Doctoral Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology)
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- ItemAdaption des institutions Tradition-Nelles A La Gestion Foncierre De Kinshasa, Ville-Capitale (1960-2016)(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Sangu, Philippe Ibaka; Bekker, S. B.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.FRENCH ABSTRACT: La République Démocratique du Congo, vaste territoire logé au coeur de l’Afrique, a connu l’existence des Chefs et des Chefferies traditionnelles avant et après la colonisation. Avec le développement des villes une nouvelle façon de gouverner sera introduite avec des institutions impersonnelles. Dès lors, il s’avère important de comprendre comment des chef-feries qui se trouvent à l’intérieur de la ville s’y prennent-elles pour s’adapter à ce nouvel environnement urbain institutionnel. En plus dans ce milieu urbain institutionnel, comment les différentes institutions tradi-tionnelles s’adaptent-elles en interaction avec leurs équivalents urbains, et comment le fon-cier communal s’adapte-t-il face à la propriété privée et étatique dans la ville–capitale, Kinshasa ? Cependant, il est à noter que l’adaptation n’était pas uniforme (homogène) selon qu’on est dans la cité coloniale, dans la zone planifiée ou dans la zone périphérique de Kinshasa. Dans l’ancienne zone coloniale les institutions traditionnelles ont disparu et furent remplacées par des institutions étatiques urbaines modernes ; dans la zone planifiée elles ont perdu de leur autorité ; et à la périphérie elles cohabitent avec leurs équivalents modernes. Avec la création d’une institution nationale dénommée Alliance Nationale des Autorités Tra-ditionnelles du Congo (ANATC), celle-ci a offert à certains des chefs coutumiers dans la ville une possibilité de collaborer et de cohabiter avec les institutions étatiques modernes.
- ItemAgeing, gender and class: differences in experiences and livelihood strategies of ageing populations in Harare, Zimbabwe(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Gweru, Benjamin; Francis, Dennis; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores ageing as experienced by ageing populations of Harare, Zimbabwe, while raising questions about what constitutes the very category ageing. The study also explores the class and gender dimensions of ageing on the livelihoods of older populations. The research focuses on older people from the age of sixty-five who are heads of households. The study is designed from the perspective of an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) in combination with Narrative Analysis (NA) situated within the theory of Social Constructionism, Intersectionality, and Theory of Practice by Bourdieu. The study draws on qualitative data collected from nine older people (both male and female) from three different localities of Harare: Epworth, Glen View, and Mt Pleasant. This research departs from common ways of viewing ageing people as passive and docile subjects, engaging with them, instead, as active agents who construct the social worlds they inhabit, albeit in material contexts which shape and constrain their agency. This means engaging with them as authorities about themselves, their everyday lives, their pleasures and anxieties and the relations and identifications they make. In adopting this research approach, my study generates new understandings about ways in which Zimbabwean ageing populations in the study construct and experience ageing, which debunked stereotypical associations of “ageing people” with intellectual and physical impairment. Indeed, one of the key findings which emerged from this research is that older people need recognition within research, not only as subjects to be used for knowledge gathering, but also as a populace with active personhoods. The findings of the study carry important implications for developing social policies to promote sound policies for ageing populations and the creation of opportunities to shape the lives of older people.
- ItemAn analysis of the emerging patterns of reproductive behaviour among rural women in South Africa : a case study of the Victoria East District of the Eastern Cape Province(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002-03) Mfono, Zanele Ntombizanele; Groenewald, C. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study describes and analyses changes in women's reproductive behaviour ID developing communities. These changes took more than hundred years to occur ID Western communities but only two to three decades in developing communities such as Taiwan and Barbados. The population of Victoria East district of the Eastern Cape province of South Afiica was chosen as a case study of these changes. Changes in the reproductive behaviour of women are described over a period of twenty-two years. The base year for the study is 1978 and data were collected up to 2001. Changes increased in particular since 1988. Statistical descriptive analyses were undertaken with regard to patterns of changes in variables such as age at the onset of births, child spacing, the mean number of births per woman, fertility regulation, and the number of children ever bom. Variations in patterns were analysed according to age cohorts, occupation and marital status. Information regarding these variables was collected from records at hospitals and clinics. Focus group interviews were held to reflect women's own descriptions and experiences regarding these variables. The research design thus combines the quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings confirm a pattern of fertility decline that Caldwell described as the African pattern, which is different from that seen in Europe and Asia. It is characterized by a progressive delay in onset of childbearing and reductions in the mean number of childbirths that occur across all age cohorts and are associated with contraceptive accessibility. The high incidence of non-marital childbearing in the Victoria East district however sets the population studied apart from the polygamous Afiican societies on which Caldwell based the African transition. In this respect the population considered resembles the scenarios seen in Latin America, the Caribbean, Botswana and in recent years Europe. The study population shows a divergence in the patterns of marital and non-marital childbearing, with marital childbearing following the African pattem. Because of its high incidence, non-marital childbearing is dominant and the major contributor to the fertility decline that is afoot. The implications of this pattern needs much more in-depth study before comparisons with the above-mentioned communities can be made.
