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A social and cultural history of Grahamstown, 1812 to c1845Marshall, Richard Graham January 2009 (has links)
This thesis examines the development of Grahamstown from its inception in 1812 to the mid-1840s, paying particular attention to the social and cultural life of the town. It traces the economic development of the town from a military outpost to a thriving commercial settlement, noting the essential factor of the town's proximity to the Cape frontier in this process. The economic interaction between diverse groups in the town mirrors the social and cultural interaction which occurred between British settlers, Khoekhoe and Africans. The result of these interactions was the creation of a new, distinctively South African urban society and culture, despite the desire of the white settlers to reproduce a “typical” English environment in their new home. The conflict between attempts to anglicise the urban environment and the realities of Grahamstown's situation on a colonial frontier was reflected in the architecture and layout of the town. Attempts to recreate an English social environment also failed. New classes arose in the town in response to the economic opportunities available on the frontier. Although some settlers prospered, many did not, and the presence of an impoverished white working class undermines settler historians' picture of settler success and affluence. The poorest people in the town, though, were the increasing numbers of Khoekhoe and Africans who migrated from the surrounding countryside, and who were unequally incorporated into the urban community as a colonial labouring class. In response to these unique circumstances, white settlers in Grahamstown developed a powerful political and propaganda machine, which helped lay the foundations of a distinct settler identity in the eastern Cape.
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Small town South Africa: the historical geography of selected Eastern Cape towns and current development initiatives within themWhite, Richard Charles Crookes 03 June 2013 (has links)
Small towns can be seen as the fundamental building blocks of tbe urban system. Through time, some of these towns have lost the primary reason for their existence. Some towns that have been declining or stagnating include old mining and industrial towns, such as Indwe in the Eastern Cape or Welkom in the Free State. Some towns have also changed the main focus of tbeir economy, for example, from that of mining to that of tourism, as in the case of Utrecht in Kwa-Zulu Natal (Nel, 2002). In light of the above, this thesis seeks to critically evaluate what has happened in selected small towns in the Eastern Cape. The research investigated a number of towns in the Eastern Cape, looking at the history and influence of colonisation, population dynamics, education levels, employment opportunities, migration and the influence of capitalism on the economic and social structure of the town, as well as tbe evolution of its economy. The research sample consisted of interviews witb local historians, community leaders, development agencies and individuals who were benefiting from tbe various development initiatives/project in the towns. These interviews, in conjunction with the literature identified, were conducted in the selected small towns, assessing whether development was succeeding and, in conclusion, identifying witb reference to the study sites, what was learnt. The research process generated a number of lessons that need to be taken into consideration when attempting social and economic upliftment in small towns. These include: the need for leadership, support from the local population and the need for financial assistance to support and uplift the community. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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"Too tired to speak?": investigating the reception of Radio Grahamstown's Lunchtime Live show as a means of linking local communities to powerTsarwe, Stanley Zvinaiye January 2011 (has links)
This study sets out to investigate Lunchtime Live, a twice-weekly, one-hour long current affairs show broadcast on a small community radio station, Radio Grahamstown, to understand its role in the local public sphere, and its value in helping civil society’s understanding of and involvement in the power structures and political activities in Grahamstown. Lunchtime Live seeks to cultivate a collective identity and promote public participation in the public affairs of Grahamstown. As a key avenue of investigation, this study seeks to test theory against practice, by evaluating Lunchtime Live’s aspirations against the audiences’ perception of it. This investigation uses qualitative content analysis of selected episodes of recorded transcripts of the shows that aired between August 2010 and March 2011, together with the audiences’ verbalised experiences of this programme through focus group discussions. The study principally uses qualitative research informed by reception theory. The research reveals three key findings. First, that resonance rather than resistance is the more dominant ‘stance’ or ‘attitude’ towards the content of Lunchtime Live. Residents interviewed agreed that the programme is able to give a “realistic” representation of their worldview, and thus is able to articulate issues that affect their lives. Second, that whilst the programme is helping establish links between members of the civil society as well as between civil society and their political representatives, residents feel that local democracy is failing to bring qualitative improvements to their everyday lives and that more ‘participation’ is unlikely to change this. Most respondents blame this on a lack of political will, incompetence, corruption and populist rhetoric by politicians who fail to deliver on the mantra of ‘a better life for all’ in the socioeconomic sphere. The study finds a scepticism and even cynicism that participatory media seems to be able to do little to dilute. Thirdly, in spite of the largely positive view about Lunchtime Live’s capacity to be a platform for public engagement, its participatory potential is structurally constrained by the material privations of most of its listeners. Given that in order to participate in talk shows and discussions audience members have to phone in, economic deprivation often precludes this. It is clear from this research that despite shows such as Lunchtime Live that are exploring new techniques of popular involvement, the voice of the ordinary people still struggles to be heard.
