3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Perceptions of interracial contact in a South African sample : a Q-methodological approach.(2014-09-08) Mills, KylaInterracial contact in South Africa continues to be fraught with tension. Many investigators have used the contact hypothesis to explore the relationship between contact and prejudice in South African samples, which has revealed the highly complex character of interracial contact. With much of the research on interracial contact being quantitative in nature and comparatively little qualitative work being done, few studies have looked at perceptions of interracial contact and none can be found which have used Q-methodology as the method of investigation. The aim of the study was to uncover groups of people who have similar perceptions about interracial contact in South Africa through the factor analytic process inherent in Q-methodology. Q-methodology is a comprehensive way of looking at people’s views, attitudes, opinions and beliefs on a topic and has both qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions, making it unique method which can shed a different kind of insight into the subjectivities of interracial contact compared to traditional research methods. Q-methodology is explained in some detail and supported as the best approach for exploring perceptions of interracial contact in South Africa given the country’s history of racial segregation and complexity of intergroup dynamics. The study used a non-probability, volunteer sample of 55 undergraduate students at the University of the Witwatersrand. A centroid factor analysis was performed on the data followed by a varimax rotation, which yielded four groups (“factors”) of people with similar patterns of subjectivities on the topic of interracial contact in South Africa. The groups were labelled the experientialists, ethnocentrists, segregationists, and integrationists based on their distinct patterns of perceptions of interracial contact in South Africa.Item The formation of friendships and social mixing in a multiracial neighbourhood in the south of Johannesburg.(2009-03-04T09:38:13Z) Jewan, RuptiThe transition of neighbourhoods in post apartheid South Africa has not received adequate attention. Mondeor, a previously White populated suburb in the South of Johannesburg has been identified as progressively diverse in respect of racially diverse neighbourhoods in the aftermath of Apartheid. By focusing on this suburb, the current study investigated whether increased contact with members from different race groups in a residential neighbourhood promotes the formation of inter-racial friendships and social mixing. In addition, it explored whether there were particular associations which promoted interracial friendships or social mixing. Finally, the different types of contact occurring within the suburb were explored. In order to address the above questions the study followed a Qualitative Cross Sectional design. Data for the study was attained through in-depth interviews from twenty residents of Mondeor. The sample was further divided into five participants from each of the four major race groups prevalent in South Africa( African Black, White, and Indian and so-called Coloured). The results from this study found that racial proximity facilitated for much social mixing and a few friendship formations. Closer examination found that there was a reluctance to mix in the suburb however religious and educational institutions as well as recreational facilities in the neighbourhood promoted some integration in the area. In conclusion, the area was racially diverse however not significantly integrated.Item Changing places, spaces and identity in the Shashe Limpopo region of Limpopo Province, South Africa(2006-11-16T11:12:30Z) Van Doornum, Bronwen LouelleWhile the Iron Age sequence of the Shashe-Limpopo region of Limpopo Province has been the subject of much research in the past, little is known about the huntergatherer sequence of the area. I begin to address this lack through the description of three new hunter-gatherer sites: Tshisiku Shelter, Balerno Main Shelter and Balerno Shelter 2. I examine how hunter-gatherer spaces, places and identity changed with the movement of different groups of farmers (including Zhizo, K2 and Mapungubwe period farmers) into the Shashe-Limpopo region over the last 2000 years. I also investigate how hunter-gatherer / farmer proximity impacted on interaction, and what social structures, boundaries, and constructed identities underlie interaction in the region. The pre-contact and contact periods are compared in order to determine whether changes in the hunter-gatherer sequence were due to the arrival, and continued presence, of farmers. Ethnographic and archaeological interaction case studies are used to construct a model of interaction for the Shashe-Limpopo. Based on data from Tshisiku Shelter, Balerno Main Shelter, Balerno Shelters 2 and 3, and Little Muck Shelter, a new sequence is proposed for hunter-gatherer occupation in the Shashe-Limpopo region: · An early pre-contact phase (11 120 – 10 890 BC; 6000 – 1220 BC) · A late pre-contact phase (1220 BC - AD 100) · An early contact phase (AD 100 – AD 900) · A late contact phase divided into two periods: - The Zhizo period (AD 900 – AD 1000 / 1200) - The K2 / Mapungubwe period (AD 1000 – AD 1300) Finally, a late second millennium phase of Late Iron Age farmer utilisation of hunter- gatherer sites occurs in the recent past (AD 1600 – AD 1900). iv My research suggests that: · A hunter-gatherer presence occurs significantly earlier in the region than initially hypothesised. · Differences in farmer social structure and identity play a role in how farmers interact with hunter-gatherers, and vice versa. · Finally, due to the differences between farmer groups and decreasing space on the landscape, a range of hunter-gatherer reactions to the presence of farmers occurred throughout the last two millennia in the Shashe-Limpopo region.