- ItemAn assessment of the extent of empowerment through community participation : a Kwazulu-Natal rural development comparison(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001-12) Gumbi, Themba Aaron Philemon; Bekker, S. B.; Groenewald, C. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to assess the extent of the relevance and success of the empowerment model in facilitating and promoting rural development in South Africa. The assumption was that through active participation communities are able to gain control over their lives and are empowered to promote development successfully. In undertaking this study, the researcher initially reviewed literature on rural development, and thereafter presented and discussed various development methodologies used for realising community development, participation and empowerment. Three case studies selected for an indepth study were distinguishable as follows: the first case that could be regarded as "finished and unsuccessful", the second one that could be classified as "finished and successful", and the third one that could be labelled as "new and ongoing" with respect to rural development projects in the respective communities. A comparative analysis of the three case studies was undertaken with the purpose of establishing the "success" and "failure" in the projects designed to enhance community development and participation. The study shows quite clearly that development projects do not operate in a vacuum but are components of national, social and economic development policies, strategies and programmes for which governments often bear some degree of final responsibility. The success of development projects depends to a large extent on a number of issues, of which community participation and empowerment are the most important. Unless the community actively identifies itself with the project or at the least is involved from day one, in the decisionmaking process of the proposed project, it will be very difficult, if not impossible to achieve the project's developmental objectives. On the basis of the empirical findings, it was revealed that the prerequisites for a successful community development project depend on: a) the encouragement of active involvement, community participation and empowerment of communities for the purpose of enabling them to meet their needs, problems and aspirations; b) the completion in full of the cycle of the development methodology; c) the identification and handling of obstacles in the development cycle as the project unfolds to successful completion; d) the promotion of a facilitative role with regard to capacity building and skills transfer by development personnel; and e) the development of capacity for communities to take control over events influencing their lives (e.g. knowledge, skills, information, networks and support structures to mention a few). In conclusion, it is stressed that the development of people as individuals and as collective groups was central to community development. In doing so, a shift which placed heavy emphasis on resource management and service delivery to capacity building and skills transfer has to take place in order to promote development and social change, making communities progressively minded, desirous of improving their living conditions and capable of doing so through adopting a co-operative way of life for promoting group interests of the community as a whole. From the lessons learned in this study it was shown that the process of rural development can be promoted in a successful manner through the empowerment model which stresses community involvement and participation.
- ItemDie Barolong van Thaba'Nchu, O.V.S. : 'n studie van kultuurverandering(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1965) Schuler, Gerhard Magnus Karl; Olivier, N. J. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Bantoegebied van Thaba'Nchu, geleë in die Oranje-Vrystaat, word o.a. bewoon deur 'n vertakking van die Barolongstam, bekend as die Barolong-Seleka, wat oorspronklik van Betsjoeanaland en Noord- Kaapland afkomstig is. Volkekundig is hulle nog nie nagevors nie en met hierdie studie word gepoog om dié leemte tot 'n mate aan te vul. Oor 'n periode van ses jaar het ek van tyd tot tyd in die gebied vertoef. By wyse van vergelyking van die Barolong-Seleka se tradisionele verlede met hulle huidige lewensaard, word beoog om in beeld van die kultuurverandering wat by hierdie stam oor in periode van ongeveer 150 jaar plaasgevind het, te gee.
- ItemBehuising in Kaapstad : 'n sosiologiese studie van die behuisingskemas en -beleid van die Blanke en Kleurling werkersklasse gedurende die honderdjarige tydperk 1840-1939(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1941) Bosman, Alfred Edward Faul; Wagner, O. J. M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Please see full text
- ItemBrokering, mediating and translating rural development: land and agricultural reform in the southern Cape(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Hart, Timothy George Balne; van der Waal, Kees; Robins, Steven Lance; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The anthropology of development has begun to focus on the analytical concept of brokers as crucial actors, and to investigate their presence across the ‘development chain’. Development does not simply work through technical processes but through complex social processes of brokerage or mediation, invoking processes of assemblage, translation and representation of realities. This dissertation examines the agency of brokers and mediators to understand how development unfolds and is shaped hrough acts of mediation. It challenges the concept of brokers for being too broad, and not accounting for less influential actors who also mediate and perform broker-like roles and activities. Since 1994 rural development interventions in South Africa have mostly been marked by the redistribution of large-scale commercial farmland. The assumption has been that commercial agriculture is the economic mainstay of rural areas and that land seekers want land to farm in order to improve livelihoods and social circumstances. Yet, many of the resulting projects have been economically unsuccessful due to misguided policy, bureaucratic inefficiency, bad planning and insufficient support. The generally accepted consensus amongst policymakers is that success simply requires the improvement in current state policy and agency practices. This over simplification ignores the actors identified as brokers and their agency of mediation in influencing outcomes. This dissertation explores the role and agency of brokers in rural development by examining the redistribution of farmland to a number of households in the village of Waldesruhe in the southern Cape and the subsequent promotion of honeybush farming. The study identifies brokers both in the village and in various government departments and the technology-providing science council involved. Waldesruhe, a former mission station and coloured rural reserve, provides a fertile basis for brokers and the development of brokerage capabilities used to mediate these two rural development interventions of land redistribution and honeybush production. The study is based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork that included extensive participant observation, workshops, formal and informal interviews, archival research and the analysis of policy and planning documents. In Waldesruhe in the Southern Cape, brokers and other mediators involved in a land redistribution and honeybush project had an influential effect on the outcomes of the interventions. Beneficiary brokers were, at times, able to mediate land redistribution in the favour of beneficiaries and manipulate officials. Artful brokers used their mediation skills to attract support and resources for projects and to shape them, while other, less influential actors also managed to mediate and influence the project. These findings illustrate that development implementers and recipients have different ideas or logics about the opportunities and resources that development projects avail, and tend to reappropriate these for their own needs. Brokers and other actors are thus not neutral intermediaries and their agency affects development implementation and outcomes. The study shows that mediation needs to be recognised as an intrinsic part of the development process. Development needs to be understood as a social process combining many events, interactions, ideas and models that determine its outcomes, while mediation mitigates only some of these. The outcomes of brokerage and mediation are tempered by the changing positionality and influence of the mediators, while neither the habitus of the actors nor the historical-political economy and structural constraints can be ignored when evaluating the outcomes.
