A thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Arts University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts / The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of social support for African women labouring aione in a Westernized hospital setting. Two high stress groups of first-time mothers, were studied; a mildly hypertensive group and a teenage group. the results indicated support to be moderately effective in both groups. Factors such as the cultural background, the apartheid system, social influences and the environment in which the mothers live may have impacted on the effectiveness of the support. / AC 2018

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of the Arts (Media Studies) in the Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, March, 2017 / Many young black aspirational South African women are involved in the construction of their identities, and their ideal selves, through their self-display on Instagram. Within the framework of certain hegemonic structures, these women are seen exercising their ‘freedom’ within a post-feminist setting, as neoliberal citizens, and thus striving for a sense of empowerment from this engagement. This project explores the self-display of 10 of these young women that have each accumulated more than 10,000 followers on Instagram. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of them, and their Instagram images were analysed, in order to find out how their online performances relate to consumption and global celebrity culture, and how these ideologies are depicted in their images. They draw inspiration from certain black female celebrities such as Beyoncé and Rihanna, and their emulation of these celebrities is used in their identity construction. They do this by displaying a lifestyle of glamorous consumption by incorporating certain exclusive brands and fashionable items into their online presentation. Additionally, they modify and model themselves to fit a specific beauty ideal, which is characterized by long straight hair, fair skin and a curvaceous body. By doing all of this, these young women are, by their own definition attaining a level of ‘success’, and achieve the status of ‘Insta-Celeb’ by the Instagram community. The ideological frameworks on which this construction is built, involves a collective imperative to be liked and accepted by their online followers, the desire for status, and the contradictory creation of a faux idea of female empowerment that is, in reality, not actually as free as it seems. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation. Johannesburg, 2017 / South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, with youth unemployment sitting at 37.5 percent in 2016. In an attempt to remedy South Africa’s unemployment, the government sought entrepreneurship as a solution. The South African government has implemented various policies and established numerous institutional bodies to accelerate entrepreneurship. Some of these policies and bodies are aimed specifically at enhancing entrepreneurship among the youth. In order to understand the best approach to assist these young entrepreneurs, it is important to understand what drives performance in current young entrepreneurs’ enterprises. This paper evaluated the impact that entrepreneurial capital (human, social, and financial capital) had on the performance of youth-owned enterprises. It surveyed 199 young entrepreneurs (between 18 and 35 years old) to understand what drives performance within their enterprises. The research found that there were high levels of performance within youth-owned enterprises, when there were high levels of human capital and social capital. However, there was a negative relationship between financial capital and the performance of youth-owned enterprises. Overall, the research concluded that high levels of entrepreneurial capital had a positive relationship with the performance of youth-owned enterprises. The objective of this study was to understand what drives the performance of youth-owned enterprises, in order to best facilitate government assistance and support for young entrepreneurs. The outcome suggests that human capital and social capital drive performance of youth-owned enterprises, it would thus be advisable for the South African government to focus on those two variables when drafting policies and forming institutional bodies to enhance youth entrepreneurship. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing Johannesburg, 2016 / Worldwide, visual content, such as photos and videos, have increased dramatically on social network sites (SNS), with South Africa being no exception. Due to these developments, marketers are increasingly interested in the factors that impact the usage of these sites, in order to develop branded content that will attract and engage users. However, there is a lack of academic research revealing how individual consumer factors, such as personality, influence SNS users’ preferences for different types of content on SNS, particularly within an emerging market such as South Africa. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between two personality traits – need for cognition (NFC) and need for affect (NFA) – and visual and verbal content preference on SNS in South Africa. The study also briefly examined whether demographic variables (gender and age) and SNS usage factors had an impact on the relationships between these variables. An online survey and pen-and-paper questionnaire were conducted. 307 social network site users were obtained primarily from two South African universities through convenience sampling. Data was analysed using correlation analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and standard multiple linear regression on SPSS. The main findings showed that personality does have an influence (albeit small) on SNS users’ preference for visual or verbal content, and warrants consideration by marketing organisations in the design of SNS content. Visual content preference on SNS was found to have a positive relationship with NFA and a negative relationship with NFC. Verbal content preference had a positive relationship with NFC but no significant relationship with NFA. Demographic and SNS usage variables showed mixed results in their impact on SNS content preference. It was recommended that future studies include other variables that could affect SNS content preference, as well as use more objective measures (rather than self-reporting) to determine SNS users’ actual behaviour. Key words: Social network sites, personality traits, need for cognition, need for affect, visual content, verbal content, South Africa, emerging market / GR2018

