This thesis is an anthropological exploration of the contemporary role and use of radio sound in the home in Bristol, a city in the south west of England. Based on qualitative research, and taking an ethnographic approach, this study contributes to a growing field within social anthropology: the study of mass media. After establishing the ways in which the radio industry in the UK researches and constructs radio audiences, this thesis examines how academic research on audiences has operated in Britain. It is demonstrated how this thesis relates to, and is different from both of these perspectives. Radio sound is approached as a part of the material culture of the home. It is seen to contribute to domestic soundscapes. The medium of sound is investigated, and it is shown that radio sound has particular qualities that make it well suited to domestic, everyday life. It is revealed as aiding in the creative constitution of affective dimensions of the self in society. Domestic relationships, and the role of radio sound and affect are explored. Notions of intimacy and the role of fantasy in domestic relationships are investigated. Radio sound's role in mood creation for individuals in the home is then examined, and the notion of affective rhythms established. Radio sound's connecting powers are then given some attention; how radio sound helps to make links across time and space. Memories and nostalgia are shown to operate in creative and integrated ways in domestic contexts through the medium of sound. Finally, it is concluded that cultural knowledge and experience take place in large part in the sensory and affective dimensions of everyday life.

No description available.

No description available.

This essay deals with the individual collecting of four individuals with different backgrounds and lives. The essay investigates what, how and why people collect. It provides a stepping-stone in moving closer to understanding one, in human nature, deeply rooted phenomenon - collecting. The essay is based on a list of questions made by the Nordic Museum in Stockholm. It also includes in-depth examinations of four person’s passion of collecting, in which four individuals were interviewed: a pig collector, a collector of Mickey Mouse items, a multi-collector of objects from other cultures and one collector of items related to the artist Madonna. All of the collectors were driven by different factors, of which some were rooted far back in their childhood, and for some the urge to collect had increased because of difficulties in adult life. The investigation is based on the thesis that the market and the personal emotional feelings are the two main driving factors when it comes to collecting. This study and the people who participated in it, makes it clear that no market is strong enough to overcome the human mind and its will to decide what and how to collect. Although the market to some extent affect, for example by creating the availability or not, it is ultimately the emotional sense that decides how the collection would look like. This essay is meant to fill a gap of knowledge in the area of the individual collecting, and provide a better understanding of the driving forces that are deeply embedded in the soul of a collector.

This thesis has a number of aims. The first is to give an account of the social organization of a particular Amazonian society that of the Yaminahua, an indian group of South Eastern Peru. The descriptive part of the thesis gives an account of such things as: the organization of work and production, the structures and ,developmental cycles of households, communities and local groups, the organization of kinship and marriage. All these things present features common to many Amazonian societies: an economic system based on swidden agr iculture, hunting and fishing; small communities which regularly move to exploit new hunting grounds and garden sites; extended family residencial units; a fluid political system based upon the .consensus mobilized by headmen; a simple classificatory kin s hip terminology associated with bilate~al cross-cousin marriage; in short? a simple society with every appearance of extreme fluidity and minimal "structur-e". From a theoretical perspective, the thesis aims to reconcile this fluidity of social practice with the fact that there also exists, within Yaminahua ideology, a highly elaborate and systematic set of ideas about their own social stru~fure. These centre around a system of personal-name categories and moieties, which are in turn linked to concepts of a dual order inherent in the constitution of the world as a whole. The ·central question of the thesis, is; "How are we to understand this apparant paradox?", a question which it tries to answer by considering, firstly , the historical tran sformations of Yaminahua society over the last one hundred years, and secondly, at a more theoretical level, the intrinsic nature of the "fit" between this type of ideology (highly symbolic, highly logical - · - what used to be called a totemic system) with social practice an~ the exigencies of social life. Here the thesi s addresses certain issues arising from the debates about Levi-Straussian str ucturalism and the other types of symbolic analysis which have dominated this field in recent years. One of the assumptions of this work is that these have misrepresented Amazonian ideologies by flattening them out into a static web of analogies and symbols. It argues that these ideologies can only be under stood when their symbolic content is reintegrated with their conceptual content, and when their highly systematic aspects (ritual and totemic systems) are reintegrated with the much less systematic aspects, closer to the domain of every-day social concerns. This line of argument is demon strated with an extended consideration of shamanism, looking at its conceptual bases in theories of the person, spirit and causality. The discussion shows how these are intimately linked to the ideas of structure and order in the world already mentioned but also how, as a practical activity, it interweaves ideas and symbols quite independently of that structure and can, in no sense, be Understood as merely its expression or a means of reasserting it.