- ItemChanging identities in urban South Africa : an interpretation of narratives in Cape Town(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008-12) Leilde, Anne C.; Bekker, S. B.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.Identity reflects and aims to control one’s experience. It is an act of consciousness which is neither essential nor immutable but a social construct open to change as circumstances, strategies and interactions fluctuate. It needs therefore to be situated historically and relationally, as identity is a matter of social context. This thesis sets out to investigate processes of identity formation in post-apartheid South Africa, i.e. a context marked by deep changes at both symbolic/material structural levels, in particular within the urban setup. On the basis of focus group discussions with residents of Cape Town, various, and at times contradictory, strategies of identification are explored. Residents’ discourses are analysed on the basis of two entry points, that of the context or the ‘scale’ within which discourse occurs (from the local, to the urban, the national and the continental) and that of the traditional categories of class, race and culture. The narratives that urban citizens draw upon to make sense of their lives and environment illuminate the emergence of new social boundaries among citizens which, though volatile and situational, reveal a changing picture of South Africa as a nation.
- ItemChurches as providers of HIV/AIDS care : a normative and empirical study(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012-12) Ferreira, Clive J.; Groenewald, Cornie; Swart, Ignatius; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is, as yet, no cure for HIV/AIDS, a disease that has affected South African society profoundly. While antiretrovirals (ARVs) are now available and have stemmed the tide of AIDS deaths, medicines alone cannot be seen as a long-term solution. Treatment costs, finite resources, limited health-care capacity, morbidity and the unpleasant side-effects of ARVs, make treatment an untenable solution. The Christian church in South Africa continues to retain a powerful position; it has a significant affiliation; it is present in most geographic areas and inspires trust and confidence. Furthermore, in my view, the church, by its very nature and calling, is mandated not only to demonstrate and provide care, but also to inspire care-giving. In the light of HIV/AIDS, what does care mean? Can it only mean rendering care that is welfarist in nature? Or does the church have the mandate to look beyond immediate suffering, to examine and address those issues that lie at the core of suffering? Research has demonstrated that issues such as poverty, injustice, stigma, discrimination, gender inequality and patriarchy fuel the pandemic. Ultimately, it is the “othering” of people; the failure not to recognise God in another person and our common humanity, that lie at the heart of the problem. These then, I suggest, are the very reasons why the church must address these areas. But that is not all: if HIV/AIDS care is to be rendered in a developmental way, then there must be a thorough understanding of the disease: how is the virus transmitted, how can it be prevented and treated? It is also important to understand that there is not a single global epidemic but many local epidemics; the determinants and risk-factors of these need to be recognised, as must the cultural, economic, political and social contexts that fuel the spread of the disease. The changing nature of society, the effects of globalisation, the evolving nature of care owing to biomedical advances and even the “privatisation” of sex all need to be comprehended. Furthermore, any meaningful rendering of care requires the churches to examine why they should be giving it and the values that underpin such care-giving. I make the case that the churches are required to do nothing less than drive social change in situations of suffering, injustice and abuse. An examination of the history of HIV/AIDS in South Africa illustrates that the churches have often failed to meet up to this calling. An empirical study was conducted as to how the churches render care at a more micro, grassroots level, using a framework propounded by David Korten, who suggests that authentic development must be people-centred, rather than growthcentred. Essentially, development must seek to increase personal and institutional capacities, guided by principles of justice, sustainability and inclusiveness. In these respects, I argue, it accords very strongly with the Christian message. Korten suggests that there are four orientations (or generations) of rendering help but it is only the fourth generation that is truly developmental. Through the use of case study methodology, I sought to examine the manner in which the churches render care, in a region of the Western Cape, outside Cape Town, known as the Helderberg Basin. The area is representative of many peri-urban areas in the Cape: it is predominantly Christian, with a mix of different denominations and racial and socio-economic groupings. It allowed for an assessment of care initiatives afforded by mainline, charismatic and African Independent Churches and in particular, sought to answer the question of whether churches engage with HIV/AIDS in a way that Korten would identify as developmental. From the research, it is clear that the church is hampered by its inability to talk of sex and sexuality; its knowledge of the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS is limited; it has not done a sufficient amount to conscientise its followers; the church has yet to learn to utilise its networks; it lacks technical know-how and is unwilling to engage in the political sphere. Social change is only possible if the church embraces a new vision of how to create a better world. Additionally, I recommend that the church looks to the emerging church movement to achieve radical transformation.
- ItemCleaning up : a sociological investigation into the use of outsourced housecleaning services(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Du Toit, David; Heinecken, Lindy; Vorster, Jan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The nature of paid domestic work is changing. Where the shift from full-time, live-in and live-out, to part-time and temporary domestic work has been well documented in the literature, a new trend of domestic outsourcing is prevalent. People can contract out or outsource domestic or care duties to domestic service firms that render professional, tailored, and hassle-free services. A particular issue at hand is the outsourcing of cleaning through housecleaning service firms. Few studies have looked at this trend, but it appears that many people no longer employ a domestic worker directly, but through a housecleaning service firm that brings forth a different dynamic to domestic work. Professionalism, the standardisation of cleaning services, and numerical and functional flexibility are some of the changes it offers people using these services. International literature indicates that the use of housecleaning service firms is linked to reconciliation between work and family demands, especially since the rise of women in formal employment. Other factors show that state interventions through tax cuts are linked to the increased use of housecleaning services in some European countries. There is also a link between changing household sizes, and an ageing population that renders the need for domestic outsourcing. In South Africa, where the contracting in or employing of domestic workers is the norm among the middle-class, it is unclear why people use outsourced housecleaning services. The primary aim of this dissertation, is, therefore, to identify factors, which contribute to the use of housecleaning services in South Africa. From a theoretical perspective, feminism, maternalism, changes in work and employment patterns and life cycles are used to provide a deeper understanding into the use of housecleaning services. Using a mixed-methods design, I focused on three outsourced housecleaning service firms that render team cleaning under similar terms and conditions. By focusing on clients’ perspectives, the following factors were found to have an effect on the use of housecleaning services. Firstly, the broad benefits of using housecleaning services, which include high levels of professionalism, reliable and trained domestic employees, and a tripartite employment relationship that limits dependency and responsibility, was found as a particular reason why housecleaning services are used. Demographical and household characteristics profiles and life cycle patterns of clients also affect the need to use housecleaning services. It was found that clients of housecleaning services are mainly white and female, aged in their fifties. Clients also predominantly live in households with less than three members. Another finding reveals that a large percentage of clients have shifted from employing a domestic worker privately to hiring a housecleaning service firm. It was found that labour legislation and the underlying issues of a personal bipartite employment relationship contribute to the shift to housecleaning services. Finally, this study also looked at the disadvantages of using housecleaning services from current and former clients’ views and found that the loss of control, feelings of detachment and lack of consistency regarding cleaning were some of the issues for terminating the use of housecleaning services. In closure, a novel contribution of this study is that outsourced housecleaning services have been widely neglected in a context where domestic work is a major source of employment for thousands of black women in South Africa. By outsourcing domestic work to housecleaning services, not only are physical cleaning tasks outsourced, but also maternalism and emotional labour. This study shows that some people are no longer willing to have a relationship with the people who clean their homes and that they believe it is simply not worth the effort to maintain a relationship. The interaction between clients and domestic employees are stripped to the bare minimum. What this study ultimately shows is how race and class oppression is renegotiated in the domestic work sphere when domestic labour is outsourced to housecleaning services. The long-term effects of housecleaning services are far-reaching. By integrating a mix of qualitative and quantitative data, this study is one of the most comprehensive studies to date on outsourced housecleaning services in South Africa.
