implications for thinking about ABET teacher development. 2013-05-22T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12726 Early warning systems for economic crises in South Africa. Ramos, Nicole Diana This paper develops a series of Early Warning System models for debt crises. This paper uses a Debt Pressure index to define crisis periods and then demonstrates how one can go about trying to forecast these periods using Logit and Markov-switching Models. An alternative approach, whereby ordinary least squares (OLS) is used to create Early Warning System models, is introduced. A graphical analysis is also conducted. Three useful Early Warning System models emerge from this study. 2013-05-15T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12725 Social capital, civil society, and good governance: civic traditions in Johannesburg's shack settlements and Greater Pietermaritzburg's villages under chiefly rule Hlela, Kenneth Siphelelo This thesis explores the relationship between social capital/civil society and good governance/economic development both conceptually and empirically through case studies in the urban, rural, and peri-urban South Africa. As a starting point, this thesis attempts to answer the following six questions: How is social capital identifiable? Is its production exclusively confined to horizontally structured forms of associational life? Can peasant societies generate social capital? Do social capital networks accentuate divisions within communities between those who have access to authority and those without? Can political institutions play a role in producing social capital or does the enlargement of state authority take place at the expense of the associational networks which do produce social capital? And what kind of organisations in rural settings can best bridge sectional concerns and promote wider communities of trust? Can traditional existing political institutions be adapted to modern democratic requirements? I believe that in answering these questions I have gone some way in resolving some of the conceptual dilemmas identified by critics of the concept of social capital. I was then in a position to test and explore two hypotheses. Firstly, I argue that there is a relationship between social capital (a product of civil society) and good governance as well as economic and democratic development. Secondly, I argue that positive social capital will be under-produced in societies in which there is a weak market economy, that is, where members of civil society do not have independent sources of income. I demonstrate that civil society, the state, and markets have a symbiotic relationship and that they all have a role to play in the production of positive social capital. This thesis employed various data collection methods in order to navigate around the case studies chosen for the purposes of this study, viz. individual and group interviews, focus groups, direct observations, research surveys, secondary literature, and local newspapers. Evidence emanating from this thesis suggests that there is a vibrant civil society and, by implication, social capital in poorly resourced areas found in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of South Africa, which has to some extent contributed to good governance as well as economic and democratic development. However, I conclude by arguing that the informalisation of the economy as well as high levels of unemployment in these areas certainly inhibit civil society from playing its important democratising and governance role since the production of positive social capital is constrained by this new reality. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, 2012 2013-05-15T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12724 The misrepresentation of the Zimbabwean crisis by South African weeklies, 2000-2008 Ogenga, Fredrick Oduor This thesis explores the representation of the Zimbabwean crisis by the The Sunday Times, The Sunday Independent and The Mail & Guardian from 2000-2008. Using critical political-economy theories of the media, theories of news production, cultural studies and a triangulated qualitative methodological approach, the thesis contends that the representation of the situation is sensational, superficial and amounts to misrepresentation. It echoes a particular kind of journalism witnessed in mainstream newspapers driven by commercial interest. Such interests are shaped by ideologies of journalism which not only lean towards a Western perspective of news construction but also define the criterion of news selection. The criterion demands that journalists write news and not history and in the process strive to be objective. This limits possibilities of contextualizing events. Further, objectivity is a myth since it assumes the existence of an independent objective reality. Therefore, news representation is problematic considering that the Weeklies used ‗official‘ sources who furnished them with raw material for framing stories. In addition, those who own the Weeklies are in positions of control depending on how these newspapers are funded. Economic factors such as advertising and sales, working in tandem with political ideologies that lean towards liberal democracy and human rights, influenced representation. In such a context, news is conceived and valued as a product of mass production in the ‗free market.