In 1936, Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) employees began interviewing formerly enslaved men and women, allowing them to speak publicly of their experiences under slavery. Defying racism and the repressions of Jim Crow, ex-slaves discussed intimate details of their lives. Many researchers considered these interviews unreliable, but if viewed through the lens of gender and analyzed using recent scholarship on slavery and sexuality, FWP interviews offer new insights into the lives of enslaved men and women. Using a small number of ex-slave interviews, most of them drawn from Louisiana, this thesis demonstrates the value of these oral histories for understanding the sexual lives of enslaved men and women. These interviews expose what we would otherwise have little access to: the centrality of struggles over enslaved people’s sexuality and reproduction to the experience of enslavement and the long-term effects of these struggles on the attitudes of slavery’s survivors.

Denna studie hade som syfte att undersöka olika individers föreställningar och uppfattningar om terrorism. För att undersöka detta ämne har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med sex olika individer. Studiens första huvudresultat och även den viktigaste slutsatsen var att olika individer har olika uppfattning om vad terrorism är och hur det ska definieras, men att den gemensamma idén är att målet eller syftet är det som avgör om det rör sig om terrorism. De flesta intervjupersonerna ansåg att både fysiskt och psykiskt skadade människor kan vara offer för terrorism. Huvudresultatet gällande terrorister handlade om föreställningar kring terroristers utseende, till exempel “stort skägg” och “muslimer”. Vad gäller medias framställning av terrorism upplevde de flesta intervjupersoner att media vinklar och utelämnar information, samt har en viss påverkan på deras uppfattning om terrorism. Intervjupersonerna nämnde också en ökad rädsla och oro för terrorism, något som dock inte påverkade deras vardagliga rutiner och handlingar. / This study has exanimated different individuals’ conceptions and perceptions of terrorism. To examine this issue we have done semi-structured interviews with six different individuals. The first main result of the study and the most important conclusion was that different individuals had different perceptions about what terrorism is and how it should be defined. Most of the interviewees counted both physically and psychologically harmed people as victims of terrorism. The main result when it comes to conceptions about terrorists looks was that terrorists have “big beard” and were “Muslims”. When it comes to medias representation of terrorism most of the interviewees believed that media angle and leave out information, and that this had some influence on their perception of terrorism. The interviewees also mentioned an increased fear and concern about terrorism, something that did not affect their daily routines and activities.

Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka hur lärare i grundskolan och gymnasiet förhåller sig till våld i skolan. Vi gjorde en kvalitativ intervjustudie med fem lärare. Lärare såg våld riktat mot lärare i första hand som fysiska handlingar och menade att den egna utsattheten för våld var låg. Samtidigt föreföll psykiskt våld vara vanligt förekommande. Lärarnas strategier för att hantera våld formades av deras konstruktion av den egna yrkesrollen. Särskilt framträdande var lärares motstånd mot att definiera sig som offer. De framställde sig själva som starka och kapabla att hantera våldet och lyfte fram att upprätthålla ordningen i klassrummet som en nyckelfråga för att undvika att bli utsatta för våld. En annan nyckelfråga var goda relationer mellan lärare och elever.De av lärarna föreslagna åtgärderna för att minska våld i skolan innefattade ökade resurser för att förebygga att elever far illa och därigenom undvika att risksituationer uppstår. / The aim of our study was to examine how teachers in the senior level of the 'grundskola' (högstadiet) and upper secondary school (gymnasiet) relate to violence in school. In order to examine this, we have done qualitative interviews with five teachers. The teachers defined violence against them mostly as physical acts and considered their own victimization to be low. The teachers though expressed that exposure to psychological violence was common. Their strategies to cope with violence were formed by the construction of their profession. The teachers were diffident about defining themselves as victims. They held themselves as strong and capable of coping with violence and pointed out maintaining order in class as a key point to avoid victimization. Another key point was good relations between teachers and student. Suggested measures against school violence consisted of increased resources in order to prevent students failure and thereby reduce risk situations.

