Faculty of Humanities (ETDs)

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Explicit and Implicit Cultural Policies: A Critical Analysis of the Role and Impact of Cultural Policies that Govern the Television Sector in Botswana
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Selolwane, Marang; Chatikobo, Munyaradzi
3 Abstract The cultural policy landscape in Botswana is characterized by considerable ambiguity, with far-reaching implications for both the television sector and the broader media environment. Deploying the lenses of implicit and explicit cultural policies, stakeholder management, and intergovernmental relations, the study critically examines the role of policy in propelling Botswana's television sector forward. This paper establishes that the television industry in Botswana faces obstacles due to a convoluted regulatory framework and insufficient cooperation among stakeholders, leading to governance issues and impeding industry advancement. It highlights deficiencies in policy implementation and calls for enhanced collaboration between government departments and broadcasting entities to tackle governance challenges and foster sectoral expansion. The research addressed both theoretical and practical gaps in television regulation in Botswana, advocating for the establishment of a more cohesive and coordinated policy framework to facilitate sustainable growth within the sector. The central argument made in the paper is that the television sector in Botswana is shaped more by implicit cultural policies than explicit cultural policies, and therefore effective coordination and management of stakeholders driving both implicit and explicit cultural policies need to be located in both the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport, and Culture and the Ministry for State President to strike an equilibrium of interests and influence.
The parents' lived experience of the pathway to identification and support provision of a child’s Learning Difficulty: Case studies
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Zikalala, Lucia; Mayisela, Simangele
The democratically elected government of South Africa undertook reforms in the education sector to provide everyone with access to high-quality education and to align the system with global norms. The Department of Education (2001) has legislated policies, such as Education White Paper 6 (EWP6), which unequivocally states that all learners must have access to support and that learning barriers must be removed to reach their full potential. EWP6 states that bolstering the educational support system for students, instructors, schools, and the education system is one of the most important ways to lower learning difficulties. To implement EWP6, the Department of Basic Education has adopted the National Strategy for Screening, Identification, Assessment, and Support (SIAS) (Department of Education, 2001). Additionally, the SIAS policy offers tactics to educators so they can work cooperatively with parents and students to build inclusive systems. Although teachers are the driving force for inclusive education, they involve the parents as soon as they notice any learning difficulty. Furthermore, support structures like the School Based Support Team (SBST) and the District Based Support Teams (DBST) were formed to accomplish inclusive education. The study focused on the parents’ lived experiences of the pathway to identification and support provision of a child’s learning difficulty through case studies. The study adopted a qualitative research design with data collected through semi-structured telephonic interviews with eight high school parents from Soweto. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The ethical principles adhered to were informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, and non-maleficence. Cultural- historical Activity Theory was employed as a theoretical framework to understand the parents’ lived experiences of the pathway to identifying and supporting a child’s learning difficulty through case studies. The study findings suggest that even though it has been several years since the SIAS policy was developed, the South African education system still faces challenges with the implementation of the policy. The findings further indicated the need for educating the parents about inclusive education and the identification process. The parents had no clear understanding of the identification process and the support that should be provided to their children after they have been identified as having a learning difficulty. The parents experienced the identification process in primary and secondary schools differently.
