M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / The present study, in an attempt to provide conceptual clarification of issues surrounding cross-cultural psychotherapy in South Africa, explores a variety of problems which may arise in the practice of psychotherapy in this context. This involves an examination of the implications of a notion of culture for the broader socio-political context in this country. Interviews were conducted with qualified clinical psychologists who work in contexts where they are engaged in psychotherapy with people from different cultural backgrounds in order to obtain qualitative data regarding their perceptions and conceptualisations of cross-cultural psychotherapy. It was found that themes similar to those elicited from a review of the relevant literature were discussed by the psychologists that were interviewed. These themes are conceptualised as a dialectic which is then explored using the framework of cybernetic complementarities. A conceptual clarification of cross cultural-psychotherapy is presented in an attempt to resolve this dialectic. Recommendations for further research in this context are made.

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The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) was developed in an attempt to provide a standardised tool to elicit and measure emotions for research purposes. The IAPS is unique, in that it is completely pictorially based. An emotional response is stimulated by the pictures, which are then used to measure the emotional response. This has obvious benefits in South Africa. The overall aim of this study was to conduct a cross-cultural exploration of the IAPS, with a sample of South African university students, in order to come to an initial understanding of the measure’s performance within the South African context. A quantitative methodology was used, in order to reach the research aim and objectives. The overall research approach was exploratory and descriptive in nature and the actual data gathering consisted of a single measurement instance. The procedure for this study was based on that used by the developers of the IAPS to norm the instrument. Convenience sampling was used, resulting in a total sample of 169 participants, 31 male, and 136 female. For analysis purposes, participants were grouped according to a race and language combination, thus operationalising ethnicity. This resulted in four primary ethnic groupings. In summary, it was found that a large number of items seem to travel well in terms of equivalence. The correlations achieved and affective space plot are consistent with that outlined in the IAPS instruction manual, and are similar to international studies using the same procedure. However, when items were examined in greater detail, statistically significant differences raised concerns about the level of equivalence and suggested that not all items travel equally well. Similarly, although many items were statistically similar between the South African ethnic groups, differences were also found on specific items.

The underlying assumptions of Western counselling and psychotherapy are based on Western European values such as individualism and autonomy. How applicable then are the goals and practices of Western counselling and psychotherapy when applied to non-Western cultures? This research study interviews eight Western-trained Chinese counsellors/psychotherapists who have experience with counselling both Western European clients and Chinese clients. It was found that the establishment of rapport using traditional Western counselling theories has varying amounts of success depending on (a.) the familiarity of the client to Western values, (b.) the familiarity of the counsellor/psychotherapist with Chinese values, (c.) the awareness to not apply knowledge of a client's culture in a stereotypical way, and (d.) the willingness of the counsellor/psychotherapist to be open, flexible, and patient in negotiating a process that fits comfortably with BOTH the particular counsellor/psychotherapist's cultural bias and the particular client's cultural bias. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

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This ethnography shows how certain aspects of the Pretoria Boeremark can be seen to have symbolic resonances with contemporary South African society. Reflecting both economic and cultural practices since 1994, as well as the ways in which it can be construed as being paradigmatic of Afrikaans whiteness in the post-Apartheid era, and how dissonance within this dominant whiteness can be created in the neo-liberal nature of South African society. Markets are amongst the most ancient forms of commercial exchange as well as, in South Africa today, being at the forefront of a globalised cosmopolitanism. The Pretoria Boeremark straddles this divide, being both a source of household provisioning and a ‘modish’ place to sample culture through food. An exploration of the Boeremark’s history, its location in the changing Pretoria suburb of Silverton and its adoption of “free-market” principles lays the foundation for a descriptive ethnography of the market. This ethnography, constructed from participant observation and interviews with vendors and customers, explores the ways in which commercial and non-commercial exchanges at the market lead to what Carsten’s calls “practices of relatedness” and how these practices serve to construct the market as a, nominally, Afrikaans cultural phenomenon. All these explorations come together to illustrate the Boeremark, based on the entanglement of economic, social and cultural aspects of the market, as a possible microcosm of South African economic and cultural practices. / Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Anthropology and Archaeology / MA / Unrestricted

