The objective of this study is to investigate the picture book as a form of communication. The investigation comprises both a theoretical and a practical approach. An extensive literature survey was undertaken, publishers interviewed and visits undertaken to process and printing houses to establish the methods and approaches that are currently employed to produce a picture book. The theoretical formulation forms the background and motivation to the practical aspect of the study. The practical component entails the actual conceptualization, design, illustration and publication of a picture book. The possibilities and constraints imposed on the illustrator, comprising all the elements that influence and shape the communication process, are presented and discussed - firstly in theory and then in direct reference to the picture book which is bei:1g illustrated. The theoretical and practical components of this study combine to show up the picture book as a unique art and literary form. The manner in which successful communication is achieved through the effective utilization of all the processes and elements that combine to form the picture book is demonstrated. This study emphasizes that the illustrator should get to know and use all possibilities and restrictions to their full advantage to create an effective, unique interpretation and expression in picture book form. / Thesis (MA (Beeldende Kunste))--PU for CHE

The objective of this study is to investigate the picture book as a form of communication. The investigation comprises both a theoretical and a practical approach. An extensive literature survey was undertaken, publishers interviewed and visits undertaken to process and printing houses to establish the methods and approaches that are currently employed to produce a picture book. The theoretical formulation forms the background and motivation to the practical aspect of the study. The practical component entails the actual conceptualization, design, illustration and publication of a picture book. The possibilities and constraints imposed on the illustrator, comprising all the elements that influence and shape the communication process, are presented and discussed - firstly in theory and then in direct reference to the picture book which is bei:1g illustrated. The theoretical and practical components of this study combine to show up the picture book as a unique art and literary form. The manner in which successful communication is achieved through the effective utilization of all the processes and elements that combine to form the picture book is demonstrated. This study emphasizes that the illustrator should get to know and use all possibilities and restrictions to their full advantage to create an effective, unique interpretation and expression in picture book form. / Thesis (MA (Beeldende Kunste))--PU for CHE

AFRIKAANS: Die navorsingsdoel van hierdie studie is om insig te verkry in die rol van handboeke in die instandhouding en legitimering van etniese magsverhoudinge, in die besonder deur middel van die bevestiging van kulturele stereotipes onderliggend aan die nie-geformuleerde, maar effektiewe verspreiding van norme, waardes en houdings. Gegrond op die aanname dat handboeke sosiale en politieke werklikhede weerspieël, ondersoek hierdie kwalitatiewe studie die voorstellingspraktyke in Nederlandse, Vlaamse en Afrikaanse taalhandboeke. 'n Kritiese diskoersanaliseontwerp, ondersteun deur 'n tematiese analise en fokusgroepbesprekings, word aangewend om die visuele materiaal in een handboekreeks van elk van die drie gemeenskappe te ondersoek. Ter aanvang word die drie Dietse tale se moontlike invloed op mekaar, ook ten opsigte van diversiteit, bespreek. Die teoretiese begronding is geanker in die veld van houding-, kultuur- en visuele studies. Die kennisbasis aangaande handboekvoorstellings in die onderskeie gemeenskappe word ontgin. Die bevindinge word as indikators van die fokusgroepbesprekings in die drie tersaaklike gemeenskappe, sowel as 'n tematiese analise van die visuele voorstellings in die handboeke aangebied. Daar is in die Nederlandse en Vlaamse data stereotipering gevind. Die bevindinge toon dat die visuele materiaal in die Nederlandse data as ideologiese retoriek van die dominante wit groep dien, wat die 'ander' as problematies, arm en 'anders' voorstel. Die Vlaamse reeks toon enkele voorbeelde van kulturele uitsluiting, maar gebruik ook teensimbole om self-refleksiwiteit onder leerders aan te moedig – wat outomatiese stereotipering teenwerk. As gevolg van Afrikaans se politiese verlede oorbeklemtoon die Afrikaanse handboeke 'n utopiese ‘nuwe Suid-Afrika’ waar ras en verskil non-issues is. Geen tekens van apartheidmeestersimbole kon in die Afrikaanse handboeke gevind word nie en Afrikaans as witmanstaal is in 'n groot mate gedemitologiseer. As gevolg van die sterk hekwagtersrol wat handboekbelanghebbendes soos die onderwysdepartement en uitgewers in Suid-Afrika speel, kan die Afrikaanse handboekdata slegs in 'n geringe mate met die Nederlandse en Vlaamse data vergelyk word. Anders as wat aanvanklik vermoed is, toon hierdie studie dat taal die belangrikste, indien nie die enigste, gemene deler tussen die drie gemeenskappe is. ENGLISH: The research goal of this study was to provide insight into the role of textbooks in the maintenance and legitimization of ethnic power relations, specifically the reproduction of cultural stereotypes informing the unstated, but effective distribution of norms, values and attitudes. Based on the assumption that textbooks serve as a mirror of the social and political order, the purpose of this qualitative