“We grew as we grew” : visual methods, social change and collective learning over time
- Authors: Walsh, Shannon
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: HIV prevention , Longitudinal research , Memory , Educational research , Social change
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:6003 , ISSN 0256-0100 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8823
- Description: Educational research using visual methods has the power to transform the society in which we live and the communities in which we work. We must not naïvely imagine that having the desire to make change in people’s lives will mean that it will happen, as sometimes there may be surprising, unintended negative repercussions as well. Other constraints, such as structural violence and institutional racism, can also intersect with the possibility of making tangible change through educational research using visual methods. Qualitative assessment with a longitudinal approach is one approach that can reveal both the impact, and the limitations, of educational research on social change. I discuss these issues through grounded examples from an HIV educational project that used visual methodologies with a group of youths in Cape Town, South Africa over a number of years. Almost ten years later we interviewed three of the former participants about what impact the work has had on their lives. Each has travelled a different journey and been faced with different constraints that have implications for the effectiveness of such work. Where are they now, and as adults, what do they have to say about the visual methodologies, memory, and social change?
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The relationship between individualism/collectivism, locus of control and sense of coherence
- Authors: Bayne, Gregory
- Date: 2011-02-28T06:19:16Z
- Subjects: Social change , Stress (Psychology) , Personality and culture , Locus of control , Adjustment (Psychology) , Individualism , Coherence (Psychology)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7036 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3558
- Description: M.A. , The primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between Locus of Control, Individualism/Collectivism and Sense of Coherence between two groups of participants by using three measures. The study will also investigate the significance of the relationship between Locus of Control and the Individualism/Collectivism, and between Sense of Coherence and Locus of Control. The motivation for the study stems from a question regarding how cultural perceptual style interacts with personality traits to influence a person's Sense of Coherence. A further question faced by all South Africans, regards how one adapts to the cultural changes being experienced in the country, while at the same time maintaining a sense of self·identity. While there are many possible questions, this study will focus on investigating the interaction between the three constructs of Sense of Coherence. Locus of Control, and Individualism/Collectivism. The three core constructs of Sense of Coherence. Locus of Control, and Individualism/Collectivism are defined as follows: • Antonovsky (1987) defines Sense of Coherence as a global orientation that expresses the extent to which one has a pervasive. enduring though dynamic feeling of confidence as a function of one's sense of comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. • Locus of Control refers to a generalised disposition. acquired from past experience, to believe that rewards either are, or are not, controllable by a person's own efforts. Such that those who are externally oriented hold the view that their success is due to factors outside their control such as chance and luck while internally oriented persons attribute success to their personal effort and ability. • Individualism and Collectivism are cultural perceptual styles which indicate whether individuals acts largely for their self interests, or in regard for collective group harmony.
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"From the worst to the best": an exploratory qualitative study of the process of social change at a South African secondary school.
- Authors: Van Aswegen, B. , Schurink, W.J.
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Organisational change , Social change
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5692 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/2938
- Description: The primary aim of the study is to describe an initiative to effect organisational change at a previously disadvantaged school in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. Qualitative methods were used to collect and analyse data on the social process of change in the school. Essays of role players in the change process on their experiences led to important insights. This exploratory study points to a process that was effective in bringing about change at a school and holds promise for constructing a theoretical model of how change could be effected in ineffective schools.
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