Detta är en kvalitativ studie med syftet att undersöka hur personer på olika positioner och avdelningar responderar inför en organisationsförändring i Örnsköldsviks kommun 2022. Med ett kulturanalytiskt perspektiv på organisationsförändring granskas material från intervjuer och observationer. Studien visar hur organisationsförändringen som ska företas av tjänstemän leder till engagemang, ambivalens och motstånd. Resultatet visar dessutom på skillnader i synen på verkligheten och ledarnormativitet, samt hur byråkratiska ordningar och identiteter färgar organisationsförändringens processer när skillnader och indelningar mellan positioner (re)produceras och befästs.

2018 lanserade musikstreamingtjänsten Spotify den egna plattformen Spotify for artists som riktar sig till artister och möjliggör självständig distribution av musik till plattformen. Där kan artister ladda upp musik utan mellanhänder som skivbolag. Olika verktyg erbjuds i form av statistik och data och dessa ska enligt Spotify hjälpa artister och bolag att bygga karriärer självständigt i alla delar av musikindustrins produktionsled.Företaget har dock varit föremål för en del kritik, bland annat på grund av sin ekonomiska modell som anklagats för orättvis utdelning av royalties, alltså de pengar artister och bolag tjänar per spelad låt i plattformen. Dessutom har deras beroendeställning till stora skivbolag och deras låtkataloger väckt misstankar om att även innehåll i plattformen premieras ojämlikt. Även den makt som kurerade spellistor och tekniska strukturer som algoritmer har i premieringen av innehåll har varit omdiskuterad och kritiserad.Syftet med denna uppsats är att med ett kritiskt perspektiv undersöka vilken retorisk argumentation Spotify använder i sitt språk i plattformen SFA för att övertyga artister om att de bäst kan bygga sitt artistskap och nå framgång där på ett jämlikt och rättvist sätt. Metoden för att undersöka detta har varit en retorisk argumentationsanalys av olika påståenden i SFA som på något sätt försöker övertyga. Resultaten som framkom från undersökningen visar på att Spotify använder sig av en offensiv argumentation som spelar på starka känslor men som ofta saknar förankring i någon intellektuell appellering, som statistik eller fakta. I analysen vittnar detta i sin tur om att privata intressen döljs med en argumentation som påstår att företaget bidrar till allmännyttan och offentliga värden som jämlikhet och rättvisa.

Research on medical interpreters (MIs) in recent years has informed us of the visible and active participating roles that MIs play in the doctor-interpreter-patient triadic encounter. The use of multi-faceted, authentic data has also allowed both verbal and nonverbal nuances to be studied. However, while empirical studies have shown that physician empathy in medical communication is beneficial to the patient's healthcare outcomes, empathy in medical interpreting, especially the one that is expressed nonverbally, is rarely examined in medical interpreting research, even though MI is the key communication facilitator and in principle shares a communicative goal with the doctor. This study aims to acquire a deeper understanding of how an MI's empathy is constructed nonverbally and perceived by service users, and how it affects interlocutors and the communication process. This research argues that MI empathy in communication is desired and should be incorporated in the training, assessment, and most importantly, in the interpreting practice. Three sets of research questions are thus formed: 1) How do Mis communicate empathy, if any, for and to the patient? 2) How do the other medical interview participants (doctor and patient) and observers (video observers) perceive the empathic performance of the interpreters? Is there any discrepancy? Why? and 3) How do internal and external factors such as an MI's nonverbal sensitivity and personality traits influence empathic performance? The findings are expected to inform medical interpreting training and assessment and to enhance doctors' awareness of the roles of MIs so that a more patient-centred and empathic communication environment can be nurtured.