Includes bibliographical references. / With Corporate Social Responsibility coming to prominence over the last few decades, business has become a central player in the sphere of development. The business case for CSR, by far the most dominant argument for CSR, suggests that CSR is the answer to social ills, injustice and poverty, but seeks ways to get a return on their investment and gain a competitive advantage through CSR/CSI activities. Critics have argued that business cannot be counted on to voluntarily contribute to social good - citing the nature of business as the greatest deterrent to positive behaviour. A third stream recognises the potential of CSR but identifies constraints in the present manifestations of CSR and CSI in South Africa, and calls for a more critical engagement of business in society. A fourth approach recognises that due the nature of CSR and the politics that surrounds its practice, CSR can be seen as a type of imperialism, holding the notions of dominance and superiority over their beneficiaries in the South, and not taking into consideration their experiences or feedback. Using the critical case of a large South African petroleum company, this thesis seeks to answer the central research question, “What approach to C SR does Company X take? What underpins this approach? ” This thesis furthermore subscribes to the need for more critical, Southern perspectives that needs to be acknowledged in the CSR rhetoric and argues that political and economic rather than social considerations currently dominate the sphere of CSR. This is further emphasised through the political environment in which CSR takes place. Finally, this paper, argues that the language of CSR in South Africa needs to be rethought. In South Africa, CSR more often than not is interpreted to mean companies’ CSI activities. Using authors such as Fig (2005) and Fig et al, 2007, this thesis argues that wrapped up in the notion of CSI are inherent political considerations that thwart the developmental potential of CSI.

Includes abstract. / Scroll down to electronic link to access the thesis. / This is a study on the spatial mismatch hypothesis, unemployment and the use of social networks for job search in Site C, Khayelitsha. The spatial mismatch hypothesis proposes that where employment centres are located a significant distance from low-income residential areas, the result is unemployment, low wages and limited access to information for people residing in these peripheral residential areas.

In Southern Africa, burgeoning intercultural contact results in the emergence of (bicultural) sociocultural contexts which emphasize African traditional and Western industrial values to different degrees. In transitioning between these contexts, Southern Africans may experience feelings of dissonance which potentially threaten identity. In managing these transitions, individuals arguably employ various hybridization strategies in order to navigate socio-cultural contexts whilst maintaining a coherent sense of self. Though part of a broader Southern African study initiated by Cumpsty in 1998, this dissertation represents a stand-alone inquiry into how the value-priorities of school-leaving respondents in Rundu, northern Namibia, have changed or stayed the same between 1998 and 2017. What is more, it seeks to ascertain if/how these respondents have hybridized their value-systems confronted with increasingly bicultural experiences. Cumpsty's quantitative instrument for measuring values was administered to the entire school-leaving cohort in two schools in Rundu in 1998 and in 2017. This data was comparatively analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in order to measure the extent to which change/continuity had occurred over the nearly 20 year period. Profiles were generated from the two sets of quantitative data, which revealed how respondents hybridized African traditional and Western industrial values, and the results were analyzed comparatively. This dissertation's central finding has been an unexpected pattern of general continuity in the value-priorities of respondents between 1998 and 2017, which is also demonstrated in the patterns found in the dominant profiles. These results indicate the use of distinct strategies which allow respondents to integrate African traditional and Western industrial values into hybrid value-systems - which in turn allow them to navigate bicultural experiences whilst maintaining a coherent sense of identity - and therefore repudiates the notion of globalisation resulting in increasing socio-cultural uniformity. This finding indicates that if the definition of development is broadened to encompass the satisfaction of fundamental human needs, then an account of identity is crucial, which in turn renders an account of values indispensable to the development debate in Southern Africa. Lastly, this dissertation uses Cumpsty's instrument, which is fundamentally flawed, and ends with a critique of the instrument.

Given South Africa’s racialized history of access to education, redress efforts targeted at achieving equity in access to universities for students from across racial backgrounds have been well underway for over two decades now. More recently, within the higher education sector, ensuring that access translates into success has become a priority. Drawing on this concern, this research study looks into what constitutes success for previously excluded students at a historically white university. In addition, this research study examines the experiences of these students to uncover factors which contribute to either enabling or constraining their abilities to achieve this much sought after success. The analysis presented in this study arrived at the conclusion that institutional practices continue to entrench various forms of systematic exclusion which in turn significantly affect black students’ abilities to achieve success at a historically white university.

Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Global Studies and Languages, 2019 / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. "February 2019." Vita. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 67-69). / This thesis concerns the question of the relationship that women of African origin have with their hair. Based on an analysis of the perceptions and attitudes of these women towards their hair, the thesis attempts to answer the question: what standards do they hold for their hair, and what factors contribute to that? To respond to these questions, I analyze two media sources created by African women, for a female, African audience -- postcolonial-era magazine, AWA: la revue de lafemme noire, and the modern-day YouTube channel of a young Franco-Senegalese woman, Aïcha Danso. The analysis raises questions about identity and its construction, and the meanings hair holds for black women. It leads to the hypothesis I propose: that natural, kinky hair is fundamentally racialized, and that the ways in which black women choose to style it -- although imbued with meanings that are multidimensional, profound, and personal -- come under structural factors such as the ideals of feminine beauty. / by Sefa A. Yakpo. / S.B. / S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Global Studies and Languages

This thesis suggests that out of the work of ARESTA, a new notion of citizenship and belonging was developed, as a result of their workshops. This notion is furthermore articulated in various communities. In this notion, citizenship is no longer linked to indigeneity, but rather escaping war and hardship, the need to work, and place of work. It is further justified by the concept of Pan-Africanism and a common humanity. Contradictions in the findings of the thesis point to the limitations of this workshop and the importance of broader societal issues. This thesis concludes that ARESTA's intervention makes a significant contribution in opposing xenophobia, in the light of what is possible in South Africa today. However, its work is ameliorative rather than radical structural change, what may be needed is far more elusive at present.

Twenty-first century globalisation has brought with it, distinction among students through the Internationalisation of Higher Education (IHE). The effects of globalization and the IHE has been categorised as "preparing students for the globalizing world, suggesting new pedagogies and institutional settings that nurture 'global consciousness'" (Mansilla & Gardner, 2007: 56.) With the increase in mobility and hyper-connectivity, an education has become more than what is taught within the confines of a classroom or university. Studying abroad has become a significant component within the academic arena that allows students the privilege and opportunity to develop intercultural competence through first-hand experience This study seeks to explore the articulation of experiences and encounters from the perspective of the study abroad student exposed to cultural settings different from their own. This dissertation will place particular emphasis on the articulation of the responses and approaches taken by individuals of their respective encounters and experiences, using the Circuit of Culture as a link drawing together the themes (Re)Construction of Self Identity; 'Fitting In' and Adaptation; Developing Intercultural Competence and Society as we now know it, to give a holistic, interpretive understanding into the meanings and outcomes produced by the relationship between the constructions and perceived ideologies of both the study abroad student and the hosts collective. The study is amalgamation of responses from personal narrations given by eight participants, as well as a discussion with four individuals in a focus group from different countries. They reveal the importance of the self, from both the personal and social viewpoint to be able to comprehend the actions and reactions taken to construct, adapt, assimilate and learn from the experience. Discoveries uncover difference as a component that exists between the self and the other in a number of ways through how they classify and identify each other. As a result, slight but significant changes in perceptions can be noted.

