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Alcohol use among women attending antenatal care in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape

- Bredenkamp, Petrus Johannes

  • Authors: Bredenkamp, Petrus Johannes
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Uncatalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234358 , vital:50188
  • Description: Alcohol use during pregnancy is known to cause neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). High prevalence of FASD has been observed in certain parts South Africa, but many areas of the country remain unstudied, and factors contributing to drinking among pregnant women are poorly understood. This study surveyed 1099 women attending antenatal care at public primary healthcare facilities in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Area in the Eastern Cape. Data was collected using the Alcohol Use Identification Test, a 10-item self-report measure of drinking behaviour in isiXhosa, English, and Afrikaans. Factors associated with alcohol use, risky drinking, binge drinking, and hazardous/harmful drinking were identified using logistic regression. A minority of the sample reported alcohol use (64%). Among those reporting alcohol use, most reported occasional binge drinking (63%) and met criteria for risky drinking (59%) and hazardous/harmful drinking (52%). Living with a regular drinker was significantly associated with alcohol use (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.51 – 2.58), risky drinking (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.49 – 2.76), binge drinking (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.64 – 2.97), and hazardous/harmful drinking (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.41 – 2.99). However, women who were married/cohabiting were less likely to report alcohol use (OR .71, 95% CI .53 - .95). Experiencing intimate partner violence during the current pregnancy was associated with alcohol use (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.38 – 4.27) and hazardous/harmful drinking (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.32 – 5.22). In this study, women who identified as Coloured were more likely to report alcohol use than Women who identified as African (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.4 – 5.36). These findings simultaneously provide evidence of problematic drinking among pregnant women in a previously understudied area and show that external factors affect women’s drinking behaviour during pregnancy. Interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of FASD should consider alcohol use by pregnant women in the context of their lived experiences. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

The memory altar

- Alexander-McKenna, Hilary Jane

Skipping stones

- Le Roux, Jade-Eden

  • Authors: Le Roux, Jade-Eden
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , South African fiction (English) 21st century , Suicide in literature
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234389 , vital:50191
  • Description: My thesis takes the form of a novella exploring suicide and the unanswered questions it leaves. The main protagonist is a young girl who struggles to come to terms with her best friend’s suicide. The work is situated in contemporary South Africa, where inequality and depression is rife, especially among young people, and social media too often provides a smokescreen to conceal emotions. My writing is motivated by my desire to explore the human condition and the world around me, through my own subjective lens of experience. By working between fact and fiction I seek to trouble conventional narratives attached to suicide and highlight the subjectivity of truth. I am influenced by Lydia Davis's ability to write obliquely about loss, and her light-handed approach to emotionally charged topics; Susan Steinberg's dark motifs, vivid imagery, and her fragmented narrative that captures the characters’ responses to trauma and interrogates the notion of truth; Lidia Yuknavitch's cinematic imagery and immediacy of tone and compact storytelling; and Kate Zambreno's poetic prose that lends itself to clear societal commentary. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Along the river that flowed south

- Mohlomi, Teboho Samson

  • Authors: Mohlomi, Teboho Samson
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Uncatalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/234195 , vital:50171
  • Description: Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Therapy drop-out: a descriptive case study of an imperfect sand-play therapy process with an aggressive 12 year old boy

- Fouche, Aimee Louise

  • Authors: Fouche, Aimee Louise
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Psychotherapy Failure , Psychotherapy Outcome assessment , Psychotherapy , Aggressiveness in children , Sandplay Therapeutic use , Play therapy , Conduct disorders in children , Boys Psychology
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/292704 , vital:57008
  • Description: This case study sought to document an imperfect sandplay therapy process with an aggressive 12 year old male. Premature abscondment is a recognised issue in child and adolescent therapy. Extra-therapeutic factors like social support from family and friends have been found to be determinants of child psychotherapy outcomes. There is a significant gap in case study research documenting a failed child therapy process. This research aims to address the omission by using qualitative methods to elicit a nuanced account of such a process. The results of thematic analysis found that parents played a crucial role in the failure of the process. Not only were they instrumental in stopping therapy attendance but their disengaged attitudes infiltrated into the child’s process. Implications for clinical practice were discussed and recommendations were made for more documentation of failed therapy processes. This case study hopes to form part of the ground work for future investigations. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Praying mantis

