“Something past provoked by something to come”: the dystopian complex in selected texts by Lauren Beukes
- Authors: Forrest, Catherine
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Beukes, Lauren -- Moxyland , Beukes, Lauren -- Zoo City , Dystopias in literature , Science fiction -- History and criticism , South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/18604 , vital:22360
- Description: This thesis examines Lauren Beukes’s novels, Moxyland and Zoo City, in relation to spectral theory, a tool of critique which enables an inspection of the author’s fictional societies, by looking at the return of that which has previously been repressed. It will be argued that, by portraying the country’s future imaginaries in a dystopian light, Beukes predicts the dissatisfaction that continues to be felt in the urbanised present as having extended into the near-future. Such discontent results not solely from the country’s history of apartheid and the poverty-stricken period of recovery that has followed, but in the lack of agency found in the future subject. The concerns of this thesis lie with the programmed conditions placed on the societies depicted in Beukes’s novels and the citizens that are made to inhabit these predetermined spaces. Arising from these fixed conditions are spectral subjectivities, protagonists who, having been denied recognition by the hegemonic powers at hand, are made inherently aware of the discourse of othering imposed upon them. Constructed from the writings of Jacques Derrida and contemporary spectral theorists, I present a framework capable of dealing with the popularity of ghosts/spectres, and the propensity for haunting, within post-transitional literature. Spectrality, then, is understood as a conceptual metaphor and a mode of characterisation that Beukes employs in her writing to highlight various inconsistencies about the spectralised subject and the future. By working with a theory capable of blurring the divide between the living and the dead, the self and other, it is possible to read Beukes’s fiction as possessing the potential to destabilise supposedly secure positions on otherness and alterity. Furthermore, it will be argued that, by tracking the spectre’s capacity to haunt and the multiplicity of responses which it invokes, it is possible to conceive of alterity, and the response which it generates, as responsible for determining the conditions for the coming of a radically unknowable and therefore open future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Forrest, Catherine
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Beukes, Lauren -- Moxyland , Beukes, Lauren -- Zoo City , Dystopias in literature , Science fiction -- History and criticism , South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/18604 , vital:22360
- Description: This thesis examines Lauren Beukes’s novels, Moxyland and Zoo City, in relation to spectral theory, a tool of critique which enables an inspection of the author’s fictional societies, by looking at the return of that which has previously been repressed. It will be argued that, by portraying the country’s future imaginaries in a dystopian light, Beukes predicts the dissatisfaction that continues to be felt in the urbanised present as having extended into the near-future. Such discontent results not solely from the country’s history of apartheid and the poverty-stricken period of recovery that has followed, but in the lack of agency found in the future subject. The concerns of this thesis lie with the programmed conditions placed on the societies depicted in Beukes’s novels and the citizens that are made to inhabit these predetermined spaces. Arising from these fixed conditions are spectral subjectivities, protagonists who, having been denied recognition by the hegemonic powers at hand, are made inherently aware of the discourse of othering imposed upon them. Constructed from the writings of Jacques Derrida and contemporary spectral theorists, I present a framework capable of dealing with the popularity of ghosts/spectres, and the propensity for haunting, within post-transitional literature. Spectrality, then, is understood as a conceptual metaphor and a mode of characterisation that Beukes employs in her writing to highlight various inconsistencies about the spectralised subject and the future. By working with a theory capable of blurring the divide between the living and the dead, the self and other, it is possible to read Beukes’s fiction as possessing the potential to destabilise supposedly secure positions on otherness and alterity. Furthermore, it will be argued that, by tracking the spectre’s capacity to haunt and the multiplicity of responses which it invokes, it is possible to conceive of alterity, and the response which it generates, as responsible for determining the conditions for the coming of a radically unknowable and therefore open future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
“The Hellenistic ruler cult and Ptolemy I’s quest for legitimacy”
- Authors: Ntuli, Sihle
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6097 , vital:21031
- Description: Alexander III died suddenly in Babylon in 323 BC. With Philip III Arrhidaeus in a mentally deficient state and Alexander IV not being of age, Alexander died without a suitable heir. The task of succeeding one of the most storied legacies in the ancient world was left to the generals of Alexander III. On his deathbed, Alexander was asked who should lead the Macedonians, of which he allegedly replied “the strongest”. Thus began the process of selecting the individual who would succeed Alexander the Great, which ended up becoming a contentious task due to Macedonian succession customs. Subsequently the ‘Successors’ quarrelled over who should succeed Alexander as the true successor. The wars of the Successors are founded on an issue of legitimacy that qualifies the notion of the strongest. Being deemed the true successor of Alexander the Great meant the opportunity to continue a period of Macedonian dominance following the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III. Alexander III is hailed as one of the most extraordinary individuals of the ancient world with his imperial campaigns being widely documented, political stability being pinpointed as one of the Macedonian strong points during the period of their dominance. The ruler cult is a point of reference for the explaining the relative political stability throughout the reign of Alexander the Great. The ruler cult can be understood as a sociopolitical construct that hybridized the notion of the ruler with that of a religious leader. The oriental influence of Alexander’s campaigns in Asia would inform the customs and practices of the divine ruler. The Macedonians’ ability to establish a presence in foreign territories made such a social construct a necessity in the task of centralizing of minds for political stability. Alexander’s rendition of the cult informed the formalized Ptolemaic ruler cult. The similarities and differences of the renditions help us to understand this political tool that Ptolemy I required in order to be deemed the true successor of Alexander the Great. The following will be an investigation into whether Ptolemy I is able to attain legitimacy, firstly as a successor to Alexander the Great, secondly as Pharaoh of Egypt.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ntuli, Sihle
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6097 , vital:21031
- Description: Alexander III died suddenly in Babylon in 323 BC. With Philip III Arrhidaeus in a mentally deficient state and Alexander IV not being of age, Alexander died without a suitable heir. The task of succeeding one of the most storied legacies in the ancient world was left to the generals of Alexander III. On his deathbed, Alexander was asked who should lead the Macedonians, of which he allegedly replied “the strongest”. Thus began the process of selecting the individual who would succeed Alexander the Great, which ended up becoming a contentious task due to Macedonian succession customs. Subsequently the ‘Successors’ quarrelled over who should succeed Alexander as the true successor. The wars of the Successors are founded on an issue of legitimacy that qualifies the notion of the strongest. Being deemed the true successor of Alexander the Great meant the opportunity to continue a period of Macedonian dominance following the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III. Alexander III is hailed as one of the most extraordinary individuals of the ancient world with his imperial campaigns being widely documented, political stability being pinpointed as one of the Macedonian strong points during the period of their dominance. The ruler cult is a point of reference for the explaining the relative political stability throughout the reign of Alexander the Great. The ruler cult can be understood as a sociopolitical construct that hybridized the notion of the ruler with that of a religious leader. The oriental influence of Alexander’s campaigns in Asia would inform the customs and practices of the divine ruler. The Macedonians’ ability to establish a presence in foreign territories made such a social construct a necessity in the task of centralizing of minds for political stability. Alexander’s rendition of the cult informed the formalized Ptolemaic ruler cult. The similarities and differences of the renditions help us to understand this political tool that Ptolemy I required in order to be deemed the true successor of Alexander the Great. The following will be an investigation into whether Ptolemy I is able to attain legitimacy, firstly as a successor to Alexander the Great, secondly as Pharaoh of Egypt.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
