Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study deals with the social interpretation of childhood diarrhea among the Xhosa speaking people of the Western Cape in South Africa. It highlights how in the Western Cape political consciousness and moralist discourses strongly influence relationships between different health care systems and the production of continuing conflicts around problems of health care delivery. It is argued that if meaningful relationships could be found between socially based health-seeking strategies and biomedical classifications of enteric and other diseases of women and children, they could facilitate the provision of more equitable, effective and widely acceptable health care. Furthermore, it compares the etiological explanations of childhood illness signs and symptoms of mothers and health practitioners of two kinds, i.e., professional nurses trained in biomedicine and indigenous African health practitioners (IHPs). The comparison focuses particularly on the interpretation of stool quality and associated symptoms. For stool quality the study refers to the color and texture of children's feces that mothers and health practitioners identify and associate with distinctive conditions of affliction. The study found these descriptive categories do not exhaust the variety of interpretations known to Nguni people in the area. There is variation, even ambiguity, in the interpretation of commonly understood illness categories and with respect to diarrheal illnesses, knowledge remains contested between mothers and professional nurses. Moreover, the availability of a wide range of therapeutic options m Khayelitsha diversifies the mother's causal explanations. It was found this diversity in causality and management of illnesses is manifested in the quality of children's stools, "green" feces in particular. Here too, different hues are not separable from the media in which they appear. Their interpretations draw on senses of value, ideas, social histories, different forms of power, systematic knowledge, and a great variety of other forms of significance that are embedded in the concrete domains of everyday life. In addition to the notion of isuntu,(that is humaneness) the study more importantly reveals that among Nguni of the Western Cape a tripartite relationship of umoya,(vital force) inyongo,(gallbladder) and ithongo (ancetral dream) is the dynamic philosophical component that describes Nguni experiences of health and illness. vi https://etd.

The aim of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) was to represent the interests of all South African students nationally and internationally. The challenge then to the liberal NUSAS leadership was how to meet the demands of black students for a politically relevant policy while simultaneously retaining the loyalty of its white middle class and often conservative membership. In 1957, the black University College of Fort Hare returned to NUSAS to participate in the national union’s campaign against the imposition of apartheid on the universities. Consequently, NUSAS adopted the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the foundation of its policy. Sharpeville and the increasing number of black students associated with NUSAS contributed to the further politicisation and leftward movement of the national union. The emergence of two new exclusively African student organisations together with the decision of a student seminar in Dar es Salaam that NUSAS be barred from all international student forums as its demographics precluded it from representing the aspirations of the black majority was the pretext for a far-reaching interrogation of NUSAS’s structure and functioning. Henceforward NUSAS would play a ‘radical role’ in society. This played into the hands of the government and its proxies, the new conservative students associations which sought to slice away NUSAS’s moderate to conservative white membership. The arrest of current and former NUSAS officers implicated in sabotage provided more grist to the right wing mill. In an attempt to manage this most serious crisis, as well as to continue functioning in the increasingly authoritarian and almost wholly segregated milieu of the mid-1960s, NUSAS abandoned its ‘radical role’ and increasingly focussed on university and educational matters. Nonetheless, the state intensified its campaign to weaken NUSAS. By means of legislation, the utilisation of conservative student structures and the intimidation of university authorities, the government attempted to ensure that segregation was applied at all NUSAS-affiliated universities. It was the application of segregation by cowed university authorities that precipitated the New Left-inspired student protests at NUSAS-affiliated campuses in the late 1960s as well as the establishment of the separate black South African Students Organisation, the latter leading to the exodus of all black students from NUSAS. / History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)

