The dissertation is titled: “Blackness as the way to and state of salvation: A search for true salvation in South Africa today”. The research was prompted by the question of salvation and what it means for blacks. The provocation arose out of the problem and/or interpretation of classical theology on the subject of soteriology. The biblical text of the Song of Songs 1:5: “I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents Qedar, like the curtains of Solomon”, is used as key to the argument. Origen (an early Christian theologian, who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria) interpretation of the preceding biblical text is identified as problematic for blackness and African salvation. The problem identified with his interpretation of the said text and its theology and/or soteriology is that, first; he identifies and affirms the “ugliness’ of the black external and physical colour and/or conditions. Secondly, his theology and/or soteriology is identified as dualistic, separating the physical and the soul, which the researcher challenges and is against it as does not reflect the understanding of soteriology and/or theology by Africans. The researcher attacks and argues against the ugliness of blackness and dualism as a white and Eurocentric logic and problem. The researcher in his argument exposes whiteness and eurocentrism as problematic. The problem associated with whiteness is its claim that it is beautiful and positions itself as the way of and to salvation. Moreover, whiteness is problematised as a racial identity, position of power, structural evil and sin, exploitative, oppressive, and as related to capitalism. In response, the researcher, a black theologian argues against the theology of Origen and labelling it as European and white. The researcher exposes blackness as beautiful, powerful, and as a way of life. For the researcher, salvation must be understood as holistic and as here and now, situated in the black conditions. The researcher argues against dualism and individualism in favour of a holistic and a communal African approach that is not exclusive and self-centered. This approach is inclusive of the belief in God, the self, others human beings and the natural environment. He is propagating a black theology that is in favour of blackness as life, beautiful, powerful, liberating, and socialistic. / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Sickness is a problem that has not escaped any society and thus is on the agenda of every culture. Since time immemorial cultures have searched for answers to the questions raised by the phenomenon of sickness but none have provided solutions, as it has become clear that sickness is part of our human existence. Many people have resorted to religion in search consolation in times of affliction and the Roman Catholic Church is not immune to this expectation, as we see many leaving the church in search of healing in the African Traditional Religions and other Christian churches because they feel that the church is inadequately dealing with the problem. In this study the author undertakes a research journey within the Diocese of Witbank of the RCC to investigate as to why the church’s healing ministry is not effective. Through engagement with participants in the research field and relevant literature the author discovered that the RCC is seen to be suspicious of the African worldview and consequently does not take its members’ fears and frustrations around the phenomenon of sickness serious as it judges them to be superstitious. This suggests that there is nothing that Western Christianity can learn from African cultures maintaining its superior attitude and further alienating indigenous communities. The author suggests that in order for the RCC to responds with relevance to this problem it needs to reconcile the Christian worldview, which is western, with the African worldview. He puts high on the agenda of Christian theology the urgent call to African theologians to develop an African theology that will give birth to a genuine African Christianity. In conclusion as a solution the author proposes an integrated and intercultural healing ministry for the Diocese of Witbank. This model is aimed at appropriating African values, idioms and language in the RCC to create an atmosphere where the church is seen as a welcome guest who comes bearing gifts but at the same time expects to be taken care of by its host. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