study is to determine the extent to which Dutch, Flemish and Afrikaans language textbook series foster cultural stereotyping of the 'other’. Data sources for the critical discourse analysis are constituted by the visual material of one textbook series from each of the three language communities. The contextualisation includes an explanation of how the three Pan Dutch languages might influence each other, and their perspectives on diversity. The conceptual framework comprises an explication of the concepts and theories on attitude, culture and visual studies. Influential issues in the literature on textbook representation, language and identity are described in the literature study. The findings are presented as indicators derived from focus group discussions in the three countries, as well as a thematic analysis of visual representation in the textbooks. Traces of stereotyping were found in the Dutch and Flemish data. The findings show that visual material in the Dutch data serves as ideological rhetoric of the dominant white group, projecting the 'other' as problematic, poor and different. The Flemish series shows indications of cultural exclusion, but incorporates counter-symbols to encourage self-reflectivity among Flemish learners, thus countering automatic stereotyping. The Afrikaans textbooks, because of their highly politicised past, over-emphasize a utopian ‘new South Africa’ where race and difference are non-issues. No signs of apartheid master symbols could be found in the Afrikaans textbooks and Afrikaans is demythologised as a 'white' language. As a result of the controlling nature of the gatekeeping function in South Africa of the education department and textbook publishers, the Afrikaans textbook-data can be compared to the Dutch and the Flemish textbook-data to a limited extent only. This study has shown that the major characteristic the three communities share is language. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Humanities Education / unrestricted

In the 300 years since the magazine originated, this mass medium has become synonymous with women and their worlds. Today, publications for, by and about women still dominate the global magazine market, and the selection and circulation of women’s magazines increase annually – indicative of the popularity of this mixed medium of information, instruction and entertainment. Since the 1980s, academics from different human sciences branches, such as Joke Hermes and Marloes Hülsken in the Netherlands and Angela Gough-Yates, Margaret Beetham, Ros Ballaster and Marjorie Ferguson in the United Kingdom, have proven the academic worth of women’s magazines, by using them as information sources about women’s social knowledge, positions and roles, their relationships and consumer behaviour in (amongst others) historical, sociological, psychological, mass media and women’s studies research. In South Africa, however, academic research on women’s magazines is still largely unexploited: apart from a few dissertations, information is mostly limited to single paragraphs in larger mass media studies. Magazines for black women have, for example, not been researched yet. In this study, South African and Dutch magazines from 2006 are studied as sociocultural journals: accounts or collections of the major trains of thought representative of a specific context and time frame. When magazine content is viewed as the textual distillation of the shared consciousness or culture of a particular audience, and discourse as ways of acting and thinking underlying this shared consciousness, magazines, by drawing on different discourses, report on the norms, values and habits particular to a specific era – yielding information that can be applied in reconstructing images of reality. This study aimed to research, within the context of current women’s magazines, the way in which women’s presence in the career world is accepted and legitimised as standard practice, and to explore the influence of the pursuit of a career on other female roles. It was assumed that the range of ‘superwoman’ roles (career woman, mother, wife, homemaker, lover, friend …) resonates in the ‘work discourse’ – and that all women experience similar frustrations, fears, dreams and expectations, irrespective of linguistic, cultural and socio-economic factors. A selection of sixteen magazines – two issues each of four South African and four Dutch magazine titles, aimed at diverse readerships – were singled out as primary research material. Magazine content was subsequently submitted to close reading, in order to examine as closely as possible the approaches towards women’s deployment in the career world, as made evident in the text. Theoretical concepts from mass media studies, cultural studies, discourse analysis and feminist criticism underpinned the identification of textual patterns, leading to the establishment of links between text and reality and meaningful interpretations of eventual findings. The results indicated that the work discourse in all the examined magazines is informed by three interpretative repertoires – that ultimately determine the way in which this discourse is developed and maintained, both in the magazine content and in everyday life. When the findings resulting from the textual analysis of the work discourse represented in these magazines were compared with actual statistics on the career world, it became obvious, however, that magazine content does not necessarily reflect reality – but that internalising the ambitious, larger-than-life dream aspects contained between a magazine’s covers is precisely the aspect from which readers derive pleasure and satisfaction. / Dissertation (MA (Afrikaans))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Afrikaans / unrestricted

