http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za:80 The WIReDSpace digital repository system captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and distributes digital research material. Sat, 18 May 2013 14:27:40 GMT 2013-05-18T14:27:40Z 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. Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12726 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 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12725 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 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12724 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 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12723 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 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12722 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. Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12721 2013-05-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12720 Profiles and outcomes of women undergoing hysterectomy for primary postpartum haemorrhage at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital Hassim, Taheera Objective The study aimed to identify the profiles and outcomes of women undergoing hysterectomy for primary postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Methods This was a retrospective descriptive study of maternal records of all women that underwent hysterectomy for primary postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) from January 2008 to December 2008. Results Twenty-seven women underwent hysterectomies for primary postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Eighty nine percent of the women were booked, with a mean of 4.8 antenatal visits. Previous caesarean section and retained placenta were the main risk factors associated with hysterectomy for PPH, with retained placentae being the principle etiological factor (37% of cases). Forty percent of patients had one or more previous caesarean section. Atony was the leading cause of emergency hysterectomy (63%). Subtotal hysterectomy appeared to be the procedure of choice (70% of cases). Conservative management was not attempted in most cases. After hysterectomy, 18(29%) of women were admitted to the multidisciplinary intensive care unit. Two women died (7%). Conclusion Postpartum haemorrhage requiring hysterectomy appears to be an unpredictable emergency with no specific risk profile for peripartum hysterectomy. Conservative management could have been attempted more frequently. The findings have implications for peripheral hospitals that manage obstetric patients who have no specific risk factors for PPH. The possibility of emergency hysterectomies exists for all births and health workers need to be able to recognize and manage this emergency appropriately. Peripartum hysterectomy (PH) may be a lifesaving procedure and every obstetric doctor needs to be proficient in performing a subtotal hysterectomy at the very least. Thesis (M.Med.(Obstetrics and Gynaecology)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2012 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12720 2013-05-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12719 Adaptation in the Lowveld : a comparative case study of the live-action to 3D animation filmic adaptation of Duncan MacNeillie's Jock of the Bushveld Higgins, Lucy Duncan MacNeillie’s Jock of the Bushveld is the first feature length 3D animated film to be produced almost exclusively in South Africa. This, coupled with the fact that MacNeillie also produced the live-action version of the film in the mid-1980’s, gives rise to a particularly pertinent question: Given our turbulent history, how is a colonial story adapted to fit and suit modern audiences? Additionally, how close does the adaptation need to adhere to it source text? The canon of adaptation studies hold various definitions; the most commonly accepted debate is that around fidelity discourse. Fidelity states that an adapted film needs to be loyal to its source text (in this case the source text is a live-action film) however, this definition becomes problematic when looking at South Africa’s turbulent and hostile socio-economic and political makeup. Textual fidelity becomes impossible, so different definitions need to be explored. Out of a film to film adaptive comparison I have attempted to use the notion of ‘intertextuality’ as a basis, that is, no text is completely free from its source text. Cultural context and popular understanding will always play a role in understanding societal shifts. Racism has been a part of popular consciousness since the advent of colonialism, how is this addressed in a current context, especially in a children’s story that was originally peppered with many taboos. The aim of this research report is to address the socio-political and cultural shifts that have occurred over the last twenty-five years or so. By using the Jock of the Bushveld films as a comparative vehicle I have attempted to debunk and unpack our difficult and convoluted historical identity, whilst using filmic adaptation studies and the theory of anthropomorphism within the animated feature as a foundation. Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, Digital animation, 2012 Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12719 2013-05-10T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12718 Symmetries and conservation laws of certain classes of nonlinear Schrödinger partial differential equations Masemola, Phetego Unable to load abstract. A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2012. Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12718 2013-05-08T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12717 Spatial and temporal changes of greenness metrics in Kruger National Park from 2000-2010 Mushamiri, Memory Unable to load abstract. A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 31 August 2012. Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12717 2013-05-08T00:00:00Z