Text in English with abstracts in English, Sesotho and isiXhosa / The importance of investment information seeking cannot be overemphasised. Seeking information to support investment decision-making is a key component of every successful investment business. The literature review revealed that informed investors make greater use of accounting disclosures and non-earnings information in order to form more precise earnings expectations. By contrast, a lack of accurate investment information makes it difficult for investors to decide when to buy, hold or sell their investment. This study investigated information needs and seeking behaviour of black investors in the MTN Asonge scheme in Capricorn District of Limpopo Province. The study endeavoured to acquire understanding of investors’ information needs and how they seek information to support their investment decisions. To this end, a qualitative phenomenological research approach was followed. Purposive snowball sampling was applied to sample the study respondents who were later interviewed. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with six investors to collect data which were subsequently analysed thematically. The three types of information sources identified as core to investment decision-making include personal, online and printed information. The findings showed that although the majority of MTN Asonge investors were aware of different formats in which investment information is available, they did not use modern electronic information storing and retrieval strategies, such as conducting online internet searches to access information published on corporate websites. The respondents experienced various challenges when seeking investment information, opting to rely on personal sources such as friends, close relatives and colleagues. Furthermore, the investors appeared not to be aware of personal information sources such as investment advisors, information brokers, roundtables and one-on-one discussions. The study recommended intensive investor education as well as a comparative investigation of information seeking behaviour amongst other members of BEE investment schemes in South Africa. / Bohlokwa bja go nyaka tshedimošo ya peeletšo bo ka se gatelelwe go fetišiša. Go nyaka tshedimošo ya go thekga tšeo ya sephetho ke karolo ye bohlokwa ya kgwebo ye nngwe le ye nngwe ya peeletšo ye a atlegilego. Tshekatsheko ya dingwalo e utolotše gore babeeletši ba go ba le tsebo ba šomiša ka tshwanelo dikutullo tša tšhupamatlotlo le tshedimošo ye e sego ya go tsenya letseno, go bopa gagolo ditetelo tše itšeng tša letseno. Ka go le lengwe, tlhokego ya tshedimošo ya peeletšo ye e nepagetšego e dira gore go be boima go babeeletši go tšea sephetho sa gore ke neng mo ba rekago, swarelelago goba go rekiša peeletšo ya bona. Nyakišišo ye e nyakišišitše dinyakwa tša tshedimošo le mokgwa wa go nyaka tshedimošo ya babeeletši ba bathobaso ka gare ga sekema sa MTN Asonge ka seleteng sa Capricorn sa Profentshe ya Limpopo. Nyakišišo e lekile go hwetša kwešišo ya dinyakwa tša tshedimošo ya babeeletši le ka fao ba nyakang tshedimošo ya go thekga diphetho tša peeletšo ya bona. Go fihla mo, mokgwa wa khwalithethifi wa nyakišišo wa diponagalo o latetšwe. Go dira sampole ya koketšo ya nepo go šomišitšwe go dira sampole ya bakgathatema ba nyakišišo bao go boledišanwego nabo. Dipoledišano le batho ka o tee ka o tee tša dipotšišo tše di bulegilego di didirilwe