This dissertation focuses on Zulu men‟s interpretation of masculinity in the context of changing gender relations in South Africa. It seeks to achieve this objective by taking into consideration the cultural and faith practices that influence the formation of Zulu men‟s masculine identities. The formation of masculine identities is crucially important especially with regard to the current gendering order of society where masculinity is often implicated in the violent acts and spread of HIV. However, this study seeks to show how the advent of the democratic transition in South Africa, especially with regard to the Constitutional values of 1996, has dismantled some of the dominant cultural and faith practices of Zulu men. There are number of types of masculinities including hegemonic, subordinate, complicit, and marginal which are in contestation and tension with one other. The current level of violence against women and children, substance abuse, famicide, HIV infection, reckless driving and crime are some of the outcomes of hegemonic masculinities in turmoil. The „new way‟ of becoming men is non-violent, nurturing, and mutual in relationships, and committed to the principles of the South African Constitutional values. They represent an ideal type of being a man in South Africa that is admired by women who have lost trust in and fear men. However, the traditionalists perceive these characteristics of being a man as compromising their masculinity. Their response to change suggests that men feel disrespected in the home, community, and society are not favored by law, which now has high regard for women. In some sectors of society, women still experience “dis-empowerment” in the workplace and the home but do not necessarily project their anger on men. Instead, they join hands and challenge unjust structures, and fight to be valued as citizens in the state, home and society. Hegemonic masculinities have shown vulnerability to change which is often manifest in immature behavior, low self-esteem, uncertainty, and fear. This suggests that there is a struggle to come to terms with change in traditional masculine norms. This study has also shown that in religious institutions the gender hierarchy is evident in places of worship, images of God, understandings of Christ as man, liturgies, and use of biblical texts. Religious men tend to perceive themselves as representing and speaking on behalf of God with women relegated to submissive roles. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

This dissertation critically reviews chilangizo in the Baptist Convention of Malawi (BACOMA) and assesses its impact on Chewa society. Christian History has shown that the Christian attitude towards traditional customs and practices surrounding life cycle rituals has ranged from negative and hostile to positive and acceptance, resulting in offering alternative 'Christian' rituals. The issue of chilangizo and chinamwali have been a real pastoral and missiological problem to the Baptist Convention churches because of the churches' failure to understand the meaning of the traditional rites in the light of the mother tongue Scriptures. This study aims at guiding the Church in Malawi and in Africa to engage with more openness with the cultural issues. This should assist BACOMA to thoroughly understand this cultural phenomenon and the meanings associated with all aspects of the rites. Studying the Scriptures to understand how they reinterpret chinamwali and its associated meanings should lead BACOMA churches into an interactive process of discussion, reflection, teaching and action. This study is therefore an attempt to begin this process and make recommendations for BACOMA. After the introductory chapter, the second chapter gives a survey of the 'religious itinerary' of the Chewa pre-Christian life and thought. The third chapter traces the emergence of BACOMA churches within the American Southern Baptists' religious and Western cultural contexts on one hand, and the African context on the other. The fourth chapter gives a phenomenological description and analysis of chinamwali. It also shows the socio-religious significance of chinamwali within the Chewa culture. The fifth chapter surveys the historical context of chilangizo as the Christian response to the traditional rite. It then analyses the Baptist chilangizo liturgy and its contents. The sixth chapter gives the phenomenological description and analysis of chilangizo at the grassroots level. It also assesses its impact and makes recommendations towards an improved rite. In view of the assessment and recommendations made in chapter six, the final chapter allows the Chewa Scriptures to re-interpret the rite and its meanings. It also presents a proposed Christian chinamwali that maintains the traditional ritual frame and dynamism. The proposal leaves room for creativity and improvement by the individual congregations. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

This study explores the perceptions of the first formal cohort of Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) students in the Somatology Department to determine the effects it has had on the social identity of these students. The Somatology ECP was one of the pioneer extended programmes offered in higher education in South Africa. The aim of the programme is to assist under-prepared students and to attend to the transformation of the programme. It is hoped that the insight gained from investigating how these ECP students perceive their situation, opportunities and experiences in relation to their full curriculum peers, can provide relevant awareness in future curriculum development of any programme using this type of extended curriculum model. In curriculum design, the focus is frequently on the academic sphere, with minimal attention to the social development of the student. In recent years there has been a movement in academia to understand the students’ experience holistically in order to develop curricula which successfully improve their academic performance. Although some research has been conducted into foundation provision offered predominantly to address the concern of low throughput rates, few studies have been conducted to determine the effects of these types of programmes on the students’ social identity. Thirteen students that were currently registered in the Somatology Extended Curriculum Programme were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, and content analysis was used to identify the main themes from the data. The two main themes that emerged were that students believed the ECP programme had assisted them with the transition from high school to University. They had also constructed and adopted a particular group identity but still become fully integrated with the Full Curriculum students in their second year. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Through an analysis of Cree concepts of well-being, I challenge conventional social scientific definitions of health. In this dissertation I argue that there exists a fundamental biomedical dualism in health studies and, using cross-cultural examples, explore an expanded notion of "health". I then introduce the Cree concept of miyupimaatisiiu ("being alive well") and explain that for the Whapmagoostui Cree there is no term that translates back into English as health. I present the core symbols of "being alive well" and in their analysis find a persistence of traditional meanings. For the Cree "being alive well" is consonant with "being Cree", simultaneously transcending the individual and reflecting current political realities. Miyupimaatisiiu for the adult Cree of Whapmagoostui is a strategy of cultural assertion and resistance and hence situated within the realm of political discourses.

