Masters Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology) by browse.metadata.advisor "Du Plessis, Jacob M. J."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Development 2.0? : the case of Kiva.org and online social lending for development
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-03) Carlman, Alison; Du Plessis, Jacob M. J.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: This study explores the application of Web 2.0 thinking to development studies. It specifically addresses ‗online social lending for development' as an example of ‗Development 2.0,‘ the subject of an ongoing conversation between the fields of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and international development. The paper has two aims: to develop a definition of Development 2.0, and to explore an empirical example of a Web 2.0 model that seeks to alleviate poverty. Reflecting on the literature pertaining to ICT for development (ICT4D), the investigator establishes preliminary principles of Development 2.0: facilitating citizen participation and voice, encouraging collaboration, increasing transparency and enabling relationships. These principles are then considered in the context of online social lending for development, with a particular look at Kiva.org, the microlending website at the center of the study. The empirical research for this case involved several months of interaction with some of Kiva‘s primary stakeholders in San Francisco, CA and Kisumu, Kenya. As a Kiva Fellow, the investigator engaged in participant observation, focus groups, analysis of secondary data, email interviews and weblog interviews with various people involved in the Kiva system. Stemming from this investigation, the author offers a descriptive and exploratory case study of Kiva‘s operations and its level of Development 2.0 integration. With reference to this Kiva case study and the initial Development 2.0 principles, the investigator offers a new definition: Development 2.0 is the application of Web 2.0 thinking to development studies. Development 2.0 practice takes advantage of networked social interaction and data generation, reaching the ‘long tail’ of the world’s poor; it actively employs transparency, collaboration, and citizen participation with the aim of continual, reflexive improvement in sustainable human-centered development. The author concludes that Kiva is a relevant example of Development 2.0, but it does not offer full transparency to all stakeholders, nor does it take advantage of the full possibilities of networked social interaction, which could lead to more holistic development for Kiva borrowers. The author argues that Development 2.0 principles have intrinsic value, and should be pursued as both a means and an end for ICT4D practice. The paper ends with a call for further research into Kiva, Development 2.0, and the practice of online social lending for development.
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    Exploring the developmental outcomes of service-learning in Higher Education for partner organisations : an exploratory study of two modules at Stellenbosch University
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-03) Leslie, Mike (M. C.); Du Plessis, Jacob M. J.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Amidst debates over the transformation of South African (SA) Higher Education (HE), the core institutional function of community engagement is a possible means of bolstering the developmental role of HE in relation to community needs. The potential for community engagement, and more specifically service-learning, to contribute to community development is yet to be fully explored in the SA context. Broad policy mandates such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (GNU, 1994) and the White Paper on Transformation of Higher Education (DoE, 1997) have created a policy environment supportive of community engagement as an institutional function of HE advancing the state’s developmental agenda. In the course of the national reorganization of the HE system, the Joint Education Trust (JET) / Community-Higher Education- Service Partnerships (CHESP) initiative undertook feasibility studies of community engagement in SA HE and consulted widely around community engagement. The main outcome has been service-learning’s promotion as an endorsed means of knowledge-based community engagement. Concerted efforts to build the institutional capacities for service-learning nationwide have since been conducted and service-learning is now an increasingly prominent means of community engagement in HE. The conceptual origins of service-learning suggest that mutual student and community benefits are achieved in the course of service-learning programmes, with significant research substantiating student learning outcomes. However, there is limited research available on community outcomes and a lack of empirical evidence on how the community is engaged in service-learning. Conceptualizations of service-learning partnerships in SA yield the introduction of a third party, the partner organization as the host of the service-learning modules in addition to the university and the community. The Triad Partnership Model applied at Stellenbosch University (SU) provides an opportunity to explore the experience of the third party, the partner organization, in what is conceptualized as a dyadic relationship between student and community. As a former student, representative of a partner organization and co-facilitator in a servicelearning module, the author explores the experiences of representatives of partner organizations of service-learning in HE. This dissertation presents the experiences of ten site-supervisors from nine partnering organizations of Stellenbosch University as evidence of some of the developmental outcomes of two service-learning modules. The study discusses the various stages in the process of partnership as it pertains to outcomes experienced by the sitesupervisors of the partner organizations. These experiences help clarify the developmental implications of the Triad Partnership Model for the partner organizations of the two service-learning modules studied. The dissertation concludes by making recommendations for future areas of study and makes some considerations for prospective service-learning modules at SU.