“The surprising involvement of the outsider”: an examination of pessimism and Schopenhauerian ethics in J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians and Joseph Conrad’s Under Western Eyes
- Authors: Bosman, Sean James
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Coetzee, J. M., 1940- -- Waiting for the barbarians , Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924 -- Under Western eyes , Schopenhauer, Arthur, 1788-1860 , Ethics in literature , Outsiders in literature , Svenska akademien
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/36105 , vital:24479
- Description: When the Swedish Academy lauded J. M. Coetzee for portraying situations in which “the distinction between right and wrong, while crystal clear, can be seen to serve no end” (“PR” para. 3), it presented an interpretation of his texts that considers ethics to be legislative and imperative (see Cartwright, NS 255). The Swedish Academy’s assertions are worth exploring, given that this highly respected body’s statements are indicative of the critical debates generated by Coetzee’s work. It identified a common metaphysical malaise between Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians and Conrad’s Under Western Eyes, and offered pessimism as a dubious explanation for this apparent lack of value in choosing between right and wrong action. This thesis takes exception to the logical inconsistencies of this opinion and offers a sustained and systematic counterargument with the aim of suggesting an alternative interpretation of the value of ethical action in the two works. My counterargument uses interpretive and methodological models that draw on the works of Gabriele Helms, cultural narratology and Bakhtinian theory in order to investigate the texts, using the philosophy of one of the foremost German pessimists, Arthur Schopenhauer, as an ideological point of reference. The affinity between Schopenhauerian philosophy and Eastern religions (particularly Brahmanism and Buddhism) suggests, contrary to the implications of the Swedish Academy’s statements, that there is value in ethical and moral choices in systems other than those that posit Judeo-Christian rewards and punishments in an afterlife, and that pessimism cannot legitimately be used to nullify this value. Rather, UWE and WB present an alternative set of ethics - one that is voluntary and virtue-based, valuing acts of compassion above all else. But basing my arguments on the novels’ textual affinities with Schopenhauerian ethics, I maintain that neither Conrad nor Coetzee offers strictly uncomplicated presentations of the value of compassion. Yet the sustained thematic and authorial considerations of compassionate deeds suggest that there is indeed value in deciding between morally right and morally wrong action - even if the ‘rewards’ are not guaranteed and may only - at best - be temporary.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Bosman, Sean James
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Coetzee, J. M., 1940- -- Waiting for the barbarians , Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924 -- Under Western eyes , Schopenhauer, Arthur, 1788-1860 , Ethics in literature , Outsiders in literature , Svenska akademien
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/36105 , vital:24479
- Description: When the Swedish Academy lauded J. M. Coetzee for portraying situations in which “the distinction between right and wrong, while crystal clear, can be seen to serve no end” (“PR” para. 3), it presented an interpretation of his texts that considers ethics to be legislative and imperative (see Cartwright, NS 255). The Swedish Academy’s assertions are worth exploring, given that this highly respected body’s statements are indicative of the critical debates generated by Coetzee’s work. It identified a common metaphysical malaise between Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians and Conrad’s Under Western Eyes, and offered pessimism as a dubious explanation for this apparent lack of value in choosing between right and wrong action. This thesis takes exception to the logical inconsistencies of this opinion and offers a sustained and systematic counterargument with the aim of suggesting an alternative interpretation of the value of ethical action in the two works. My counterargument uses interpretive and methodological models that draw on the works of Gabriele Helms, cultural narratology and Bakhtinian theory in order to investigate the texts, using the philosophy of one of the foremost German pessimists, Arthur Schopenhauer, as an ideological point of reference. The affinity between Schopenhauerian philosophy and Eastern religions (particularly Brahmanism and Buddhism) suggests, contrary to the implications of the Swedish Academy’s statements, that there is value in ethical and moral choices in systems other than those that posit Judeo-Christian rewards and punishments in an afterlife, and that pessimism cannot legitimately be used to nullify this value. Rather, UWE and WB present an alternative set of ethics - one that is voluntary and virtue-based, valuing acts of compassion above all else. But basing my arguments on the novels’ textual affinities with Schopenhauerian ethics, I maintain that neither Conrad nor Coetzee offers strictly uncomplicated presentations of the value of compassion. Yet the sustained thematic and authorial considerations of compassionate deeds suggest that there is indeed value in deciding between morally right and morally wrong action - even if the ‘rewards’ are not guaranteed and may only - at best - be temporary.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
“Unexpected vicissitudes”: a discursive biography of Noni Jabavu
- Authors: Erskog, Mikaela Nhondo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Jabavu, Noni , Jabavu, Noni. The ochre people , Jabavu, Noni. Drawn in colour: African contrasts , Authors, South African , Woman authors, Black -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/46259 , vital:25594
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Erskog, Mikaela Nhondo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Jabavu, Noni , Jabavu, Noni. The ochre people , Jabavu, Noni. Drawn in colour: African contrasts , Authors, South African , Woman authors, Black -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/46259 , vital:25594
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
“War of the worldly codes”: articulating the gap between legal academia and practice
- Authors: Clarence, Sherran
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , conference publication
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/66972 , vital:29007
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Clarence, Sherran
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , conference publication
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/66972 , vital:29007
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
“We’ve Tamed the World by Framing It”: Islam, ‘Justifiable Warfare,’ and situational responses to the war on terror in selected post-9/11 novels, films and television
- Authors: Sulter, Philip Eric John
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5544 , vital:20940
- Description: This thesis explores geopolitically diverse fictional responses to 9/11 and the War on Terror. Drawing on Judith Butler’s (2009) notion of the “frames of war,” Jacques Derrida’s (2005) conception of the ‘friend’/‘enemy’ binary, and Mahmood Mamdani’s (2004) critique of the ‘good’ Muslim, ‘bad’ Muslim dichotomy (delineated in 2001 by President George W. Bush) I examine how selected examples of contemporary literature, as well as a popular television series, depict the War on Terror; and analyse how these differently situated texts structure their respective depictions of Islam and Muslims. In the first chapter, I focus on how The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), a novel by the Pakistani author, Mohsin Hamid, problematises the ‘good’ Muslim, ‘bad’ Muslim binary, and argue that the protagonist’s decision to leave the United States in the wake of 9/11 represents an important political comment on global perceptions of American foreign policy and the human cost of millennial capitalism. Chapter 2 is an investigation of two novels: The Silent Minaret (2005) and I See You (2014), by the South African writer, Ishtiyaq Shukri. By situating his characters in a variety of geopolitical spaces and temporal realities, Shukri encourages the reader to discard the structuring frames of nation, race, and religion, and links the vulnerability and violence implicit in the War on Terror to a longer history of conquest, colonialism, and apartheid. In the process, Shukri illustrates the importance of understanding repressive local contexts as interwoven with global and historical power dynamics. Chapter 3 is a study of the popular American television series, Homeland (2011—), created by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, and focuses on the manner in which the Central Intelligence Agency’s “Overseas Contingency Operations” are portrayed by the show. I argue that Homeland initially problematises the ‘friend’/‘enemy’ binary, but subsequently collapses into a narrative in which these two polarities are construed by prevailing American attitudes towards Islam and the notion of the War on Terror as a necessity. This thesis concludes that texts that characterise the War on Terror as a global phenomenon, and situate it within a broad historical discourse, are able to subvert the singularity ascribed to the 9/11 attacks, as well as the epochal connotations of the ‘post-9/11 ’ literary genre. I argue that the novels I have chosen scrutinise the ways in which perceptions are framed by dominant forms of media, historiography, and political rhetoric, and not only offer unique insights on the repercussions of the global War on Terror but attempt to conceive of humanity in its totality, and therefore destabilise the ontological and reductive operation of the frame itself.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Sulter, Philip Eric John