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Impact of human dimensions on smallholder farming in the Eastern Cape Province of South AfricaKibirige, Douglas January 2013 (has links)
Considering the backward and forward linkages, the agro-industrial sector contributes about 12 percent of South Africa‘s GDP, and employs approximately 8.5 million people. In the Eastern Cape Province, the sector contributes about 1.9 percent of the Provincial GDP, and over 3 million people derive their livelihoods from subsistence smallholder farming. Despite its importance, agricultural productivity has stagnated for several years across the Eastern Cape rural communities. There have been several attempts by the government to improve the agricultural productivity on smallholder farms since the end of apartheid, especially through the establishment of small-scale irrigation schemes, subsidization of farm inputs, and provision of credit facilities and enacting a number of land reform policies. In spite of the government support, most rural communities like Qamata and Tyefu are still faced with high levels of poverty affecting 76 percent and 91 percent of the population, respectively. This research evaluated the current smallholders‘ production efficiency, and the link between smallholder farmers‘ human dimensions (entrepreneurial spirit and positive psychological capital, goals and social capital, and other efficiency related variables) with production efficiency and household commercialisation index/level. The study used participatory approaches for site selection, sample selection and data collection. The analysis was based on both information from informal interviews and formal primary data collection. The Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Production Frontier techniques were used to determine the relative efficiencies of individual farmers and to identify the major factors that influence the efficiency of production. Overall, 158 farmers were interviewed both at Qamata and Tyefu irrigation schemes. Descriptive statistics of this study indicated that most of the farmers were men with an average age of 61 years, and mean household size of 4 persons with the household head having at least obtained some primary school education. Farming is the major source of livelihood for smallholders with an average income of R4527.49 per crop season. Smallholders use improved seeds, fertilizers and tractor for ploughing with less use of pesticides and herbicides. Although smallholder irrigators generate more gross margins from maize and cabbage enterprises, generally both categories of farmers exhibited a low average household commercialization index for maize and cabbage at 0.41 and 0.22, respectively. Both Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Production Frontier results indicate that farmers are about 98 percent technically efficient in maize and cabbage enterprises, respectively. However, farmers were allocatively inefficient as they were under-utilizing seed and pesticides while over-utilizing inorganic fertilizers. Factors that are positively associated with technical efficiency in maize production included household size, farming experience, off-farm income, use of agro-chemical; gross margins and commercialisation level of maize output. Determinants of technical efficiency in cabbage enterprise included farming experience, amount of land owned, use of agro-chemicals, group membership and gross margins accrued to cabbage sales. Farmers‘ human dimensions that could be more positively and significantly associated with production, efficiency and household commercialisation level included risk taking (hope), innovativeness (confidence) and optimism for entrepreneurial/positive psychological capital. Farmers‘ goals included self-esteem and independence, and only external social capital which were identified to be more positively and significantly associated with farmers‘ production efficiency and commercialization level. The transition from homestead subsistence to commercial oriented small-scale irrigation farming is inevitable since smallholder irrigators earn more incomes from maize and cabbage and are relatively food secure. However, the key policy options that must be considered to address inefficiencies and improved commercialization level to aid the transition include: agricultural policies geared toward attracting youth in farming, improved quality of extension services, speeding up the land reform process, and formation of cooperatives and participatory policy formulation that takes full cognizance of the farmers‘ human dimensions. Since farmers‘ human dimensions as defined in the literature and this study are not things that are amenable to direct policy intervention, they can only be modified indirectly through policy actions that affect their determinants. This means that a number of the demographic and socio-economic characteristics such as age, sex and education level of household head, farming experience, size of land owned, crop incomes, source of water for irrigation and location of the irrigation scheme that govern the way people perceive reality and respond to them must be the focus of concerted policy actions over the medium to long term.