The experiences of COVID-19 related lockdown and social media usage among the youth in Vosloorus, Mfundo Park, Gauteng
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Dlamini, Lindokuhle Sibahle; Ndimande-Khoza, Nomhle; Langa, Malose
This research sought to understand how the COVID-19 lockdown affected young people from the Vosloorus Township as well as their social media usage throughout the lockdown. The study targeted seven individuals, both male and female, through semi-structured interviews to gain rich data for this research. The research used a qualitative approach that allowed the researcher to adequately document these individuals’ life experiences in a naturalistic and interpretive way. Additionally, the interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) which allowed the researcher to get an in-depth understanding of how the research participants understand or interpret their world, more especially how they describe their personal experiences. The findings have shown that young people from townships have suffered significantly from the impact of the pandemic. They experienced notable psychological distress at the hands of the military and police who were sent to maintain order in the townships during the lockdown. They were forced to adapt to a new way of life which included letting go of traditional burial rituals. The social distancing measures meant that the majority of the population could not express their final goodbyes to relatives who have passed on in order to control the rate of infection. Furthermore, the social recession had a more devastating impact on these young people as they naturally thrive under social interaction for their growth and developmental trajectory. The lack of social and/or physical interaction with peers affected not only their growth, but it also affected their academic performance. Social media became the only digital tool they relied on for any form of learning and communication with peers, relatives as well as educators. Although social media provided these young people with some form of connection to the outside world, it became an eminent threat to their overall welfare. The spread of fake news about the virus caused a lot of confusion, chaos, emotional and psychological stress among these young people.
Making Home in Setswetla: A Narrative Exploration of ‘Belonging’ and ‘Home’ in a Contested Informal Settlement in Johannesburg
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Sebidi, Kgaugelo; Bradbury, Jill
This study sought to explore biographical narratives of black women who reside in Setswetla, a contested informal settlement in Alexandra (Johannesburg), as an attempt to understand how their personal stories informed conceptualisations of ‘belonging’ and ‘home’. While literary interest in informal settlements is notable, there remained a vacuum in studies that narratively explored the lives lived within informal settlements, thus going beyond typical studies of livelihood within these settings. Through the qualitative methodology of narrative inquiry, the study attempted to better understand person-place relations through in-depth narrative interviews and photovoice. Through thematic narrative analysis, the study brings theoretical concepts to life through visual experiential narratives of participants' lives. From the findings, it was clear that the concepts of belonging, and home were complex, especially when explored within informal settlements. The study found that participants continued to experience structural violence through the deplorable and inhumane material conditions that they live in. Through participants’ narrations of social injustice, the study was able to capture visceral accounts of the antithetical nature of structural violence to belonging and feeling at home, both in a community sense and a citizenry sense. These narratives provided a powerful political critique as participants’ adverse living conditions were preventable and avoidable. More crucially, the study unearthed compelling counternarratives of agency and collective action through participants' endeavours to enforce their belonging and feeling at home amid harsh material conditions. Through their stories, the study captures human agency in action and counterattacks to structural violence. Although bonded by their struggles, even more powerful was how they were bonded by relationality, community, and resilience. The study also highlights how participants express their identities and form attachments to their homes through place-making, thus forming new meanings and relationships with place while enriching their biographical narratives. The study therefore provides a new perspective on informal settlements, and it enriches theory while simultaneously enriching our understanding of the lives lived within informal settlements.
The Expressive Semantic Skills of Sesotho-Speaking Toddlers (28 and 30 months): A Comparison using the Sesotho Picture-Naming Vocabulary Task and the Preliminary Version of the Sesotho Communicative Development Inventory
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Naidoo, Kerchia; Moonsamy, Sharon; Southwood, Frenette; Mupawose,Anniah
Background: At present, there exists little to no standardised methods of assessing language- related skills which have been normed within the South African population. This makes it difficult for a Speech-Language Pathologist to accurately diagnose language or communication difficulties within this context, and has resulted in inappropriate interventions and the stigma of disability associated with a child with a language impairment. It is therefore imperative that Speech-Language Pathologists use assessment tools that are fit for purpose, i.e. culturally appropriate and linguistically relevant for the diverse child populations in South Africa. The intention for this research study is to assist the South African Communicative Development Inventory team in addressing the concerns of culturally and contextually inappropriate assessment methods. Aims: The key aim of this research study was to compare the results of a Basotho child’s expressive, semantic language