- ItemA comparative study of Afrikaner Economic Empowerment and Black Economic Empowerment : a case study of a former South African parastatal in Vanderbijlpark(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Xaba, Nkhaba Jantjie; Heinecken, Lindy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology & Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since 1994, there have been many debates as to why Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) has been unable to deliver the same economic benefits post 1994, as the Afrikaner Economic Empowerment (AEE) had done after the depression despite the similarities in approach and intentions. Both programs relied on a welfare state to pass a legislative and macroeconomic strategy to provide jobs, develop skills and roll out series of welfare policies to uplift the poor. Nevertheless, due to several factors, these did not have a substantial impact on decreases in unemployment, poverty and inequality among blacks, and social empowerment is an alternative. A review of literature points to a number of different factors and influences that led to Afrikaner disempowerment, ranging from conflict, drought and diseases to discrimination in the labour market, as well as level of education. Studies showed that AEE developed a nationalist program using language, religion and race to implement legislation that protected and promoted the economic interests of white Afrikaners. This was accompanied by a macroeconomic policy based on Keynesian principles where State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) were used to provide protected jobs, develop skills and provide welfare services such as education, housing and healthcare. Labour market influences that contributed to empowerment included - standard employment practices, employment benefits and protective trade unions. However following the 1970s financial crisis, SOEs were accused of being too cumbersome, too rigid, routinized and inflexible and this led to the implementation of New Public Management (NPM) approach comprising of measures involving downsizing, restructuring, privatization, outsourcing and flexible employment to cut costs, improve efficiency (Carstens and Thornhill, 2000:187). Additionally, AEE became more successful because of the nature and role of civil society organisations (CSOs) such as the Helpmekaarvereeniging, the Broederbond and the Afrikaanse Christelike Vrouevereeniging (ACVV), as well as organisations promoting Afrikaner culture such as language (Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniging -FAK) and religion (Dutch Reformed Church-DRC), acting as the voice of the poor and helping to build social capital. Under BEE, the review of literature revealed that the root cause of black disempowerment was the unjust racial policies of the previous regime. The ANC government implemented a legislative framework that focused on redress, instead of nationhood. This program was accompanied by two contradictory macroeconomic policies; one (Reconstruction and Development Programme - RDP) focusing on state-led development to uplift the poor, the other (GEAR), focused on neoliberal ideology and concentrating on reducing fiscal deficits, inflation control, stable exchange rates, decreasing barriers to trade and capital liberalization, was to reduce trade barriers and achieve growth and development. Under this new economic framework, the state rolled out NPM strategies that included privatisation of SOEs, downsizing the size of the public sector expenditure, outsourcing public services to promote empowerment, and employment flexibility. There is a growing amount of informal, seasonal, and contract work-generally known as “non-standard jobs” and a new “working poor” in many sectors of the South African economy. Unfortunately, under BEE, social empowerment was not effective as CSOs were not as organized as they were under AEE. GEAR caused chaos among many CSOs as they attempted to redefine their ties with the government and many isolated them from the state through the fairly shut down, bureaucratic and expert-led system of policymaking. The study investigated these issues through in-depth interviews with sixty-seven former and current employees, participant observation with leaders and members of the BJO and focus group discussions with three former black employees and four leaders Solidarity union. The study showed that the primary reason why AEE was successful in uplifting the whites is that it focused on a small homogenous population of mainly Afrikaners, while BEE targeted a larger and diverse group not based on ethnicity. AEE was supported by the economic, political-legal and socio-cultural dimensions. The macroeconomic policy was underpinned by a Keynesian ideology where the state, business, and white trade unions formed a ‘social contract’ to uplift the poor. Under BEE, the ANC-led government adopted a ‘neo-liberalised’ macroeconomic policy that advocated privatisation, deregulation, downsizing, flexible employment and outsourcing to cut costs and increase efficiency. The result was job losses, less training, a rise in atypical forms of employment such as casual, part-time and contract employment accompanied by few employment benefits. In addition, there was a strong organised civil society movement supporting AEE and the development of social capital through language, religion and nationalism; while under BEE CSOs were alienated from the state and focused on various issues rather than the upliftment of a specific group. Such gaps led primarily to BEE's inability to raise the vulnerable. The study suggests problems to be discussed in improving BEE legislation and the role of social empowerment.