ka babeeletši ba selela, go kgoboketša datha yeo morago e sekasekilwego ka tekanyetšo. Mehuta ye meraro ya methopo ya tshedimošo yeo e hlaotšwego bjalo ka ya motheo tšeong ya diphetho tša peeletšo e akaretša ya motho ka noši, onelaene le ya go gatišwa. Dikutullo di laeditše gore le ge bontši bja babeeletši ba MTN Asonge ba be ba lemoga mehuta ya go fapana yeo tshedimošo ya peeletšo e hwetšegago ka yona, ga se ba šomiše mekgwa ya sebjalebjale ya go hwetša le go lota tshedimošo ya ilektroniki, go swana le go dira diphuruphutšo tša inthanete tša onelaene go fihlelela tshedimošo ye e phatlaladitšwego diweposaeteng tša dikgwebo. Bakgathatema ba itemogetše ditlhohlo tša go fapana ge ba nyaka tshedimošo ya peeletšo, ba kgetha go tshepha methopo ya bona ka noši go swana le bagwera, maloko a kgauswi le bašomišane. Gape, babeeletši ba bonagetše ba sa lemoge methopo ya tshedimošo ya batho ka noši go swana le baeletši ba peeletšo, dientšente tša tshedimošo, dikopano le dipoledišano tša batho ka o tee ka o tee. Nyakišišo e šišintše thuto ya babeeletši ye e tseneletšego, le nyakišišo ya papetšo ka go mokgwa wa go nyaka tshedimošo magareng a maloko a mangwe a dikema tša peeletšo tša BEE ka Afrika Borwa. / Nkoka wa ku lava vuxokoxoko bya vuvekisi wu nga ka wu nga tsongahatiwi. Ku lavana na vuxokoxoko bya ku seketela ku endliwa ka swiboho hi vuvekisi i xiyenge xa nkoka swinene eka bindzu ra vuvekisi rin'wana na rin'wana ro humelela. Ku hlayiwa ka matsalwa swi kombe leswo vavekisi lava va nga na vutivi va tirhisa ngopfu ku paluxiwa ka vutivi hi swa malawulelo ya swa timali na vutivi lebyi byi nga vuyeseriku, ku endla leswo ku languteriwa vuvuyerisi byo kotlana swinene. Loko swi pimanisiwa, ku pfumaleka ka vutivi bya vuvekisi swi endla leswo swi nonon'hwa eka vavekisi ku endla swiboho loko va xava, va khoma kumbe ku xavisa vuvekisi bya vona. Dyondzo leyi yi endle vulavisisi hi swilaveko swa vutivi, na matikhomelo yo lava vutivi bya vavekisi va vantima eka xikimu xa MTN Asonge eka distriki ya le Capricorn eka xifundzhankulu xa Limpopo. Vulavisisi lebyi byi na xikongomelo xa ku kuma ku twisisa hi swilaveko swa vutivi eka vavekisi na leswo xana va byi lavisa ku yini vutivi ku seketela swiboho swa vona swa vuvekisi. Mayelana na leswi, ku landzeleriwe fambiselo ra ndzavisiso wa qualitative phenemenological. Ku tirhisiwe sampuli ya fambiselo ra purposeful snowball sampling ku kuma sampuli ya ndzavisiso hi vateka xiavo lava ku nga endliwa mabulu ya interview na vona. Ku endliwe ti-interview na vanhu hi wun'we wun'we leri vitaniwaka semi-structured interview, leswi nga endliwa na vavekisi va ntsevu, ku hlengeleta data, leyi endzhaku ka swona yi nga xopaxopiwa hi tinhlokomhaka to karhi. Minxaka minharhu ya swihlovo swa vutivi swi ve swi voniwa tani hi swa nkoka eka ku endla swiboho hi vuvekisi, ku nga leswi katsaka munhu xiviri, ku kuma vutivi eka inthanete (online) na leswi printiweke. Vuyelo lebyi kumiweke byi kombise leswo hambi loko vunyingi bya vavekisi va MTN Asonge a va twisisa hi tifomete to hambana laha ku kumekaku kona vuviti bya vuvekisi, vavekisi a va tirhisangi vutivi bya elektroniki lebyi hlayisiweke na maqhinga yo byi humesa vutivi bya kona, yo fana na ku secha eka online hi inthanete ku fikelela vutivi lebyi paluxiweke eka ti-website ta khampani. Lava nga hlamula swivutiso va ve na mintlhontlho yo hambana-hambana loko va lava vutivi bya vuvekisi, leswi nga endla leswo va tshembela eka vutivi bya vanhu xiviri, byo fana no byi kuma eka vanghana, va ndyangu na maxaka na vatirhikulobye. Ku ya emahlweni, vavekisi va kombisa ku kala ku twisisa hi swihlovo swa vuviti swo fana na vatsundzuxi hi swa vuvekisi, tibrokhara ta vutivi bya vuvekisi, tinhlengeletano ta vanhu to tsundzuxa na mabulu yo khoma na munhu hi wun'we wun'we. Dyondzo leyi ya ndzavisiso yi bumabumela leswo ku endliwa dyondzo ya vuvekisi, na tindlela to lava vutivi hi ku pimapimanisa eka swikimu swa BEE swa vuvekisi eAfrika Dzonga. / Information Science / M. Inf.

