Operating in a man’s world : the perceptions and experiences of female taxi drivers in Rustenburg, South Africa
- Authors: Nkete, Patricia Pinky
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Taxicab industry - South Africa - Rustenburg , Taxicab drivers - South Africa - Rustenburg , Sex discrimination
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/82315 , uj:18946
- Description: Abstract: The South African taxi industry has traditionally been male-dominated. As a result, society continues to consider it as an exclusively male profession. However, in an era that has witnessed the accelerated emancipation of women through their recruitment in traditionally male dominated industries; the taxi industry is also witnessing the growth, although slow, of female taxi drivers. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with 13 female taxi drivers and from Rustenburg, and observations it was found that female taxi drivers experience various levels of discrimination and gender inequality in this industry. The study also indicates that women working in male-dominated industries, experience men’s resistance to their presence in the industry. These resistances are experienced through challenges to access and mobility which is also encountered as an unbreakable ‘glass ceiling’ for women; and gender insensitivity in taxi association dynamics. One of the findings of this research is a lack of solidarity among women as they struggle within a male-dominated industry. The report argues that these challenges hamper women’s ability to progress in the industry. In conclusion the report maintains that gender relations in the minibus taxi industry can be understood by grappling with patriarchy entrenched in the industry which is maintained through the established male culture in order to exercise power against women and women’s struggle to transform the working spaces. , M.A. (Industrial Sociology)
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Sociological factors influencing childbearing decisions in rural areas, with specific reference to the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Ludidi, Wongiwe Zanele
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Family planning - Decision making , Child support - Government policy - South Africa - Eastern Cape , Poor families - Services for - South Africa - Eastern Cape , Community health services for children - South Africa - Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/59628 , uj:16555
- Description: Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract , D.Litt. et Phil.
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Orphans in foster care and the state : a biopolitical analysis of the relationship
- Authors: Kaziboni, Anthony
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Orphans - Care - South Africa - Limpopo , Children of AIDS patients - Care - South Africa - Limpopo , Children of AIDS patients - Services for - South Africa - Limpopo , Foster parents - South Africa - Limpopo
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/367572 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/82234 , uj:18936
- Description: Abstract: Due to the scourge of AIDS deaths in South Africa, there has been a significant increase in the number of orphans. Against this backdrop communities have evolved alternative parenting strategies to mitigate this. This research focused on the foster care system as a nexus of how the state exercises biopower. This qualitative study was carried out in order to understand the nature of the relationship between orphans in foster care and the state. This was done to illuminate the functionality of social services and the foster care system through analysing the subjective experiences of the actors involved in the foster care process. This study probes Foucault’s concept of biopower and how it is useful in locating the South African state’s role within the schema of foster care. The study was conducted in a rural district called Ha-Makuya, which is located in the North Eastern Limpopo province. Sixteen participants were interviewed; one magistrate, four social workers, three school teachers, five home-based care workers and three foster parents. The study found that the agents of the state (magistrate, social workers and school teachers) had an intricate biopolitical role in the foster care system. The agents worked together with the home-based care workers and foster parents, who were the mediators of this relationship as they were not directly linked to the state. The state was only able to assist orphans in foster care through a combination of the roles and responsibilities of both the agents and the mediators. The magistrate’s key role was ratifying foster care. He relied heavily on the social workers for a comprehensive psycho-social report which he consulted when evaluating a foster care application. The social workers were the greatest biopolitical agents who were at the heart of this system as they worked very closely with the other actors. The teachers’ role was to monitor the children’s academic performance and in the event that they noticed any anomalies, they were required to bring this to the attention of the social workers. These agents were “technicians” and “normative judges” who were responsible for monitoring, distinguishing, qualifying and ranking orphans, hence facilitators of normalisation. Due to the shortage of social workers across South Africa, the home-based care workers in Ha-Makuya filled in this void and assumed some of the responsibilities that the social workers were required to carry out by the state... , M.A. (Sociology)
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