- ItemContribution of the Participatory Forest Management (PFM) intervention to the socio-economic development in the Southern Cape Forests : a retrospective approach(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2007-03) Holmes, Tania Natasha; Groenewald, C.; Mouton, J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) maintains that its people-centred Participatory Forest Management (PFM) program contributes to rural poverty eradication through provision of employment, skills training and sharing of benefits of sustainable forest management. It also asserts that local people in the forested parts of South Africa interactively participate in designing systems and institutions that shape forest resources use and management and hence influence their livelihood strategies. Furthermore, the department asserts that the PFM program has taken off exceptionally well in the Southern Cape Forests than anywhere else in South Africa. This means that local people that inhabit the margins of the Southern Cape Forests benefit from the management of these forests. Consequently, this study set out to investigate the socio-economic contribution of the PFM intervention to the two forest-dwelling communities of Diepwalle and Covie within the Southern Cape Forests. The investigation employed an outcome based evaluation approach and was summative in nature. Data were gathered by conducting a 100% survey of the two communities and also through a workshop. Informal interactions and discussions as well as visual observations were used to verify data as the purpose of the study was to present an unbiased, multi-voiced account of the socio-economic contributions of the PFM intervention to the Diepwalle and Covie communities. The results of this research show that the outcomes of the PFM intervention have not been met in the two communities. It was found that the vast majority of the households in the two communities were not aware at the time of this study of the PFM program. There were at the time of the study no PFM-based incentives for local communities to actively participate in the sustainable use and management of the indigenous forests in the vicinity of Diepwalle and Covie. Almost all the householders in the two communities stressed that they do not benefit from the management of the indigenous forests. The existing management approach followed in the Southern Cape Forests does not appear to have more socio-economic and environmental gains than the conventional approach which excludes local people from the planning, designing, implementation and evaluation of institutions and systems which affect their physical environment. The study recommends, among others, regular evaluation of the PFM program to fast track its successful implementation and to ensure that the National Forests Act of 1998 that establishes PFM is fully implemented to realize the socio-economic benefits of forest conservation.
- ItemCoping and social support strategies of Nigerian military widows in the war against Boko Haram(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Ajala, Olufisayo Temitope; Heinecken, Lindy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Nigerian Army has been engaged in asymmetric warfare with the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram since 2011, which is the single largest deployment of soldiers in any internal security operation in post-independence Nigeria. Since then, there has been an uncountable loss of military personnel and civilian casualties caught up in this conflict. This study examined how the Nigerian Army widows coped with their husbands' deaths and sustained their livelihoods in the absence of state support. The study looked at the welfare benefits for deceased servicemen in the Nigerian Army, the numerous challenges women faced in accessing the benefits, the influence and support provided by the military widows Association, the coping and social support strategies they adopted and the effect of the deaths on their livelihoods. The study contained seven chapters that include the background, theoretical and literature review, Nigerian Army structure and organization, widowhood in Nigeria, findings, methodology, and discussions of the study. The background chapter established the rationale of the study, locating it within the limited attention paid to military casualties of the conflict, and the need to understand the impact of the war on widows, and the military community. The theoretical and conceptual framework chapter discussed the bureaucracy, social capital and social support theories, and the extant literature on compensations for military widows, their challenges, and how they differ across various militaries. This chapter examines the coping and social support strategies used by military widows and other war widows in various societies. The next chapters focused on the Nigerian military and widowhood in Nigeria and discusses the structure, operations, and welfare schemes of the Nigerian Army. This chapter identified the dysfunctional nature of Nigeria’s military bureaucracy as a major factor impeding the payment of benefits to military widows, whereas the chapter on widowhood looked at the coping environment of widows in Nigerian society, and those of military widows from past operations. Further discussed in this chapter was the role and influence of the Nigerian Military Wives and Widows Associations. Following these were the methodology, findings, and discussion chapters. An interpretive qualitative method was used in this work to describe and derive meaning from the lived experiences of widows of Nigerian Army soldiers whose husbands died in the war against Boko Haram. The study was conducted over a period of four months from December 2020 to March 2021 in Lagos, Abuja, and Maiduguri in the Southern and Northern parts of Nigeria. Data for the study was collected in other sites in Jos, Bauchi, Osogbo and Ilorin, and virtually, through video-conferencing platforms and phone interviews. A total of 29 interviews with widows, and 14 interviews with members of the media, civil society and military communities were conducted during the period of the fieldwork. A key finding was the difficulties the women faced in accessing their benefits. Most of the participants experienced a lack of support from military officials in processing their benefits and were left alone to deal with a large and inefficient bureaucracy. However, some experienced more difficulties than others. Widows of officers were more able to access their benefits compared to those of non-commissioned officers due to their social status and personal connections within the military. For all widows, accessing benefits was influenced by a system of patronage. It was found that the Nigerian military bureaucracy functions along neo-patrimonial lines, which hampers the efficient functioning of the military bureaucracy and opens the way to corruption and the exploitation of women. Another key finding of the study was the support provided by the Military Widows Association. The discussions revealed that the Association has been able to provide some form of bridging social capital, the lacked the resources and ability to provide linking social capital to access the military institution and the wider civil society. Without state and associational support, military widows turned to their families and social charities for support. While families provided bonding capital that helped women cope and survive, this was limited by the cultural demands placed on widows in African societies. In comparison with other studies on military widows, an important finding within the African context was that bonding capital was often eroded by the traditional practices that occasioned widowhood, such as property inheritance, forced remarriage, and other forms of social vulnerability and stigmatization. Hence, they resort to other coping resources, such as spirituality, resilience, and personal strength to cope with the loss. Finally, this study evaluated the impact of death on the livelihood of women. The findings revealed that the death significantly altered the socioeconomic lives and ivelihood strategies of the women. The widows struggled with raising and educating children, playing dual parent roles, and overall family maintenance following their husband’s demise. Furthermore, the women’s vulnerable conditions were exploited by relatives who demanded their share of the late husband’s entitlements to members of the Nigerian military. They also encountered various forms of sexual exploitation, in exchange for their late husband's benefits from Nigerian Army officials. The study’s key conclusions are that Nigerian military widows experienced key difficulties accessing their benefits due to the centralized and dysfunctional nature of the neo-patrimonial Nigerian military bureaucracy. Although it was expected that the Military Widows Association would support the widows, their agency was limited by their lack of capacity to provide the needed bridging and linking social capital, and negative attitudes towards the military by wider society. As a result, they resorted to using different economic, social, and psychological support strategies, depending on the