The aim of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) was to represent the interests of all South African students nationally and internationally. The challenge then to the liberal NUSAS leadership was how to meet the demands of black students for a politically relevant policy while simultaneously retaining the loyalty of its white middle class and often conservative membership. In 1957, the black University College of Fort Hare returned to NUSAS to participate in the national union’s campaign against the imposition of apartheid on the universities. Consequently, NUSAS adopted the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the foundation of its policy. Sharpeville and the increasing number of black students associated with NUSAS contributed to the further politicisation and leftward movement of the national union. The emergence of two new exclusively African student organisations together with the decision of a student seminar in Dar es Salaam that NUSAS be barred from all international student forums as its demographics precluded it from representing the aspirations of the black majority was the pretext for a far-reaching interrogation of NUSAS’s structure and functioning. Henceforward NUSAS would play a ‘radical role’ in society. This played into the hands of the government and its proxies, the new conservative students associations which sought to slice away NUSAS’s moderate to conservative white membership. The arrest of current and former NUSAS officers implicated in sabotage provided more grist to the right wing mill. In an attempt to manage this most serious crisis, as well as to continue functioning in the increasingly authoritarian and almost wholly segregated milieu of the mid-1960s, NUSAS abandoned its ‘radical role’ and increasingly focussed on university and educational matters. Nonetheless, the state intensified its campaign to weaken NUSAS. By means of legislation, the utilisation of conservative student structures and the intimidation of university authorities, the government attempted to ensure that segregation was applied at all NUSAS-affiliated universities. It was the application of segregation by cowed university authorities that precipitated the New Left-inspired student protests at NUSAS-affiliated campuses in the late 1960s as well as the establishment of the separate black South African Students Organisation, the latter leading to the exodus of all black students from NUSAS. / History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Technology: Language Practice, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / The selection criteria common to all Fashion schools/departments/programmes both in South Africa and internationally, is the requirement for the applicants to pass an interview. Research confirms that in institutions where student selection includes an interview, the dropout rate is low. The need for this study arose because of the lack of structure of the current oral protocol or interview selection procedure in Fashion at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), and the need to include a larger number of previously disadvantaged applicants into the Fashion programme. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the career life histories of the Fashion degree students at the DUT to identify a set of biographical variables that can be used for student selection. Underpinned by the Systems Theory Framework, this study adapted Tinto’s Longitudinal Model of Institutional Departure to investigate pre-entry attributes and interactions within family backgrounds, skills and abilities, and prior schooling that impact the goals and commitments of students. Narrative enquiry using semi-structured in-depth interviews provided data which were processed using the three-dimensional narrative analysis approach. Findings of this study indicate the importance of pre-entry attributes and personality type that is best suited to a career in fashion, and emphasised that intrinsic interests and talents are of primary importance. The results have important implications for student interview selection as it identifies suitable and prepared applicants who will complete and graduate in the minimum time, thereby potentially increasing throughput and output rates in Fashion. Based on the results, the researcher proposed a framework for a standardised and structured interview selection procedure in Fashion at the DUT which enables access to candidates who have the potential for a career in Fashion regardless of their socio-economic or cultural background. / D

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Friendships in general are a very powerful form of interpersonal contact, and cross-group friendships in particular have been shown to be particularly effective in promoting positive outgroup attitudes (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Very few studies have compared same-group and cross-group friendships along their underlying processes. The present study aimed to explore, firstly, the differences and similarities between same-group and cross-group friendships along various interpersonal variables, including friendship length, friendship type, friendship contact, positive and negative reciprocal self-disclosure, friendship functions, and friendship affection. Secondly, the present study explored, and compared, the structural relationships between these interpersonal variables across the two friendship conditions. Thirdly, the present study explored how the generalization of attitudes towards the specific cross-group friendship influence attitudes to the outgroup as a whole. Finally, the present study explored the extent to