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Niederhoffer developed a scale in the early 1960s to measure the level of cynicism among police officials. Niederhoffer concluded that cynicism is prevalent among police officials and that professionalization of the police occupation is the root cause of cynicism. The Niederhoffer scale was subjected over years to a number of methodological tests. It was found to be multi-dimensional whilst some authors found that the scale is invalid. In this study, we confirmed these findings to some extent in that it was found that the Niederhoffer’s scale is indeed multi-dimensional and that it has a low internal reliability. This study also replicated some of Niederhoffer’s substantive hypotheses which were supported by our empirical data. The various dimensions of scale were also correlated with an Attitude Towards Organizational Change scale. It was found that cynicism is related most strongly to both fear of change and acceptance of change. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die vroeë 1960’s het Niederhoffer ‘n skaal ontwikkel om die vlakke van sinisme onder polisie-amptenare te meet. Niederhoffer vind sinisme onder polisie-amptenare en skryf dit toe aan die professionalisering van dié beroep. Niederhoffer se skaal is geruime tyd al aan ‘n aantal metodologiese toetse onderwerp en die bevinding was dat dit meerdimensioneel is, hoewel sommige outeurs dit ongeldig bevind het. In hierdie studie is ook bevind dat Niederhoffer se skaal meerdimensioneel is met ‘n lae interne betroubaarheidstelling. Die studie herhaal sommige van Niederhoffer se hipoteses en bied steun aan die meeste van sy hipoteses. Die verskeie skaaldimensies is met die Houding Teenoor Organisatoriese Verandering-skaal in verband gebring en die bevinding is dat sinisme aan beide vrees vir verandering en aanvaarding van verandering verwant is.

This thesis examines how Tibetan residents of different social backgrounds use and experience the space of the city of Lhasa. I mainly concentrate on young Tibetan rural migrants and document a number of similarities and differences between their spatial practices and those of young Tibetans from urban backgrounds. This thesis shows that my rural migrant informants generally gravitate towards the old quarter of the city, where they practise at religious sites, attend informal private schools, and reside in heavily religious and traditionalist domestic spaces. These spatial practices largely distinguish them from young Tibetans from wealthier families (particularly those of government workers) and who have previously lived in inland China: most often these youths frequent sinicised parts of the city, inhabit domestic spaces lacking religious objects, and are either less interested in or banned from engaging in religious practice. Despite these different orientations, however, the ethnography ultimately shows that a clear-cut distinction between villagers and urbanites cannot be drawn. By looking at both the city of Lhasa and nearby rural villages, the thesis shows that neither the former nor the latter are univocally traditionalist or modernising. Furthermore, informants’ practices both persist and change over time and while throughout the fieldwork some young migrant informants continued in their largely traditionalist engagements within Lhasa’s space, others changed their attitudes and started paying less attention to religion and traditionalist pursuits. To do justice to the changing orientations of my informants, I apply a dynamic theoretical model drawn from practice theory whereby practices and predispositions are shown to be resilient, but not fixed. Ultimately, this thesis proposes that, despite the presence of often-distinct orientations between villagers and urbanites in contemporary Lhasa, all young Tibetans in the city share a common socio-political terrain. In Lhasa, traditionalist predispositions persist, but social mobility, government control, and urbanisation also often lead to the development of more practical, secular, and sinicised attitudes.

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH SUMMARY: This study focuses on the shortage of labour in the rural areas of the Free State and, in direct contrast to the high unemployment figures and great demand for jobs. The upskilling of unskilled labour is one of South Africa’s biggest social problems. It is becoming ever more pressing given the increasing demand for skilled labour to adapt to technological advancement and the new information era. The South African government has created various initiatives and policies to accommodate and provide previously disadvantaged groups with opportunities for training and better life prospects. Viewing South Africa’s rural areas from a historical perspective may result in scepticism about the success of these training initiatives and question the commitment of private business towards these policies. Policies and regulations increasingly place greater administrative pressure on workplaces, which could lead to the expectation that training in companies would merely be regarded as an extra burden. The VKB, a local agricultural co-operative in the Free State, challenges this assumption. This study investigates the experiences and expectations of employees to determine the impact of training on individuals. Interviews with employees and management in the company show that training plays a crucial role in producing solidarity in a stable workplace environment. For both groups, government-proposed education and training are regarded as very important in their own lives and for the future development of South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die tekort aan arbeid wat in die plattelandse gebiede van die Vrystaat ondervind word, in teenstelling met die hoë werkloosheidsyfer en behoefte aan werksgeleenthede in dié gebied. Die verdere opleiding van ongeskoolde arbeid is een van Suid-Afrika se grootste maatskaplike probleme. Dié kwessie raak al hoe meer relevant gegewe die groter aanvraag na geskoolde arbeid om aan te pas by tegnologiese vooruitgang en die eise van die inligtingsera. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering het verskeie inisiatiewe en beleide ingestel om opleidingsgeleenthede en beter vooruitsigte vir voorheen benadeelde groepe daar te stel. As die Suid-Afrikaanse platteland vanuit ’n historiese perspektief beskou word, kan ’n mens skepties staan teenoor die wyse waarop sakeondernemings hierdie beleide sal aanvaar en toepas. Hierbenewens plaas beleide en wetgewing ook geweldige administratiewe druk op ondernemings, wat aanleiding kan gee tot die vermoede dat maatskappye opleiding slegs as ’n ekstra las sou beskou. Die VKB, ’n plaaslike landboukoöperasie in die Vrystaat, bewys egter die teendeel van hierdie aanname. Dit bring hierdie studie tot die punt van ondersoek, waar die ervaring en verwagtings van werknemers ondersoek word om vas te stel watter impak opleiding op individue het. Persoonlike onderhoude met werknemers en die bestuur dui daarop dat opleiding ’n belangrike faktor is wat samehorigheid in ’n stabiele werksomgewing in die hand werk. Albei groepe beskou opleiding en onderrig, soos voorgestel deur die regering, as uiters belangrik in hulle eie lewens en vir die algehele ontwikkeling van Suid-Afrika.