Mixed race and African South African parents of children coming out as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Intersex, Queer, Questioning and A-Sexual+ have a unique set of challenges within their cultural, religious and social contexts. The problem statement for the study entails that parents have to deal with familial and societal perceptions and reactions to their child coming out, face their own challenges and fears concerning their child’s sexual orientation or identity, and find coping strategies to deal with their coming out as LGBTIQA+. During my research in the UNISA library and online I found that there is a paucity of literature on this subject matter, especially within the South African context. The aim of this study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of these mixed race and African parents’ experiences, challenges and coping strategies in relation to a child coming out as LGBTIQA+. The Resiliency Theory of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation, as linked to Hill’s Stress Theory and the Strength-based approach, were adopted as related theories within the theoretical framework of this study. A qualitative approach was employed, as I intended to gain insight into the lived experiences, challenges and coping strategies of mixed race and African South African parents in relation to a child coming out as LGBTIQA+, as well as to gain advice on social work support. A phenomenological and collective instrumental case study design, together with an explorative, descriptive and contextual strategy of inquiry, were used to explore, describe and contextualise how mixed race and African parents of LGBTIQA+ children experienced their children’s coming out, what their challenges were, and the coping strategies they employed to manage the challenges experienced. The sample of participants was selected by utilising purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews, contained in an interview guide, were used to collect the data that was analysed using Tesch’s method of analysis (in Creswell, 2014:198). The data were collected by means of individual interviews and presented in a cross-person manner using selected narratives from the participants. Guba’s model, as espoused in Krefting (1991) and Lietz and Zayas (2010), was used and the four aspects of trustworthiness, namely credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability, were applied. Ethical considerations were observed. The findings led the researcher to make recommendations regarding social work practice, education and further research into the phenomenon of parental experiences, challenges and coping strategies in relation to a child coming out as LGBTIQA+. In terms of parental experiences of their child coming out as LGBTIQA+, I found that parents were surprised and unhappy, disappointed, pained and shocked, and fearful for their child’s safety when they realised he or she was LGBTIQA+. When it came to their challenges and fears, the parents openly admitted that what the community, church and external family would make of their child being LGBTIQA+ caused stress for them. Lastly, the parents made recommendations to social workers based on their experiences, challenges and coping strategies, indicating that social workers should focus on sharing information and guiding parents; but firstly, social workers must have self-awareness and understand their own attitudes toward LGBTIQA+ matters. / Social Work / MA (Social Work)

This study investigated social contextual factors influencing poor uptake of HIV counselling and testing (HCT) services by middle-aged black men in Ratanda, Heidelberg. A qualitative research approach was used in which ten men and two key informants were interviewed. Themes explored were the participants’ biographical characteristics; knowledge of HIV and AIDS; health-seeking behaviours; understanding of multiple sexual partnerships and male circumcision and challenges in utilising HCT services. Various social behaviour change theories formed the theoretical framework guiding this study. It was found that fear, stigma and cultural factors largely contributed to poor HCT uptake. Moreover despite the men’s high HIV risk perceptions, behaviour change lags behind. Greater efforts to establish a men’s forum to discuss sexual health matters in Ratanda is recommended. / Health Studies / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

This study investigated social contextual factors influencing poor uptake of HIV counselling and testing (HCT) services by middle-aged black men in Ratanda, Heidelberg. A qualitative research approach was used in which ten men and two key informants were interviewed. Themes explored were the participants’ biographical characteristics; knowledge of HIV and AIDS; health-seeking behaviours; understanding of multiple sexual partnerships and male circumcision and challenges in utilising HCT services. Various social behaviour change theories formed the theoretical framework guiding this study. It was found that fear, stigma and cultural factors largely contributed to poor HCT uptake. Moreover despite the men’s high HIV risk perceptions, behaviour change lags behind. Greater efforts to establish a men’s forum to discuss sexual health matters in Ratanda is recommended. / Health Studies / M. A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

