Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2003. / This study is aimed at exploring the resiliency of a low income, Coloured woman, living and working on a farm in the Winelands region of the Western Cape. Although much research has been undertaken regarding the concept of resilience, the present definitions are vague and do not address the intricacies of the phenomenon. Similarly, there is a paucity of research concerning women, and women of colour, in general. An extensive review of literature is provided, and based on this, criteria are outlined for the selection of a resilient individual. Five research interviews are analyzed using the thematic analysis method. Results indicate that the participant exhibits resilience in the work domain, however, shows numerous vulnerabilities in the relationship domain, particularly with regards to intimacy. The following factors contributed to her resiliency: work, humour, friendships with other women at work, social support, strong family bonds, a close relationship with her aunt, family gatherings, dancing, dressing up, religion, and her inclusion and identification within a particular community. Observations made during the study highlight the fact that low-income women on farms are unable to exercise choice regarding mental health treatment, and rarely have access to psychologists, it is questioned whether or not resiliency is perhaps fostered precisely because of a lack of access to mental health services. Lastly, a recommendation is made that group work could be an effective mental health intervention in the participant's community.

Corporate-led programs aimed at increasing women's entrepreneurship are rapidly proliferating across many industries. The gendered nature of this phenomenon suggests that feminist approaches may bring much to bear on analysis of management theory and practice. In particular, I argue that insights from feminist economics regarding the historically prevalent - but narrow and gendered - definition of work, which artificially separates production from reproduction, provide fruitful tools for theory building and analysis of practice. Through a systematic literature review of the entrepreneurship literature, I demonstrate that the gendered separation of production and reproduction is typically taken as given in mainstream management theory. Findings from two organizational cases, both featuring industry-embedded approaches to women's empowerment, support the conclusion that unpaid/care work and market work are typically framed as forms of activity that are gendered, dichotomous, and existing in ontological conflict with one another in management practice. I present a conceptual framework of what is to be gained by examining management theory and practice in this light, and suggest how scholars and practitioners might use this framework for future work and research.

Not available / text

Violence within marital dyads is a problem with deep historic roots in American culture. Although the family is idealized as a safe and loving haven from a cruel world, this ideal is often not achieved by many couples. This study develops an integrated theoretical perspective that combines feminist theory and social exchange theory to examine levels of domestic conflict. A regression model was constructed to test the hypothesis that identification with fundamentalist Protestant religious and moral beliefs and the economic dependence of women were factors contributing to high levels of violent conflict within marital dyads. The study analyzed data gathered from a probability sample of 3421 married couples. The dependent variable, marital conflict, was operationalized using a modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979). This variable was regressed on the independent variables: Protestant fundamentalist religiosity, religious affiliation, Protestant moral/family values, wives' economic dependency and the economic, social and demographic variables cited in the literature for their relationship to dyadic violence. The study found that identification with a fundamentalist Protestant religious discourse was not significantly related to increased levels of dyadic violence. Agreement with the basic moral/family values of the fundamentalist Protestant discourse were significantly related to lower levels of conflict. Women's economic dependency was also significantly related to lower levels of conflict. These data support the conclusion that women who identify with conservative values and acquiesce to the male power structure by choosing a more traditional life-course of economic dependency are less likely to be involved in high conflict or violent marriages. / Graduation date: 1992

Spinning, a task modern western society has eliminated from the list of household chores, was once a staple of every medieval woman’s life. This facet of medieval women’s work should not be neglected, since its shift appears to play a fundamental role in allowing industrialization through relocation of workload. When the new tool, the spinning wheel, was added to a woman’s possible ways of finishing this task, was it universally adopted? A look at the pervasive task from three perspectives shows that this new tool was slowly accepted and did not replace the original tool, the spindle. These perspectives are, first a literary review of how and when the term spinning wheel entered the the the cultural vocabulary. The second is a pictorial review of what type of spinning implements are shown in artwork and when the spinning wheel joins these pictures. An archaeological review of spindle whorls form York and Sweden to see if the introduction of the spinning wheel can be inferred from their inertial values is last. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Anthropology

No description available.

This research looks at the process of women’s empowerment in post- 1994 Rwanda, with special focus on twelve cooperatives working in Mayaga region and the way these cooperatives empower women, their households and the community at large. Traditional Rwandan society has been always bound by patriarchy which has not valued the reproductive roles of women as economically productive in their households and the society as a whole. On the one hand, this understanding was reversed in the post-1994 Rwanda by the commitment of the government to gender equality at the highest level of political leadership through progressive policies and legislation. On the other hand, in Mayaga region, cooperatives brought about socio-economic development and changed relationships of gender and power in a patriarchal post-conflict society. The findings from cooperatives in Mayaga region show that to prevent women from reaching their full potential is economic folly. If women are empowered, they can generate important development outcomes such as improved health, education, income levels and conflict resolution. The findings further indicate how women’s empowerment is determined by the livelihood strategies women adopt themselves to respond to their vulnerability, and by the ways in which they express their agency in making a living in a sustainable way, with the available community assets that they have access to (financial, social, human, natural and physical). This research highlights that the accessibility of the community assets used by women in Mayaga region and in Rwanda as a whole is also determined by policies, institutions and processes that are able to influence their livelihoods positively.

M.A. / African family structures have not been systematically studied in South Africa. This is a pilot study of household structures in the Qumbu village at the Mhlontlo district in the Eastern Cape. I researched household arrangements in the area, whether migration of husbands to the cities has disrupted the traditional family unit, what the survival strategies are of these women, and whether survival strategies influence household structure. Fifteen households were surveyed. Questions asked included marital status, household size, ways of earning a living, alternative survival strategies to wage employment and government social grants, contributions to the household, government role to such families, any knowledge about self help groups and decision making skills, power relations, perception of future developments in their communities, fulfillment of essential needs and service rendering, etc. The study revealed that since traditional family units were disrupted by migration, and wives were left at home to take care for the children, the traditional “extended” African household, dependent on various survival strategies. The main categories are: Five women survived through receiving social grants from the Department of Social Development. Four were domestic workers, three were supported by their lovers whom are from extra marital affair, two from doing piece jobs in the community and 01 from community projects. The majority have no wage employment and make a living on the land where they dwell, but because of migration, rural food production has declined. However, the community survives also by supporting each other, for example, kin and community networks and neighborliness account for much of the survival strategies. Many men migrate to the cities, and as a result wives have different feelings towards male migrancy such as anger, regret, self blame, confusion and powerlessness. Dominantly in black societies grandmothers play a vital role in maintaining households and raising the children of migrants

No description available.

This study considers the relationships between women and land amongst female land owners in two communities within KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Motivated by the lack of qualitative data surrounding women as land beneficiaries, this study focuses on the extent to which land and land ownership effect women’s livelihood strategies and how such assets contribute to and/or limit women’s practical and strategic needs. Although this study supports data suggesting that women’s access to land and land ownership is slowly increasing, it suggests that the positive effects of land on women’s lives are greatly limited by poor access to basic services and agricultural inputs, and lingering patriarchal cultural norms. Such limitations, combined with low education levels amongst women regarding their land rights, have thus far hindered the South African Department of Land Affairs in meeting its targeted goals of poverty reduction and livelihood improvements. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.