Neither currently prevalent justifications of punishment, nor a modified, contractarian version of a justification that I develop here, can be used to justify actual state punishment, even if some forms of punishment may remain legitimate. I argue in this thesis that alternative punitive practices such as developed by some Canadian aboriginal communities are more likely to conform to the criteria of punitive justice developed by standard justifications, as well as being more likely to conform to criteria developed in feminist ethics.

This study uses two survey data - one conducted in Kyrgyzstan and another in the United States - to examine the effect of familial responsibilities, cultural expectations and tradition in Kyrgyzstan on young adults' decision to marry a foreigner. It predicted there would be certain gender and ethnic differences in migration of 18 to 30 years old young adults, citizens of Kyrgyzstan. Two assumptions were explored: 1) females, more than males, would like to marry a foreigner and stay in a foreign country and 2) Russian, more than Turkic respondents would like to stay in a foreign country if they found a mate who was a foreigner. These differences were expected due to contrasting familial responsibilities of females versus males and Russian versus Turkic young people. Familial responsibilities did not explain the gender and ethnic differences in marriage migration. The gender variable suggests further investigation whereas the ethnic differences show a stronger effect on the marriage migration. Russians, more than Turkic young adults, wanted to marry a foreigner since they wanted to emigrate from Kyrgyzstan eventually and did not want to return. / Department of Sociology

As the efficacy of cancer treatments has improved and the life span for cancer patients has extended, interest in patients' quality of life has increased. Assessing patients' quality of life continues to gain importance as it impacts numerous facets of oncology. Similarly, interest in spirituality and religiosity have increased as they become recognized as resources for healing in health care. This study examined spirituality and religiosity and their relationship with quality of life in cancer patients. Additional variables such as age, gender, and stage of cancer were also examined for their relationship to quality of life in cancer patients. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to determine if spirituality, religiosity, age, gender, and stage of cancer are predictors of cancer patients' quality of life. The analysis indicated that patients with higher levels of spirituality tend to experience better quality of life, and patients with more advanced stages of cancer tend to experience lower quality of life. Religiosity, age, and gender were not predictors of cancer patients' quality of life. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This thesis argues that since baseball is "America's National Game" and Muncie, Indiana, is commonly perceived as "Middletown USA," that Muncie baseball should be very reflective of the national game and serve as a microcosm for both national and local social changes. A detailed historical account of baseball in Muncie, Indiana, from 1876 to 1953 is provided which serves as an excellent model of the importance of semi-professional baseball in a small city.This project has uncovered some interesting facts about the role of sports because baseball was actually treated in Muncie more as entertainment than as a sport. The real reason for the success of Muncie baseball was the constant availability of quality baseball parks and that appears to be an important criteria for a successful semi-professionalbaseball club.Muncie was very reflective of the "National Game" as the Pittsburgh Pirates held spring training during World War II in Muncie and the Cincinnati Reds supported a Class "D" farm club from 1946 to 1950. Such national attention from major league clubs was a product of a very rich Muncie baseball tradition. / Department of History

The thesis examines the use of traditional literacy promulgated by the Koranic schools among the Berti in the Northern Darfur Province of the Republic of the Sudan. This literacy is restricted both in the scope of its use as well as in its social distribution, which remains limited to religious specialists - fakis. Instead of leading to a change in the traditional mode of thought, Berti literacy contributes considerably to maintaining the homeostatic tendency supposedly characteristic of oral societies. Literacy plays an important role in the Berti religious life. The words of God contained in the Koran and other books widely used by the fakis are considered to be sacred, and an important aspect of Berti religion is their internalisation in the form of memorisation, drinking of erasure and the retaining of amulets (hijbat). The repetition of sacred words is used as a means of invoking God in communal rituals and the rites of passage. Literacy underlies book divination practised by the fakis and its literate origin is the ultimate sanction of sand divination which is primarily practised by the illiterate Berti. In their use of the sacred words in healing, divination, communal rituals, rites of passage and the preparation of amulets and erasure, Berti fakis impose their own meaning on the Koranic text which differs considerably from its theological meaning. The thesis includes translation and analysis of over 50 original texts pertaining to erasure writing, amulets, book divination and communal rituals. Photocopies of 25 original amulets are presented in the thesis and the majority of them are translated and commented upon.

The Dene are a subarctic people indigenous to northern Canada. The indirect and direct contact the Dene had with the European traders and Christian missionaries who came to their land around the turn of the 20th century triggered profound changes in their society and economy. This study focuses on some of these changes, and, particularly, on how they have affected the lives of Dene women who inhabit the small community of Fort Liard, which is located in the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. / Using as context the formal and informal economy and the concept of the model of production, the author proposes two main ideas: first, "nurturing" or "social reproduction" and "providing" or "production" are vital and integral to the Dene's subsistence economy and concept of work; second, it is through the custom of "seclusion" or female puberty rites that the teaching and learning of these responsibilities occurred. Dene women played a pivotal role in this process. The impositions of external government, Christianity, capitalism, and free market economics have altered Dene women's concept of work. / The Dene women of Fort Liard are presently working to regain the social and economic status they once had. However, reclaiming their status in current times involves recognizing conflicting and contradictory ideologies in the workplace. The goal of these Dene women is, ultimately, to overcome economic and ideological obstacles, to reinforce common cultural values, and to reaffirm the primacy of their own conceptions of family and community. The goal of this study is to identify and examine the broad spectrum of factors and conditions that play a role in their struggles.