- Kenene, Thobeka

  • Authors: Kenene, Thobeka
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , South African fiction (English) 21st century , South African essays (English) 21st century , Portuguese fiction 20th century History and criticism , Russian fiction 20th century History and criticism , Zimbabwean fiction (English) 20th century History and criticism , American fiction 20th century History and criticism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/292726 , vital:57010
  • Description: (Prologue) I could only see in black and white as if I had travelled through time. I was the star of the medieval people who waited on me. The city was Johannesburg where strange faces called me a traitor because I was an educated black person. I hid between the skyscrapers and ran into a mirror image of myself as a man. “I write this book,” he said to his readers, “To invoke a yearning in our youth to awaken from slumber. To set examples for them to desist from characters like Velesazi and Nongendi, and imitate Nomsa and Themba. And also, to contribute to Xhosa literature.” He signed off by calling himself our servant. These are the words from the note my great-grandfather left me. We walked together across a barren field and past a graveyard. I was feeling tired and lost; I wanted to get home as fast as possible. We quickened our step and entered a church site. Inside the church were all my close relatives. I saw myself on stage looking down at them, and when I opened my mouth to sing, they began laughing at me. I imagined him in his 1917 suit, as a writer, penning down his first novel that is dedicated to his mother. His round cheeks enveloped in a haze of candle light. He visited my dream in 2012 and in the dream he asked me, “Do you see?” I said, “Yes, I see.” My great-grandfather hummed a song from his belly. I inhaled deeply into my belly and then exhaled a sound. Together we hummed this song that made everyone fall silent and listen. In the dream I could feel my lungs expanding and deflating along to the rhythm of the song. As my great-grandfather and I sang it, the night lamps shone brighter. I had become my great-grandfather, wearing his suit and black leather shoes. His friends were my friends. They turned and asked me what my clan name was. When I told them, they whispered something among themselves. One of them said to me, “Unogcwabevu.” I saw a white unknown woman who was afraid of me. I told her it is going to be okay, and that I would not harm her. But the colour of my skin frightened her. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Gray

- Fouché, James De Clerque

Sexual socialisation: young adult women storying how sexual activities were discussed in South African cultural contexts

- Ludidi, Zizipho

  • Authors: Ludidi, Zizipho
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Socialization South Africa , Sex Social aspects South Africa , Young women Socialization South Africa , Young women Sexual behavior South Africa , Culture , Memory , Narrative inquiry (Research method)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/292737 , vital:57011
  • Description: Epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancy, gender-based violence and homophobia, in South Africa, have focused research on how young people learn about sex. This research has often focused on young girls from risk-saturated areas, and specific agents of socialisation, where they might learn about sex, such as parents, life orientation at schools, peers, media, and traditional cultural approaches. Using a narrative theoretical framework, through memory work, this study explored how black young adult women friends – who were university students – experienced forms of sexual socialisation, through various communication in South African cultural contexts. Findings from the thematic narrative analysis that was conducted demonstrated that sexual socialisation is a complex life-long process. This takes place through a collision of contradictory messages, from different agents of socialisation, in different cultural contexts. Themes were identified and organised to tell an overall sexual socialisation story that progressed through time, moving from a stage of perceived innocent oblivion, mixed messages in primary and high school, “liberal” university stories and the current stage of reauthoring stories. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

An investigation of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) in the SANAE HF radar data

