An exploratory study on lifestyle and its contribution to personal victimization among students at University of Fort Hare in Alice Campus
- Authors: Vaphi, Yanga Yandisa
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Bullying Criminal behaviour
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sci
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2436 , vital:27840
- Description: This study is based on student lifestyle and its contribution to personal victimization at University of Fort Hare in Alice campus. Social Science researchers such as Fisher, Sloan, Cullen, and Lu (1998) claim that there are many incidents of criminal victimization occurring on and off university campuses. The main purpose of this study is to find out whether there is any correlation between student lifestyle and personal victimization. There are many theories, concepts and available information regarding the issue of personal victimization among students, however, this notion is thriving, especially in higher institutions. The study examined the research objectives through lenses of theories such as lifestyle exposure theory, routine activities theory, rational choice theory which serve to elaborate more about the research topic. In this study data was collected using interviews and self-administered questionnaires for triangulation purposes. Some of the findings in this study were that there is vast majority of students who suffer from personal victimization on and off-campus due to students’ different lifestyles and lack of legal responsibility by the institution. First year females were found to be the majority of students who suffer from personal victimization due to their vulnerability in their residences. Based on these findings, recommendations such as tightening security measures around campus, educating students regarding victimization, and collaboration of the university with police officials were made.
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An investigation into instability in post- Gaddafi Libya, Mali and Nigeria: a comparative theoretical approach
- Authors: Chindoga, Melody
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Terrorism Insurgency Terrorism -- Government policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sci
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2667 , vital:27982
- Description: Since the ousting of Gaddafi from power in 2011, Libya, Mali and Nigeria have experienced high levels of instability. An investigation into the causes of instability is employed in the study to gain insights into the major cause of conflict in post-Gaddafi Libya, Mali and Nigeria. The study considered instability as a consequence of a combination of existing exogenous and endogenous factors which were examined according to various theoretical lenses. A comparative theoretical analysis was used so as to interpret and analyse data. The analysis was subjected to theoretical scrutiny according to four mainstream International Relations theories namely; realism, critical theory, constructivism and the “clash of civilizations” hypothesis, in order to determine whether they could effectively explain post-Gaddafi violence and instability. The research findings revealed that the distinction between internal and external variables is artificial and the various causes cannot be exclusively differentiated from one other. The research also identified constructivism as the best possible explanation of instability in the particular context under investigation, through its recognition of the significance of normative as well as material elements, and the emphasis placed on the role of identity and ideas in shaping political actions.
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Post-2008 voter apathy among the youth in the Eastern Cape : a comparative study of urban and rural municipalities
- Authors: Peter, Bongeka
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Youth -- Political activity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Political participation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Apathy -- South Africa Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sci
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/630 , vital:26475
- Description: This dissertation deals with the nature of the black middle-class assimilation in the South African suburban space, a space that was the sole preserve of the white middle-class during apartheid. It explores the relationship between these races as they come to meet in this space and what new identities are being formed. It also explores the relationship between both the black and white suburbanites and the urban poor who stay in an adjacent area to the suburb. The study uses the Beacon Bay area, which is constituted by one of East London’s most affluent suburbs and a poor township, Nompumelelo, to show how the emergent black middle-class has managed to enter this space in the post-apartheid era. Previous studies by Richard Ballard (2004) and Grant Saff (2001) have shown how the white middle-class has always been against any form of race or class mixing. Within the suburb, the new black suburbanites in Beacon Bay appear to have been welcomed but with conditions by their fellow white counterparts. The relationship between these two races does not stretch beyond meet and greets and it is only in the second generation black middle-class that you find better and non-superficial relations with fellow white suburbanites. In the older generation, the generation that experienced apartheid, the relationship between these two races has been that of tolerance and serious escape of contact unless when necessary. The children of both white and black families, though, have a far better relationship in school and in sport than their parents. This has created another area of contact for both these races and it bears potential for meaningful integration in the suburban space. Externally as it relates to relations between the black middle-class and the urban poor, the findings show that these new black suburbanites express a similar discomfort as the white suburbanites about the urban poor’s presence in the area. This shows that the evolution of the Beacon Bay suburb, with its deep-rooted discourse of white middle-class exclusivity, has not been entirely about hatred of the urban poor necessarily but about an identity ascription of what it means to live in a suburb. Despite these realities traditional ceremonies organised by the black middle-class in the suburbs and the church appear to be playing a role in creating relations between these suburbanites and the Nompumelelo residents. This is why we have decided to use the conceptualisation of the 18th century frontier zone as the borders of segregation within the suburb and between the suburban residents and those of the township can be crossed and re-crossed.
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Terrorism as a contributory factor to state failure in Somalia: a case study of Al- Shabaab
- Authors: Ndlovu, Sitembiso Irene
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Terrorism -- Somalia Terrorism -- Government policy -- Somalia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sci
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2458 , vital:27843
- Description: This study is an investigation of terrorism as a contributory factor to state failure in Somalia with specific reference to Al-Shabaab, using Huntington‟s Clash of Civilizations theory. It utilises both primary and secondary sources of data. The study found out that Somalia had been a failed state even before the birth of Al-Shabaab. However, the activities of Al-Shabaab perpetuated state failure in Somalia. These activities included bombings, small arms attacks, executions, siege, kidnappings, hijackings and looting. The study also found out that Al-Shabaab regularly conducted incursions in neighbouring countries and all these activities destabilised Somalia politically and perpetuated state failure. However, the study also found out that there were other factors that contributed to Somalia‟s state failure some of which were clan rivalry, civil war, warlordism, piracy, poverty and religion. Despite all these, the study noted that there were various actors involved in containing the terrorist activities of Al-Shabaab. These actors included the Transitional Federal Government, Kenya, the African Union, the United Nations and the United States. The study recommends that dialogue between the TFG, the clan structures and Al-Shabaab is the most viable path to sustainable peace in Somalia.
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