The manner in which our ancestors and ancestor species negotiated their physical and social environments has had consequences for how we engage with artefacts today. Like language, the ability to attribute significance and meaning to artefacts is evolved and consists of a suite of interconnected adaptations. A model is articulated which, it is claimed, accommodates all the possible ways in which humans attribute significance and meaning to artefacts. It consists of two halves. Each element is considered in turn and accounts of their evolutionary origins are constructed. This sequence moves from the oldest to the most recently evolved: thus the first half - the sensory-kinetic-affective mode - includes ancient, reflexive, sensory (including the physical and kinetic) and perceptual responses originating in our ancestor species’ negotiation of their organic and inorganic environment; and the affective responses such as technical and aesthetic pleasures arising from such responses. The second half – the symbolic-narrative mode - embraces the attribution of symbolic or narrative meanings to artefacts which, I propose, prefigured, or co-evolved with the emergence of language and, like language, is an expression of symbolic thought. I argue that where symbolic meaning is intentionally ascribed to an artefact, some account will be taken of the data delivered by the sensory-kinetic-affective mode, such that those intending the meaning will often seek consonance between that data and the meaning intended, in order to strengthen the power of the artefact to act as an agent of social mediation. A central role is ascribed to a sensibility towards style, as the mechanism by which the two halves are united. This sensibility is highly attuned to physical characteristics, with the objective of intuiting something of the character, make-up and therefore, likely future behaviour of the maker, owner, or other with whom the artefact is associated. I call this resultant data tacit social intelligence. It is argued that practices which evolved during the 100,000 years or so in which Homo sapiens created artefacts by hand, using simple tools, despite the changed circumstances of manufacture, economics, technology and social and political organisation, have persisted into historical times and remain active today. In particular, artefacts continue physically to represent accumulations of behaviour. Thus, in creating or choosing to be associated with an artefact, we are conscious that others will interrogate it for signs of the behavioural values we are seen to esteem.

The thesis, in exploring how and why illiberal pre-1945 Polish nationalism and political Catholicism were synthesised into a post-1945 liberal political culture of opposition under communism, argues that this process was much aided by universal myths. The thesis shows how these myths enable political culture to be transmitted over time and to be adapted to take on different values and yet retain legitimacy. In so doing, the research may contribute insights into how the political cultures of other Central East European countries were similarly transformed. Chapter 1 argues that the social anthropological literature on myths provides a theoretical framework to better understand the nature of political culture, its dynamics and its relationship with the process of democratisation. Chapter 2 maps the pre-1945 territory of nationalist and political Catholic illiberal and liberal discourse as reflected in the genesis and meanings of key myths. Chapter 3, in exploring how pre-1945 myths were deployed in 1945-1989 Poland, illuminates the relationship of myths with the dynamics of political culture and democratisation. Chapter 4 explores the 1970-1976 process of dialogue between liberal-leaning dissident Catholic and secular left Polish intelligentsia. The chapter sheds light upon the emergence of a liberal political culture of opposition and argues that the dialogue went beyond expediency. Chapter 5, in demonstrating how and why John Paul II deployed pre-1945 myths, argues that the Pope's preachings found practical expression in the formation of Solidarity. Chapter 6 in exploring the role of pre-1945 myths in influencing Solidarity, argues that these myths acted as vehicles for the union's liberal political culture. Finally Chapter 7 draws together the conclusions of the thesis.