- Atilaw, Tsige Yared

  • Authors: Atilaw, Tsige Yared
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Ionospheric storms Antarctica , Radar Antarctica , ‎Range time-intensity (RTI) , South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE)‎ , Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN)‎
  • Language: English
  • Type: Doctoral thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232377 , vital:49986 , DOI 10.21504/10962/232377
  • Description: This thesis aims to study the characteristics of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) as identified in the radar data of the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radar located in Antarctica. For this project, 22 TIDs were identified from visual inspection of range time-intensity (RTI) plots of backscattered power and Doppler velocity parameters of the SANAE radar between 2005âAS2015. These events were studied to determine their characteristics and driving mechanisms. Where good quality data were available, the SANAE HF radar data were supplemented by Halley radar data, which has large area of overlapping field of view (FOV) with the SANAE radar, and also by GPS TEC data. This provided a multi-instrument data analysis of some TID events. Different spectral analysis methods, namely the multitaper method (MTM), Fast Fourier transform (FFT) and the Lomb-Scargle periodogram were used to obtain spectral information of the observed waves. The advantage of using multiple windowing in MTM over the traditional windowing method was illustrated using one of the TID events. In addition, the analytic signal of the wave from the MTM method was used to estimate the instantaneous phase velocity and propagation azimuth of the wave, which was able to track the change in the characteristics of the medium-scale TID (MSTID) efficiently throughout the duration of the event. This is a clear advantage over other windowing techniques. The energy contribution by this MSTID through Joule heating was estimated over the region where spectral analysis of both SANAE and Halley data showed it to be present. The majority of the TIDs (65.4%) could be classified as MSTIDs with periods of 20–60 minutes, velocities of 50–333 ms􀀀1 and wavelengths of 129–833 km. The TID occurrence rate was high around the March equinox with 12 out of the 16 event days being during March–May. March had a particularly high number of occurrences of TIDs (46%). The majority of the TIDs observed during this month propagated northward or southeastward. In terms of prevailing geomagnetic conditions, 6 out of 16 event days were geomagnetically quiet, while 10 occurred during geomagnetic storms and substorms. During quiet conditions, TIDs could be linked to Es and polarised electric fields in 2 of these events. The other quiet time events could not be related to Es instability and polarised electric field either because their exact propagation direction could not be determined or data quality from the Es region scatter was too poor to perform spectral analysis. The storm-/substorm-related TIDs are possibly generated through Joule heating, the Lorentz force and energetic particle precipitation. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Physics and Electronics, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

The narratives of women in South Africa who use social media to talk about gender-based violence

- Walton, Donica Jasmin

  • Authors: Walton, Donica Jasmin
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Women Violence against South Africa , Social media and society South Africa , Internet and activism South Africa , Discourse analysis, Narrative , Internet and women South Africa , Subject positions‎
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232590 , vital:50005
  • Description: There has been research conducted, both globally and in South Africa, on social media activism against gender-based violence (GBV). However, most research on the topic is based on participants in other parts of the world. Not much has been published on Black, African women. More specifically, not much is known about how women in South Africa experience using social media to talk about GBV. This research project draws on critical feminism and a narrative-discursive approach to explore the narratives of women in South Africa who use social media to talk about GBV. This is done by identifying the discourses women draw on to construct narratives, the subject positions utilised within these discourses, and how “trouble” and “repair” features in the narratives and positioning of women. Twelve interviews were conducted with women who volunteered and fit the inclusion criteria. The analysis of data was presented in two parts. The first set of discourses (discourses of ‘efficacy’, ‘convenience’, and ‘education’) were focused on what the use of social media achieves irrespective of the topic being discussed. These discourses speak to the idea that social media is powerful and useful because of its reach, speed, immediacy, and ability to be used to educate and be educated. The second set of discourses (discourses of ‘community and solidarity’, ‘validation’, and ‘vulnerability’) were focused on what the use of social media does for the people participating. Women have found a community and solidarity, and their experiences and thoughts have been validated on social media. Overall, the women in this research project justified their use of social media for activism against GBV, and acknowledged the tension that exists because despite its potential, there are limitations. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Exploring structures and beliefs underlying textbook praxis in German foreign language courses at a South African university – a social realist perspective

- Engelbrecht, Natasha

  • Authors: Engelbrecht, Natasha
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: German language Study and teaching (Higher) English speakers , Curriculum change South Africa , German language Textbooks History and criticism , Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Project) , Decolonization South Africa , Educational change South Africa , Social realism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Doctoral thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232657 , vital:50011 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/232657
  • Description: Commercial textbooks, aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), are prescribed in almost all undergraduate GFL courses offered at South African universities. Although providing practical relevance and quality assurance, the CEFR-level descriptors were developed for the European context. The projected relevance and appropriateness of teaching materials presently implemented in German curricula in South African higher education have been determined in Germany, not for local contexts, but for learners vaguely described as “Anfänger” (Evans, et al., 2012, p. 8) and “Erwachsene und Jugendliche ab 16 Jahren” (Hueber, 2019, p. 11), often with a focus on learning for prospective German immigrants or for the use in refugee- or immigrant integration courses. However, the textbook occupies a central position in the GFL course because of the structured grammar progression that it lends to the curriculum. The variety of resources available to lecturers (tests, worksheets, online learning platform) and students (exercises, English-German glossary, English grammar explanations) is also an asset to GFL courses. Calls for the transformation and decolonisation of higher education have prompted academic disciplines to re-evaluate the common-sense assumptions which underpin knowledge practices in their curriculum. Following a social realist perspective and an exploratory case-study approach, this study presents a critical analysis of the textbook prescribed in the German Studies 1 course at Rhodes University and student experiences of the textbook to disentangle the complex relations which cause textbook praxis and lay bare power structures and tensions in the system. , Thesis (PhD) -- Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Talk in online video games: study of how the use of jargon, social interaction, and representation in Overwatch affects the ability of women to immerse themselves in these spaces