reach of their social capital, status, and education. The useful recommendations highlighted by this study include the need for the Nigerian military to streamline the bureaucracy associated with payments of benefits. Other recommendations are the establishment of a military ombudsman to address issues of bribery and sexual exploitation perpetrated by officers against widows and NOKs of deceased soldiers, the provision of institutional support to the military widow’s association, and the need for the military widows association to extend its activities into the civil society space. This study was not without limitations. One of them was the challenges of access to the participants. This was expected given the nature of the topic. Also, I interviewed more widows of non-commissioned officers than commissioned officers. This was due to the officer-enlisted ratio present in the Nigerian military. The study would have benefitted from interviews with widows of senior officers, from the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and above for more comparison of experiences. The study’s focus on widows, rather than widowers of the Nigerian Army is another limitation of the study. This limitation, however, is a function of the overtly gendered nature of military institutions, and the exclusion of women from combat roles, including in the Nigerian military. Nonetheless, the findings and conclusions of this study are verifiable, generalizable, and reliable as they compare with the findings of other studies and correlate with the few studies on military families in Africa. Areas for further research identified by this study include focusing on the deployment and post-deployment challenges among Nigerian soldiers and military families involved in the Boko Haram conflict/and/or Internal Security Operations in Nigeria and studying the narratives of wives and families of disabled Nigerian soldiers in the Boko Haram conflict. Studies of this nature will open new vistas of knowledge on the experiences of serving Nigerian military families and the challenges they face in performing this crucial national duty and service.
- ItemCrossing social boundaries and dispersing social identity : tracing deaf networks from Cape Town(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003-03) Heap, Marion; Groenewald, C. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences . Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The conciliatory discourse of the South African Deaf social movement claims a commonality across South Africa's historical divides on the basis of a 'Deaf culture'. This claim in view of South Africa's deeply entrenched 'racial' divisions triggered this study. The study investigates the construction of Deaf identity and emphasizes the crossing of social boundaries in Cape Town, a society with a long history of discriminatory boundaries based on race. The study was carried out among adults who became deaf as children, the group for whom deafness, commonly viewed as both sensory and social deficit, is said to pose considerable linguistic, social and cultural challenges. It focused on strategies that deal with being deaf in a predominantly hearing world. To identify strategies, for this population without a geographical base, the study traced networks of social relationships. Fieldwork was carried out from September 1995 to December 2001. Between September 1995 and December 1997 research included systematic participant observation and informal interviews. Between January 1998 and December 2001 , continuing with participant observation and informal interviews, the study added formal interviews with a sample population of 94 deaf people across Cape Town, collected by the snowball method. The profile of this sample shows a relatively heterogeneous population on the basis of demographic factors and residential area but similarity on the basis of first language, Sign. The study demonstrates that history imposed boundaries. It categorized the Deaf as different from the hearing and in addition, in South Africa, produced further differentiation on the basis of apartheid category, age, Deaf school attended, method of education and spoken language. In this historical context the study identified a key strategy, 'Signing spaces'. A Signing space, identifiable on the basis of Sign-based communication, is a set of networks that extends from the deaf individual to include deaf and hearing people. On analysis it comprises a Sign-hear and a Sign-Q.e.gfspace. In Sign-~ networks, hearing people predominate. Relationships are domestic and near neighbourhood. In Sign-~ networks, deaf people predominate. Relationships are sociable and marked by familiarity. The study found that via the Signing space, the Deaf subvert deafness as deficit to recoup a social identity that is multi-faceted and dispersed across context. Boundaries crossed also vary by context and by networks. Sign-~ networks address the hearing boundary. Limits could be identified in the public arena, when barriers to communication and a poor supply of professional Sign language interpreters again rendered deafness as deficit. The boundaries of the Sign-deaf networks were difficult to determine and suggest the potential, facilitated by Sign language, to transcend South Africa's spoken languages and the related historical divisions. Sign-~ networks also suggest the additional potential, in sociable contexts, to transcend spoken language, trans-nationally. But mutual intelligibility of Sign language and the familiarity, communality and commonality it offered did not deny an awareness of historical differentiation and discrimination, as a case of leadership succession presented as a 'social drama' shows. However, the process of the 'social drama' also demonstrates that conflict, crises, and a discourse that reflects South Africa's historical divisions need not threaten a broader commonality.
- ItemThe current relevance of populist history in schools : the attitudes of Cape Town youth to history(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001-12) Bam, June Catherine; Bekker, S. B.; Waghid, Yusef; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthroplogy.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis exanunes whether the historical consciousness of grade 10 youth would increase should there be an intervention facilitated for this purpose, that is that they would show a heightened consciousness of the relation between school history and current affairs, politics and other societal issues. This intervention comprises the My New World text produced within the populist historiographical tradition in South Africa. The notion of historical consciousness is defined as the complex relation between an interpretation of the past, a perspective of the present and expectations of the future ROsen (1989; 1994). The investigation comprised a theoretical and empirical component. The theoretical component is informed by the theories of epistemology, knowledge, schooling and curriculum. The empirical component is based on the Youth and History Survey conducted on historical consciousness amongst youth in Europe in the early 1990s. Both this study and the European study were conducted during periods of political transition. The chosen research methodology was that of triangulation, combining quantitative with qualitative methods. The quantitative component was based on the measurement used in the European study, and comprised an experimental pre-test and post-test research design, measuring "inside school" and "outside school" historical consciousness. The study was conducted in 8 grade 10 classrooms at 8 schools in Cape Town, representative of class, race, language and gender. The teachers acted as facilitators of the intervention. The conclusion reached in the research is that although the intervention resulted in an increased enthusiasm amongst individuals for school history and interest in political issues and an understanding for the present as in evidence from the qualitative data, this was not reflected in the quantitative data which showed no significant increase in the "inside school" nor "outside school" historical consciousness amongst youth of average 15 years in grade 10 history classrooms in Cape Town. It can therefore not be empirically concluded that when youth are exposed to populist history over a limited period that they would show an increased "outside school" or "inside school" historical consciousness even though an intervention might aim to increase such a consciousness. A significant finding is that the case for an already existent historical consciousness related to the variables of class and gender holds. Instead of increasing the levels of historical consciousness, the intervention resulted in a surfacing of long-held attitudes, perceptions and beliefs of people, society, the past, the present and the future. The intervention succeeded in bringing these complex layers of variables and related factors that impact on perceptions and attitudes to the surface. Given this complexity, it was also concluded that an empirical study of historical consciousness amongst youth through an intervention over a limited period of time is risky, if not of little value.
