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School of Applied Human Sciences

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/6451

The School of Applied Human Sciences (SAHS) consists of Criminology and Forensic Studies, Psychology, The Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS), and Social Work.

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Browsing School of Applied Human Sciences by SDG "SDG10"

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    An analysis of experiences and meanings that community members have attached to the South African government’s neoliberal and privatisation policies in historically disadvantaged suburbs.
    (2022) Mashalane, Nkgere Sharon.; Isaacs, Dean Lee.; Bobat, Shaida.; Reuben, Shanya.
    This research aimed to explore the experiences and meanings that community members have attached to the South African government’s neoliberal and privatisation policies in historically disadvantaged suburbs. This study sought to understand how community members of Wentworth make sense of neoliberal and privatisation tactics. Using a qualitative research design, the study further sought to understand how the privatisation of basic services makes community members feel. Participants were community members of Wentworth, a suburb of the city of Durban, who have been residents in the community for more than ten years. Participants were selected using snowball sampling, and the researcher used semi-structured interviews to solicit points of view from the participants on their experiences of the privatisation of basic services in their area. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The analysis produced the following themes: unemployment, unsafe communities, poverty-stricken homes, government shortcomings, not having a place to call home, and dissatisfaction with life. The research revealed that the residents’ understanding of these changes were strongly influenced by the injustices of the past, which now manifest as class instead of race. Recommendations for practical implications and future research were made.
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    Deconstructing African identities: notions of fatherhood amongst Zulu men in Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal.
    (2023) Mdletshe, Prudence Thandeka.; Zibane, Sibonsile Zerurcia.; Hlengwa, Wellington Mthokozisi.
    This study is a decolonial study of fatherhood in South Africa. It is located within the broader ambit of decolonial liberatory psychology and Afrocentrism. It is informed by the hypothetical claim about the erosion of African cultures, being, and subjectivities. It posits that while fatherhood is obviously socially, culturally, and historically contingent, the Anglo-American notions of fatherhood are the most dominant in South Africa. This is because of the matrix of power of the modern colonial world system that undermines African identities. Data was collected using Indigenous research methods which share some similarities with qualitative research methods. These included the sharing circles and conversational interviews that were used to collect data. A total of two sharing circle interviews and 20 one-on-one in-depth conversational interviews were conducted in Eshowe which is a rural community of KwaZulu-Natal. Study participants consisted of Zulu people from 35 to 75 + years of age. The interviews were conducted in IsiZulu; and recorded using a digital audio-recorder, and then transcribed later. The transcription first took place in the language of the respondents and then were translated into English. Zulu Folklores and proverbs were also used in the data collection process. They also served as conversation starters, reflection points, and for stimulating the conversation exchanges in sharing circles. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). IPA was chosen because it is a method that allows for the data to be collected using Indigenous research methods. It is a qualitative analysis method that is primarily used in the disciplines of the human sciences. This method is mainly concerned with giving voice to the voiceless people who are either marginalized or excluded in society such as peasants, women, and indeed racialized populations. Most significantly, IPA also seeks to explore such participants’ experiences and the meaning they attribute to their experiences. The findings of the research are presented in the form of thick descriptions of the participant’s notions of fatherhood. The participants’ experiences, memories, and stories symbolized the resilience of indigenous knowledge systems in Eshowe. As one of the participants opined, as long as the Zulu people still live, their culture cannot be entirely obliterated by the old and new forms of colonialism.
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    Discontinuity without change? the place and discourse of colonial memory in Zimbabwe’s post- Mugabe Zanu-PF politics.
    (2024) Kupeta, Noah.; Lubombo, Musara.; Dyll, Lauren Eva.
    Zimbabwean politics are notably complex and difficult to understand, even by scholars with a strong interest in African affairs with a long institutional memory of the historical determinants of the independence and post-independence struggles within Zimbabwe. Through the lens of political culture and functional theory campaign communication, this qualitative inquiry titled “Discontinuity without change? The place and discourse of colonial memory in Zimbabwe’s post-Mugabe ZANU-PF politics” scrutinizes the colonial narratives in the political discourses in Zimbabwe’s ruling party ZANU (PF) following the Robert Mugabe era intending to understand how colonial memory shapes the party’s the ideological foundations and policy directions. The study draws on eight speeches delivered by former president Robert Mugabe during the 2002 elections, as well as speeches by his successor and current president Emmerson Munangagwa during the 2018 election campaign. It also incorporates insights from key informants within ZANU (PF), Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), Zimpapers, and Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) to explore the role of media in influencing the nuanced interplay between historical legacies, political discourse, and contemporary governance. By examining the ebbs and tides of electoral politics in Zimbabwe spanning nearly decades through the prism of post-colonial memory, the study concludes that while Mnangagwa’s ascendance as President hinted at a departure from his predecessor’s politics, there is a notable continuity in the streams of colonial memory that informed ZANU-PF electoral strategies. This underscores how political discourses and power dynamics during elections are deeply entrenched within the broader context of Zimbabwean politics and pan-African pursuit of of self-determination (Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo), identity and independence. Despite certain shifts in Mnangagwa’s ‘New Dispensation’ that deviate from Mugabeism, the persistence of colonial memory underscores its pivotal role in shaping the principles and practices of representative democracy within Zimbabwe. The media’s influence in (re)shaping post-Mugabe discourse sheds light on the implications of memory appropriation in contemporary Zimbabwean political communication.