- Stander, Emily

  • Authors: Stander, Emily
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Internet games Social aspects , Video gamers Language , Women video gamers , Cyberbullying , Online hate speech , Online trolling , Online chat groups , Women Social conditions , Women Sociological aspects , Overwatch (Video game) , Internet games Sex differences , Sex discrimination against women
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232477 , vital:49995
  • Description: This thesis investigates the impact on women of aggressive, demeaning and blaming talk in the online video game* space. The objective is to understand how players talk to each other and how this kind of talk presents issues for women trying to enter the online gaming sphere and become recognised as players. The main method was participatory observation and interviews with women who have experienced such talk. Key results which came from this research is that the process of keeping specific people out of communities through different means of talk - gatekeeping, women being viewed as objects of sexual gratification for men through bad representation in video games and media and using women as scapegoats for frustration and blame in the competitive online video game space, are the main issues which arise from the way players communicate with each other. In conclusion, the research presented that there needs to be an effective system of unlearning and relearning these behaviours in communities and a change in the way women are represented and seen in media is necessary in order to change the behavioural patterns which exist in gaming culture. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

The fiction of scarcity: conceptualising scarcity in terms of global justice

- Brotherton, Michelle

  • Authors: Brotherton, Michelle
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Scarcity Philosophy , Distributive justice , Political science Philosophy , Philosophy , Justification (Ethics) , Fallacies (Logic)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294526 , vital:57229 , DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.21504/10962/294526
  • Description: This thesis intends to contribute to the discourse on global justice as it pertains to resources, the distribution of resources, and the allocation of resources. The focus is on the concept of scarcity. I examine scarcity for how it is understood, interpreted, and applied in the literature on global justice. This thesis argues that scarcity lacks conceptual clarity in the discourse on global justice and argues that if scarcity is misconstrued, the consequences can be severe. Conceptual clarity is thus necessary to ensure that scarcity is properly referred to in the discourse on global justice so that scarcity is not erroneously used when justifications are sought for material deprivation and consequent human suffering. In the process, I will also examine how scarcity is used as a justification in instances of material deprivation and why this is problematic. Given the lack of conceptual clarity regarding scarcity, I argue that reliance on scarcity as justification may be erroneous. The conflation of absolute scarcity and relative scarcity may amount to a category mistake. This thesis purports to clarify scarcity conceptually in the context of global justice. In doing so, I recommend that a resource-centric approach to resource scarcity is adopted to accurately account for the scarcity status of resources. A resource-centric approach to resource scarcity based on a more nuanced understanding of scarcity avoids the potential category mistake. Such an approach ensures that material deprivation and consequent human suffering are not wrongfully attributed to scarcity. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Philosophy, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

The self and the impossible pursuit of justice in J.M. Coetzee’s "Waiting for the barbarians, disgrace and foe”

- Swanepoel, Elbie

  • Authors: Swanepoel, Elbie
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Coetzee, J M, 1940- Criticism and interpretation , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Waiting for the barbarians , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Disgrace , Coetzee, J M, 1940- Foe , Ethics in literature , Deconstruction , Postmodernism (Literature) , Justice in literature
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232294 , vital:49979
  • Description: In its engagement with J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, Disgrace and Foe, this thesis explores how the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida can be used as a framework for understanding the self’s relationship with the other. In contrast to postcolonial readings of these texts, this thesis does not consider the separation between the self and the other in terms of social or cultural differences but rather the radical alterity of the other that is perceived in the face-to-face encounter. This study aims to illustrate how the engagement with alterity exposes the instability of the self’s structures of knowledge that, in these instances, are grounded in the Western metaphysical tradition. The effects of the self’s encounter with the other are seen in the personal transformation of Coetzee’s protagonists whose initial flaws and problematic worldviews are revealed in the context of the injustices done to the other. Furthermore, the study examines the extent to which the self is complicit in the suffering of the other and how this ultimately complicates their pursuit of justice for them. While the focus of this thesis is primarily on the characters, it also shows how the writer’s careful treatment of otherness functions to confront and engage the reader with the alterity of the other and the ethical dilemmas inherent in attempting to conceptualise it. The study concludes that the protagonists’ engagement with others and their subsequent confrontation with themselves lead them to consider what an ethical response to the other might be. This ethical turn results in positive change, however ambiguously, in their thoughts about and behaviours toward other beings. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, English Language and Linguistics, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

