Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2008.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-173) Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Berkeley, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-74).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 1970. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-129).

Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-189).

No description available.

The primary aim of this thesis is to explore, at a psychological level, the meaning of work in a rural developing society context. Additional aims comprise: the examination of distinctions in the meaning of work between different occupational niches; and the development of an appropriate conceptual and methodological approach for understanding meaning of work issues in developing society contexts. The research was conducted in the Keiskammahoek district situated in Ciskei, a South African homeland area. Demographically, the area comprises farms, small rural villages and one small town. It has traditionally fulfilled the role of a labour reserve, and the local economy largely depends on income generated through migrant labour. The population predominantly comprises indigenous Xhosa speakers, although a few whites, individuals of mixed racial origin and other ethnic groups are represented. In order to accommodate the diversity of work experience in rural society, an approach was adopted which relied on the participants' subjective definition of work. A conscious attempt was made to avoid defining work exclusively as remunerated employment. At a metatheoretical level, the meaning of work model used is grounded in Kelly's (1955) Personal Construct Theory. It comprises three facets, namely process, context and content. A multiple case study analysis was carried design was used, through to a in which nomothetic idiographic level of understanding. The primary' research instrument comprised an interview, in which data was derived from life-history material, a repertory grid, and focused interview questions. In the development of case studies, a process of triangulation was used to link the three sources of data. The thesis explores the relationship between participants and their work in several ways. First, it looks at how work and non-work are constituted and related to one another, and at how personally valuable work is contrasted to less valuable work. Second, it explores the relationship between the individual's orientation to work and their life and occupational context. Finally, it discusses the proposal that work meanings change and evolve with the development of the individual, and with shifts in social and historical circumstance.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:23:41Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 marques_lh_dr_assis.pdf: 915897 bytes, checksum: f39b0ad726687f70f3140fabce3b1624 (MD5) / Este estudo tem como objetivo central apresentar de que forma as seis hagiografias hispano-visigodas escritas e até hoje preservadas, foram utilizadas no processo de difusão/comunicação do cristianismo na Espanha visigoda (séculos V a VIII) e, em especial, nos seus meios rurais, cujo contexto cultural religioso era caracterizado, entre outros fatores, pela aculturação entre a recém-assimilada fé cristã e as crenças préromanas e romanas. Foram analisadas as seguintes hagiografias: Vida de Santo Emiliano, de Bráulio de Saragoça; Vida de São Frutuoso, de autor anônimo; Vida de São Desidério, de Sisebuto; Vida dos Santos Padres de Mérida, também de autor desconhecido e as versões de Isidoro de Sevilha e Idelfonso de Toledo para a obra De viris illustribus. Realizada à luz da Análise do Discurso Crítica e contextualizada a partir da historiografia sobre o tema, a análise privilegiou A Vida de São Milão por seu âmbito rural, com a qual as demais hagiografias foram cotejadas, tendo demonstrado a fragilidade do processo de cristianização da Igreja visigoda e sua tendência a atuar em prol das relações de dominação em nível social, político, econômico, cultural e, portanto, religioso. / This study has as main objective to present how the six written and preserved until today Visigothic hagiographies, were used in the process of diffusion/communication of the Christianity in Spain Visigothic (centuries V to VIII) and, especially, in the rural zone, whose religious cultural context was characterized, among other factors, for the acculturation betweeen the recently-assimilated Christian faith and the pre-Roman and Roman faiths. The following hagiographies were analyzed: Life of Saint Aemilian, written by Bráulio of Saragoça; Life of Saint Fructuosus, from anonymous author; Life of Saint Desiderius, written by Sisebuto; Life of the Fathers of Mérida, also from unknown author and the versions of Isidoro of Seville and Idelfonso of Toledo for the work De viris illustribus. Accomplished by using Critic's Analysis of Speech and considering the context from the historiography about the theme, the analysis privileged The Life of Saint Milan Life because her rural ambit, with the one which the others hagiographies were compared, having demonstrated the fragility of the process of Christianization of the Visigothic Church and its tendency to act on behalf of the dominance relationships in social, political, economical, cultural and, therefore, religious level.

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2006 / The emphasis on economic development of rural communities, especially small businesses within it has attracted the attention of most local, regional and national governments and non governmental agencies alike. As we move towards technology-oriented global market, community development now becomes a veritable strategy for ''pushing back the frontier of poverty" and maintaining socio-economic stability. This research argues that the deployment and use of appropriate e-commerce technology to facilitate this strategy is useful, and possibly, more suitable than any other tool or strategy. The research further examines the opportunities offered by ecommerce for small business development within the Western Cape. A framework that describes how e-commerce can support the addressing of the specific developmental needs of this community was developed. Six pilot communities involved in the pilot for the Cape Gateway Access Project initiated by the Centre for e-Innovation (Cel) of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape were investigated to find out how appropriate technologies are put to use and how they can be effectively deployed to promote entrepreneurship in these rural communities. The findings of this research reveal that the use of e-commerce by rural communities is a bit complicated. It is found that the availability and use of appropriate e-commerce technologies extend beyond provision of access, to provision of support outside technology and multi-stakeholder approach to addressing the economic situation of rural communities. The findings provide the basis for the recommendations and conclusions drawn in this research. However, the few entrepreneurs identified within the communities are found to be at different stages of e-commerce use. In general, most of the community members are unconsciously engaged in some form of e-commerce ranging from 828, 82C and G2C' , though not as significant as one would have envisaged.

This study examines the dynamics of agricultural change amongst traditional African smallholder farmers in Shixini location, Gatyana District, Transkei. This entailed an examination of the historical, regional and local causes of agricultural change and the response of the local community. What became evident was that there had been a gradual decline in agricultural output after the 1930s due to a combination of socio-economic and environmental constraints. Pressure on limited resources and land degradation, a consequence of socio-economic pressures on the African peasantry and agricultural expansion, reduced carrying capacities and soil fertility within the African reserves. Racially discriminatory policies also reduced African access to agricultural markets and forced peasants into migrant labour. The initial response to this agricultural decline was to maintain cultivation and pastoral practices, despite declining output, and rely more heavily on migrant labour. However, massive population ~owth from the mid 1950s onwards stimulated a rapid change in cultivation practices. Rural households found it increasingly difficult to gain access to arable land in river valleys and growing poverty undermined their ability to cultivate fields. In response to these conditions the rural population abandoned their fields and expanded garden cultivation. Garden cultivation was a more intensive method of cultivation which made more efficient use of household resources, maintained long-term yields and had a less detrimental impact on the soil. This study attempts to make a contribution to southern African historiography and historical geography. Since the rise of radical human geography in the 1970s there has been a growing number of political economy studies focusing on capitalist expansion, racially discriminatory state policies and associated class conflicts in South Africa. However, most of these studies have focused on urban communities. The political economy of African rural areas has been sorely neglected by human geographers despite the enormous growth of such studies amongst historians and other social scientists. This study of agricultural change in Shixini location, Transkei adds to the small collection of geographical research on the political economy of African rural areas. It also adds to the large body of historical research by focusing on the recent past, a much less well documented period. The most important component of the study was an examination of the response of the rural community to socio-economic and environmental changes. This brought the often neglected role of human agency within the world political economy into the study. Environmental factors, often neglected by'historians and human geographers, were also brought into the analysis. The examination of such a broad range of factors was facilitated through the use of a wide variety of source material including historical, anthropological and socio-economic literature, official statistics, archival records, aerial photographs and a sample survey