- ItemDependency theory and urbanisation in Southern Africa : a conceptual critique(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1990-03) Graaff, Johann Frederick de Villiers); Cilliers, S. P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology & Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Marxist development theory has been in trouble recently. As it has been applied in Southern. Africa, this theoretical stream originated in the theories of Arrlre Gunder Frank and Imnanuel Wallerstein. From the critique against these theories, most notably by Ernesto Laclau and Robert Brenner, a new theoretical direction arose. This was called modes of production theory. However, today this theory is also in crisis as a result of EP Thampson' s withering attack on Althusser. Amid the debris of such old theories, same writers feel that Marxist development theory is at an impasse. New directions are being sought in Weber and various micro-theories. These writers are being unnecessarily pessimistic. New theories are already emerging from the ruins of the old, as one would expect them to. The central concern of this thesis, then, is the new direction in which Marxist development theory might move in order to go beyond its present dilemma's in its consideration of the Southern African context. There are three main elements necessary for viable renewal. All of these draw on Anthony Giddens' structuration theory. The first is a theory of the postcolonial or peripheral state which avoids instrumentalist and functionalist notions. These latter see the state as subjected to the interests of the ruling class or to the logic of capitalist development. But state incumbents in peripheral countries have distinct enough interests and anxieties, on the one hand, and sufficient resources, on the other hand, to make them a separate class with a significant measure of independence over and against both national and international bourgeoisies. The second innovation in Marxist development theory concerns the relationship between core and periphery. Core-periphery interaction is conceptually worth retaining on condition that it jettisons the stagnationist, quantitative, unidimensional and uninodal assumptions introduced by Frank and Wallerstein. Core and periphery thus interact at international, national, regional and intra-urban levels. Such levels are superimposed 'on to' each other and operate simultaneously. In addition, cores exercise their dominance over peripheries in multifarious ways which include both trade am class mechanisms. Exploitation is therefore not a quantative, zero-sum game, but a qualitative relational one. Finally, once one moves beyond neat notions of discrete systems each with a single core, it becomes possible to think of multiple systems, not only superimposed 'on top of' each other, but also existing 'next to' each other. The interaction between defies neat boundaries. The final innovation in Marxist development theory concerns the notion of structure. Earlier Marxist writers, following Althusser and Poulantzas, were strongly structuralist positivist. Later Marxists, particularly among social historians in South African, by contrast, have been influenced by subjectivist and relativist theories. Structuration theory rejects both of these polarities. Giddens proposes that social analysis must start with subjective meaning, as subjectivist theories would say. Unlike subjectivist theories, structure must be seen as constitutive of subjective meaning. At the epistemological level Giddens also rejects relativism. In this view a form of critical theory which applies to both the object and the subject of theory can replace vicious with virtuous cycles of knowledge.
- ItemDiscourse on identity : conversations with white South Africans(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008-03) Puttergill, Charles Hugh; Bekker, S. B.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.The uncertainty and insecurity generated by social transformation within local and global contexts foregrounds concerns with identity. South African society has a legacy of an entrenched racial order which previously privileged those classified ‘white’. The assumed normality in past practices of such an institutionalised system of racial privileging was challenged by a changing social, economic and political context. This dissertation examines the discourse of white middle-class South Africans on this changing context. The study draws on the discourse of Afrikaansspeaking and English-speaking interviewees living in urban and rural communities. Their discourse reveals the extent to which these changes have affected the ways they talk about themselves and others. There is a literature suggesting the significance of race in shaping people’s identity has diminished within the post-apartheid context. This study considers the extent to which the evasion of race suggested in a literature on whiteness is apparent in the discourse on the transformation of the society. By considering this discourse a number of questions are raised on how interviewees conceive their communities and what implication this holds for future racial integration. What is meant by being South African is a related matter that receives attention. The study draws the conclusion that in spite of heightened racial sensitivity, race remains a key factor in the identities of interviewees.
- ItemThe dynamics of Francophone African migration to Cape Town after 1994(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008-03) Lekogo, Rodolf E.; Bekker, S. B.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate a group of Francophone African migrants in Cape Town during the decade following the end of the apartheid era. The focus of the thesis, however, is on the reasons why French-speaking Africans leave their countries of origin, the reasons for coming to South Africa, and finally the reasons why within South Africa, they decide to settle in Cape Town, with a particular accent put on the integration of these migrants into the local society. The thesis considers legal migrants, students, refugees and extra-legals as the four categories of migrants according to theoretical frameworks. A brief overview of selected theories of international migration is considered to provide a framework for the Francophone African migration to Cape Town. The theoretical causes of Francophone African migration are viewed through both theories on the initiation of migration and theories of the perpetuation of migration. Apart from the theoretical synopsis, the data on which this study is based are derived from both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. Alongside secondary sources, a series of interviews, based on categories of migrants and gender, were conducted in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa, as well as in Libreville in Gabon. In-depth interviews and focus-groups aimed at collecting information concerning the three main questions of the study. The reasons for the departure of Francophone Africans from their countries of origin are complex and mainly depend on the categories of migrants. As far as legal migrants and students are concerned, economic, political, social and academic paralysis, career prospects and the desire to pursue studies are the main reasons. As for refugees and extralegals, armed conflicts, environmental catastrophes, economic and social deterioration and social capital seem to be the main causes. Since 1994, South Africa has claimed a strong leadership role on the continent because of its economic and political strengths. Educational infrastructure, the language factor and social capital are also reasons why migrants choose South Africa as a host country. The settlement in Cape Town depends on various factors, including the consideration of the city as first choice, safety concerns in other South African cities, the inability to settle in other cities, particularly Johannesburg, and social networks. French language seems to be a common language identity linking various ethnic groups residing in Francophone Africa. However, once migrants have established themselves in Cape Town, their ethnic, religious or political identities prevail. The thesis analyses the settlement of migrants in Cape Town by pointing out the complexities of migrant life in a case study of each category considered.