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 in Arts (Development Studies), August 2017 / This study examines the new online phenomenon called Black Twitter and the publics that have been formed on this platform in regards to issues affecting black lives. Specifically, it not only introduces to the reader the South African Black Twitter market, but more importantly, it looks at how Black Twitter users construct and articulate their gender identities online. This is done through analyzing trending topics, particularly, through a specific hashtag (#IFApartheidDidntHappen) and accounts (@blak_terrorist and @KasiMlungu) which offer rich insight around racial identities and enables one to analyze the content and possible discourses that come into play on this Black Twitter platform. This paper also contributes to the growing literature on the growing black middle-class by exploring how Black Twitter is providing a voice to groups that were historically excluded from the mainstream media discourse. The key purpose of this paper was to explore, as has been suggested, Black Twitter as a public platform and how its young group of users are moving into spaces to challenge the status quo and change historically dominant discourses. / XL2018

This study explored the social networks and social support of parents in Embo and Molweni, two villages of KwaDedangendlale outside Durban. The study is part of a larger South African project, CHAMP-SA (Collaborative HN/AIDS Adolescent Mental Health Project). CHAMP-SA is an adaptation of CHAMP which originated in the USA. CHAMP works with pre-adolescents and their families in addressing parenting issues with the aim of re-establishing the adult protective shield for these children. The current study evaluates the social network component of the pilot phase of CHAMP-SA. The first part of the current study was quantitative and employed a repeated measures quasi-experimental design intervention with both the experimental and control groups. The second, qualitative part used individual interviews to interrogate the results of the quantitative data. Content analysis was used to determine what factors impeded or enhanced the process of social networking. Bronfenbrenner's Systemic Ecological Theoretical Model was used to understand these at a personal, interpersonal and community level. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Narcissism is increasingly being regarded as one of the biggest socio-cultural problems of the contemporary era. Indeed, recent studies by Baldwin and Stroman (2007) and Buffardi and Campbell (2008), among others, have advanced that new media technologies – in particular social networking websites – have significantly exacerbated the rise and spread of narcissism in contemporary society. Based on this premise, namely that social media provide the perfect platform for the promotion of self-infatuation, this research project will provide a critical analysis of the potential influence of social media in the development of a widespread narcissistic socio-cultural condition. In this regard, claims that increasingly consumerist, individualist and media-saturated societies are nurturing a culture of extreme narcissism, vanity and entitlement, will be examined in relation to an increase in the use of consumerorientated new media technologies. In particular, by examining the structural components of the popular social networking site, Facebook, this treatise will highlight the connection between the use of this form of new media and the engenderment of an acutely consumerist and narcissistic subjectivity – namely, commodity narcissism. That is, by examining the growth of narcissism from the 1940s through to the new millennium, the role of the media, and most recently new media technologies, in the promotion of commodity narcissism will be examined as factors of particular significance in the formation of contemporary subjectivity. In relation to this, the impact of commodity narcissism on the perpetuation and propagation of capitalist isolation, alienation and insecurity will be investigated with a view to exploring the potential impact of such narcissism on the efficacy of the democratic process. Finally, some remedial measures, which co-opt rather than negate such social media, will be proposed.

In the absence of governmental programs which facilitate and support integration, this study looks at strategies that migrants, and in particular migrant children themselves, develop and the experience they have of the process of integration into the South African host society. Thereby, this study assesses the role that informal social networks play for migrant learners at inner-city schools in Johannesburg with regards to their integration into the school environment in particular and into the broader host society in general. Following a case study approach, I primarily focused on the school, namely Jules High School, as an environment where such networks exist since the school environment is considered as a place where social contacts and interactions with the host population necessarily occur that can be vital in support of integration. In order to explore the role of informal social networks for migrant learners, quantitative interviews with 98 Jules High School students (survey) were conducted, complemented by a focus group discussion as well as qualitative interviews with three key informants.

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 Art in International relations, 2017 / This research project investigates public opinions about South African mall robberies discussed on Twitter. Using the principles of discourse and multimodal analysis, it provides critical insights constructed from the represented narratives of select, proposed middle-class consumers illustrating distinct sentiments about malls, crime and shopping. Malls are empirical objects that have been trivialised as ordinary and mundane consumer sites, devoid of any sociological significance embedded within the daily practices of shopping. This paper makes the argument that when contested by criminal activity, malls become valuable sites for critical enquiry towards gaining a deeper understanding of what these shopping attitudes mean within a post-apartheid, South African consumer landscape. The central issue of crime threatening public safety at malls diverges into an array of thematic discussions, revealing distinct indoctrinations surrounding apartheid’s iniquitous system of racial and social engineering. This study’s principle argument makes the claim that anxieties concerning public safety are only the tip of the iceberg, and this serves as an entry point into a discourse contesting exclusive shopping rights above constitutional equality for all. The test tube of mall robberies mixes desirable pleasures and humanitarian moralities together and creates a volatile cocktail of conflicting, consumer aspirations. In short, the public discourse of mall crimes is about maintaining self-entitled spaces of exclusivity within a desperate socioeconomic climate. This study concludes with questions and considerations raised by these authors which could springboard into opportunities for future inquiry. / XL2018