skills using the caregiver-report Communicative Development Inventory and the picture-naming vocabulary task. The objectives were to: (i) describe the contextual background of Sesotho-speaking child participants which may have influenced their communication development; (ii) describe the child participants’ semantic communication abilities using the Sesotho Communicative Development Inventory; and (iii) describe the child participants’ expressive semantic abilities using the picture-naming vocabulary task. Method: This research study employed a mixed methods approach using multiple case studies. The case studies comprised of caregiver-child dyads. Both quantitative and qualitative paradigms were utilised to achieve the mixed methods approach. The non-probability, purposive sampling method assisted in selecting participants for this study. The data collection was conducted in a predominantly monolingual Sesotho-speaking population in Tweeling, Free State. A total sample size of 20 – 10 adult and 10 child participants – was chosen for this study. The adult participants were the adult caregivers of the child participants. The child participants were chosen between 28 and 30 months of age who are monolingual Sesotho speakers. Three data collection instruments were administered on the chosen participants: a family background questionnaire; a Sesotho picture-naming vocabulary task; and the Sesotho Communicative Development Inventory. The analysis of the assessment instruments used descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and semantic analysis. Results: A significant correlation was found between the Sesotho Communicative Development Inventory and the Sesotho picture-naming vocabulary task. The Communicative Development Inventory highlighted maternal-headed households and socioeconomic status as the major sociocultural factors impacting the child participants’ language development outside of the individual factors. Furthermore, the Communicative Development Inventory revealed that 70% of adult participants were more likely to report that their child would have language skills below the 50th percentile. However, the majority (60%) of child participants’ scores on the picture-naming vocabulary task were above the 50th percentile. Adult participants also noted that their child would perform higher in semantic categories related to verbs, food, adjectives, household items, and games and routines. However, the child participants scored higher in only two of the same categories reported by their adult caregivers: household items and games and routines. Conclusion/Implications: The research study found that the Communicative Development Inventory did in fact measure what it was intended for – the expressive language skills of the Sesotho child participant. The implications for this lay in the South African Communicative Development Inventory team’s mandate to validate inventories in all South African indigenous languages. These indigenous inventories can then be used to more accurately assess indigenous speakers’ language skills which can eventually lead to the collection and development of language norms
The Role of Social Networks in Destination Selection Among Urban Refugees in Kampala, Uganda
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Ayanzu, Francis; Wet- Billings, Nicole De
The rampant displacements due to armed conflicts, torture, gender-based violence, human rights abuse, and all other forms of displacements increased the number of forced migrants residing in urban areas. This study is about the role of social networks in the destination selection of urban refugees, including asylum seekers. Although asylum seekers differ from refugees in terms of status determination, this group is included under refugees because choices about destination occur prior to arrival in Kampala, the place of asylum, not upon arrival. Destination selection refers to the decisions regarding where to go. Existing studies have pointed to the role of social networks, defined as interpersonal relationships through which resources such as information and social support flow, in facilitating the refugee movements and settlement in urban areas. Studies on urban refugees particularly in the Sub- Saharan Africa showed that refugees use their social networks to access livelihood opportunities upon arrival at an urban area. Related to destination decisions, refugee studies in Uganda and Kenya have shown that strong social networks formed in camps and countries of asylum sometimes affect humanitarian interventions regarding returning refugees to countries of origin or relocation of refugees to new refugee settlement areas. Much of these influences have been attributed to the presence of either refugees from the countries of origin at a particular camp or relationships build through shared ethnic membership with local communities in which the refugees reside. However, not all ethnic members have equal weight in exerting influences on a refugee and not every actor in the social network supports the choice of a destination. Moreover, actors who exert influences are not only at the places of origin or destination, but also those encountered on transit or those living elsewhere in another country or camps. The details of who actually influence the refugees to move to city is important because it enables us to answer the question whether refugees make decisions on where to go and if so, what enables their decision-making capacity. This is a critical aspect in the context of Uganda where refugees are associated with settlements in the rural areas. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to investigate the role of social networks in the selection of Kampala, actors involved in the social networks and how they influenced the refugees’ decisions to specifically move to Kampala. Specifically, study explored the associations between social 17 networks and destination selection and how actors in the social networks influence the decisions of the refugees. The study also investigated the profiles of the refugees associating with destination selection, and patterns of movement to Kampala.