Children with cochlear implants (CI) have difficulty perceiving pitch differences, which contributes to poor melodic perception. Aims/Methods. This study investigated how children with bilateral CIs (n = 23, M = 6,9 years) and children with normal hearing (NH) (n = 27, M = 7,2 years) were able to discriminate pitch intervals with a semitone as the smallest difference, and recognize melodies presented without lyrics in two conditions: as a melody and as a melody combined with pictures. An interview related to music was also conducted. Results. Children with bilateral CIs achieved very high scores on the pitch discrimination task. Children with NH surpassed the children with bilateral CIs at identifying songs without pictures (children with CIs 11%, NH 52%) and together with pictures (CIs 30%, NH 83%).  Measurement of effect size showed moderate to strong differences between children with CIs/NH. The interview findings showed positive attitudes towards music, with 77% of the children with CIs (versus 100% of children with NH) saying they enjoyed listening to music, had favourite artists and favourite songs. Conclusion. Children with CIs demonstrated a very good ability to discriminate pitch differences, but scored low on melody recognition tasks. The results confirm that melody recognition is demanding for children with CIs. In spite of the difficulty CIs have transmitting musical information, these children with CIs as a group have developed positive attitudes towards music. This finding suggests the potential capacity of CIs in relationship to music, but even more the potential capacity of growing children’s brains.     Barn med cochleaimplantat (CI) har svårighet att uppfatta skillnader i tonhöjd, vilket påverkar förmågan att identifiera melodier. Syfte/metod. Syftet var att studera hur barn med bilaterala CI (n = 23, M = 6,9 år) kunde diskriminera mellan tonhöjdsintervall med en semiton som minsta enhet och identifiera fem barnsångsmelodier jämfört med barn med normal hörsel (NH), (n = 27, M = 7,2 år). Melodierna presenterades i två betingelser: utan stöd av bilder (UB) samt med stöd av bilder (MB). Dessutom genomfördes en intervju om musik. Resultat. Förmågan att diskriminera tonhöjdsskillnader var mycket god. Melodier (UB): barn med CI klarade 11 %, barn med NH 52 %. Melodier (MB): barn med CI klarade 30 %, barn med NH 83 %. Analys av effektstyrka mätt i Cohens d visade moderata till stora skillnader mellan barn med CI/NH. Deskriptiv analys av intervjuerna visade positiva attityder till musik och att 77 % av barn med CI (100 % av barn med NH) tyckte om att lyssna på musik, och att flera barn hade favoritartister och favoritlåtar. Slutsats. Barn med CI hade mycket god förmåga att uppfatta tonhöjdsskillnader, men hade svårt att identifiera melodier. Resultatet bekräftar att melodiigenkänning är krävande för barn med CI. Trots de begränsningar som CI har beträffande musikåtergivning har barnen som grupp positiva attityder till musik. Det torde säga en del om den potential CI har i relation till musik, men ännu mer om den stora kapacitet som uppväxande barns hjärnor har.

Cette étude s'intéresse à l'adaptabilité de l'entretien prénatal du 4e mois, mesure phare du plan périnatalité (2005-2007), auprès d'une population de mères adolescentes. Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective (2007-2011) et comparative de 303 accouchements de femmes mineures dans les maternités hospitalières de Saint-Denis et Nantes. Le suivi de grossesse chez ces adolescentes reste globalement inférieur en qualité aux moyennes nationales françaises, mais des différences significatives sont observées lorsque l'on prend en compte des éléments sociodémographiques. Trois profils différenciés vont apparaître et permettre d'identifier les raisons sociales, familiales, environnementales et professionnelles qui peuvent expliquer des disparités significatives dans le suivi de grossesse. Tenir compte du profil sociodémographique de ces adolescentes est essentiel pour étudier les maternités précoces et pallier les vulnérabilités propres à cette population fragile. Un repérage des facteurs favorisant une surveillance de grossesse optimale chez ces jeunes femmes est mis en parallèle avec une réduction des risques obstétricaux et sociaux. / This study concerns prenatal fourth month interviews, key measure of the perinatal plan (2005-2007), as being adapted to a population of adolescent mothers. It is a retrospective (2007-2011) and comparative study of 303 births by underage women in the maternity hospitals of Saint-Denis and Nantes. The quality of medical care during pregnancy of these adolescents is generally inferior to national French averages, but significant differences are observed when sociodemographic elements are taken into account. Three different profiles appear and identify the social, family, environmental and professional reasons which explain these significant disparities during medical pregnancy care. Taking into account the sociodemographic profiles of these adolescents is essential to the study of early pregnancies and to mitigate the vulnerability specific to this fragile population. Finding the factors which further optimize medical pregnancy care for these young women is parallel to a reduction of obstetrical and social risks.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Diversity Studies, July 2017 / Transgender students in higher education in South Africa are increasingly coming out. Though this coming out at huge to cost for them in terms of personal safety, alienation. potential harassment, bullying and discrimination, this group of students are insisting that campuses should be inclusive and safe for everyone irrespective of their gender, sexuality and/or sexual orientation. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / XL2018