which contact with a specific cross-group friend exposed the ingroup participants to a broader social network of outgroup members. Cross-sectional survey data was collected amongst 468 White South African first year students studying at Stellenbosch University using electronic surveys. The final sample comprised of 235 of the respondents in the same-group friendship condition (who completed questions relating to their closest same-gender, White South African friend) and 233 respondents in the cross-group friendship condition (who completed questions relating to their closest same-gender, Coloured South African friend). Results indicated that same-group friendships were qualitatively more intimate than cross-group friendships, characterized by significantly greater scores on all the interpersonal variables. Path analyses revealed a number of differences in the structural relationships between the interpersonal variables across the two friendship conditions, as well as a number of important mediation effects for both same- and cross-group friendships. Furthermore, cross-group friendship affection was significantly associated with more positive attitudes towards the outgroup in general, even when controlling for prior contact with the outgroup in general. Finally, contact with the cross-group friend was associated with greater contact with the cross-group friend‟s same-group friends, which was in turn associated with more outgroup friendships. Collectively, these results not only shed light on the mean-level and structural similarities and differences amongst interpersonal-level friendship variables associated with same- and cross-group friendships, but they also make a valuable contribution to the contact literature, providing a number of insights for the improvement of structured intergroup contact interventions that are aimed at facilitating the development of cross-group friendships and the improvement of outgroup attitudes. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vriendskappe oor die algemeen is 'n baie kragtige vorm van interpersoonlike kontak, en kruis-groep vriendskappe in die besonder is besonder effektief om positiewe buitegroep (outgroup) houdings te bevorder (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Baie min studies het selfde-groep vriendskappe en kruis-groep vriendskappe met betrekking tot hul onderliggende prosesse vergelyk. Die huidige studie het beoog om eerstens, die verskille en ooreenkomste tussen selfde-groep en kruis-groep vriendskappe met betrekking tot verskeie interpersoonlike veranderlikes te bestudeer. Hierdie veranderlikes sluit in die lengte van die vriendskap, vriendskaps tipe, vriendskaps kontak, positiewe en negatiewe wedersydse self-bekendmaking, vriendskaps funksies en vriendskaps gehegtheid. Die studie het tweedens die strukturele verhoudings tussen hierdie interpersoonlike veranderlikes vir elke vriendskapskondisie bestudeer en vergelyk. Die studie het derdens bestudeer tot watter mate positiewe houdings teenoor die spesifieke kruis-groep vriend veralgemeen tot positiewe houdings teenoor die buitegroep as 'n geheel. Die studie het, ten slotte, bestudeer tot watter mate kontak met die spesifieke kruis-groep vriend die binne-groep (ingroup) deelnemers blootstel tot 'n breeër netwerk van buitegroep lede. Deursnee opname data is ingesamel met behulp van elektoniese vraelyste onder 468 Blanke Suid-Afrikaanse eerstejaar studente wat studeer aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch. Die finale steekproef het bestaan uit 235 deelnemers in die selfde-groep vriendskap kondisie (wat vrae beantwoord het met betrekking tot hul naaste, selfde-geslag, selfde-groep vriend) en 233 deelnemers in die kruis-groep vriendskaps kondisie (wat vrae beantwoord het met betrekking tot hul naaste, selfde-geslag, Kleurling Suid-Afrikaanse vriend). Die resultate het aangedui dat selfde groep vriendskappe kwalitatief meer intiem is as kruis-groep vriendskappe, en word gekenmerk deur beduidend hoër tellings op al die interpersoonlike veranderlikes. Pad-ontledings analises het aangedui dat daar 'n paar verskille in die strukturele verhoudinge tussen die twee vriendskapskondisies is, sowel as 'n aantal belangrike bemiddeling (mediation) effekte vir beide selfde-groep vriendskappe en kruis-groep vriendskappe. Die resultate het verder aangedui dat kruis-groep vriendskaps gehegtheid beduidend geassosïeer is met meer positiewe houdings teenoor die buitegroep in die algemeen, selfs wanneer die invloed van vroeëre kontak met die buitegroep gekontroleer word. Ten slotte, kontak met die kruis-groep vriend is geassosïeer met meer kontak met die kruis-groep vriend se vriende (wat van dieselfde groep is), wat op die beurt geassosïeer is met meer buitegroep vriendskappe. Gesamentlik werp hierdie resultate nie net lig op die gemiddelde-vlak en strukturele ooreenkomste en verskille tussen selfde-groep vriendskappe en kruis-groep vriendskappe met betrekking tot die interpersoonlike veranderlikes nie, maar dit maak ook 'n waardevolle bydrae tot die kontak literatuur. Dit voorsien 'n aantal bydraes vir die verbetering van gestruktureerde intergroep kontak ingrypings wat daarop gemik is om die ontwikkeling van kruis-groep vriendskappe en die verbetering van buitegroep houdings te fasiliteer.