Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Political Science, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 7, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 304-329). Also issued in print.

The primary aim of the study is to make a contribution to the discipline of myth theory, or mythology, within the academic field of enquiry of media studies. To this end, the first part of the study comprises a literature review of relevant myth theory, during which the quantitative disparity on myth theory, between myth literature describing dominant myth and that dealing with counter myth, is highlighted. In order to address the comparatively smaller amount of theory concerned with counter myth, the study proceeds to theorise the semiotic technical functions of counter myth, the socio-political functions of counter myth and examines the social values and dangers of counter myth in society. Furthermore, counter myth is considered with regard to media framing, the relationship between counter myth and political myth is addressed, and the characteristics and criteria of counter myth are outlined. In keeping with the main purpose of the study, which is to provide a new contribution to myth theory, the theoretical problematics of the definition and classification of both myth and counter myth is confronted, and mechanisms for contending with these theoretical difficulties are suggested. A theoretical framework for the analysis of myth and counter myth on film is developed, which is based on the theorisation of counter myth performed in the literature study. In the second part of the study this theoretical framework is applied to a sample of purposefully selected post apartheid South African history films as a case study. The primary purpose of this case study is to serve as a demonstration of how the theoretical framework for the analysis of myth and counter myth can be put to use in the critical analysis of media texts, in this study applied to film (as a mediated text). The secondary purpose of the case study is to examine a selection of post apartheid South African counter myths, which explicitly work to remythologise the collective social identity construction of the white South African, in the post 1994 socio-political environment. In this way, the study demonstrates how myth and counter myth may facilitate identity (re)construction during and after a period of societal upheaval or transformation. / Communication Science / (D. Litt. et Phil. (Communication Science))

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Summary: This thesis considers different groupings that have come together in their participation in the policy processes relating to tenure reform in post-apartheid South Africa. It is methodologically and theoretically grounded in Bourdieu's notion of cultural 'fields' spaces of ongoing contestation and struggle, but in which actors develop a shared 'habitus', an embodied history. In these land reform policies and law-making activities, individuals and groups from different fields- the bureaucratic, activist and legal - have interacted in their contestations relating to the legitimation of their forms of knowledge. The resulting compromises are illuminated by a case study of a village in the former Gazankulu 'homeland' - a fourth 'cultural field'. Rather than seeing these fields as bounded, the thesis recognises the influence of wider political discourses and materialities, or the wider 'field of power'. In each of the four very different fields, as a result of a shared history, actors within them have developed practices based upon particular shared discourses, institutions and values. / South Africa

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The history of South Africa is embedded in violence. This can be traced to the arrival of the Dutch settlers in 1652, to the Afrikaner–nationalist ideology of apartheid, and finally into the current dispensation of democracy. Historically, violence with its various forms and negative sequelae, has been narrated from an adult-centred perspective. Thus, due to the paucity of literature from the perspective of youth and adolescents, this study aims to review and synthesise the findings of existing empirical studies focusing on youth and adolescents’ perceptions of violence in post-apartheid South Africa.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The thesis is titled a Sociolinguistic and Multisemiotic Analysis of Mobility and Identities in Hangberg, Hout Bay. The guiding idea of this research project is to explore the contesting social and semiotic processes of transformation in Hangberg since the transition towards post-apartheid in South Africa. One of the objectives of this study is to probe how Hangberg and its people are (re)constructed in the media and virtual spaces (Facebook, and newspaper articles) as well as in the physical linguistic/semiotic landscapes (LL) of Hangberg. The researcher uses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) and conceptual tools such as resemiotisation and remediation to capture and understand the socio-ideological construction of the people of Hangberg through a mesh of verbal as well as visual language / signs in the virtual and physical semiotic landscapes. / 2023