- ItemThe economic and social effects of mobile phone usage: the case of women traders in Accra(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Ussher, Yvette A. A.; Hill, Lloyd B.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology & Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Research on the impact of mobile phones – and associated information and communication technologies (ICTs) – on micro and small enterprises (MSEs) is on the ascendancy in the contemporary “ICT for Development” (ICT4D) scholarship milieu. There have however been relatively few studies focusing on both access and the quality of mobile phone use in the informal MSE sector. This is particularly conspicuous in the case of Ghana, where there is not much research on the impact of mobile phones on the businesses and lives of informal micro-traders. This thesis explores the manner in which women micro-traders have integrated mobile phones into their businesses and how this has affected their lives. The research takes the form of a multi-sited case study and uses semi-structured interviews and participant observation to explore patterns of mobile phone use among women in four markets in Accra – Makola, Agbogbloshie, Kaneshie and Madina. The study focuses specifically on micro-traders working in the wholesale and retail markets for vegetables and textiles. Two broad conclusions follow from this research. Firstly, at the level of individual experiences, the women traders recount how mobile phones have become indispensable to their trading activities. The study finds that mobile phones improved the working routine of the women in a number of ways: by improving the exchange of market information (via calls and to some extent texting); by enhancing the coordination of micro-trading activities; by strengthening relationships and trust within trading networks; and by helping to reduce transactional and transportation costs. The effects of mobile phones on these women’s micro-trading activities have extended positively into their social lives. As profit margins have increased and costs have been reduced, the resulting improvement with respect to incomes has enabled these women to attain an improved ‘self-image’ and a new level of socio-economic status within the informal economy of Accra. Secondly, notwithstanding the benefits reported by the women micro-traders, the study also suggests wider patterns associated with digital inequality. The women had limited technological knowledge of their mobile phones, and made limited use of more advanced mobile services, such as mobile money transfer and mobile banking. These patterns are explained in terms of inequality with respect to various forms of literacy: basic language literacy; technical literacy; and information literacy. Key dimensions of inequality include age/intergenerational differences and educational differences. While the study explores these patterns of inequality with respect to mobile phone use, it concludes by arguing that the integration of mobile phones into micro-trading has introduced some formality into the domain of informal micro-trading in Accra. Stellenbosch University
- ItemEvaluating the integration of ICTs into teaching and learning activities at a South African higher education institution(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-12) Van der Merwe, Antoinette Deirdre; Mouton, Johann; Strydom, A. H.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Centre for Research on Science and Technology (CREST).ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is a structured evaluation of the integration of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) in teaching and learning activities at the University of Stellenbosch. Although anecdotal evidence exists of the success of the e-Learning initiatives at the University of Stellenbosch, this study addresses these questions in a more structured approach within the global and local higher education context in order to: - Improve the e-Learning project (as part of the e-Campus initiative) and other e-Learning initiatives, - Generate knowledge to improve our understanding of how the e-Learning initiatives work and how people change their attitudes and behaviours because of successful interventions, - Evaluate the institutional characteristics of successful integration, - Evaluate the technological environment and, more specifically, the use of WebCT as learning management system, and - Assess the overall progress of the e-Learning initiatives at the University of Stellenbosch. This evaluation is done taking the broader global and changing local higher education landscape and, more specifically, the interplay of three of the main global drivers into account. The three drivers discussed are: knowledge as a driver of growth in a networked society, the information and communication technology revolution and new competitors in the higher education marketplace The first part of the study is therefore a literature review of the changing global higher education landscape, with a specific focus on how these changes are contextualised within the unique South African post-1994 higher education landscape. After considering the global and South African higher education landscape, the study then provides a critical overview of the status of the integration of ICTs into teaching and learning activities world wide, the possible benefits of the integration of ICTs into teaching and learning activities and the implications of these changes for the lecturers, students and the higher education institutional and technological environment. These overviews of both the global changing higher education landscape and the integration of ICTs into teaching and learning activities serve as the backdrop for the case study and retrospective assessment of e-Learning initiatives at the University of Stellenbosch. The study contains a description of the e-Campus initiative, the e-Learning project and other e-Learning initiatives. In the retrospective assessment, the main focus of the study, I make use of quantative and qualitative methods to analyse the results of two Web surveys administered to students andlecturers who use WebCT. These results are integrated with other data sources to assess the progress made at the University of Stellenbosch. This retrospective assessment of the e-Learning activities at the University of Stellenbosch, set against the backdrop of the global changing higher education landscape, enables me to make general recommendations for: - Dealing with changes in the higher education context on an institutional level as a result of the three forces discussed, - Integrating ICTs at the institutional level in all business process at a higher education institution, - Integrating ICTs in teaching and learning activities, paying attention to the enabling institutional and technological environment, as well as to good teaching and learning practice, and - Improving the implementation of the e-Campus initiative and, more specifically, the e- Learning project and other e-Learning initiatives at the University of Stellenbosch.