‘ A closer inspection of the Weeklies‘ representation of the crisis reveals the underlying complex ideological dichotomy where Western uni-polar discourses of human rights and democracy are celebrated while those of pan-Africanism, African renaissance, national patriotic history and liberation solidarity in South Africa and Zimbabwe are taken for granted. However, this was to be expected of the three neo-conservative Weeklies studied. This thesis argues that competing discourses should be given an equal chance of scrutiny if humanity, irrespective of race, is to reach a consensus regarding the complexities of the history of human civilization and its future predicament. Such conclusions were reached through semiotics, which included ideological analysis, as the methodological approach used. The latter entailed the analysis of textual elements utilized to construct meanings of the situation at the covert level revealing how the Weeklies expressed the desire to change Zimbabwe out of fears of a Zimbabwe in South Africa. This created the necessary pressure, locally and internationally, leading to the formation of a Government of National Unity. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, Media Studies, 2012 2013-05-15T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12723 Working with Mophato: interrogating and shifting representations of black women in Botswana during performance Disele, Lebogang The voices of women have not been absent or silent, in fact, the struggle to be heard has been constant, but ‘seemingly absent’ because the receiver was not actively present, or possibly, the listener chose not to ‘hear’ (Singer, 2008: 1). My experience in theatre and performance has led me to conclude that representations of black women often fail to give voice, or allow them to give voice, to their experiences of life in their individual societies. Instead, they are often represented as a homogenous black female, an exoticised, sexualised and/or impoverished entity that is often spoken for or about, but who never speaks for herself. This paper is a reflection on the process I underwent with Mophato Dance Theatre to use performance to interrogate and shift representations of black women. In so doing, I chose to use Physical Theatre as an approach to theatremaking as it draws on different performance modes, providing an inclusive approach that uses physical, vocal and written texts to explore ways of re-presenting black women. I have taken as my starting point the idea that binary oppositions create a framework for the marginalisation of certain groups in favour of others. The process focused on collapsing the distinctions between audience and spectator as well as performance space and viewing space, treating these as symptomatic of a society that emphasizes separation for the sake of simplicity in categorizing subjects. This has included an exploration around the reorganisation of the theatrical performance space to challenge the existence of these binaries. In this way I hope to call attention to the use of binaries in setting up unfavourable and simplistic categorisations of people which, I believe, have resulted in the objectification and marginalisation of women in general and black women in particular. Thus, I have endeavoured to reconfigure performance space and create conversations to challenge existing binaries in the theatre in order to re-present black women. This has been in an effort to develop a theatremaking approach for myself that will allow me to interrogate and shift representations of subjugated identities. Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Arts (Dramatic Arts), 2012 2013-05-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12722 Animation and the programmed abstract aesthetic :an exploration into the impossibly real through the medium of particle system simulation Shachman, Michal Short Description The impossibly real and its manifestations in Digital Abstract Animation are explored in order to experiment with the abstract, programmed aesthetics inherent in the computational logic of Particle System Simulation. Long Description The production of animated film content throughout the 20th and the 21st century has not only seen the progression of representational film and digital video works but also extensive explorations into the abstract. A trend that is evident is that what is real and what is not real in digital representation has since become increasingly intertwined into the abstract and so it is proposed that a further representation of the real needs to be considered and investigated. In this research project it is proposed that the idea of the impossibly real is this further representation of the real and is inherent in the role of abstraction and the computational logic of a digital system which calculates reality to constitute a simulated visual production. The author supports this with an investigation of the tradition of 20th century nonrepresentational animation up until and including the advancement into a digital medium in 21st century digital art and practice. As an entry point the author reappropriates the technology of the programming method of Particle System Simulation in the Softimage 2012 ICE (Interactive Creative Environment) Simulation Engine to explore the computational logic of data-parameter manipulation as a programmed abstract aesthetic with great potential artistic value. As part of the Creative Component of this research project is an exhibited series of experimental digital Abstract Animation video 3 artwork, produced to practically explore manifestations of the impossibly real. The impossibly real is not real, but in this research project it proposed as a further representation of the real that could surpass the need for realist representation and interpretation in digital productions in the future. Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Digital Arts (Digital Animation), 2012 2013-05-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12721 The devil's teat and other essays Hurwitz, Ingrid No abstract supplied Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, Creative Writing, 2012. 2013-05-14T00:00:00Z