The Institute for Global Studies (IGS) at Claremont High School in Victoria, Canada is a distinctive local example of “transformative education” that features a transdisciplinary, problem-based and globally oriented program within the public secondary school system. Launched in 2012, and arising from earlier pioneering courses in global studies, the IGS has now graduated two cohorts, and has led the founding educators to raise questions about which aspects of the students’ experience were thought to be most important after graduation and what graduates did with the skills they acquired. Part 1 is an extensive description of the background experience of the main founding educator that led to the creation of the original global studies course, and eventually the IGS itself. Part 2, the study itself, includes a review of relevant literature. It draws upon a range of writings about transformative education, including reviews of “whole school approaches to sustainability”. Relatively few systematic evaluations of these programs were found. A recent study from Bangladesh evaluated the effect of a climate change curriculum using a randomized cluster design. It demonstrated significant increases in relevant knowledge gain by students using the government recommended curriculum. The research question in this study was: “What impact has Global Studies/Global Solutions had on students who have taken it and what will they do with the skills they have acquired? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight (8) program graduates, using a set of standard questions as a guide. Study participants were selected from a pool of graduates by an independent researcher, to ensure a range of views, taking into account gender diversity, ethnic diversity, experience with both programs (Global studies and IGS), and post-program experiences. Research findings about program impact included both expected and unexpected results. Expected impacts included the transformative nature of the learning, the positive (hopeful) experience itself, and the effectiveness of the interdisciplinary, problem-solving approach. Unexpected impacts included the power of collaborative learning, and the value of guest speakers from various backgrounds who served as powerful role models. Regarding how graduates used what they learned, this included the further application of interdisciplinary learning and problem solving at a university level, and increased confidence that they could “make a difference”. The experience also guided career directions--for example, in the choice of university study programs. One graduate is volunteering with a non-government organization at a rural school in a low-income setting. Another graduate, while not going on to tertiary education, is using the experience to guide his work vocation. In summary, the global studies/IGS program has had important impacts on graduates, both expected and unexpected. Graduates use distinctive learning skills in subsequent university studies. For some the experience influenced specific career directions. / Graduate

This study examined global studies programs which emerged as a seemingly new field of knowledge in Canadian universities, beginning in 1998. These programs arose within the context of a number of transformational processes in higher education, namely internationalization, the introduction of global citizenship, an accent on civic engagement, and interdisciplinarity. By analysing institutional motivations and the personal convictions of the initiators of the new programs, the study identified a problematic lack of cohesion within the growing field of global studies in Canada. The principal method of analysis adopted in this study was the first-hand examination of a number of specific cases at different universities or institutions of higher learning, in the form of extensive interviews with leading individuals in the relevant programs. Additionally, university policy documents, reports of Canadian organizations (e.g. AUCC), and program websites were consulted in order to examine trends in global studies programs in Canada. An in-depth review of existing literature on the conceptualization of global studies as well as an analysis of diverse data collected made it possible to identify a number of problems, foremost of which was a disconnect between the theoretical aspirations for the emerging field and the understanding of global studies due to a lack of consensus in Canada on a definition of global studies. It was revealed that a common understanding of global studies in Canada is lacking. Furthermore, the analysis brought to light the diverse ideas behind the conceptualization of global studies programs, and the ways in which the personal ideas of the programs’ founders interacted with a variety of motives for designing these kinds of programs at different universities. An examination of the composition of the programs revealed their indeterminate character, as well as a remarkable overlap with the field of international development. Finally, the study offers recommendations for the leaders in global studies in Canada and provides suggestions for future research.

This study examined global studies programs which emerged as a seemingly new field of knowledge in Canadian universities, beginning in 1998. These programs arose within the context of a number of transformational processes in higher education, namely internationalization, the introduction of global citizenship, an accent on civic engagement, and interdisciplinarity. By analysing institutional motivations and the personal convictions of the initiators of the new programs, the study identified a problematic lack of cohesion within the growing field of global studies in Canada. The principal method of analysis adopted in this study was the first-hand examination of a number of specific cases at different universities or institutions of higher learning, in the form of extensive interviews with leading individuals in the relevant programs. Additionally, university policy documents, reports of Canadian organizations (e.g. AUCC), and program websites were consulted in order to examine trends in global studies programs in Canada. An in-depth review of existing literature on the conceptualization of global studies as well as an analysis of diverse data collected made it possible to identify a number of problems, foremost of which was a disconnect between the theoretical aspirations for the emerging field and the understanding of global studies due to a lack of consensus in Canada on a definition of global studies. It was revealed that a common understanding of global studies in Canada is lacking. Furthermore, the analysis brought to light the diverse ideas behind the conceptualization of global studies programs, and the ways in which the personal ideas of the programs’ founders interacted with a variety of motives for designing these kinds of programs at different universities. An examination of the composition of the programs revealed their indeterminate character, as well as a remarkable overlap with the field of international development. Finally, the study offers recommendations for the leaders in global studies in Canada and provides suggestions for future research.