Submitted in accordance with the partial requirements for the degree of Masters in Community Based Counselling Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Witwatersrand, 2017 / Although research on violence has gained momentum over the last 3 decades, very little work on situational factors involved in violent enactments has been undertaken in South Africa. As a means to address this limitation, the aim of this project was to better understand the phenomenology of violence. Embedded in a psychosocial approach, the study subjected data collected through three staggered semi-structured interviews with nineteen incarcerated perpetrators of violent crime to a twostage secondary data analysis using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The first phase, aimed to provide a broad general phenomenological reading of these fifty-seven interviews. Thereafter, a more strategic and theory driven analysis was performed, building on the broader reports of the phenomenology of violence and the perceived situational factors. The evidence suggests that neoliberal policies and ideology may have a significant role in production of violent crime in the South African context, informing not only the behavioural repertoire of its constituency, but, also coming to shape the way in which perpetrators make meaning of their lifeworld and perpetration of violent crime. The analysis also found that impairments in mentalization appeared to play a role as a situational determinant in violent enactments, and interestingly it appeared to be influenced by a number of other relevant situational factors (e.g. the presence and use of illicit substances, peer and social presence and pressure, indicators of a possible threat to their wellbeing, the presence of gangsters, the presence of indicators of conspicuous consumption, as well as, indicators of the presence of moral disengagement). As such, this study provides strong support for further research aimed at understanding the ways in which violence comes to be produced by the structural processes of neoliberalism, it’s influence on the subjectivity of individuals in neoliberalized contexts, and its arguably corrosive effect on marginalized communities by way of its divestment, as well as, its arguably negative sociocultural impact. The project’s overall contribution to psychosocial approaches to violence lies in its demonstration of the value of bridging theories that span work on moral disengagement, conspicuous consumption, neoliberalism, mentalization theory, phenomenology, and violence. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Fine Arts, 2018 / This project consists of two parts: a selection of newly commissioned interviews with South African artists, titled Intent and Material: South African art in conversation, and a theoretical reflection on the significance of the artist interview in our local context, titled A Hermeneutics of Empathy: The artist interview in South Africa. Intent and Material contains interviews with Nicholas Hlobo, Zander Blom, Jody Maria Brand, Mikhael Subotzky, Bogosi Sekhukhuni and Ernest Cole. The accompanying thesis proposes the notion of a ‘hermeneutics of empathy’ as a way of thinking about artist interviews. This is a theoretical model, a wonderful phrase that draws together the work of N. Chabani Manganyi and Rita Felski, and suggests why the artist interview might be of interest in South Africa in 2018. At its best, an artist interview, through the push and pull between the two participants, reaches a level of thought about artistic practice that is rarely achieved in art criticism with a single author. The final, edited transcript has the potential to become an autonomous text that aides our understanding of an artist and the world they inhabit. Based on my reading of Manganyi and Felski, as well as Ronald Christ, Stacy Hardy and Ernest Mancoba, a new anthology of interviews with South African artists would be a meaningful contribution to local art criticism. It could achieve two separate but equally valuable goals: serve as an introduction to the local scene for curators and art historians from elsewhere, and contribute to a local literature on art that is of interest to non-specialists. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology by Coursework and Research Report, Johannesburg, 2017 / Experiences of transgender individuals in South Africa have largely remained marginalised and silenced by a discriminatory, gender binary and prescriptive society, in spite of progressive legislation within the constitution. The literature reviewed substantiated such experiences both within and outside of the South African transgender communities, further illuminating the need to deepen the understanding of transgender and gender identity dynamics. Through in depth face-to-face interviews with five self-identified adult transgender participants, the present study documented experiences identified as they navigated their gender identity and expression from dissonance towards gender congruency. The interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis. The results of the qualitative interviews revealed multiple beneficial factors as well as challenges whilst navigating gender congruent identity and expression. As a result, seven overarching themes were identified broadly defined as: (1) gender identity and dissonance; (2) gender expression; (3) challenges to gender congruency; (4) protective factors and coping strategies; (5) ‘coming out’; (6) toward gender congruent expression and (7) activism. / XL2018

This study examines the nature of learning organisations with a special focus on how these organisations manage to sustain and reinvent themselves despite changing contexts. In particular, the study focuses on one NGO operating in the South African education field. The intention of this research report is to determine how the specified organisation has been able to sustain and expand its operations while remaining effective and relevant despite changing political, economic and social contexts. The findings of the study have been drawn from interviews held with key personnel who presently work or previously worked for the organisation under study. Data from the interviews was triangulated with data extracted from the organisation’s annual reports. The data shows that the organisation grew from a regional entity to having offices all over South Africa. In order to do so, the organisation had to adapt to changing circumstances which it did by learning from experts and other organisations worldwide that were involved in similar pursuits. From these sources, the organisation learnt about innovative literacy materials and development strategies. The spearhead for many years behind these developments was a leader with a strong and charismatic personality and so, ultimately, it is difficult to distinguish between her personal learning and the organisational learning that took place.