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Interpersonal friendships fulfil several important functions in the lives of individuals across their lifespan, and cross-group friendships have been shown to be strongly associated with reduced outgroup prejudice (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). The emerging literature comparing same-group and cross-group friendships along interpersonal-level variables amongst majority-status participants in Northern Ireland, England, Serbia, and South Africa has consistently shown that same-gender, same-group friendships are rated as greater in overall quality than corresponding cross-group friendships (Swart et al., 2011). The present study aimed to replicate these findings amongst minority-status coloured South African respondents by (1) undertaking between-group comparisons of the mean-level scores reported for same-group and cross-group friendships along nine interpersonal-level variables, namely friendship length, friendship type, friendship closeness, friendship contact, friendship functions, friendship affection, interpersonal trust, positive reciprocal self-disclosure and negative reciprocal self-disclosure; (2) comparing the structural relationships between these interpersonal-level variables across the two friendship conditions; (3) exploring whether attitudes towards a specific outgroup exemplar (closest same-gender white South African friend) generalise towards more positive attitudes towards white South Africans in general; and (4) exploring the extent to which interactions with a specific cross-group friend were related to access with a wider social-network of outgroup peers and the development of further cross-group friendships. Cross-sectional, electronic survey data were collected amongst 302 coloured South African students studying at Stellenbosch University and included 157 respondents in the same-group condition and 145 respondents in the cross-group condition. Results showed that (1) same-group friendships were characterized by significantly greater intimacy and overall quality than cross-group friendships; (2) there exist several differences in the structural relationships between the interpersonal-level and group-level variables across the two friendship conditions; (3) that positive attitudes towards a specific outgroup exemplar generalised to more positive attitudes towards white South Africans in general; and (4) that a single cross-group friend provides valuable access to a broader network of outgroup peers with whom to form further cross-group friendships. These findings not only replicate the results found in the emerging literature (Goosen, 2011; Swart et al., 2011), they further its contributions by providing a comparison with minority-status groups / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Interpersoonlike vriendskappe vervul verskeie belangrike funksies in die lewens van individue in hul leeftyd. Kruis-groep vriendskappe dui aan dat dit in groot mate verbind word met verminderde buitgegroup veroordeeltheid (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Die opkomende literatuur wat selfde-groep en kruis-groep vriendskappe vergelyk langs interpersoonlike-vlak veranderlikes onder meerderheid-status deelnemers in Noord-Ierland, Engeland, Serwië en Suid-Afrika en het gewys dat selfde-geslag, selfde-groep vriendskappe word gegradeer as groter in kwaliteit as ooreenstemmende kruis-groep vriendskappe (Swart et al., 2011). Die huidige, tussen-groep studie het „n poging aangewend om hirdie bevindinge te repliseer deur: (1) die gemiddelde-vlak punte vir selfde-groep en kruis-groep vriendskappe met nege interpersoonlike veranderlikes te vergelyk, naamlik die lengte van die vriendskap, vriendskap tipe, vriendskap nabyheid, vriendskaps kontak, vriendskap funksies, vriendskaps gehegtheid, interpersoonlike vertroue en positiewe en negatiewe wedersydse self-bekendmaking; (2) die strukturele verhoudings tussen hierdie interpersoonlike-vlak veranderlikes tussen die twee vreinskap-kondisies te vergelyk; (3) om te omdersoek of houdings teenoor „n spesifieke buitegroep model (naaste, selfde-geslag blanke Suid-Afrikaanse vriend) veralgemeen tot positiewe houdings teenoor blanke Suid-Afrikaners in die algemeen; en (4) te ondersoek tot watter mate wissel werking met „n spesifieke kruis-groep vriend aan verwant is met toegang na „n breër netwerk van buitegroep lede om verder kruis-groep vriendskappe te ontwikkel. Deursnee, elektroniese vraelyste data was ingesamel onder 302 kleurling Suid-Afrikaanse studente wat aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosh studeer en 157 proefpersone in die selfde-groep vriendskapskondisie as ook 145 proefpersone in die kruis-groep vriendskapskondisie. Die resultate het aangedui dat (1) selfde-groep vriendskappe word gekenmerk deur noemenswaardige hoër vlakke van die interpersoonlike veranderlikes as kruis-groep vriendskappe; (2) daar bestaan verskeie verskille in die strukturele verhoudings tussen die interpersoonlike-vlak en groep-vlak veranderlikes tussen die twee vriendskapkondisies; (3) dat positiewe houdings teenoor „n spesifieke buitegroep model word veralgemeen tot meer positiewe houdings teenoor blanke Suid-Afrikaners in die algemeen; en (4) dat „n enkele kruis-groep vriend waardevol toegang tot „n breër netwerk van buitegroepe lede verskaf en met wie verder kruis-groep vriendskappe geworm word.