AFRIKAANS : Hierdie studie behels drie narratiewe wat gekonstrueer is uit onderhoude met boere wat die boerdery na 1994 verlaat het. Die fokus van die studie is om die private en openbare diskoerse wat ’n konteks skep vir boere om die boerdery te verlaat, te identifiseer. Daar is tans ’n eksodus van boere uit die landbou. Hierdie tendens skep ’n konteks vir destabilisasie van die platteland en beïnvloed al die betrokke rolspelers. Tog is min of geen navorsing in die sielkunde oor die belewenisse van hierdie groep mense onderneem nie. Die navorsing is uitgevoer vanuit ’n sosiale konstruksionistiese benadering wat binne die postmoderne diskoers geanker is. ’n Diskoersanalise is uitgevoer op die teks van drie navorsingsdeelnemers wat nog tot onlangs toe geboer het, maar intussen hul narratiewe moes rekonstrueer. Die unieke betekenis wat deur die navorsingsteks gekonstrueer word, is dat die verduidelikende lokus vir menslike gedrag vanaf die klassieke fokus op persoonlike belewenisse en verstandelike prosesse wat binne individue gesetel is, na ’n fokus op prosesse en strukture van menslike interaksie verskuif. Die navorsingsteks beskik dus oor die vermoë om ’n bewustheid by sielkundiges en verwante beroepe te konstrueer om vanuit ’n nuwe perspektief na die sielkundige diskoers te kyk. In hoofstuk een deel ek my eie boerderynarratief met die leser en stel die navorsingsvraag bekend. In hoofstuk twee word die konteks waarbinne boerdery in Suid-Afrika gesitueer is, aan die hand van ’n literatuurstudie uiteengesit. Dit word in hoofstuk drie opgevolg met ’n verduideliking van die paradigmatiese vertrekpunt, naamlik sosiale konstruksionisme. Diskoersanalise wat as ’n metode gebruik word om die teks te eksploreer word ook bespreek. Met hierdie agtergrond in gedagte word daar in hoofstuk vier oorgegaan na die fokus van die navorsing, naamlik die eksplorasie van teks. ’n Diskoersanalise is op die teks van drie navorsingsdeelnemers gedoen. Diskoerse wat in die proses geïdentifiseer is, sluit die volgende in: gesin-van-oorsprong-diskoers; beroepsdiskoers; politieke diskoers; misdaad-diskoers; ekonomiese diskoers; stoettelersdiskoers; middelman-diskoers; patriargale diskoers; ouderdomsdiskoers; beleggingsdiskoers; biomediese diskoers; opvoedingsdiskoers; die koöperasie as ’n instelling; sowel as diskoerse wat in die pers gevoer word. Hierdie diskoerse vorm saam die konteks waarbinne boere besluite oor hul toekoms neem. Die bevindings word nie as die waarheid hanteer nie, maar as die waarheid wat deur taal en magsverhoudings in stand gehou word. U word genooi om verder te lees en die sentrale posisie wat taal beklee in die skepping van die realiteit van die mens se bestaan, en in die konstruering van die navorsingsnarratief, vir uself te ontdek. ENGLISH : This study comprises three narratives that were constructed from interviews conducted with farmers who had given up farming after 1994. The focus of the study is to identify the private and public discourses that create a context for farmers to give up farming. Currently, an exodus of farmers is taking place from agriculture. This trend creates a context for the destabilisation of rural areas and affects all parties involved. However, in the field of psychology little research, if any, has been conducted into the experiences of this group of people. The research was conducted from a social constructionism approach anchored in the postmodern discourse. A discourse analysis was done of the text of three research participants who had been farming until recently, but who since had to reconstruct their narratives. The unique meaning constructed by the research text is that the explanatory locus of human behaviour has moved away from the classic focus on personal experiences and mental processes residing in individuals, to a focus on processes and structures of human interaction. The research text has the potential of constructing awareness among psychologists and related professions to view the psychological discourse from a new perspective. In chapter one I share my own farming narrative with the reader and introduce the research question. Chapter two comprises the context in which the farming industry is situated in South Africa based on a study of relevant literature. That is followed by an explanation of the paradigmatic point of departure known as social constructionism in chapter three. Discourse analysis is also discussed as a method used to explore the text. Bearing this in mind, chapter four moves on to the research focus, that is the exploration of text. A discourse analysis was done of the text of three research participants. Discourses identified in the process include the following: family-of-origin discourse; career discourse; political discourse; crime discourse; economic discourse; stud-farming discourse; middleman discourse; patriarchal discourse; age discourse; investment discourse; bio-medical discourse; educational discourse; the cooperative as an institution; as well as discourses conducted in the press. Together these discourses form the context within which farmers make decisions about their future. The findings are not dealt with as the truth, but as the truth maintained in language and relationships of power. You are invited to read on and to discover for yourself the central position which language holds in creating the reality of man’s existence and in constructing the research narrative. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted