This thesis is a biographical study of Erika Theron (1907-1990), an Afrikaner woman who played a significant role in many aspects of public life in South Africa in a critical time in the country‘s history. The study seeks to give recognition to her achievements, which have received scant attention in a historiography with a masculine bias. At the same time it examines her changing role from collaborator to critic of the apartheid system. Certain defining features of Theron‘s life have been highlighted. First, Theron grew up in a staunchly Afrikaner nationalist, service-oriented family which encouraged loyalty to her own people and civic responsibility. Second, she was unusual among Afrikaner women of her generation, in that she was highly educated, independent and ready to assume leadership roles. She became a pioneer in a number of fields, attaining high professional rank and holding important public offices – frequently as the first woman to do so in the country. The thesis focuses on five areas of Theron‘s public life. After returning from post-graduate studies abroad, she worked with Hendrik Verwoerd in the campaign to uplift poor whites, particularly the rehabilitation and re-integration of the Afrikaner poor. She thereafter commenced a long career as a social work academic, which included a number of milestones for her new discipline, for the profession of social work and for the advancement of women in academia. From the 1950s she served on the town council of Stellenbosch, including terms as deputy mayor and mayor. She played an important role in historic conservation but was also instrumental in the rigorous institution of apartheid structures in the town during the early days of National Party rule. In the early 1970s she served as chairman of the Commission of Enquiry into Coloured Affairs which influenced her personal views on the country‘s race policies. She became a public critic of many aspects of the apartheid system and vocal advocate for coloured rights. / History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)

Food insecurity in South Africa is not due to a shortage of food in the country but to inadequate access to food by poor groups of individuals and households. Many people, who lost their jobs due to retrenchments or can’t find suitable jobs for various reasons, revert to street trading or other activities of the informal economy as a survival strategy. There is limited information on understanding the food security status and strategies used by street traders and their households in Durban. This study aims to understand the extent of food insecurity among street traders in terms of their access to food, the quality of food consumed and the strategies they used to cope with food shortage. A mixed research method composed of a survey, face to face interviews and observations were conducted with a sample population of 120. The findings of this study confirmed that the sector was dominated by semi-literate people who generated R2000 per month which was to be shared with an average of 4 members of their respective households. Consequently, the majority of street traders’ households lived below the poverty line, thus food insecure. Limited income compromised the quality of food consumed: energy dense food dominated their food; hence 59.2% suffered from communicable lifestyle diseases. The study recommended more studies in this field, the extension of the Isipingo census to the entire municipality and the decriminalization of street trading by the municipality in order to improve the food security situation of street traders. / Geography / M.A. (Human Ecology)

This thesis examines works written about imprisonment by four South African political prison writers who were incarcerated for political reasons. My Introduction focuses on current research and literature available on the subject of political prison-writing and it justifies the study to be undertaken. Chapter One examines the National Party's policy pertaining to the holding of political prisoners and discusses the work of Michel Foucault on the subject of imprisonment as well as the connection he makes between knowledge and power. This chapter also considers the factors that motivate a prisoner to write. Bearing in mind Foucault's findings, Chapters Two to Five undertake detailed studies of La Guma's The Stone Country, Dennis Brutus's Letters to Martha, Hugh Lewin's Bandiet and Breyten Breytenbach's The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist, respectively. Particular emphasis is placed on the reaction of these writers against a repressive government. In addition, Chapters Two to Five reflect on the way in which imprisonment affected them from a psychological point of view, and on the manner in which they were, paradoxically, empowered by their prison experience. Chapters Four and Five also consider capital punishment and Lewin and Breytenbach's response to living in a hanging jail. I contemplate briefly the works of Frantz Fanon in the conclusion in order to elaborate on the reasons for the failure of the system of apartheid and the policy of political imprisonment and to reinforce my argument. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

A community development project involving the tribal leaders, civic organisations and the aged action group had been completed in 1994 in Rathoke, a rural area in the Mpumalanga Pre ince. In the process, the reseacher observed tension built as a result of the refusal of people in authority like tribal officers, civic organisation members and individual professionals to acknowledge that aged people can take a lead in articulating their needs and alternative solutions. Assumptions prevailing among them are that: 1. Old and rural people need help. 2. Have no potential for leadership development. 3. Are dependent on existing leadership structures and 4. Their needs are not a priority. On the bases of these assumptions, the reseacher undertook to do a case study based on the analysis of community development process reports kept for the project.There have been a number of learnings which can be of benefit to people interested in the leadership concept in the field of community development. / Social work / M.A. (SS) (Mental Health)

