S’khothane: Representation in, and influence on, contemporary visual arts practices For several years now, S’khothane youth culture has been viewed as a social ill. This view started after it received massive broadcast and print media coverage during the course of 2012. Crews claiming adherence to S’khothane were interviewed by investigative journalism programmes on two of South Africa’s most watched television channels, eTV and SABC1. While some townships1 in Gauteng claim to have been the birthplace of S’khothane, this subculture appears to be based on various other subcultures that preceded it. Cultures such as Swenkas (Umswenko), Sapeurs (La Sape) and Pantsula influenced various aspects of the S’khothane culture, from dance and poses, to dress style and performances. References made to S’khothane in studies by Mkhwanazi (2011) and Jones (2013a) as well as mass media coverage on programmes such as 3rd Degree (2015) and Cutting Edge, have generally been negative. Jones (2013a:210) describes S’khothane as a disruptive manifestation of consumption, which involves publicly destroying expensive designer clothes, shoes and accessories to show that these symbols of wealth are meaningless and easily replaceable. This study explores the representation of S’khothane in selected contemporary visual artworks and assesses any influence it might have on these artworks. The study also investigates public perceptions about the S’khothane youth culture and evaluates these against realities documented during data collection to determine whether the perceptions were premised on misconceptions. A group of participants was randomly selected from S’khothane events that took place in Fountains Valley (Pretoria), Soshanguve, Tembisa and other S’khothane gatherings held in places such as recreational parks and taverns. The participants were interviewed to gain insight into their perspective of the S’khothane culture, to establish the culture’s origin, its practises and elements. S’khothane is widely integrated and visually appropriated in the visual language of selected contemporary South African art practices. To this end, this research extends into a focused analysis of selected artworks in order to demonstrate how S’khothane influences selected contemporary visual arts practice in Gauteng. Through this approach, it becomes clear that these modes of representation embody no explicit moral judgement as one might find in investigative journalism programmes. There is a subtlety in the way S’khothane is represented by selected artists. In the Jamalaun Nxedlana artworks discussed, there is an element of realism depicted in the absence of manipulation through the documentation. On the other hand, Kudzanai Chiurai’s form of representation involves manipulation because he produced his visual artworks in a studio where he used props and had the ability to control the composition of the artwork. Nontsikelelo Veleko made a representation of various S’khothane elements including colourful clothes and accessories such as sunglasses. The study also investigates how S’khothane lifestyles, dance, poses, clothing and performances are trends shaped influenced by other subcultural historic groups such as Swenkas (Umswenko), Sapeurs (La Sape) and Pantsula; giving them fad status, whether it be morally correct or not. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Visual Arts)

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published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / abstract / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / SPACE / Master / Master of Arts

This thesis studies consumption among young people who identify as mainstreamers in a Swedish small town. In order to map patterns of clothing consumption and to understand what was central in the young people’s self-identification, the research was conducted using a mix of ethnographic methods and wardrobe studies. This is an inverted study of the subcultural, that problematizes the assumption that the majority (the mainstream) and the minority (the countercultural) are opposites when it comes to identity creation. The central concepts used here are ordinary (vanlig), mainstream, and subculture. One of the main findings is that the youth studied self-identify as ordinary. This finding is used to problematize not only the traditional markers of masculinity and femininity as they present themselves in this context, but also what is characterized as new patterns of consumption. There are two main conclusions. First, being mainstream and ordinary was not a static identity position, as the literature would have it; instead, being an ordinary mainstreamer required constant work in order to stay within certain culturally negotiated boundaries. Second, the ethnographic findings contribute in the field of subcultural studies by questioning the convention of portraying the mainstream and the subcultural as polar opposites: contrary to the literature, it is argued that neither is so very different from the other, making it an unhelpful dichotomy in understanding young people today.