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5544 , vital:20940
- Description: This thesis explores geopolitically diverse fictional responses to 9/11 and the War on Terror. Drawing on Judith Butler’s (2009) notion of the “frames of war,” Jacques Derrida’s (2005) conception of the ‘friend’/‘enemy’ binary, and Mahmood Mamdani’s (2004) critique of the ‘good’ Muslim, ‘bad’ Muslim dichotomy (delineated in 2001 by President George W. Bush) I examine how selected examples of contemporary literature, as well as a popular television series, depict the War on Terror; and analyse how these differently situated texts structure their respective depictions of Islam and Muslims. In the first chapter, I focus on how The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), a novel by the Pakistani author, Mohsin Hamid, problematises the ‘good’ Muslim, ‘bad’ Muslim binary, and argue that the protagonist’s decision to leave the United States in the wake of 9/11 represents an important political comment on global perceptions of American foreign policy and the human cost of millennial capitalism. Chapter 2 is an investigation of two novels: The Silent Minaret (2005) and I See You (2014), by the South African writer, Ishtiyaq Shukri. By situating his characters in a variety of geopolitical spaces and temporal realities, Shukri encourages the reader to discard the structuring frames of nation, race, and religion, and links the vulnerability and violence implicit in the War on Terror to a longer history of conquest, colonialism, and apartheid. In the process, Shukri illustrates the importance of understanding repressive local contexts as interwoven with global and historical power dynamics. Chapter 3 is a study of the popular American television series, Homeland (2011—), created by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, and focuses on the manner in which the Central Intelligence Agency’s “Overseas Contingency Operations” are portrayed by the show. I argue that Homeland initially problematises the ‘friend’/‘enemy’ binary, but subsequently collapses into a narrative in which these two polarities are construed by prevailing American attitudes towards Islam and the notion of the War on Terror as a necessity. This thesis concludes that texts that characterise the War on Terror as a global phenomenon, and situate it within a broad historical discourse, are able to subvert the singularity ascribed to the 9/11 attacks, as well as the epochal connotations of the ‘post-9/11 ’ literary genre. I argue that the novels I have chosen scrutinise the ways in which perceptions are framed by dominant forms of media, historiography, and political rhetoric, and not only offer unique insights on the repercussions of the global War on Terror but attempt to conceive of humanity in its totality, and therefore destabilise the ontological and reductive operation of the frame itself.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
“Wishy-washy liberalism” and “the art of getting lost” in Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative:
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142633 , vital:38097 , DOI: 10.4314/eia.v44i3.1
- Description: The politics of the protagonist of Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative, Neville Lister, are broadly liberal during apartheid, but show signs of becoming more conservative during the post-apartheid era. In this article, I argue that this development is unsurprising because bourgeois white liberals and conservatives in South Africa continue to cling to the privileges afforded them as the propertied class. For this reason, acknowledgements of privilege and quests for discomfort, while not necessarily dishonest, do not in and of themselves constitute progressive politics. Rather, one can, as Neville does, become comfortable with discomfort so long as it allows one to enjoy a privileged lifestyle. I therefore draw a distinction between the unease argued for in much of what constitutes whiteness studies, and a sense of being lost that seems to demand the loss of the home and its attendant association with control. This sense of lostness emerges in two ways in the novel: in a description of a photograph that contains the spectral presence of a dead child, and in a game that Neville played when he was a young boy. Both of these sections of the text also deal with the limits of art – of writing and of photography in particular. I propose that these self-reflexive episodes suggest the novel’s own limits, and gesture beyond them in ways that are worth consideration by its middle-class readership.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142633 , vital:38097 , DOI: 10.4314/eia.v44i3.1
- Description: The politics of the protagonist of Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative, Neville Lister, are broadly liberal during apartheid, but show signs of becoming more conservative during the post-apartheid era. In this article, I argue that this development is unsurprising because bourgeois white liberals and conservatives in South Africa continue to cling to the privileges afforded them as the propertied class. For this reason, acknowledgements of privilege and quests for discomfort, while not necessarily dishonest, do not in and of themselves constitute progressive politics. Rather, one can, as Neville does, become comfortable with discomfort so long as it allows one to enjoy a privileged lifestyle. I therefore draw a distinction between the unease argued for in much of what constitutes whiteness studies, and a sense of being lost that seems to demand the loss of the home and its attendant association with control. This sense of lostness emerges in two ways in the novel: in a description of a photograph that contains the spectral presence of a dead child, and in a game that Neville played when he was a young boy. Both of these sections of the text also deal with the limits of art – of writing and of photography in particular. I propose that these self-reflexive episodes suggest the novel’s own limits, and gesture beyond them in ways that are worth consideration by its middle-class readership.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
“You whore; you are so dirty, bitch”: the justification of and resistance to violence in the intimate relationships of female sex workers
- Authors: Bartlett, Elretha
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Women -- Violence against -- South Africa , Sex workers -- Violence against -- South Africa , Women, Black -- Abuse of -- South Africa , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sex workers -- Violence against -- South Africa -- Case studies , Women, Black -- Abuse of -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5082 , vital:20764
- Description: The objective of the study is to examine discourses of gender and dimensions of social difference implicated in female sex workers’ (FSWs) justifications of, and resistances to, intimate partner violence (IPV). Individual narrative interviews were conducted with FSWs (n=11) who were affiliated with the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT). The participants were mostly women of colour (n=10), with a low socio-economic status, and between 31 and 51 years of age. Intersectionality and features of Foucauldian discourse analysis, as described by Parker (1992), informed the analysis of the interview data. In personal interviews, participants interrogated aspects of their own and their partners’ lives that they viewed as playing a significant role in the aetiology and experience of IPV. They drew on a discourse of violent black masculinity, developmental discourses, and patriarchal ideology to justify and resist their partners’ violent behaviour. They also positioned themselves and their ‘spoiled’ identities as playing a role in the experience of violence. Participants pointed to the construction of sex work as ‘dirty work’ and the role that this played in legitimising the violence that was directed at them by intimate partners. In relation to this positioning and its consequences in terms of justifications for violence, my analysis highlights occasions in which gender ideology is re-appropriated for the purpose of challenging the legitimacy of these interpretative frames. While gender politics is central to my analytic observations, my analysis demonstrates how intersections with race and class shape the specificities of FSWs experiences of IPV. In doing so, this study aims to broaden current insights into the phenomenon of IPV, as it does not only focus on gender discrimination, but on the complex interaction between various systems of oppression.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Bartlett, Elretha
