A surge of "masculinity in crisis" discourse suggests that men are primarily responsible for lawlessness, social mayhem, violence and other forms of psycho- and socio-pathology. This crisis is attributed, in part, to hegemonic models of masculinity which restrict men to certain modes of behaviour and specific roles in society. This study investigates the content of a group of South African adolescent males' cognitive schemata for masculinity and gender roles. A qualitative mode of enquiry was used to identify the beliefs held by participants about manhood and gender roles. The findings of this study affirm that a hegemonic model of masculinity exists is the sub-culture of South African society represented by the participants and suggests that hegemonic masculinity in South African is both restrictive and damaging to men and society. / Psychology / M. A. (Psychology)

This study investigated the social factors influencing the poor uptake of HIV Testing and Counselling (HCT) services by middle-aged black men in Pimville, Soweto. A qualitative research approach was used for this study 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, male circumcision, and challenges in using HCT services. Various social behaviour change theories formed the theoretical framework guiding this study. It was found that fear, stigma and cultural factors are major reasons for the poor HCT uptake. 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 Pimville are recommended. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

This phenomenological study explored Black male law enforcement officers’ perspectives of how racial profiling shaped their decisions to explore and commit to a law enforcement career. Criterion and snow ball sampling was used to obtain the 17 participants for this study. Super’s (1990) archway model was used as the theoretical framework. The archway model “is designed to bring out the segmented but unified and developmental nature of career development, to highlight the segments, and to make their origin clear” (Super, 1990, p. 201). Interview data were analyzed using inductive, deductive, and comparative analyses. Three themes emerged from the inductive analysis of the data: (a) color and/or race does matter, (b) putting on the badge, and (c) too black to be blue and too blue to be black. The deductive analysis used a priori coding that was based on Super’s (1990) archway model. The deductive analysis revealed the participants’ career exploration was influenced by their knowledge of racial profiling and how others view them. The comparative analysis between the inductive themes and deductive findings found the theme “color and/or race does matter” was present in the relationships between and within all segments of Super’s (1990) model. The comparative analysis also revealed an expanded notion of self-concept for Black males – marginalized and/or oppressed individuals. Self-concepts, “such as self-efficacy, self-esteem, and role self-concepts, being combinations of traits ascribed to oneself” (Super, 1990, p. 202) do not completely address the self-concept of marginalized and/or oppressed individuals. The self-concept of marginalized and/or oppressed individuals is self-efficacy, self-esteem, traits ascribed to oneself expanded by their awareness of how others view them. (DuBois, 1995; Freire, 1970; Sheared, 1990; Super, 1990; Young, 1990). Ultimately, self-concept is utilized to make career and life decisions. Current human resource policies and practices do not take into consideration that negative police contact could be the result of racial profiling. Current human resource hiring guidelines penalize individuals who have had negative police contact. Therefore, racial profiling is a discriminatory act that can effectively circumvent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission laws and serve as a boundary mechanism to employment (Rocco & Gallagher, 2004).

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-131) / This study investigates the place of the Shona-Karanga women as reflected in Shona proverbs concerning women. Reviewed literature covers the world, African and Zimbabwean perspectives on women. It discusses and examines changes in the role and status of Shona –Karanga women in the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. The study examines men’s attitude towards women, women’s attitude towards themselves and women’s responsibilities in Shona-Karanga communities in relation to Shona proverbs. Proverbial statements discussed were from participants and other sources. Government’s effort in improving the women’s status was examined. The study uses mixed research methods of data generation and presentation. Research findings show that women lost their glory during the colonial period but the blame is levelled against Karanga culture which actually holds women with high esteem. The study established that most participants were ignorant of proverbs concerning women. The research was an eye opener to women about the tremendous potential they have / African Languages / M.A. (African languages)

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An abundance of research has been conducted about the importance of including books and literature as part of a young child's developmental process. Much of this research suggests that picture books are vital to a young child's healthy development and "are important influences that shape us by reflecting the politics and values of our society" (Fox, 1993, p. 656). This study was completed to analyze character roles and gender representation of male and female characters exclusively in children's picture books. The entire population of Caldecott Award and Honor Medal books published between 2001 and 2011 was utilized for a frequency analysis. Each Caldecott Award and Honor Medal book meeting this study's criteria was examined, read and analyzed. Books included only works of fiction and were delimited to exclude biographies, autobiographies, informational books, concept books and poetry. A total of 24 books were used in the data analysis. This research attempted to answer the following question: Are males and females equitably represented in recently published children's literature? From a content-analysis approach, within a historical perspective, this research aimed at examining if gender bias still dominates the literature, and if so, to what extent. The intellectual interest of this project is in discovering male and female presence and imagery in children's picture books.

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