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The role of public participation in building a people centered public service: the case of the King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality (KSDM) integrated development planning process (Eastern Cape)Ngcukayitobi, Lulama January 2013 (has links)
This chapter focuses on the literature relevant to the study and more significantly on the issues that are pertinent to the critical questions and the objectives of this research. The chapter will provide definitions of community participation and their intricate relationship with the Integrated Development Planning as a strategic framework for development within the King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality. In this context the chapter presents a review of literature dealing with the theoretical arguments surrounding public participation. Hart (1998:13) views literature review as the selection of available documents - both published and unpublished - on the topic, which contains information, ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims This chapter is divided into two main review sections. The first section reviews the relevant policy, legislation and guidelines in which public participation and the IDP process is located in South Africa. The second section focuses on the literature and theories of public participation and the IDP process as it is applied in South Africa.
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An assessment of the supply chain management policy: the case of the King William's Town district municipality period 2009-2011Mazibu, Vuyisile January 2013 (has links)
The intention of the study was to assess the supply chain management policy at the King William’s Town District Municipality. It became apparent from the Literature review that any municipality to play a meaningful role in ensuring that South Africa achieves the goal of becoming a developmental state, capable of confronting service delivery challenges, there needs to be a proper implementation of the supply management system policy. The study was also aimed at identifying the factors that support or hinder the implementation of the supply chain management within the King William’s Town District Municipality. In order to achieve this objective, interviews and self-administered questionnaires were conducted with various respondents in the municipality. The respondents insured the councillors from the five political parties comprising the municipality, municipal manager and section 57 managers, supply chain practitioners. It would therefore be critical important for the management of the King William’s Town District municipality to take into account the results of this study and its recommendations so as to ensure that there is a proper implementation of the supply chain management system within the municipality.
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Practice guidelines for social workers to foster and sustain family resilienceMoss, Susara Maria 12 1900 (has links)
Although the White Paper on Families (2013) stipulates that family resilience should be strengthened in family preservation services, no guidelines exist for social workers in the South African context to do so. A need for practice guidelines for social workers in rendering services to families to strengthen family resilience was identified. The following central research question was formulated: How and by doing what, can social workers foster and sustain family resilience?
The Intervention Design and Development (IDD) model of Rothman and Thomas (1994) was adapted for the study which included qualitative research to explore and describe the understanding, experiences and suggestions of social workers on family resilience for informing the family resilience intervention guidelines. Data was collected through focus- group and face-to-face semi-structured interviews with social workers employed by the Department of Social Development, and the NGOs from Gauteng, North West and Limpopo province. Tesch’s steps (cited in Creswell 2009:186) were used to analyse the data systematically and data was verified by Guba’s model (cited in Krefting 1991:214–222). Implementing steps 1–5 of phase 1, steps 1–3 of phase 2, step 2 of phase 3 and steps 1–3 of phase 4 of the IDD model, “Practice Guidelines for Social Workers to foster and sustain Family Resilience” (“The Guidelines”) were developed by translating the family resilience theory into practice to guide social workers to be able to develop and implement a family resilience intervention. The content of “The Guidelines” include an introduction containing the social work service delivery principles, the theoretical approaches of service delivery to families and the legislative and policy framework for services to families that would underpin a family resilience intervention. Section 1 of “The Guidelines” was developed and structured around the understanding of the family resilience construct and the family resilience process model on how family resilience operates. Section 2 of “The Guidelines” is presented in a question and answer format. This section provides practical guidelines on how to identify the target group for family resilience interventions, the reciprocal relationship between individual resilience and family resilience, family resilience interventions following the social work intervention process (i.e. intake, developmental assessment, a family developmental plan, and intervention strategies in accordance with the basket of services for families and monitoring and evaluation), how to integrate the domains of family resilience into the family resilience intervention, the need for education of both the social worker and client family on family resilience, the multi-dimensional aspects of the family requiring a multi-disciplinary approach and the role that the safety of family members play when rendering a family resilience intervention. / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)
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Exploration of factors contributing to abuse in black South African womenMabena, Lindiwe 12 1900 (has links)
Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)
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The contexts of her story : an exploration of race, power and gender in selected novels of Bessie HeadNgomane, Elvis Hangalakani 11 1900 (has links)
This study explores the triple imbrications of race, power and gender in the selected
novels of Bessie Head. A critical analysis of Maru (1971) and A Question of' Power
(1974) is undertaken with a view to identifying the subordinating and the
marginalising tropes that result in silencing of female subjectivities in Head's
protagonists. Linked to a critical reading of the novels, this study examines the role of
cultural and psychological forces in maintaining patriarchal hegemony, which is
based upon hierarchy and domination of women rather than equality.
Furthennore, this dissertation suggests that Head's depiction of narrow ethnic and
racial bigotry serves a broader etiological purpose of accounting for "the state of
thingsff within the South African context. Thus this study oscillates between the
abstract constructs and the concrete social experiences within which Bessie Head's
literary imagination subsists.
In this study, particular attention is paid, in addition to critiques of individual texts, to
some of Head's biographical elements with a view on the one hand, to highlighting
the moments, events and issues which are reflected as " contexts of her-story" and on
the other, to amplifying how Head's formative experiences contribute to her critique
of the exploitative racially structured narratives.
By using Foucault's theories within the social constructionist model, this dissertation
aims to demonstrate the insidious intersections between racism and sexism and how
these constructs are implicated in the conception and construction of power.
Specifically, this study argues that due to their arbitrary applications, racial and sexual
difference be viewed as dynamic and contested, rather than fixed.
A synthesis is reached which accords literarure a role within the framework of socio-cultural practice in general. / English Studies / M.A. (English)
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Emigration of South African migrants to Australia and New Zealand : a mixed-method studyMarcantuono, Letitia 01 1900 (has links)
Over the past 30 years South Africa has lost valuable human capital due to high volumes of emigration. South Africa has also seen numerous changes in its political, economic and
social structure specifically in these decades, but little investigation has been done into the
possibility of an association between political, economic and social, as well as personal
factors, and the decision to leave South Africa. This study refers to Lee’s Migration Model
(1966) that was used as a broad theory for migration. The model involves four sets of factors: factors associated with the area of origin, factors associated with the area of destination, intervening obstacles and personal factors. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory also explains the personal motivational theory for migration. Lee’s Model of Migration is used to investigate which political, economic, social and personal factors in the area of origin (South Africa) pushed South African emigrants to leave the country. It also investigates which political, economic, social and personal factors in the area of destination (Australia and New Zealand) pulled South African emigrants toward these countries.
This study involved mixed-methods research (Creswell, 2009), thus the data collection
methods were both qualitative and quantitative. The study followed a sequential exploratory strategy in two stages with the qualitative data collection occurring first, followed by a quantitative study – ‘QUALquan’ study. The data are mixed between analysis of the qualitative data and the quantitative data collection (Creswell, 2009:211). The qualitative data collection instruments used in the first stage of the study in 2009, were face-to-face interviews consisting of one focus group and six personal interviews in New Zealand, as well as twelve personal interviews in Australia. In the second stage of the study in 2015, namely the quantitative research, respondents were selected by contacting 17 closed (secured) Facebook groups that were formed for South Africans living either in Australia or New Zealand. There is no alternative sampling frame available since emigrants do not need to declare themselves as migrants on a work visa, furthermore, official documentation is not accessible to the public. A quantitative data collection instrument was administered with an online questionnaire. In the Australian Facebook groups, 137 respondents completed the questionnaire, and in New Zealand Facebook groups, 118 respondents, which adds up to a total of 255 respondents who completed the questionnaire.
The results concluded that South Africa’s governance framework, its infrastructure and legislation acted as political push factors motivating South Africans to emigrate, while an uncertain economy contributed as an economic push factor. Socially, a perception of a limited future and a narcissistic society is what pushed South Africans to emigrate. Personal push factors that drove the emigration decision included, unmet physical, safety, belonging and esteem needs. The political factors that pulled South African emigrants to Australia and
New Zealand involved effective government services and governmental aid. Economic pull factors included economic certainty and a lower cost of living. Social pull factors proved to be familiar circumstances and a better future. Personal pull factors were safety, belonging and self-actualisation needs. This mixed-method approach focussed on the gap to a followup study that was identified in previous individual qualitative and quantitative studies. These results may assist the South African government to take measures that ensures the retention
of highly skilled citizens. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)
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