No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 170-188).

The aim of this research was to explore the impacts that local culture in rural places has on women's experiences, and men's perpetration of domestic violence. The Australian literature on domestic violence is abundant. Feminist explanations have brought the issue to the public agenda, and informed services and responses. Yet, in recent years, such understandings have been criticised for being limiting and failing to recognise significant empirical differences in patterns of violence in society or to allow analysis of other factors that play an important role. Furthermore, despite the richness of domestic violence research, only a few Australian and overseas studies have looked specifically at domestic violence in rural areas. These studies have predominantly identified barriers that keep women trapped in abusive relationships. Some researchers have alluded to rural culture based on conservative, patriarchal belief systems and the pursuit of a rural idyll as being amongst these barriers, and have argued that the effects of patriarchal relationships and structures cannot be ignored. Other researchers have argued that the contexts and cultures of rural communities are changing, that there is not one rural community and culture but many varied rural communities and individual identities, and that these need to be understood and explored. Other than recommendations that rural culture needs to be explored, research has not yet concentrated on how local culture plays itself out in relationships between women and man where domestic violence exists in their lives. / Hence, this thesis aims to investigate this. It focuses on the impacts of local culture on rural women and men, specifically the impacts on domestic violence in a rural context. In this study, 'culture' is defined as meaning 'created by people to make sense of the world'. Their values, beliefs, ideas and opinions arise out of interactions with other people and are constructed out of the discourses available to them. / The study described in this thesis explored local culture in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia. The methodology and analysis were informed by feminist poststructural understandings of knowledge, as these enabled discourse analysis and an insight into women's and men's identities, and local power. Semi-structured interviews and investigations of local cultural texts were used to collect constrictions of local culture from local stories. Discourses dominating local culture were identified, and the way in which these impacted on domestic violence was analysed. / The study found several local cultural discourses that impacted on the issue of domestic violence. Discourses included self-reliance, pride, privacy, belonging and closeness, Christianity, and family. The power and influence of these discourses made it difficult to name, identify and challenge domestic violence in the Barossa Valley because it is entrenched as an acceptable expression of the local culture's overarching patriarchal discourse. / It has been argued that by listening to people's stories, it is possible to explore local culture in rural contexts and identify how particular understandings and interpretations of that culture impact on people and their experiences of domestic violence. Identifying and acknowledging discourses that have power and strength within the community make it possible to challenge discourses that silence domestic violence by making it difficult for women and men to seek assistance. However, analysis of, and any challenge to a specific local culture need to be sensitive to the community, as effecting change to address domestic violence works best if it is supported within that community. Therefore, it is imperative to learn about local culture from the community, and to do so with respect, openness, and willingness. Listening to communities provides a better opportunity to create alternative discourses that confront domestic violence. Using localised, feminist poststructural understandings and approaches enables exploration of different cultures in different rural contexts, and provides the analytical tools to move beyond the context of patriarchy to local understandings, community contexts, and community-owned solutions to domestic violence. Encouraging rural communities to define their local situations is important when trying to find local solutions to social issues. / This study recommends that when developing policy and practice for addressing domestic violence issues, it is crucial to provide locally-based and culturally-appropriate services if these are to be supported by the community and used by local people. Arguing for localised, feminist poststructural understandings and approaches to domestic violence provides directions for further research about domestic violence specifically in rural contexts, and more generally in other contexts. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2005.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (February 17, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 36-37)

Thesis (M (Security studies))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: One of the most distressing criminal activities has been the attacks on farmers since 1994 and for many years now our farming community has been plagued by these senseless acts of brutality. Since the early nineties there has been a steady increase in the occurrence of farm attacks in our country and the rising incidence of violent crimes on farms and smallholdings in South Africa has become a cause for great concern. The farming community in South Africa has a very significant function in the economy of the country as producers of food and providers of jobs and other commodities required by various other industries, such as the mining industry. They render an indispensable service to our country and therefore we have to ensure that this community receives the necessary safeguarding that is so desperately needed at this time. Farm attacks are occurring at alarming rates in South Africa, the Western Cape, and recently also in the Stellenbosch district. The phenomenon of farm attacks needs to be analysed in the context of the crime situation in general. The underlying reasons for crime are diverse and many, and need to be taken into account when interpreting the causes of crime in South Africa. To ensure that this research endeavour has practical value for the various parties involved in protecting rural communities, crime hotspots and circumstances in which crime occur were identified and used as a tool to provide the necessary protection and mobilisation of forces for these areas. The study focused on different theories in explaining the crime phenomenon. Information from the Stellenbosch SAPS was used to analyse the study area and to identify areas that can be classified as possible hotspots in the study area. Demographic and socio-economic determinants shed light upon the social structure in the study area and various environmental determinants were also used to generate a broader understanding to the social pandemic. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sedert 1994 is plaasaanvalle een van die mees ontstellende kriminele aktiwiteite van ons era. Die landbougemeenskap word al jare lank geteister deur hierdie sinnelose aktiwiteite. Sedert die vroeë negentigerjare is daar ’n stewige toename in die voorkoms van plaasaanvalle asook toenemende insidente van geweldsmisdade, wat tot groot kommer lei. Die landbougemeenskap in Suid-Afrika het ’n baie belangrike funksie in die ekonomie, aangesien hulle voedselvervaardigers is, werksgeleenthede skep en industrieë van sekere kommoditeite voorsien. Hulle lewer ’n onmiskenbare diens aan die land en daarom verdien hierdie gemeenskap die nodige beveiliging. Die aantal plaasaanvalle in Suid-Afrika, die Wes-Kaap en onlangs ook die Stellenboschomgewing, is skokkend. Hierdie fenomeen moet binne die konteks van algemene misdaad geanaliseer word. Die onderliggende redes wat aanleiding gee tot plaasaanvalle is divers, maar moet almal in gedagte gehou word wanneer die oorsake vir misdaad ondersoek word. Om te verseker dat hierdie navorsingspoging praktiese waarde toon vir diegene betrokke, behoort gebiede waar misdaad seëvier geïdentifiseer te word en dan gebruik te word om die nodige beskerming aan en mobilisering van polisiemagte binne hierdie gebiede te bied. Die studie fokus op verskillende teorieë wat gebruik kan word om die voorkoms van misdaad te verklaar. Inligting is van die Stellenbosch-polisiediens verkry om die voorkoms van misdaad in die studiegebied te verklaar en om probleemgebiede te identifiseer. Demografiese en sosio-ekonomiese veranderlikes kan lig werp op die sosiale struktuur van die studiegebied en kennis van omgewingsveranderlikes dra ook by tot ’n beter begrip van hierdie sosiale pandemie.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences / Department of Sociology