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    Good in theory but not in practice : exploring perspectives on inclusive education
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-12) De Winnaar, Mariska; Du Plessis, Jacob M. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The introduction of inclusive education in the South African educational system may be seen as one of the first steps to promote equality and human rights in post-apartheid South Africa. With the implementation of inclusive education, education became less segregated and fragmented, with the aim of ensuring equal learning opportunities for all children, including those with disabilities. The main driving force of inclusive education in South Africa is the Education White Paper 6 on Special Needs Education: Building an inclusive education and training system published in 2001. The aim of this study was to understand inclusive education from the perspectives of those who are charged with the implementation thereof. Classroom educators (teachers) together with district-based support teams are seen as the primary resource for achieving the goal of an inclusive education and training system. This study focused on the perspectives of teachers from one primary and one secondary school in one education district (Education District A) and District-based support team members from another education district (Education District B) in the Western Cape. The study takes on a social constructionist paradigm and illustrates how our understanding and conceptualisation of disability have changed overtime. A social constructionist paradigm highlights the way in which disability is a socially constructed and how it changes according to our understanding thereof. The different models of disability and the role of education was also a main focus of this study. A qualitative research design was used, with purposive and opportunity sampling being applied. Data was gathered using focus groups and in-depth semi-structured interviews and was analysed using thematic analysis. The key findings of this study showed that the teachers and district-based support team members believe that inclusive education can be successful in South Africa provided that changes are made in how it is currently conceptualised and implemented. The teachers have a very different perspective on inclusive education from the support team members. The teachers believe that the success of inclusive education can only be ensured if barriers to teaching are prevented or eradicated, while the support team members believe the success of inclusive education depends on the identification and prevention of barriers to learning. Both groups do however believe that inclusive education is a very good ideal to strive towards but that it has not yet been achieved and that the inclusion and education of all learners are of great importance.
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    Informal settlement fires : addressing the issue in Kayamandi
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009-12) Du Toit, Nerina; Du Plessis, Jacob M. J.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines the issue of informal settlement fires, specifically in Kayamandi a township of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The study aims to identify the relevant role-players involved in addressing the issue and to understand the unique dynamics involved in this type of fires at the local level context. The study illuminates the main contextual factors that contribute to the perpetuation of informal settlement sprawl in South Africa and that relates to the risk and vulnerability experienced by informal settlement dwellers. A qualitative research approach was followed and a triangulation of data collection methods was used, combined with a relatively broad literature study to capture the complexity of the related issues. The contextual focus includes the macro-economic factors that contribute to the environment in which informal settlement fires occur, and furthermore, developmental, economic, political and social aspects and the related experience of poverty, urbanisation and unemployment. It was found that the theoretical underpinning of both the fields of Disaster Management and Community Development are relevant for analysis and addressing the research questions. Furthermore, that a relationship exists between the Disaster Management, Development and Community Development fields. This is particularly evident in Disaster Management policy and planning as related to prevention, mitigation, and public participation, such as community involvement in Community-Based Risk Assessments. Key findings suggest that local government in the demarcated study area has great influence on how the problem of informal settlement fires is addressed. From national to local municipality level, the State plays the largest role in addressing the issue and takes the responsibility for addressing informal settlement fires as part of disaster management mandates prescribed in legislation. The local government agenda as influenced by Disaster Management legislation include efforts related to awareness, education and training focused on Kayamandi as an informal settlement community and can be considered community development initiatives. This further relates to the view taken in the thesis that informal settlement fires are a social issue and not only an operational issue. Therefore the broad social, economic and political context and history were included and it was shown that the ‘problem’ of informal settlement fires is part of a greater developmental context and related processes. A variety of community development theories were chosen as a useful framework for analysis in this study and to approach issues of risk and vulnerability on a community level. It also presents a conceptual framework for including both non-governmental stake-holders and the affected community as role-players.