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African government has laws and policies that forbid discrimination against individuals. These policies protect people from being discriminated against in the workplace due to sickness, race and many other factors. Discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS has caused many people who suffer from this disease not to come forward with their illness because they fear being discriminated against and stigmatised; some even lose their jobs because they are infected with HIV. People infected with HIV are discriminated against not only in the workplace but also in their communities and families. This implies that people living with HIV/AIDS need support from all levels of society in order to live positive lives, which may lead infected people to live longer. This study explored HIV/AIDS as terminal illness and the stressors experienced by people infected with the virus. This was done by examining the support available to people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as identifying the support needed by these people. By adopting an ecological approach to the study, the need for support could be investigated on multiple levels. A combination of a quantitative and qualitative research design was used in the study. Data were gathered by means of a semi-structured interview schedule that was administered during individual interviews with service providers. This allowed for data that were both measurable as well as rich in description to be collected. The questions in the semi-structured questionnaire were based on the information retrieved from the literature review. The findings from the empirical investigation revealed that people living with HIV/AIDS receive limited support from their families, the South African government and society at large. The findings further indicated that informal sources of support such as family, friends and partners are relatively supportive of people living with HIV/AIDS. However, the relationships between people living with HIV/AIDS and their families and partners are often strained, especially when a person first discovers his or her status as HIV positive. Furthermore, people living with HIV/AIDS are stigmatised on multiple levels because of their status. There is stigmatisation from family, friends, in the workplace and in the community. The most important recommendations resulting from the study are that services such as counselling are needed for people living with HIV/AIDS together with their families. This is of particular significance to the South African government, especially the health sector, which needs to improve the health care system. In addition, recommendations emphasise the importance of promoting education and awareness, which could have great value for people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and communities. Knowledge about HIV/AIDS would empower people at all levels to support those who live with the disease and would also be of great value in helping those living with the disease to contribute something of value towards their health condition. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering beskik oor wette en beleide wat diskriminasie teen individue verbied. Hierdie wette en beleide beskerm mense teen diskriminasie in die werkplek, diskriminasie op grond van siekte, gestremdheid, ras en vele ander redes. Diskriminasie teen mense wat met MIV/vigs leef, laat baie van hulle hul MIV/vigs-status geheim hou omdat hulle diskriminasie en stigmatisasie vrees. Sommige verloor selfs hulle werk wanneer dit rugbaar word dat hulle aan MIV/vigs ly. Diegene met MIV/vigs ervaar egter nie net in die werkplek diskriminasie nie, maar ook in hul gemeenskappe en families. Dít impliseer dat mense met MIV/vigs op alle vlakke ondersteuning nodig het om ’n positiewe lewe te lei en daarmee hul lewensverwagting so ver moontlik te verleng. Hierdie studie het die stresfaktore van terminale MIV/vigs-lyers ondersoek. Daar is voorts ondersoek ingestel na die ondersteuning wat mense met MIV/vigs ontvang, sowel as die ondersteuning wat hulle nodig het. MIV/vigs-lyers se ondersteuningsbehoeftes op etlike vlakke is deur middel van ’n ekologiese navorsingsbenadering bepaal. ’n Kombinasie van ’n kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodologie is vir die studie gebruik. Data is met behulp van ’n semigestruktureerde vraelys ingesamel, wat gedurende individuele onderhoude met diensverskaffers afgeneem is. Sodoende kon meetbare sowel as hoogs beskrywende data ingesamel word. Die vrae in die semigestruktureerde vraelys was gegrond op die inligting uit die literatuuroorsig. Die bevindinge van die empiriese ondersoek toon dat mense wat met MIV/vigs leef beperkte ondersteuning van hul familie, die Suid-Afrikaanse regering en die groter samelewing ontvang. Die bevindinge dui voorts daarop dat informele ondersteuningsbronne, soos familie, vriende en lewensmaats, betreklik ondersteunend is teenoor diegene met MIV/vigs. Tog is die verhouding tussen MIV/vigs-lyers en hul families en lewensmaats ook dikwels onder druk, veral net nadat die persoon ontdek dat hy/sy MIV-positief is. Daarbenewens word mense met MIV/vigs op verskeie vlakke gestigmatiseer – deur hul familie, vriende, in die werkplek en die gemeenskap. Die belangrikste aanbeveling uit die studie handel oor die behoefte aan dienste soos berading vir mense wat met die virus leef, sowel as vir hul familie. Die aanbeveling behoort veral van belang te wees vir die Suid-Afrikaanse regering, en in die besonder die gesondheidsektor, wat hierdie behoefte in gedagte moet hou om die gesondheidsorgstelsel te verbeter. Ander aanbevelings beklemtoon die belang van meer opvoeding en bewusmaking, aangesien dit uiters waardevol kan wees vir mense met MIV/vigs, hul familie en gemeenskappe. Kennis oor MIV/vigs sal mense op alle vlakke bemagtig om diegene met die virus te ondersteun, terwyl dit MIV/vigs-lyers self ook sal help om hul eie gesondheidstoestand beter te bestuur.