[Preface]:In 1862 Grahamstown acquired the dignity, pride and responsibility of full municipal status by its own Act of Incorporation. Ibis Act marked the consolidation of Grahamstown's era of local government by its vigorous and far-sighted Municipal Board of Commissioners, which was established in 1837 and has been examined in depth in K.S. Hunt's thesis on Grahamstown municipal government up to 1862. Clearly, the year 1862 is the logical beginning for a further study of Grahamstown's changing position in the Eastern Cape and its development in the practice of local government during the crucial decades of the 1860's and 1870's. But the choice of 1882 to mark the end of this thesis is in some ways arbitrary. 1882 does not appear to be a turning point, a year of major significance in either the history of Grahamstown or of the Colony as a whole. Besides the convenient time-span of twenty years, there are various factors which, taken together, explain why 1882 is a useful date of demarcation from which to take stock and review Grahamstown's economic, political, social and municipal position after two vital decades in its history. In the civic sphere,the opening of Grahamstown's Town Hall made tangible,in solid Victorian design,a long held ambition of the City Councillors. Buildings, in Victorian attitudes, throughout the British Empire, were regarded as very important civic symbols. One can learn much of Grahamstown Victorian attitudes from the lengthy process of attaining a Town Hall. A much more elaborate ceremony surrounded the opening of the Jubilee Tower, an occasion for assessing the influence of Grahamstown's Settler heritage on the development of the town. Municipal problems concerning finance, water and "native" locations remained thorny questions as they had throughout the period 1862-32. Generally 1882 was a year of transition for Grahamstown and the Colony as a whole. Economically it appeared to start prosperously but 1882 actually marked the beginning of a severe depression which lasted until 1386. It is important to consider how Grahamstown’s economic development relates to the overall economic picture of the Cape Colony at this juncture. Though ostrich feather prices remained high in 1882, the ensuing depression was caused partly by the rapid overexpansion of the industry but most important of all, by a reaction to an inflated era of confidence during the diamond boom years of the 1870's and their consequent easy Bank credit plus intense speculation. Politically 1882 also appeared a year of transition. How to maintain the uneasy peace after the Basuto war remained a constant challenge to Scanlen's ministry. The beginnings of active party conflict in the workings of responsible government were evident only in embryo. The rapid growth of the Afrikaner Bond was to change this. Specifically in relation to the practice of local government in the Cape Colony, the General Municipal Act No. 45 was passed during the Parliamentary session of 1882, enabling any town to seek incorporation. The query is raised as to how far the modus vivendi of the Grahamstown municipality helped frame the clauses of this general Municipal enabling Act. For these various reasons, as well as the additional one that twenty years was found to offer a manageable research unit, 1882 has been decided on as the limit of this thesis. This thesis aims, through a careful examination of Grahamstown's economic, political but particularly civic development, to determine and trace the nature of the Grahamstown community's response to the challenge of the gradual isolation of the 1860's and 1870's. Grahamstown's civic history provides fascinating insights into the structure of the entire community and its attitudes and values. Study has been made of the following major primary sources for the history of Grahamstown 1862-1882: the Grahamstown Municipality records, complete except for incoming letters and housed in the Cape Archives, und the Grahamstown newspapers for the period. The most prolific as well us the most valuable newspaper source of the period is The Grahamstown Journal, a newspaper with a tradition firmly bound up with the formulation of frontier as well as Grahamstown thought, kingpin of the network built up by the successors of Robert Godlonton, the "architect of frontier opinion". It has to be treated with caution as a source because of this very bias. The Council Minutes themselves, meticulously recorded in the Town Clerk's copperplate Victorian script, are scrupulously objective, recording blandly proposers, seconders and fates of motions. What might appear the bare bones of a detailed study of the municipal records yet reflects the economic climate of the town, political opinions, class and race attitudes, civic pride, concepts of public health and charity. The newspapers are a vital addition to the Municipal records themselves. The weekly meetings received faithful, accurate and very copious coverage from press-representatives present at every ordinary meeting. Indeed these reports give a vivid immediacy to the meetings and reveal opinions, pressure groups and lines of conflict within the Council, on issues important and trivial. These, at times lively and enlivening, sometimes stormy meetings, are reported with an authenticity which makes one suspect that often words of speeches were given verbatim - personalities of the Councillors certainly emerge distinctly. Full newspaper coverage is also given to the meetings of the Albany Divisional Council. The annual reports of the Civil Commissioners and Resident Magistrates, which appear in the Parliamentary Blue Books of the period, provide some valuable economic comment on the vicissitudes of life in the eastern frontier districts from 1862-1882. Such information builds useful background for a study of Grahamstown's economic and social development. Efforts have been made to locate probable sources of family papers of one of the most influential Grahamstown families of the period, the Wood family, but to no avail. If any exist they would without doubt have given interesting insight into the business connections of leading Grahamstown men and possibly given an indication of how far civic and political connections linked with religious and family influences in Victorian Grahamstown. Jim's Journal, manuscript in Cory Library, is a record of letters sent home to England by James Butler, while on a visit to the Cape,1876-79 for his health. He provides illuminating glimpses into the day to day life of Grahamstown from a Quaker viewpoint. Taken together, these sources provide considerable insights into the life and times of Grahamstown in the second half of the nineteenth Century. A municipal study examines an area in its totality: it encompasses a study of minutiae within the context of general trends. This fact alone suggests that there are many sources on the history of Grahamstown which have not yet been discovered, but this assessment is submitted on the basis of a thorough study of those which are currently available.