Syfte: Syftet är att öka förståelsen för hur olika yrkeskategorier uppfattar organisationskultur och med den förståelsen belysa vikten av hur sjukhus kan arbeta med organisationskultur för att kunna möta framtidens växande och åldrande befolkning.                                                    Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med en abduktiv ansats som behandlar fenomenet organisationskultur. Studiens datainsamlingsmetod består av en kombination av och med enskilda intervjuer, fokusgrupp, observationer och insamlade dokument som bygger på och stärker varandra.                                                                                                       Slutsats: Vi har genom denna studie fått en ny insikt i att yrkeskategorier i första hand relaterar organisationskultur till sig själva och att det kan vara individens sätt att uppfatta sin plats i organisationen. Organisationskultur blir således något som var och en förhåller sig till utifrån sin egen referensram och att den enskilda professionen, arbetsuppgiften, enheten, verksamhetsområdet eller sjukhuset återspeglar sättet att se på organisationskultur. / Purpose: The purpose is to increase the understanding of how different job types apprehend organizational culture which light the importance of how hospitals can work with organizational culture. This to be able to meet the increasing needs of future growing and ageing population in a more comprehensive effort. Method: The study has a qualitative research strategy with a cross-sectional approach which examining the organizational culture as a phenomenon. The data consists of separate interviews, focus group, observations and collected documents all of which build upon and bolster each other in an effort to support the hypothesis. Conclusion: Through this study we received new insight and knowledge which made us understand that individuals relate organizational culture to themselves, which can be the individual's way of perceiving their place in the organization. Organizational culture is furthermore something that individuals relate to through their own frame of reference and that the individual's profession, assignment, unit, work area or hospital influences the way individuals look upon organizational culture.

Within this thesis I explore what can be achieved when culture is critically assessed through a series of theories that mobilise a spatial imaginary. I place the concepts of atmosphere, connection, site and encounter, and theories of emergence via terms such as movement, practice and embodiment, into tension with a single case study: Goth. Goth is a music based grouping, emerging from Punk, New Romantic, Indie and Glam Rock style and music cultures in the late 1970s, with a significant near-global presence in the popular culture industries and links to several salient media controversies; including the Columbine High School massacre, the murder of Sophie Lancaster, and fears over self-harm and suicide. I specifically draw on the vocabularies from within non-representational geographies of performance, relational materiality, affect and social anxiety to re-work understandings of this collectivity. I question what is involved in the material practices of Goth, explore how the practice and experience of Goth is articulated through specific sites, examine how Goth participates in the production and circulation of cultures of anxiety or (un)popularity; and reconsider the concept of ‘subculture’. To do so, I employ a range of methodologies, from guided walks to photo-diaries, within multi-site field research throughout the UK, Tokyo and New York City. I conclude that Goth and culture more generally can be theorised in a number of ways: it emerges as a performed series of embodied acts; it is co-produced in complex relations with non-humans; it can be thought of as a series of modulating affective atmospheres; it coalesces as a collectivity and circulates through events; and it is co-produced through sites and media events. None of these dominates over or diminishes the other; rather they are co-constitutive and interdependent.

Textual accompaniment to the exhibition Blizzard Skitch. This thesis discusses parallels between body cognition in skateboarding and object cognition in sculpture and architecture.

Univerzita Karlova v Praze Filozofická fakulta katedra kulturologie DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCE Jana Velichová Volný čas jako fenomén dnešní doby Praha 2012 Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Ondřej Hubáček, Ph.D. 2 Abstrakt Leisure time is topical problem of the modern society, as well as a multidimensional phenomenon. It is associated with a number of other current issues that affect various areas of the life of the society. The thesis focuses on their identification, their historical development, and their reflection from the point of view of social sciences. It attempts to interpret them as socio-cultural phenomena. These problems manifest themselves in quite divergent areas, such as gender differences, influence of technology and the media on the society, economic behaviour of people, self- presentation, social activities, impact of new technology, dissemination of socially pathological phenomena, escapist functions of the media, creation and reproduction of social networks and social groups. The thesis applies an axiological and non- axiological approach to the examined phenomena. The solution of the topic is complemented with findings relating to the specified problems, which have been obtained through an empirical survery.