The Experiences of Community Service Rehabilitation Professionals Who Managed Their Own Department in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Allsop, Julia; Masuku, K.
Background: A compulsory community service year for all healthcare professionals, including rehabilitation healthcare professionals was introduced to address the challenges of access to healthcare especially in rural South African communities as a result of inequalities brought about by apartheid. Even though the focus of the community service year was for healthcare professionals to render clinical services under the supervision of a more experienced healthcare professional, this has changed over the years. Due to the lack of resources and funding and subsequently the shortage of healthcare professionals, community service rehabilitation professionals often find themselves placed in healthcare facilities without the supervision of a senior member of staff. Community service rehabilitation professionals therefore end up taking up the role of head of department without prior preparation or training. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of rehabilitation community service healthcare professionals who have managed their own department during their community service year. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 rehabilitation healthcare professionals. A purposive sampling strategy was used to recruit participants. Interviews were conducted online via Zoom. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a framework analysis approach employing Faloy’s five elements of management. Findings: The following 16 themes demerged from data analysed from the semi structured interviews with participants: (i). Undergraduate training does not prepare students for managing a rehabilitation department; (ii). Insufficient handover from the previous community service therapist and not enough orientation at the beginning of the year; (iii). Create new documents that outline plans for their community service year; (iv). Duties expected of a community service rehabilitation professional, (iv- a) Clinical duties expected of a community service rehabilitation healthcare professional heading a department; (iv -b). Administrative duties expected of a community service rehabilitation professional heading a department; (v). Not having enough time for clinical and administrative duties; (vi). Co-ordinating with staff 3 members within the healthcare facility; (vii). Discovering outside resources to collaborate with to assist with managerial and clinical duties; (viii). Staff negative attitudes towards community service rehabilitation professional; (ix). Staff’s lack of knowledge of rehabilitation healthcare professions; (x). Meetings with other managers; (xi). Little to no feedback or verification structures in place, (xii). Creating a handover for the next community service therapist, (xiii) Ethical considerations, (xiii -a) Language barriers, (xiii-b) performing duties outside of scope of practice, (xiii -c) Lack of carryover of treatment due to lack of personnel (xiv) Safety, and (xv) Emotional toll on community service rehabilitation professionals Conclusion: Findings from the study suggest the need for different kinds of informal and formal support structures that are needed for rehabilitation community service practitioners who have no access to a supervisor during their community service year. This includes creating a better support network of professionals in the same district who can assist each other as well as better support from the healthcare professionals at the healthcare facility. Furthermore, the findings highlighted the need for continued professional development (CPD) courses that could be capacitate community service rehabilitation professionals who are heading a department by focus on providing both practical support and assistance with managerial duties. These implications will allow community service rehabilitation professionals to feel more supported and have greater confidence in their abilities as a clinician and a manager leading to better service given to patients
Bubblewrapped: (Queered) Exhibition Making as a Means of Creating Spaces in Johannesburg Which Balance Intimacy, Safety and Access
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Nyathi, Denzel; Twalo, Sinethemba
While the exhibition, as perhaps the main tool of curating, is an excellent space for symbolic generation, I venture to draw close parallels to the internet, as a possible exhibition site of its own, to question how better the traditional art exhibition can be configured to make room for intimacy in the face of capitalism and its subsequent implications on how it is the contemporary Johannesburg art ecosystem operates and dictates professional interaction. It maintains the ever-relational position of contemporary curatorial practice, while complicating the issue of proximity (between disciplines and between people) even further by looking into what role controlling access plays in ensuring an intimate experience feels safe, and doesn’t border on being an experience which makes one feel unnecessarily vulnerable. The affective fine-tuning of this venture becomes a precarious task, which I undertake collaboratively with the interviewee respondents of this research. In consideration of these people and the overdetermination of the commercial sector in the Johannesburg art scene, the research report below asks the question of how it is that exhibition making can be reconfigured by the curator to work in more intimate ways to therefore make space for the various members involved in exhibition-making to feel a sense of safety and belonging in their work. bubblewrapped, as a queered exhibition, takes further this research and continues to think with the various practitioners in a public exhibition format, and thus continues to experiment with means of preserving intimacy