A biography on inkosi Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli as an African intellectual

- Mngadi, Samkelo Ntobeko Vukani

  • Authors: Mngadi, Samkelo Ntobeko Vukani
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Luthuli, A J (Albert John), 1898-1967 , Luthuli, A J (Albert John), 1898-1967 Political and social views , Africans Intellectual life , South Africa History , South Africa Politics and government , African National Congress Biography , Apartheid South Africa , Political activists South Africa Biography , Intellectuals Political activity South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294493 , vital:57226
  • Description: [Excerpt taken from Introduction] The purpose of this study is to take a look at one of these African leaders, inkosi Albert Luthuli through a biographical lens to assess whether he should be recognised as an African intellectual. Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu states that inkosi Luthuli is recognised as the father of South Africa’s non-racialism. He used his moral authority in a historic fashion to influence the liberation movement to adopt non-violent resistance. During his time as President-General, he became the beacon of non-violent resistance. As the president of the liberation organisation, he delivered speeches that steered the African National Congress (ANC) and the liberation movement when the State escalated its oppression against Africans. The State retaliated by deposing him as an elected Chief, imprisoned him, imposed multiple bans on him in attempts to silence him. His intellect proved to be a threat to the State. He spoke out boldly against the apartheid state and advocated for chiefs, African people, African women, sugar farmers, and all oppressed racial groups. Inkosi Luthuli used his speeches to deliver political concepts like non-racialism, multiracialism, African nationalism and democracy into the public space. He cemented ANC’s cooperation policy that created the environment for the existence of the Congress Alliance that produced the Freedom Charter. He spoke out against the oppression of not just South Africans but Africa and all oppressed groups internationally. He illustrated that he possessed geopolitics that would gain the attention of the world. He illustrated his geopolitics through his internationalism philosophy gained the international community’s attention. Inkosi Luthuli was revered and respected by his Groutville community, the African community, South Africans of all racial groups and the international community. His impact can be seen through him being the first African-born Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He pushed for the international community to place economic sanctions and believed that international sanctions were the appropriate non-violent method the global community could get involved in fighting apartheid.5 The purpose of this study will be to explore how a Christian Zulu Chief’s intellectual thinking was able to move South Africa towards a multiracial democracy using non-violent resistance as a strategy to gain Africa and the world’s attention—looking at him from the vantage point of being an African intellectual. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, History, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Pink Concrete

- Curr, Jill Alexandra

  • Authors: Curr, Jill Alexandra
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , Diaries -- Authorship , South African fiction (English) 21st century , English fiction History and criticism , Nigerian fiction (English) History and criticism , Argentine fiction History and criticism , Angolan fiction (Portuguese) History and criticism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232388 , vital:49987
  • Description: (From Reader Report Reflection) - I started this course believing I was not a writer. I knew that I loved to write, I knew that it was innate to how I perceived the world. I had written a novel previously, it was an outpouring, uncontrollable imagination spew. I was often scared and doubted myself throughout writing it, but I took comfort in my reading. I picked up all the classics, modern and old, rewriting the words into notebooks alongside my own, retracing the sounds, the rhythms, the symbols and their little links, the pauses. I collected pieces rereading them with reverence, my fingers curling over the lines sunken into the page. I didn’t understand what I was doing, it felt natural to hide in the skirts of other writers peering behind the curtain to see how they built the illusion. And yet, even after finishing my novel I still didn’t think I was a writer; it was a hobby, it was something extra to me, a backpack I could take off and on. I denied what was innate, and said it was not that important to me. I applied for this Master’s in Creative Writing (MACW)7 course because I wanted external validation on my first novel and an application was probably the only way, I was going to get someone to read it. It is sad and stunted that I needed this external validation to believe I could try, to believe that I could learn to control this compulsion, to believe that I could become a writer. In our first course contact week,8 lecturers and supervisors kept saying again again that we were already writers, that this is what we are. I was scared of this, that they would find out I was not really meant to be here. Writing, taking those solitary thoughts that are too much for my skull and making them real, something tangible; this is how I move through my existence. I take pieces of myself and paste them to the page, otherwise the thoughts build up like snow around a car until you are suffocating in an icebox. And by removing this part of myself to just a hobby, a silly backpack that I can pick up and put down, was just me running away. This MACW course gave me the tools to tap into what I am, that I have a why that I must write to and that I have an audience for this why. By sharing pieces of myself, I make them real again, something I can study, tracing their edges, their dark underbelly, the light hillocks. I sat with my fear for two years slowly, piece by piece, cracking it open. I learnt to love my voice and believe in it without needing external validation, without needing the gold star of acceptance, because I accept and love what I am trying to build with my writing. , Thesis (MACW) -- Faculty of Arts, School of Languages and Literatures, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Diski 9 Nine and Other Stories (and Things)

