School of Human and Community Development (ETDs)

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Browsing School of Human and Community Development (ETDs) by SDG "SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions"

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    Exploring the Personal, Relational and Communal Role of Religion in Diepsloot
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-05-08) Thornton, Brenton Stephen; Graham, Tanya
    South Africa has a populace that perpetuates diversity in every demographic group. Although there are peaceful aspects to this diversity, there are also conflicts that have been shown historically and contemporaneously. Township communities in South Africa have experienced a particular development over time, due to aspects such as racial discrimination from Apartheid. Religion within this context was explored due to its diverse and consistent presence within South African township communities. Diepsloot is a township with particularly high levels of psychosocial struggles. To understand if religion adversely affects or alleviates these issues, this study examined the role and function of religion in this community. Religious experiences, roles, and the meaning of religion as a meaning making system were explored using a hermeneutic, phenomenological approach in the marginalised township community of Diepsloot. The specific analysis employed was Interpretative Qualitative Analysis (IPA). Data were collected using qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 12 participants. The core theoretical areas of this study that were discussed was attachment theory and social identity theory in the context of religion; while ecological systems theory was also applied but used as a contextual tool to understand and organise the themes for each structural, ecological level of the social environment of Diepsloot. Qualitative findings suggested that there were four main themes of this study; The Personal Relationship with Religion and God, Internal and Interpersonal Religious Conflict, Discrimination Based on Different Beliefs, and Diepsloot Factors Contributing to the Disconnected Community. Within these results and discussion of this paper, religion was shown as a factor that significantly impacts the perceptions, feelings, and behaviours towards the self on a personal level, and others on an interpersonal and communal level. Religion therefore has a significant part to play in social settings, and it is recommended that more studies exploring the phenomenon of religion be explored qualitatively to contribute further to the subjective understanding of the psychology of research within such contexts.
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    Interactional Dynamics During Residential Robbery: Victims’ Accounts and Reflections
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Quinn, Caroline Lesley; Eagle, Gillian
    Several studies highlight the importance of documenting interactional elements of violent crime. While a range of studies focus on perpetrators’ accounts of what transpired during the commission of robberies and other forms of violent crime, there has been a notable oversight in establishing victims’ narratives surrounding such events. This study had a broad over arching focus on establishing what appeared to either escalate or deescalate violence during a residential robbery from the survivors/victims’ perspective. In addition to this focus, it was further aimed to establish the cognitive appraisals that victims/ survivors reported as salient during the incident, as well as their reported motivations for behaviours they exhibited. Moreover, the study aimed to highlight any socio-demographic features that the victims perceived to be significant in their interaction with perpetrators. An exploratory approach to the research study was undertaken whereby semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adult South African participants. The data was processed and presented by means of a thematic analysis and contextualized from a primarily realist paradigm. Five superordinate themes were identified across participants’ accounts, including: (1) Comprehending the Nature of the Interpersonal Interaction, (2) Negotiation of Dominance and Submission, (3) Cognitive Processing and Evaluation during the Event, (4) Awareness of Demographic and Socio-Cultural Aspects of the Interchange, and (5) Advice & Post Hoc Observations. These main themes were elaborated through subthemes that aimed to capture nuances across participants’ narratives. The findings suggested that although positioned in a subjugated role participants attempted to moderate or affect the interaction between themselves and the perpetrators. This was mainly achieved by verbally and behaviorally demonstrating compliance in order to mitigate further risk. In addition, participants described more complex ways of responding to perpetrators which appeared to be based on idiosyncratic evaluations of their particular situation. Participants were aware of limited agency but appear to have negotiated some means of retaining or displaying agency within situational constraints. Across all eight participants’ accounts, it was evident that participants acted in accordance with an assessment of their situation and responded in a manner that was perceived to result in ensuring the greatest likelihood of survival. References to race, gender, age and socioeconomic status did not feature as strongly in participants’ accounts as anticipated.
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    The motive of a South African male muti murder offender: a case study
    (2018) Thenga, Khalirendwe
    Traditional healers in South Africa are easily accessible to individuals who require their services. Traditionally, traditional healers would help their clients either by giving them advice or by giving them muti made from plants and/ or animal body parts. However, some traditional healers have adopted the practice of using human body parts in muti. Traditional healers who practice muti murder believe that different human body parts have different “powers”. The traditional healer who practices muti murder will often appoint someone to carry out the murder thus they are not directly involved in the murder. There are various motives for committing murder and the current study utilised a single case study design to investigate the motives of Black South African males who commit muti murder. Due to the sensitivity of the topic, the researcher was able to recruit one participant. The participant was interviewed by the researcher in Northern Sotho. The researcher recorded and transcribed the interview. The researcher utilised thematic analysis to analyse the data. The current study identified two motives for committing muti murder, “cultural beliefs” and “financial gain”. Future studies should recruit more participants and delve into the motive, financial gain.