Between 1994 and 2004 the African National Congress (ANC) dominated government at every level of every branch. As a result, the checks and balances that are a necessary part of any democracy were non-existent. Understanding the powerful position they occupied, the ANC increasingly acted on its own accordance without any regard for the wishes of the South African populace. This lack of public consideration, coupled with the failure to economically redistribute wealth among the vast unemployed majority, turned an optimistic political culture with mass participation in 1994 into a disillusioned political culture with reduced political participation in 2004. These economic failures, along with the rise in crime and political corruption that dominated South African politics, eroded the optimism and trust that for a short time was prevalent in South Africa. Instead, the post-apartheid political culture of South Africa resembled what it did for all of those decades under apartheid: one of disillusionment and non-participation. The following thesis will argue that during the decade following 1994, South Africans became increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with government as the divide between the small-upper class and the large-proletariat continually expanded. The various explanations for the expansion of this divide will be presented along with survey information, which will attempt to garner what the South African public perceives to be; 1) the primary threat to the long-term stability of democracy, 2) the effectiveness of government between 1994 and 2004. Most importantly, the surveys will ask South Africans who voted in 1994 but not in 2004 the reason for not voting in order to fully understand the specific cause for the decline in political participation.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this research I investigated, with specific references to the three dramas, the ways in which the Coloured and his community were represented in the post-apartheid theatre. I examined identity formation through the theories of Erik Erikson and James Marcia’s identity theories, as well as theories with regards to race and ethnic identity. From these theories I came to the conclusion that the individual identity is a constant process of forming and reforming, especially during the adolescent years. Secondly, I examined group identity. A group is characterised by the nature of the relationships between its members, and also plays an important role in the structuring of the members’ identities. Group identification is a strategy for successfully handling the negative effects that are associated with ethnic minority groups. Other racial groups are usually biased towards the ethnic minority groups because of the stigma by which they are characterised. The Cape Coloureds and the Cape Malays are the two groups that were chosen for examination and discussion, seeing that they are the two largest groups in Cape Town. There is a vast array of factors and subsections that can be chosen for the forming of a Coloured identity. These factors consist of gender, religion, language, style, class, education and appearance. Following on the research and chosen dramas, I formulate three categories, each consisting of its own type of Coloured character. Category one consists of the extreme stereotype: the typical Cape Coloured and Cape Malay. Category two makes space for the middle course: the more comprehensive Cape Coloured and the Indian-Muslim. The last category consists of the other extreme stereotype: the White-Coloured and the Public Malay. Category one and two are used most frequently when representing Coloureds. Category three Coloureds are chosen very seldom. Playwrights, directors and actors often create characters based on preconceived ideas of the Coloured identity. These characteristics seem to be a reduction of an identity that promotes these preconceived ideas. The Apartheid laws that were used to marginalise the Coloureds are still found in these characteristics. As long as these aspects are present in society, they will be displayed on stage. Unfortunately, within post-apartheid theatre, the Coloured and his community are still mostly represented by these stereotypes. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsingsvraag lui soos volg: Met spesifieke verwysing na die gekose dramas, op watter wyse word die Kleurling en sy gemeenskap in die post-apartheid-teater uitgebeeld? Ten einde hierdie vraag te kan beantwoord, moes daar na spesifieke punte gekyk word. Eerstens is daar, met behulp van die identiteitsteorieë van Erik Erikson en James Marcia asook die teorieë rakende rasse- en etniese identiteit, gekyk na wat persoonlike identiteitsvorming behels. Vanuit hierdie teorieë kom ek tot die slotsom dat die individuele identiteit ’n konstante proses is wat gedurig aan die vorm en hervorm is, veral tydens die adolessentejare. Tweedens is daar gekyk na wat groepsidentiteit behels. ’n Groep word gekenmerk deur die aard van die verhoudings tussen sy lede en speel ’n sterk rol in die strukturering van identiteite. Groepsidentifisering is ’n strategie vir die suksesvolle hantering van negatiewe effekte wat verband hou met etniese minderheidsgroepe. Etniese groepe word heel dikwels bevooroordeel as gevolg van die stigma wat saam met die groep gekenmerk word. Die Kaapse Kleurling en die Kaapse Maleier is die twee groepe wat gekies is vir bestudering en bespreking, aangesien dit die twee grootste groepe binne Kaapstad is. Daar is ook aandag gevestig op identiteit soos te sien binne die literatuur en teater. Teater dien as ’n eksterne doel in die bevordering van ’n kulturele identiteit binne ’n onbekende konteks. Dit is ’n transformasieritueel wat die mens in staat stel om betekenis te produseer en te help om ’n wyse van identifikasie te skep. Teater is dié platform waar die mensdom in elke vorm ten toon gestel kan word – ’n ruimte wat verskaf word om die onbekende te konfronteer en dit gevolglik te aanvaar of nie. Daar is verskeie faktore en onderafdelings wat gekies kan word vir die vorming van ’n Kleurling-identiteit. Hierdie faktore bestaan uit die volgende: geslag, godsdiens, taal, styl, klas, opvoeding en voorkoms. Na aanleiding van die navorsing en gekose dramas, word daar drie kategorieë gevorm wat elkeen sy eie tipe Kleurlingkarakter huisves. Kategorie een bestaan uit die uiterste stereotipe: die tipiese Kaapse Kleurling en Kaapse Maleier. Kategorie twee maak plek vir die middeweg: die “lewende” Kaapse Kleurling en Maleise Indiër. Die laaste kategorie is die tuiste vir die ander uiterste, die Wit-Kleurling en die Publieke Maleier. Kategorie een en twee is waaruit die meeste Kleurlinge gekies en verteenwoordig word. Kategorie drie Kleurlinge word uiters selde verteenwoordig. Daar is ook geen melding van ’n Kleurling wat buite die Kaapse Vlakte gebore is en hoe sy lewe ontvou nie. Dramaturge, regisseurs en akteurs skep dikwels Kleurlingkarakters van wie daar vooropgestelde idees bestaan. Hierdie karaktereienskappe blyk ’n reduksie van identiteit te wees wat die vooropgestelde idees bevorder. Die Apartheidswette wat gebruik is om die Kleurling te marginaliseer, se skadu’s word steeds in hierdie karaktereienskappe aangetref. Solank as wat hierdie aspekte nog in die samelewing en gemeenskappe teenwoordig is, sal dit op een of ander manier op die verhoog uitgespeel word. Ongelukkig word die Kleurling en sy gemeenskap nog hoofsaaklik volgens hierdie stereotipes in die post-apartheid-teater verteenwoordig.