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Women -- Violence against -- South Africa , Sex workers -- Violence against -- South Africa , Women, Black -- Abuse of -- South Africa , Women -- Violence against -- South Africa -- Case studies , Sex workers -- Violence against -- South Africa -- Case studies , Women, Black -- Abuse of -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5082 , vital:20764
- Description: The objective of the study is to examine discourses of gender and dimensions of social difference implicated in female sex workers’ (FSWs) justifications of, and resistances to, intimate partner violence (IPV). Individual narrative interviews were conducted with FSWs (n=11) who were affiliated with the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT). The participants were mostly women of colour (n=10), with a low socio-economic status, and between 31 and 51 years of age. Intersectionality and features of Foucauldian discourse analysis, as described by Parker (1992), informed the analysis of the interview data. In personal interviews, participants interrogated aspects of their own and their partners’ lives that they viewed as playing a significant role in the aetiology and experience of IPV. They drew on a discourse of violent black masculinity, developmental discourses, and patriarchal ideology to justify and resist their partners’ violent behaviour. They also positioned themselves and their ‘spoiled’ identities as playing a role in the experience of violence. Participants pointed to the construction of sex work as ‘dirty work’ and the role that this played in legitimising the violence that was directed at them by intimate partners. In relation to this positioning and its consequences in terms of justifications for violence, my analysis highlights occasions in which gender ideology is re-appropriated for the purpose of challenging the legitimacy of these interpretative frames. While gender politics is central to my analytic observations, my analysis demonstrates how intersections with race and class shape the specificities of FSWs experiences of IPV. In doing so, this study aims to broaden current insights into the phenomenon of IPV, as it does not only focus on gender discrimination, but on the complex interaction between various systems of oppression.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Multiple drivers of local (non-) compliance in community-cased marine resource management: case studies from the South Pacific
- Rohe, Janne R, Aswani, Shankar, Schlüter, Achim, Ferse, Sebastian C A
- Authors: Rohe, Janne R , Aswani, Shankar , Schlüter, Achim , Ferse, Sebastian C A
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70571 , vital:29676 , https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00172
- Description: The outcomes of marine conservation and related management interventions depend to a large extent on people's compliance with these rule systems. In the South Pacific, community-based marine resource management (CBMRM) has gained wide recognition as a strategy for the sustainable management of marine resources. In current practice, CBMRM initiatives often build upon customary forms of marine governance, integrating scientific advice and management principles in collaboration with external partners. However, diverse socio-economic developments as well as limited legal mandates can challenge these approaches. Compliance with and effective (legally-backed) enforcement of local management strategies constitute a growing challenge for communities—often resulting in considerable impact on the success or failure of CBMRM. Marine management arrangements are highly dynamic over time, and similarly compliance with rule systems tends to change depending on context. Understanding the factors contributing to (non-) compliance in a given setting is key to the design and function of adaptive management approaches. Yet, few empirical studies have looked in depth into the dynamics around local (non-) compliance with local marine tenure rules under the transforming management arrangements. Using two case studies from Solomon Islands and Fiji, we investigate what drives local (non-) compliance with CBMRM and what hinders or supports its effective enforcement. The case studies reveal that non-compliance is mainly driven by: (1) diminishing perceived legitimacy of local rules and rule-makers; (2) increased incentives to break rules due to market access and/ or lack of alternative income; and (3) relatively weak enforcement of local rules (i.e., low perceptions of risk from sanctions for rule-breaking). These drivers do not stand alone but can act together and add up to impair effective management. We further analyze how enforcement of CBMRM is challenged through a range of institutional; socio-cultural and technical/financial constraints, which are in parts a result of the dynamism and ongoing transformations of management arrangements. Our study underlines the importance of better understanding and contextualizing marine resource management processes under dynamic conditions for an improved understanding of compliance in a particular setting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Rohe, Janne R , Aswani, Shankar , Schlüter, Achim , Ferse, Sebastian C A
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70571 , vital:29676 , https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00172
- Description: The outcomes of marine conservation and related management interventions depend to a large extent on people's compliance with these rule systems. In the South Pacific, community-based marine resource management (CBMRM) has gained wide recognition as a strategy for the sustainable management of marine resources. In current practice, CBMRM initiatives often build upon customary forms of marine governance, integrating scientific advice and management principles in collaboration with external partners. However, diverse socio-economic developments as well as limited legal mandates can challenge these approaches. Compliance with and effective (legally-backed) enforcement of local management strategies constitute a growing challenge for communities—often resulting in considerable impact on the success or failure of CBMRM. Marine management arrangements are highly dynamic over time, and similarly compliance with rule systems tends to change depending on context. Understanding the factors contributing to (non-) compliance in a given setting is key to the design and function of adaptive management approaches. Yet, few empirical studies have looked in depth into the dynamics around local (non-) compliance with local marine tenure rules under the transforming management arrangements. Using two case studies from Solomon Islands and Fiji, we investigate what drives local (non-) compliance with CBMRM and what hinders or supports its effective enforcement. The case studies reveal that non-compliance is mainly driven by: (1) diminishing perceived legitimacy of local rules and rule-makers; (2) increased incentives to break rules due to market access and/ or lack of alternative income; and (3) relatively weak enforcement of local rules (i.e., low perceptions of risk from sanctions for rule-breaking). These drivers do not stand alone but can act together and add up to impair effective management. We further analyze how enforcement of CBMRM is challenged through a range of institutional; socio-cultural and technical/financial constraints, which are in parts a result of the dynamism and ongoing transformations of management arrangements. Our study underlines the importance of better understanding and contextualizing marine resource management processes under dynamic conditions for an improved understanding of compliance in a particular setting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Russian wheat aphids: Breakfast, lunch, and supper. Feasting on small grains in South Africa
- Botha, Christiaan E J, Sacranie, S, Gallagher, Sean, Hill, Jaclyn M
- Authors: Botha, Christiaan E J , Sacranie, S , Gallagher, Sean , Hill, Jaclyn M
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69031 , vital:29374 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2016.12.006
- Description: The Russian Wheat Aphid (Diuraphis noxia, RWA) negatively impacts commercially grown barley and wheat in South Africa. Climate change, the attendant rise in [CO2], and the appearance of new RWA biotypes have the potential to induce severe crop yield loss in agriculturally important wheat and barley cultivars. This study presents data showing changes in relative aphid population numbers, concurrently with assessments of plant damage under controlled environmental conditions, under ambient and elevated (450 ppm) [CO2]. Extensive structural damage to the vascular tissue and disruption to the transport systems were revealed using light, fluorescence and electron microscopy. This, coupled with biotype population studies, demonstrated that RWA has the capacity to inflict severe, potentially permanent damage to vegetative small grain plants. Furthermore, some currently ‘resistant’ cultivars may well lose resistance as a direct result of increasing atmospheric [CO2]. A small (50 ppm) increase in atmospheric [CO2] may result in increased aphid population numbers, potentially serious plant damage and, by implication, a potentially negative impact on yield, as increased aphid density per plant leads to an accelerated disruption of the assimilate and transpiration transport pathways. These outcomes pose a direct threat to the commercial small grain industry of South Africa and by extension, to other small grain production areas elsewhere.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Botha, Christiaan E J , Sacranie, S , Gallagher, Sean , Hill, Jaclyn M