Text in English / This dissertation has examined the University Christian Movement (UCM) over its turbulent five year history from 1967 to 1972 in terms of the original hopes of the sponsoring ecumenical denominations. Contextual factors within the socio-political arena of South Africa as well as broader youth cultural influences are shown to have had a decisive influence. These factors help to explain the negative reaction from the founding churches. While this is not a thesis on Black Consciousness, nevertheless the contribution of the UCM to the rise of Black Consciousness and Black Theology is evaluated. UCM is shown to be a movement well ahead of its time as a forerunner in South Africa of Black Theology, contextual theology, feminism, modem liturgical styles, and intercommunion. As such it was held in suspicion. It suffered repressive action from the government and alienation from the churches. Constant cross referencing to other organisations such as the World Student Christian Federation, the National Union of South African Students, the South African Council of Churches, the Christian Institute, and the Sllldents Christian Association, helps to locate the UCM within the flow of contemporary history. The concluding evaluation differs markedly from the report of the Schlebusch Commission by making both critical and positive judgement from the perspective of the UCM as an ecumenical mission to students. / Christain Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

Text in English / This dissertation has examined the University Christian Movement (UCM) over its turbulent five year history from 1967 to 1972 in terms of the original hopes of the sponsoring ecumenical denominations. Contextual factors within the socio-political arena of South Africa as well as broader youth cultural influences are shown to have had a decisive influence. These factors help to explain the negative reaction from the founding churches. While this is not a thesis on Black Consciousness, nevertheless the contribution of the UCM to the rise of Black Consciousness and Black Theology is evaluated. UCM is shown to be a movement well ahead of its time as a forerunner in South Africa of Black Theology, contextual theology, feminism, modem liturgical styles, and intercommunion. As such it was held in suspicion. It suffered repressive action from the government and alienation from the churches. Constant cross referencing to other organisations such as the World Student Christian Federation, the National Union of South African Students, the South African Council of Churches, the Christian Institute, and the Sllldents Christian Association, helps to locate the UCM within the flow of contemporary history. The concluding evaluation differs markedly from the report of the Schlebusch Commission by making both critical and positive judgement from the perspective of the UCM as an ecumenical mission to students. / Christain Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

This thesis reports on the findings of a study to validate an assessment scale for writing in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) context by first-year students in their responses to English literary texts. The study involved the interrogation of an existing scale, adapted from Jacobs et al. (1981), which was being used for the Foundations in English Literary Studies (ENG1501) module at the University of South Africa. Despite the credibility of the original scale, the modified version had been used in language- and literature-based courses in the English Studies Department since 1998 and had not been updated or empirically tested in the context of the target group. Thus, the gap that this current study addressed was the need for a valid rating scale that takes into account the complexities of literature teaching and ODL in the current South African university environment. This thesis includes a review of the debate on validity and the validation of rating scales both internationally and in South Africa, the ODL environment, and the assessment of assignments based on literary texts, particularly in the multicultural South African context. The methodology included research of both a quantitative and a qualitative nature. The outcome was an empirically-validated scale that should contribute to the quest for accuracy in assessing academic writing and meet the formative and summative assessment needs of the target group / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)