<p>During Apartheid, South African education policies were largely based on a system of&nbsp / racial segregation, resulting in unequal educational opportunities between black and white students.&nbsp / Current education policies centred on Access and Equity have been ratified to address the education issues of the past. However, there still remains a concern about the poor performance and&nbsp / consequently, the high drop out rate, particularly amongst black South African university students. The findings of various studies have shown that the factors that contribute to poor academic performance range from inadequate pre-university schooling and financial issues to poor language proficiency, inadequate social support and insufficient social integration. The present study employed a qualitative approach to explore first-year students&rsquo / perceptions of the influence of social integration on academic performance. Tinto&rsquo / s Student Integration Model provided the conceptual basis for the conduction of the study. Three focus groups were used to collect the data which were analysed according to thematic analysis procedures. The main finding of the study&nbsp / was that academic and social experiences were intrinsically linked in the first year of study. Moreover, the findings indicate that friends, belonging to nonacademic organisations and lecturer-student interaction (as three indicators of social integration) influenced first-year students&rsquo / academic performance. South African contextual factors such as socio-economic status and language&nbsp / were found to be a potential hindrance to good academic performance. The implications of these findings are discussed.</p>

Abstract In this thesis, I attempt to examine Jamaica Kincaid¡¦s re-negotiation with the politics of power relations in her novels. Kncaid¡¦s novels, through the strategic deployment of autobiographical writing, redress the power dimension in the notions of self and history. The fact that Kincaid frames the field of power relations within the thematic recurrence of mother-daughter relations structures her novels in a way that conflates her personal stories with her group history. Moreover, such a structure emphatically registers the self-positioning act of Kincaid¡¦s writing as a strategy for survival. The first chapter explores how Kincaid mobilizes her self-writing as an act of political resistance. On the one hand, Kincaid opposes her writing which is delivered in the name of herself or her culture to the poststructuralist pronouncements of the general demise of a writing subject. On the other hand, Kincaid, through implicating the poststructuralist fracture of self in the protocol of decolonization, attempts to strategically inhabit in what Homi Bhabha calls the in-between space to define herself. The second chapter deals with the inscription of historical forces on the body. Foucault¡¦s genealogical unpacking of history in the body here helps to investigate how Kincaid¡¦s fictional alter egos bear and, more importantly, act out against the inscription of power. The third chapter focuses on the politics of Kincaid¡¦s autobiographical writing. At first, I unpack the relations between history and the politics of women¡¦s writing in the West Indies, and borrow the poststructuralist interrogation of Western historical knowledge to contradict the West¡¦s epistemological claims to West Indian history. And then I turn to the analysis of Kincaid¡¦s autobiographical writing, which, through its thematic deployment of mother-daughter relations, turns on the political empowerment in her strategic integration of her personal and collective history.

This exploratory synthesis of research was the product of three years of dissertation research efforts that systematically reviewed 23 years of empirical articles between 1983 (or its inception) and 2006 from three of the most highly regarded educational administration journals. Specifically designed to collect investigative data and information from primary research contained within Educational Administration Quarterly, the Journal of School Leadership, and the Journal of Educational Administration; this research synthesis drew upon various research methods to propose pragmatic insights and proffer an empirically founded response to: What has the educational administration profession learned from the research efforts that were independently conducted, presented, and published about the overall connections between school superintendents and education's technical core -teaching and learning in schools? Results from employing meta-analysis, descriptive synthesis, and thematic synthesis techniques to appropriately collect and analyze relevant data indicate that school superintendents remain directly connected to the technical core; however, these connections have evolved from the traditional connections presently maintained by campus administrators and to new connections that meet the increased responsibilities and complexities of the superintendents' role. The thematic synthesis, reinforced by descriptive syntheses, indicated 15 separate superintendent - technical core constructs that promote new areas for investigation; however, the extent and strength of these constructs have yet to be determined. The impact from the next step suggestions for future research indicate that effects could range from educational administration knowledge base contributions to refining in-practice standards and professional development programs. The possible knowledge base contributions, coupled with specific in-practice elements that demonstrate superintendents' direct impact on the technical core, may be the necessary raw materials from which a foundational framework that clearly redefines the superintendent - technical core connections may be forged by scholars and implemented by district leaders to improve teaching and learning in schools.