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69031 , vital:29374 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2016.12.006
- Description: The Russian Wheat Aphid (Diuraphis noxia, RWA) negatively impacts commercially grown barley and wheat in South Africa. Climate change, the attendant rise in [CO2], and the appearance of new RWA biotypes have the potential to induce severe crop yield loss in agriculturally important wheat and barley cultivars. This study presents data showing changes in relative aphid population numbers, concurrently with assessments of plant damage under controlled environmental conditions, under ambient and elevated (450 ppm) [CO2]. Extensive structural damage to the vascular tissue and disruption to the transport systems were revealed using light, fluorescence and electron microscopy. This, coupled with biotype population studies, demonstrated that RWA has the capacity to inflict severe, potentially permanent damage to vegetative small grain plants. Furthermore, some currently ‘resistant’ cultivars may well lose resistance as a direct result of increasing atmospheric [CO2]. A small (50 ppm) increase in atmospheric [CO2] may result in increased aphid population numbers, potentially serious plant damage and, by implication, a potentially negative impact on yield, as increased aphid density per plant leads to an accelerated disruption of the assimilate and transpiration transport pathways. These outcomes pose a direct threat to the commercial small grain industry of South Africa and by extension, to other small grain production areas elsewhere.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2016
Azawan: precolonial musical culture and Saharawi nationalism in the refugee camps of the Hamada Desert in Algeria
- Authors: Amoros, Luis Gimenez
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59710 , vital:27641 , http://dx.doi.org/10.21504/amj.v10i1.1225
- Description: This article analyses Saharawi music as performed for the refugee community in the camps. I argue that the construction and evolution of Saharawi music in the camps is divided into two main areas: nationalism in relation to the decolonisation of Western Sahara, and maintenance of cultural values in Saharawi music found in the historical retention of the Haul modal system originating in precolonial Saharawi culture. Local audiences use the term Azawan to define the combination of nationalist sentiments and retention of their precolonial musical culture in Saharawi music.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Amoros, Luis Gimenez
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59710 , vital:27641 , http://dx.doi.org/10.21504/amj.v10i1.1225
- Description: This article analyses Saharawi music as performed for the refugee community in the camps. I argue that the construction and evolution of Saharawi music in the camps is divided into two main areas: nationalism in relation to the decolonisation of Western Sahara, and maintenance of cultural values in Saharawi music found in the historical retention of the Haul modal system originating in precolonial Saharawi culture. Local audiences use the term Azawan to define the combination of nationalist sentiments and retention of their precolonial musical culture in Saharawi music.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The benefits from and barriers to participation in civic environmental organisations in South Africa
- Higgins, Olivia, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Higgins, Olivia , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180813 , vital:43648 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0924-6"
- Description: With growing global public awareness of a wide range of conservation and environmental issues, environmental volunteerism is increasing. In order to attract and retain volunteers, it is useful to understand what benefits they hope for as well as the barriers that hinder their participation. Here we examine the benefits from and barriers to participation in 26 conservation and environmental civic organisations in South Africa, categorised by their primary mission as botanical, wildlife or green. Questionnaires were sent to volunteers on the mailing list of each civic organisation (and 66 responses received), supplemented with direct interviews with key staff and five focus group discussions. There were differences in the perception of benefits obtained and barriers experienced by volunteers between the three groups. Respondents from botanical and green civic organisations rated enjoyment of the task as the primary benefit, whereas the most common response amongst wildlife organisation volunteers was a higher level of life satisfaction. Lack of time was a major barrier across all groups, whilst lack of communication between organisers and volunteers was mentioned frequently by volunteers in wildlife and green organisations. The mean number of hours offered per volunteer was significantly higher amongst wildlife organisations than either botanical or green ones, but for all three, the value of volunteer contributions was, at several millions of rand annually, substantial. There was no relationship between the number of perceived benefits and the number of hours volunteered. This study indicates that motivations and barriers differ amongst volunteers, which is important to acknowledge in attracting and optimising the contributions of conservation and environmental volunteers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The benefits from and barriers to participation in civic environmental organisations in South Africa
- Authors: Higgins, Olivia , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180813 , vital:43648 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0924-6"
- Description: With growing global public awareness of a wide range of conservation and environmental issues, environmental volunteerism is increasing. In order to attract and retain volunteers, it is useful to understand what benefits they hope for as well as the barriers that hinder their participation. Here we examine the benefits from and barriers to participation in 26 conservation and environmental civic organisations in South Africa, categorised by their primary mission as botanical, wildlife or green. Questionnaires were sent to volunteers on the mailing list of each civic organisation (and 66 responses received), supplemented with direct interviews with key staff and five focus group discussions. There were differences in the perception of benefits obtained and barriers experienced by volunteers between the three groups. Respondents from botanical and green civic organisations rated enjoyment of the task as the primary benefit, whereas the most common response amongst wildlife organisation volunteers was a higher level of life satisfaction. Lack of time was a major barrier across all groups, whilst lack of communication between organisers and volunteers was mentioned frequently by volunteers in wildlife and green organisations. The mean number of hours offered per volunteer was significantly higher amongst wildlife organisations than either botanical or green ones, but for all three, the value of volunteer contributions was, at several millions of rand annually, substantial. There was no relationship between the number of perceived benefits and the number of hours volunteered. This study indicates that motivations and barriers differ amongst volunteers, which is important to acknowledge in attracting and optimising the contributions of conservation and environmental volunteers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The system of the mbira
- Authors: Tracey, Andrew
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59720 , vital:27642 , http://dx.doi.org/10.21504/amj.v10i1.1229
- Description: The existence of a harmonically-based system of the mbira in Africa should be of great interest in itself, in comparison with modern African musical preferences, and for Afro-American music studies, where the blues sequence is another highly generative harmonic system. It demonstrates a unique method of getting harmonically “from here to there”, and offers an almost endless potential for Shona composers. In fact, the special tinge, the appeal, of modern Shona popular, church and school music comes in large part from the principles of the system which fortunately persist even when composers are working in Western harmony.This is a re-edited and updated version of the paper presented at the 7th Symposium on Ethnomusicology (Venda University) in 1988, published by ILAM in “Papers presented at the 7th and 8th Symposiums in Ethnomusicology” (1989). It is reproduced here because of the worldwide interest which has developed in mbira and its system in recent decades.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Tracey, Andrew
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59720 , vital:27642 , http://dx.doi.org/10.21504/amj.v10i1.1229