How Does the Media Frame Human Trafficking in South Africa: A Study of Four Metropolitan Newspapers
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Seeth, Avantika; Finlay, Alan
Human trafficking has become a widely discussed topic in the South African media in recent years, with an apparent increase in media reports on kidnappings, abductions and arrests. Given the severity and frequency of the crime, and that it happens in South Africa, the way in which the media frames its coverage of human trafficking is important in terms of creating public awareness and even informing lawmakers. This research investigates how the print media in South Africa frames its stories on human trafficking by looking at coverage in four metropolitan newspapers, The Star, The Cape Times, The Witness and The Pretoria News, from 2015 to 2019. This time frame was chosen as it is the period in which unabridged birth certificates for minors were introduced and then removed, in an effort to combat human trafficking by the South African government. Based on an analysis of a total of 306 articles, the findings from this study indicate that when it comes to human trafficking, there is a striking absence of investigative reporting on the topic. Coverage of human trafficking in South Africa tends to happen when prominent people are involved, or comment, or if an event like a court case happens. Amongst the frames identified, the topic of sex trafficking and sex work is often misunderstood, and yet reports on human trafficking are linked to sex trafficking the most. A high volume of reports deal with child exploitation. While the media is dependent on international stories for some of its coverage, these are often not given a local angle or relevance.
An Evaluation of Democratization Processes in West Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Nigeria’s and Ghana’s Democratic Governance
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Nevobasi, Aletta Adaaku
Since 2022, the robustness and endurance of democracy in Africa have been subject to debate due to the rise in military coup d'états in sub-Saharan Africa. The rise of military takeover highlights the possible democratic regression on the continent. Therefore, it is imperative to examine the level of consolidation of democracy on the continent. This research study aims to evaluate the strength and quality of democratic governance in Africa by comparing Nigeria and Ghana. By utilizing the Democracy Index devised by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), this analysis evaluated the internal dynamics of both nations to determine their operationality or non- operationality. The five categories are used to assess the state of democracy in each country. To achieve this, the analysis relied on the five categories utilized by the EIU index to evaluate the state of democracy. The categories are 1. Electoral processes and pluralism 2. Functioning of government 3. Political participation 4. Civil liberties and 5. Political culture. The EIU Index offers a comprehensive evaluation of democracy through the inclusion of objective and subjective indicators. These variables were selected for this research as they best provide a comprehensive framework of the key components of a democratic system. In the category of electoral processes and pluralism, this report will compare the 2019 presidential elections in Nigeria to the 2020 presidential elections in Ghana. Regarding civil liberties, this report compared the perception of civil liberties in relation to ethnicity. Additionally, the report compared the pervasiveness of corruption in both Nigeria and Ghana, in the years 2019 and 2022 in the category functioning of government. In terms of political participation, the report will assess the involvement of women in parliament and politics since both nations formally restored democracy (Nigeria in 1999 and Ghana in 1992). Lastly, the report examined militarism in Nigeria and neo-patrimonialism in Ghana within the category of political culture. In conjunction with the presented case studies, this research report incorporated public opinions to further analyze the quality of democracy. It specifically compared social variations in the practice and perception of democracy. The report concludes by emphasizing the significance of leadership in advancing democracy, asserting that leadership challenges in Nigeria and Ghana contribute to hindered consolidation. Consequently, the report advocates for a reimagining of leadership, with a particular focus on the concept of thought leadership, thought liberation, and critical consciousness as three pivotal elements for advancing democracy.

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