An exploratory descriptive design was used to examine income-generating self-help groups in the rural area of Moutse, Mpumalanga, South Africa in terms of viability and ability to empower women economically. Income-generating self-help groups of women in Moutse have grown over the years with the initiative of the extension officers of the Department of Agriculture. These groups are also used by the women to enhance personal growth and family support. The success of the income-generating groups relates to abstract needs, such as the individual member's motivation, self-esteem gained through participation in decisionmaking processes and the implementation of projects. Skills are acquired in the process of participation in which abstract and concrete needs are addressed. The failures of the groups are as a result of lack of funding, unavailability of resources, lack of appropriate support and training, lack of co-operation and some unhealthy competition among groups in the area which results in the groups not being economically viable. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science)

There is no historiography on Durban coloureds . This work is an attempt to change that . This dissertation is an urban study of a small coloured community in Greenwood Park (GWP) during the apartheid era - a study in which housing is used as a vehicle to examine this community's response to their changing economic and socio-political status from the 1950's to the 1970's. Because of the absence of historical data , this study relies heavily on the contributions of other social sciences . It also uses oral data to fill the many gaps in the story of this marginal group . Chapter 4 and 5 explores housing as a complex physical and social phenomenon. Chapter 6 explores the GWP community's response to their housing environment . In this chapter, the association between housing and socio-economic status is explored . From 1950 to the l 970's, housing became the single most defining entity which kept coloureds trapped in the vortex of privilege and oppression . / History / M. A. (History)

Founded in 1928, Iscor was intended to make South Africa self sufficient in the provision of steel while providing employment for poor whites. Economic considerations prevailed when Iscor began replacing expensive white labour with cheaper black labour. From 1934 to 1948 black labour was employed to curtail costs. While being replaced by black labour, white employees' salaries and fringe benefits remained better than those of their black colleagues. Affordable houses were provided for white employees while blacks were housed in overcrowded compounds. No medical or pension benefits were made available to black employees or their families, while white employees enjoyed both. White employees were provided with what were arguabley the finest sports facilities in the country while black facilities were neglected. With the National Party victory in 1948 more emphasis was placed on the employment of Afrikaans speaking white South Africans at the expense of blacks and English speaking whites. / History / M.A. (History)

This study examines representations of Southern African black women in the works' of two male and two female writers. A comparative approach is used to review the ways in which the writers characterise women who labour under intense restrictions in domestic situations, the workplace, and in political contexts. Some representations suggest that women have come to terms with social strictures and have learned to live fulfilled lives despite them. Other representations are contextualised in creative situations in which social roles are re-imagined. In the process, women are removed from conventional object-related gendered positions. These representations suggest that women have the capability to achieve personal transcendence rather than accept the immanence imposed by stereotyped gender relationships and repressive political structures. The suggestion is made that writers can change the image of women by centralising them as active subjects, challenging their exclusion and creating spaces for women to represent themselves / English Studies / M.A. (English)

This research surveys the Swiss missionaries' management of social transformation in South Africa (1873-1976). It has as its major focus the management of schools, hospitals and churches as the primary institutions of social change in society. The researcher's realisation that more often than not, the changes brought to bear on proselytes by the change forces take time to manifest themselves vividly induced him to extend the scope to include the dawn of the new political dispensation in this country in 1994. This need not surprise the readership as the triadic approach, which is synonymous with historial analyses compels researchers to avail readers of what happened in the past, present as well as what is likely to occur in future. In other words, readers will encounter the ethnic nationalism engineered by different change agents in this country and the repercussions thereof, and the schism within the Swiss Mission in South Africa/Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa that started in 1989 and became reality by 1991. Finally, the thesis also appraises readers of what should be done in periods of rapid social change. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

The migrant labour practice in South Africa played an important role in the country's development and economy. Although it has benefited many native migrant workers by creating job opportunities, it has had adverse effects on the families of migrant workers. The focus of this study is the phenomenon of migrant labouring and its effects on the family. A literature study has shown that migrant labourers, living in overcrowded city hostels, were subjected to exploitation, malnutrition and crime. The empirical study brought to light the many problems experienced by the families back home: Wives were overburdened by dual roles and responsibilities, lack of support and money, children's development was impeded and academic motivations and performance were low. The ultimate aim of this study was to design practical guidelines to help families cope with the effects of an absent father due to the migrant labour practice. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed.(Guidance and Counselling)