- Description: The existence of a harmonically-based system of the mbira in Africa should be of great interest in itself, in comparison with modern African musical preferences, and for Afro-American music studies, where the blues sequence is another highly generative harmonic system. It demonstrates a unique method of getting harmonically “from here to there”, and offers an almost endless potential for Shona composers. In fact, the special tinge, the appeal, of modern Shona popular, church and school music comes in large part from the principles of the system which fortunately persist even when composers are working in Western harmony.This is a re-edited and updated version of the paper presented at the 7th Symposium on Ethnomusicology (Venda University) in 1988, published by ILAM in “Papers presented at the 7th and 8th Symposiums in Ethnomusicology” (1989). It is reproduced here because of the worldwide interest which has developed in mbira and its system in recent decades.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The trade in and household use of Phoenix reclinata palm frond hand brushes on the Wild Coast, South Africa: Effects on soil nutrients
- Mjoli, Nwabisa, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Mjoli, Nwabisa , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180800 , vital:43647 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-015-9316-9"
- Description: The Trade in and Household Use of Phoenix reclinata Palm Frond Hand Brushes on the Wild Coast, South Africa. This paper reports on an investigation of the harvesting, trade, and use of hand brushes made from fronds of the wild palm, Phoenix reclinata. We considered both the abundance of the resource as well as the demand. Within the harvesting areas, there were approximately 141 palm plants per hectare, of which almost two-thirds showed no signs of frond harvesting. During harvesting, most fronds (82%) were left on the plant, 16% were removed to make brushes, and 2% were cut and discarded. Although the number of harvesters had increased during the last decade, most felt that the number of palm plants had remained stable or even increased over the same period. There was strong consensus that cut fronds were replaced within two months, after which a particular stem could be harvested again. Harvesting and trade were practiced largely by middle-aged to elderly women, who had limited formal education, skills, and employment prospects. Most had entered the trade because of cash income poverty. The main markets for selling the palm brushes were in nearby urban areas. The income earned from the trade was modest, but still rated highly by the traders, for most of whom it was the second most-important source of cash income. For many users, the palm brushes was found to be the only type of brush suitable for cleaning mud and cow-dung flooring and, most importantly for many, their use forms part of a long household use history and culture.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mjoli, Nwabisa , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180800 , vital:43647 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-015-9316-9"
- Description: The Trade in and Household Use of Phoenix reclinata Palm Frond Hand Brushes on the Wild Coast, South Africa. This paper reports on an investigation of the harvesting, trade, and use of hand brushes made from fronds of the wild palm, Phoenix reclinata. We considered both the abundance of the resource as well as the demand. Within the harvesting areas, there were approximately 141 palm plants per hectare, of which almost two-thirds showed no signs of frond harvesting. During harvesting, most fronds (82%) were left on the plant, 16% were removed to make brushes, and 2% were cut and discarded. Although the number of harvesters had increased during the last decade, most felt that the number of palm plants had remained stable or even increased over the same period. There was strong consensus that cut fronds were replaced within two months, after which a particular stem could be harvested again. Harvesting and trade were practiced largely by middle-aged to elderly women, who had limited formal education, skills, and employment prospects. Most had entered the trade because of cash income poverty. The main markets for selling the palm brushes were in nearby urban areas. The income earned from the trade was modest, but still rated highly by the traders, for most of whom it was the second most-important source of cash income. For many users, the palm brushes was found to be the only type of brush suitable for cleaning mud and cow-dung flooring and, most importantly for many, their use forms part of a long household use history and culture.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Local setting influences the quantity of household food waste in mid-sized South African towns
- Chakona, Gamuchirai, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67289 , vital:29067 , https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189407
- Description: publisher version , From Introduction: The world faces a food security challenge with approximately 868 million people undernourished and about two billion people suffering from the negative health consequences of micronutrient deficiencies [1]. Yet, at least one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted along the food chain between farm and fork [2–7]. Food waste refers to wholesome edible material intended for human consumption, arising at any point in the food supply chain that is instead discarded, lost, degraded or consumed by pests [8]. Food loss is defined as the decrease in food quantity or quality which makes it unfit for human consumption [9]. According to the European Commission [10], food waste is composed of raw or cooked food materials such as vegetable peelings, meat trimmings and spoiled or excess ingredients or prepared food as well as bones, carcasses and organs. However, food waste can be measured only for edible products that are directed to human consumption [6]. Food losses take place at production, postharvest and processing stages in the food supply chain and the food losses that occur at the end of the food chain (retail and final consumption) are called “food waste” [11]. In our study food waste refers to food losses that occur at the end of the food chain (final consumption at household or consumer level) which include edible products that are directed to human consumption and are discarded when not consumed for various reasons. It is related to consumers’ behaviour [6,11] and it includes food loss before, during or after meal preparation in the household. , The research was funded by VW foundation under the Livelihoods Urbanisation and Natural Resources in Africa (LUNA) project through Freiburg University, Germany. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of this manuscript
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67289 , vital:29067 , https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189407
- Description: publisher version , From Introduction: The world faces a food security challenge with approximately 868 million people undernourished and about two billion people suffering from the negative health consequences of micronutrient deficiencies [1]. Yet, at least one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted along the food chain between farm and fork [2–7]. Food waste refers to wholesome edible material intended for human consumption, arising at any point in the food supply chain that is instead discarded, lost, degraded or consumed by pests [8]. Food loss is defined as the decrease in food quantity or quality which makes it unfit for human consumption [9]. According to the European Commission [10], food waste is composed of raw or cooked food materials such as vegetable peelings, meat trimmings and spoiled or excess ingredients or prepared food as well as bones, carcasses and organs. However, food waste can be measured only for edible products that are directed to human consumption [6]. Food losses take place at production, postharvest and processing stages in the food supply chain and the food losses that occur at the end of the food chain (retail and final consumption) are called “food waste” [11]. In our study food waste refers to food losses that occur at the end of the food chain (final consumption at household or consumer level) which include edible products that are directed to human consumption and are discarded when not consumed for various reasons. It is related to consumers’ behaviour [6,11] and it includes food loss before, during or after meal preparation in the household. , The research was funded by VW foundation under the Livelihoods Urbanisation and Natural Resources in Africa (LUNA) project through Freiburg University, Germany. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of this manuscript
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Voices of the hungry: a qualitative measure of household food access and food insecurity in South Africa
- Chakona, Gamuchirai, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67277 , vital:29066 , https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-017-0149-x