This study explores the perceptions of the causes of poverty of South Africa’s post apartheid generation at the North-West University’s Vaal Triangle Campus. The study uses a sample of 203 respondents aged 20 years or younger, from the campus two faculties (Economic Sciences and Information Technology, and Humanities). The main objective of the study is determining whether the post-apartheid generation perceives poverty as the result of fatalistic, individualistic or structural factors, as indicated by the Feagin scale. The secondary objective of the study was to determine whether demographic variables such as age, gender, home area and the faculty of study, along with socio-economic variables such as the employment status of the respondents’ parents, monthly expenses and the respondents’ lived poverty index influence perceptions of the causes of poverty. / MCom (Economics), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / A problem of the South African economy is the pervasive unemployment in particular amongst the black population. Double-digit unemployment figures had become the norm within post - apartheid South Africa. The newly elected government in 1994 identified the informal sector as a strategic growth area. The SMME sector was seen as unexplored and a potential conduit and possible answer to create employment opportunities and address the unemployment crisis. The question that guided the research was What are the challenges faced by the SMME sector, in particular black SMMEs, in becoming a sustainable and financially viable business? The study was qualitative in nature and the case methodology was used for this research. The key findings were that, there is an over - reliance on the business owner that in many instances, has very little business experience. Furthermore ,that government support programmes are not well known amongst the SMMEs. The major recommendations are that Government must provide the support to the SMME sector to become sustainable and contribute to employment creation. Government must explore the possibility of financially supporting the SMMEs. Lastly, that Government must review the regulatory and policy framework to reduce and create an enabling environment for SMMEs to grow and become lucrative.

M.A., Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Most previous academic studies undertaken on music festivals in South Africa have been largely done through economic lenses. They have dealt with growing the festival; financial benefits for the festival organisers; management styles and models of festivals. This research interrogates the impact of music festivals on the participating artists’ social, creative, intellectual and sustainable growth. The research studied these aspects through the analysis of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival, which in 2010 was celebrating its diamond jubilee, and following six musicians who have participated in the festivals at different levels. Being a jazz artist myself, I became interested in what constitutes the development of a musician who participates in a jazz festival. This research seeks to depart from the socio-economic based studies by analysing the role of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival in the lives of six South African jazz musicians and the perceived benefits. It also draws on a wide range of literature that covers issues ranging from socio-political scenarios to arts and culture policies from around the 1920s to the present day. What the research found is that music festivals had varying impact on developmental bands in comparison to established bands and musicians. It also looked at the effectiveness of arts and culture policies, legislations and their implementation in the South African music industry. Due to the width and breath of this research topic it must be stated that there are other areas that the research did not delve into due to the researcher’s limited tools - such as the psychological analysis capacity.