The concepts of self-gifting and goal setting are combined in the context of physical activity, in order to investigate their impact on the likelihood to self-gift when setting physical goals. Mick and DeMoss’ original work on self-gifting is explored further in this investigation, with the utilisation of an exploratory, qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women setting physical goals related to running, with findings from thematic analysis showing support for new concepts in this area. This includes the provision of new themes, namely ‘Pre-gifting’ (gifts purchased before goal outcome) and ‘Tools of the Trade’ (related to how items differ in significance between individuals). Seemingly, physical activities relate strongly to reward orientation in self-gifting behaviour, thus a conceptual model of self-gifting likelihood in a reward context in relation to the goal setting process is contributed. This is inclusive of the themes that emerge as influential on this process, showing the times at which self-gifting opportunities arise as individuals move through the goal setting process to eventual goal success, and the factors that influence this outcome. Consequently, areas are outlined that require further investigation, and a discussion of this concludes the chapters.

This study aims to deepen our understanding of both how men are affected by taking longer periods of parental leave, and the factors behind the decision of some men to take at least six consecutive months of leave. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five men living in Umeå, Sweden, who had been on parental leave for periods ranging from 6-15 months. Thematic analysis of these interviews revealed four themes: The female as the norm, gender-equal masculinity, the significance of paid work, and understanding provided by practical experience. The men in the study appeared to embody/perform a gender-equal masculinity, which differs from traditional masculinities. This deviant group challenges normative beliefs about how parenting should be done. Based on the four themes, above, a number of problem areas were identified: Firstly, even though a majority of the men seemed to pay less interest to their career than to their child, the paid-work norms affected the choices and possibilities for the men to take parental leave. The men feel that women, as the parent who carries the baby, are the major focus of parental education programs, and that different expectations exist formale and female parents. They experienced difficulty relating to other men in parental education  programs, and one man clearly expressed the discomfort of discussing parenting issues with other men. Breastfeeding also appeared to be problematic. This was partly because some of the men felt uncomfortable with the assumption of parental education programs that the woman would be the one to feed the baby, through breastfeeding, and partly because some of the men felt a sense of alienation from the fact that they themselves were incapable of breastfeeding. They felt a certain sadness that their children formed links to their mothers in this manner, which they were unable to. Finally, some of the men experienced difficulty in finding social groups, with the exception of the open preschools (öppna förskolan), while on parental leave. The paper discusses, and proposes suggestions to, the aforementioned problem areas, with the aim of contributing to regional development in Västerbotten,  Sweden.

The French composer Henri Dutilleux (born 1916) was largely influenced by the French writer Marcel Proust's (1871-1922) novel A la recherche du temps perdu. This monumental work is regarded by many critics as one of the most important novels of all times. The narrator, a parallel figure of Proust himself, experiences an involuntary memory of his childhood. An involuntary memory which is aroused in the narrator runs like a thread through the novel. This study traces how Dutilleux's style of writing was influenced by the concept of memory. Proust's concept of involuntary memory is realised in the sonata through "musical beacons". Dutilleux's composition techniques which relate to the concept of memory involve the following markers: • mirror images such as fan-like or melismatic figures • prominence of the tritone • focal notes or chords • principle of circularity • obsessional chords. A related aspect of Proust's concept of memory is the instability and inconsistency of the human personality as it is portrayed in his novel. In this study it is indicated how Dutilleux's croissance progressive composition technique may be likened to the inconsistency of personalities. It involves the concept of thematic evolutions which usually permutate from a core cell. This technique is characteristic of his adult work, and he applied it consciously for the first time in his First Symphony (1951). However, he acknowledges that he had used the technique unconsciously before. Dutilleux's Sonata for Oboe and Piano (1947) is an early work which was written during his student years for competition purposes. He does not regard the sonata as representative of his adult writing style. Thematic permutations of a core cell in the first movement are indicated in all three movements of the work. The analysis of musical thematic structure shows that aspects of Dutilleux's adult writing style were already present in his early work. / Thesis (D.Mus.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

This study explored adolescent girls‟ subjective experiences of being young mothers in school, focusing on their personal and interpersonal relationships within their social contexts. Participants included 15 young black mothers aged between 16 and 19 years from three high schools in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Conducted within a feminist social constructionist framework, the study adopted an exploratory qualitative structure. Data were collected through life histories that were analysed within a thematic narrative framework. The narratives revealed that the young mothers found motherhood challenging and overly disruptive of school. Although contexts of childcare emerged as pivotal in how young mothers balanced motherhood and schoolwork, these were also presented as characterised by notions of power and control. Because of the gendered nature of care work, the women who supported the young mothers with childcare dominated the mothering spheres. The schools were also experienced as controlled and regulated by authorities in ways that constrained the young mothers‟ balancing of school and parenting. Equally constraining to a number of adolescent mothers were structural challenges, for example, parenting in spaces that lacked resources. These challenges were compounded by the immense stigma attached to adolescent motherhood. The study recommended that the Department of Education work closely with all the parties concerned in ensuring that pregnant learners benefit from the policy. It is necessary that educators are encouraged to shift attitudes so that communication with adolescent mothers is improved.