- Description: publisher version , Background: South Africa is rated a food secure nation, but large numbers of households within the country have inadequate access to nutrient-rich diverse foods. The study sought to investigate households’ physical and economic access and availability of food, in relation to local context which influences households’ access to and ability to grow food which may affect the dietary quality. We sought to understand self-reported healthy diets, food insecurity from the perspective of people who experienced it, barriers to household food security and perceptions and feelings on food access as well as strategies households use to cope with food shortages and their perceptions on improving household food security. Methods: Focus group discussions were conducted along a rural–urban continuum in three South African towns situated along an agro-ecological gradient. Participants were asked about their knowledge of healthy diets, factors influencing their food consumption, their perceptions regarding food insecurity, barriers to food security, coping strategies and solutions to improve access to nutrient-rich foods. Results: A total of 91 people participated in 11 focus groups, with 76% females. The majority of participants aged between 31 and 50 years. Participants were knowledgeable about healthy diets but had limited access to it hence consumed monotonous diets. The perceptions provided insights into the pressing issues of inadequate access to food, food insecurity, coping strategies and ideas on improving food security. The majority of participants reported on experiencing food insecurity and female-headed households, unemployed and orphaned children were most vulnerable. Focus group participants highlighted the complexity of the food system in their communities which relies on own production, collecting from open spaces, donations and to a larger extent purchase, in the context of unemployment, low income, water and land shortages as well as theft. Conclusion: The results provide a significant contribution from a needs assessment perspective from the communities, identify “hidden” constrains in household food access and provide effective future solutions for improving food security in the communities. Government should assist with capacity building, employment creation and providing resources (especially, land and water) for communities to practise agriculture which they all agreed can improve food security.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67277 , vital:29066 , https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-017-0149-x
- Description: publisher version , Background: South Africa is rated a food secure nation, but large numbers of households within the country have inadequate access to nutrient-rich diverse foods. The study sought to investigate households’ physical and economic access and availability of food, in relation to local context which influences households’ access to and ability to grow food which may affect the dietary quality. We sought to understand self-reported healthy diets, food insecurity from the perspective of people who experienced it, barriers to household food security and perceptions and feelings on food access as well as strategies households use to cope with food shortages and their perceptions on improving household food security. Methods: Focus group discussions were conducted along a rural–urban continuum in three South African towns situated along an agro-ecological gradient. Participants were asked about their knowledge of healthy diets, factors influencing their food consumption, their perceptions regarding food insecurity, barriers to food security, coping strategies and solutions to improve access to nutrient-rich foods. Results: A total of 91 people participated in 11 focus groups, with 76% females. The majority of participants aged between 31 and 50 years. Participants were knowledgeable about healthy diets but had limited access to it hence consumed monotonous diets. The perceptions provided insights into the pressing issues of inadequate access to food, food insecurity, coping strategies and ideas on improving food security. The majority of participants reported on experiencing food insecurity and female-headed households, unemployed and orphaned children were most vulnerable. Focus group participants highlighted the complexity of the food system in their communities which relies on own production, collecting from open spaces, donations and to a larger extent purchase, in the context of unemployment, low income, water and land shortages as well as theft. Conclusion: The results provide a significant contribution from a needs assessment perspective from the communities, identify “hidden” constrains in household food access and provide effective future solutions for improving food security in the communities. Government should assist with capacity building, employment creation and providing resources (especially, land and water) for communities to practise agriculture which they all agreed can improve food security.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Conceptualising the more knowledgeable other within a multi-directional ZPD:
- Authors: Graven, Mellony
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69519 , vital:29545 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-017-9768-1
- Description: From a Marxian/Vygotskian perspective, learning is social in origin and it happens in the presence of others that are more knowledgeable. Extending this view to the learning of mathematics, such learning also becomes inseparable from the presence of others (people and artefacts). Researchers over decades have studied different interactions to see how such learning with others occurs, what is the role of the (more knowledgeable) other, and if at all this role alternates between the participants. In this paper, we looked at a 5-year-old’s (Lila) interaction with her mother (Mellony) and a television remote control as Lila attempted to count in threes using the three by three physical layout of the numbered buttons 1–9 on the remote control. We specifically looked at the emergence of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) as Lila’s attention was caught by the properties of the remote control and by her mother’s questions. We also pay attention to how the role of the more knowledgeable other alternates among the participants. Our findings suggest that Lila, at times, used resources provided by the physical properties of the remote control and sometimes, used resources provided by Mellony to think about the task of counting in threes. In Lila’s interaction, we interpreted a multi-directional ZPD as the role of the more knowledgeable other alternated between Mellony, Lila and the remote control.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Graven, Mellony
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/69519 , vital:29545 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-017-9768-1
- Description: From a Marxian/Vygotskian perspective, learning is social in origin and it happens in the presence of others that are more knowledgeable. Extending this view to the learning of mathematics, such learning also becomes inseparable from the presence of others (people and artefacts). Researchers over decades have studied different interactions to see how such learning with others occurs, what is the role of the (more knowledgeable) other, and if at all this role alternates between the participants. In this paper, we looked at a 5-year-old’s (Lila) interaction with her mother (Mellony) and a television remote control as Lila attempted to count in threes using the three by three physical layout of the numbered buttons 1–9 on the remote control. We specifically looked at the emergence of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) as Lila’s attention was caught by the properties of the remote control and by her mother’s questions. We also pay attention to how the role of the more knowledgeable other alternates among the participants. Our findings suggest that Lila, at times, used resources provided by the physical properties of the remote control and sometimes, used resources provided by Mellony to think about the task of counting in threes. In Lila’s interaction, we interpreted a multi-directional ZPD as the role of the more knowledgeable other alternated between Mellony, Lila and the remote control.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Household wealth status and natural resource use in the Kat River valley, South Africa
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Shackleton, Sheona E
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181301 , vital:43717 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.04.011"
- Description: Much work has demonstrated the significant role and value of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in the livelihoods of rural people in southern Africa and elsewhere. The findings provide a mean or composite picture, averaged across the sample households within each community. Yet, within any given community, there is significant socio-economic differentiation. It is important to acknowledge such differentiation when considering policy and management interventions to support rural livelihoods and promote sustainable resource use. This paper reports on a study in South Africa, the objective of which was to explore wealth-related differences and similarities in the use and value of NTFPs. Data on NTFP consumption, purchase, and sale were collected from households in three rural villages. Households were divided into three wealth classes and patterns of NTFPs use between the classes examined. There was no difference in the proportions of households in each wealth class using NTFPs, nor the total number of NTFPs used per household. Yet, there was some supporting evidence that poorer households derive greater benefits from NTFPs than do wealthy or intermediate households. One clear difference was that, with increasing wealth, households purchased significantly more NTFPs, and a greater proportion of wealthy households did so. Conversely, a greater proportion of poor households were involved in the sale of one or more NTFPs, and they sold a greater number per household, compared to wealthy and intermediate households. Detailed examination of use and value of four NTFPs (fuelwood, wild fruits, edible herbs, and grass hand brushes) revealed that in all instances, the poorest households used more of the resource per capita than the other wealth classes. This was not the case for comparisons based on the total household as the unit of analysis. Gross annual direct-use value did not differ between the wealth classes for any of the four NTFPs examined, at the household level. But on a per capita basis, a significantly higher gross annual direct-use value was evident within poorer households for fuelwood and edible herbs. The significance of these differences is discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181301 , vital:43717 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.04.011"