- Mahlabe, Stoffel Seshia

Understanding trance states from the perspective of South African traditional healers - in relation to psychosis

- Masia, Ntombifuthi Thato

  • Authors: Masia, Ntombifuthi Thato
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Trance , Psychoses , Altered states of consciousness , Healers South Africa , Healers South Africa Attitudes , Mental health services South Africa , Psychoses Alternative treatment , Psychoses Alternative treatment Moral and ethical aspects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's article , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232877 , vital:50034
  • Description: Studies conducted on psychosis, sleep and trance states have indicated that the phenomenon of trance occurs quite similarly to that of psychosis. Trance states (or, altered states of consciousness) are defined as mental states in which there is an alteration in the informational or representational relationships between consciousness and the world, whereby the mechanisms of consciousness have an increased tendency to produce misrepresentations like hallucinations, delusions and memory or temporal distortions. This research study aimed to contribute to the knowledge of trance states, particularly as represented by the language and social processes of traditional healers in South Africa, and as experienced by them. This knowledge is geared towards providing insight on the experience and treatment of the similarly occurring phenomenon of psychosis in clinical settings. Through a qualitative study, this research found that strategies of exploration, building recognition and familiarity, and self-monitoring are used by traditional healers to reduce the distress caused by intrusive and disruptive symptoms of trance, as well as to maintain a stable self-identity while experiencing trance states. , Thesis (MA) -- Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

Service dogs for Autism Spectrum Disorder: the experiences of caregivers in South Africa

- Martin, Emma Jeanne

  • Authors: Martin, Emma Jeanne
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Autism spectrum disorders South Africa , Service dogs South Africa , Animals Therapeutic use South Africa , Caregivers South Africa , Animals Therapeutic use Public opinion , Animal welfare South Africa , Children with autism spectrum disorders South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232855 , vital:50032
  • Description: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, most frequently diagnosed in childhood, with symptoms including deficits in social communication and interaction as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviours, interests and activities. There is no known cure for ASD, with current treatment methods focussing upon reducing symptom severity. One such treatment method is the use of autism service dogs. Internationally, autism service dogs have been available for over two decades, while in South Africa they have only been available since 2015. A fair amount of internationally published data is available on autism service dogs, however, at the time of this research study, no data was available within South Africa. This study aimed to provide a baseline for research on autism service dogs within South Africa, by documenting the experiences of caregivers whose ASD children had been supplied with autism service dogs, with regard to the uses, effects, accessibility and public perception of the autism service dogs, as well as recommendations for future improvements of autism service dogs within South Africa. Lastly, inquiry into the welfare of the autism service dogs was sought. This study was qualitative in nature, with eight families who had been supplied with autism service dogs having chosen to participate. Data collection was achieved through one semi-structured interview with each family, which was then transcribed and thematically analysed using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Results indicated that autism service dogs were perceived as generally accessible, useful and beneficial for ASD children and their caregivers in a variety of ways, however, they were not without their challenges, with lifestyle adjustments and public perception being especially problematic. Participants also noted recommendations for possible future improvements. Lastly, welfare concerns for the autism service dogs relating to violent behaviour exhibited by ASD children was identified, raising the question of the suitability of service dogs for the ASD population. , Thesis (MA) -- Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

The mountain’s calling

- Mabeba, Motlatjo Ahsley

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