<p>During Apartheid, South African education policies were largely based on a system of&nbsp / racial segregation, resulting in unequal educational opportunities between black and white students.&nbsp / Current education policies centred on Access and Equity have been ratified to address the education issues of the past. However, there still remains a concern about the poor performance and&nbsp / consequently, the high drop out rate, particularly amongst black South African university students. The findings of various studies have shown that the factors that contribute to poor academic performance range from inadequate pre-university schooling and financial issues to poor language proficiency, inadequate social support and insufficient social integration. The present study employed a qualitative approach to explore first-year students&rsquo / perceptions of the influence of social integration on academic performance. Tinto&rsquo / s Student Integration Model provided the conceptual basis for the conduction of the study. Three focus groups were used to collect the data which were analysed according to thematic analysis procedures. The main finding of the study&nbsp / was that academic and social experiences were intrinsically linked in the first year of study. Moreover, the findings indicate that friends, belonging to nonacademic organisations and lecturer-student interaction (as three indicators of social integration) influenced first-year students&rsquo / academic performance. South African contextual factors such as socio-economic status and language&nbsp / were found to be a potential hindrance to good academic performance. The implications of these findings are discussed.</p>

The aim of this thematic study is to examine how the water motif is used in Marguerite Duras’s literary work. The study shows that water has multiple functions in these texts: it is linked to major themes and creates an enigmatic atmosphere by its association with the unknown, the inexplicable and the unconscious. The strong presence of water in Duras’s texts is striking. References to the water element can be found in several titles throughout her career, from early works such as Un barrage contre le Pacifique (1950) to La mer écrite (1996), published just after her death. Almost all of her fiction take place near water – and the rain or the sound of waves serve as leitmotifs in specific novels. The water motif can play a metonymic as well as a metaphoric role in the texts and it sometimes takes on human or animalistic characteristics (Chapter 4). Several emblematic Durassian characters (e.g. the beggar-woman, Anne-Marie Stretter and Lol V. Stein) have a close relationship to water (Chapter 5). The water motif is linked to many major Durassian themes, and illustrates themes with positive connotations, for example, creation, fecundity, maternity, liberty and desire, as well as themes with negative connotations such as destruction and death (Chapter 6). A close reading of three novels, La vie tranquille (1944), L’après-midi de Monsieur Andesmas (1962) and La maladie de la mort (1982), shows that the realism of the first novel is replaced by intriguing evocations of the sea and the pond in the second text, motifs which resist straightforward interpretation. The enigmatic feeling persists in the last novel, in which the sea illustrates the overall sombre mood of the story (Chapter 7). Finally, the role of the water element in psychoanalytic theory is discussed (Chapter 8), and a parallel is drawn between the Jungian concept of the mother archetype and the water motif in Duras’s texts. The suggestion is made in this last chapter that water is used to illustrate an oriental influence (Taoist or Buddhist) of some of the female characters in Duras’s work.

Encouraging good nutrition is particularly important in the early years of life for the development of appropriate food habits and healthy adults in later life. These are governed by many contending and conflicting influences. Objective: This research examines the food choice influences for mothers of young children in Skelmersdale, West Lancashire (UK). Participants were recruited from a large community food intervention (clients) and were compared with those not involved in the initiative (non-clients). This enabled the reflection of the broader socio-cultural experiences of food and the influence of 'structure' and 'agency' on food choices. The research adopted a phenomenological approach using ethnographic recording techniques (interview and observation). The research findings are presented as ethnographic fictions. These short fictional stories provide a 'thick' description of the participant's lifeworld. They locate these choices in the person and the place. A hierarchy of food choice influences emerged from the data, with three main findings. Most prominently, the influence of individual capacity on the food choices made. Secondly, the influence of place, town planning and the geography of an area on food choices. Thirdly, the influence of gender, relationships and social networks. Central to the thesis of this research is the use of ethnographic fiction to enable a better understanding of the complexity involved in food choice and community development approaches to nutritional change. The use of ethnographic fiction conveyed a better understanding of people and of the role and impact of an intervention upon the wider processes involved in food choice. Ethnographic fiction was used here for the first time in public health nutrition to explain the complex picture of food choice for mothers of young children in Skelmersdale, and to convey new insight on food choice and the complexity of food choice influence.