- Description: Much work has demonstrated the significant role and value of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in the livelihoods of rural people in southern Africa and elsewhere. The findings provide a mean or composite picture, averaged across the sample households within each community. Yet, within any given community, there is significant socio-economic differentiation. It is important to acknowledge such differentiation when considering policy and management interventions to support rural livelihoods and promote sustainable resource use. This paper reports on a study in South Africa, the objective of which was to explore wealth-related differences and similarities in the use and value of NTFPs. Data on NTFP consumption, purchase, and sale were collected from households in three rural villages. Households were divided into three wealth classes and patterns of NTFPs use between the classes examined. There was no difference in the proportions of households in each wealth class using NTFPs, nor the total number of NTFPs used per household. Yet, there was some supporting evidence that poorer households derive greater benefits from NTFPs than do wealthy or intermediate households. One clear difference was that, with increasing wealth, households purchased significantly more NTFPs, and a greater proportion of wealthy households did so. Conversely, a greater proportion of poor households were involved in the sale of one or more NTFPs, and they sold a greater number per household, compared to wealthy and intermediate households. Detailed examination of use and value of four NTFPs (fuelwood, wild fruits, edible herbs, and grass hand brushes) revealed that in all instances, the poorest households used more of the resource per capita than the other wealth classes. This was not the case for comparisons based on the total household as the unit of analysis. Gross annual direct-use value did not differ between the wealth classes for any of the four NTFPs examined, at the household level. But on a per capita basis, a significantly higher gross annual direct-use value was evident within poorer households for fuelwood and edible herbs. The significance of these differences is discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Harvesting impacts on commonly used medicinal tree species (Catha edulis and Rapanea melanophloeos) under different land management regimes in the Mpumalanga Lowveld, South Africa
- Botha, Jenny, Witkowski, Ed T F, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Botha, Jenny , Witkowski, Ed T F , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181379 , vital:43728 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v47i2.77"
- Description: Harvesting of products from plants in the wild is widespread throughout southern Africa. Particularly important products are plant parts used in traditional medicine. However, the impacts of harvesting practices are rarely quantified, with as yet insufficient generic rules across species and life forms. This limits the predictive ability to monitor and manage the affected populations. This paper examines the harvesting impact on two popular woody medicinal species used throughout sub-Saharan Africa, namely Catha edulis (Vahl) Forssk. ex Endl. (bushman’s tea) and Rapanea melanophloeos (L.) Mez. (Cape beech). In both species, basal diameters, heights, and the number of size classes in the harvested populations were lower than in unharvested. Densities of harvested populations were higher in both species, including densities of young plants, but the frequency of individuals in larger size classes was lower. The populations of both species being harvested for medicinal products appeared to be withstanding the current levels of harvesting, but the population structure of C. edulis populations being harvested for poles on the roadside and near human settlements had been substantially altered. Despite the resilience of the two species to harvesting for medicinal products, loss of habitat or changes in land use pose a threat to a number of the assessed populations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Botha, Jenny , Witkowski, Ed T F , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181379 , vital:43728 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v47i2.77"
- Description: Harvesting of products from plants in the wild is widespread throughout southern Africa. Particularly important products are plant parts used in traditional medicine. However, the impacts of harvesting practices are rarely quantified, with as yet insufficient generic rules across species and life forms. This limits the predictive ability to monitor and manage the affected populations. This paper examines the harvesting impact on two popular woody medicinal species used throughout sub-Saharan Africa, namely Catha edulis (Vahl) Forssk. ex Endl. (bushman’s tea) and Rapanea melanophloeos (L.) Mez. (Cape beech). In both species, basal diameters, heights, and the number of size classes in the harvested populations were lower than in unharvested. Densities of harvested populations were higher in both species, including densities of young plants, but the frequency of individuals in larger size classes was lower. The populations of both species being harvested for medicinal products appeared to be withstanding the current levels of harvesting, but the population structure of C. edulis populations being harvested for poles on the roadside and near human settlements had been substantially altered. Despite the resilience of the two species to harvesting for medicinal products, loss of habitat or changes in land use pose a threat to a number of the assessed populations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
Impact of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients in the Kruger National Park
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Scholes, Robert J
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Scholes, Robert J
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181874 , vital:43776 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v43i1.210"
- Description: Although fire is recognised as an important determinant of the structure and function of South African savannas, there are few studies of long-term impacts. Controlled burning blocks of contrasting fire season and frequency have been maintained throughout the Kruger National Park for almost 50 years. This paper reports on a quantitative study of the Satara plots to determine the long-term impacts of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients. Increasing fire frequency significantly decreased woody plant basal area, biomass, density, height, and mean stem circumference. The number of stems per plant and the proportion of regenerative stems increased with increasing fire frequency. Effects on species richness of woody plants were inconsistent. There were no significant differences attributable to fire frequency for any of the soil variables except organic matter and magnesium. Organic carbon was highest in the fire exclusion treatment and lowest in soils from plots burnt triennially. Magnesium levels were greatest in the annually burnt soils and least in the triennial plots.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Impact of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients in the Kruger National Park
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Scholes, Robert J
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181874 , vital:43776 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v43i1.210"
- Description: Although fire is recognised as an important determinant of the structure and function of South African savannas, there are few studies of long-term impacts. Controlled burning blocks of contrasting fire season and frequency have been maintained throughout the Kruger National Park for almost 50 years. This paper reports on a quantitative study of the Satara plots to determine the long-term impacts of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients. Increasing fire frequency significantly decreased woody plant basal area, biomass, density, height, and mean stem circumference. The number of stems per plant and the proportion of regenerative stems increased with increasing fire frequency. Effects on species richness of woody plants were inconsistent. There were no significant differences attributable to fire frequency for any of the soil variables except organic matter and magnesium. Organic carbon was highest in the fire exclusion treatment and lowest in soils from plots burnt triennially. Magnesium levels were greatest in the annually burnt soils and least in the triennial plots.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000