Research Publications (Arts and Design)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/214

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Apartheid, crime, and interracial violence in Black Boy
(Sage Publications, 2013-03-25) Makombe, Rodwell
This article critically interrogates the interplay of compatibility among crime, violence, and racial discrimination in Wright’s biographical novel Black Boy (BB). It exploits parallels between selected postcolonial and criminological theories to conceptualize crime and violence as a way of negotiating and translating hegemony in the third space of cultural enunciation. The objective of every oppressive system is to have an absolute monopoly on all structures of power, to make sure it has “total” control. This is evident in the American South where laws were enacted to exclude African Americans from the social, political, and economic spheres of life. However, that same system that was designed to silence and marginalize African Americans also, inadvertently, created spaces that led to the emergence of subcultures of resistance. This article focuses on criminal subcultures of resistance that emerged as a result of and in direct response to institutionalized racism/apartheid.
Citizens’ satisfaction with the South African police services and community police forums in Durban, South Africa
(Social Sciences Research Society, 2020-10-19) Dlamini, Siyanda
Societies’ views concerning the Criminal Justice System institutions are shaped not only by opportunities to interact with such institutions during normal work but also in part by efforts due to the larger mission (of these institutions) of encouraging and supporting such attitudes. After 1994, the new leadership in the South African Government promoted the importance of citizen-police relationships to enhance the quality of police services and, consequently, its impact on community policing. Moreover, in any democracy, the public`s attitude strongly shapes the policies and decisions of Criminal Justice System institutions such as the police. It is precisely in this context that the primary objective of this paper is to explore the Durban community`s satisfaction with the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Community Police Forums (CPFs) in crime combating. A qualitative research approach was adopted to explore such perceptions in the study area. The findings collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews with the community members suggest that citizens were less satisfied with SAPS and CPFs in the study area, partly owing to the perceptions of corruption and lack of trust. These findings may be used as a guide, especially by the community members and the police, to focus on issues which affect most of the community particularly those that may lead to worse results if not timeously attended to. This paper recommends that initiatives of building trust and combating corruption be jointly organised, as these can assist in police confidence by the society.
A critical appraisal of the role of retribution in Aníkúlápó : the movie
(Universitas Djuanda, 2023-12) Adedokun, Theophilus Adedayo; Olanrewaju, Abolaji Christianah
This study examines Aníkúlápó, a Yoruba historical movie, to elucidate cultural perspectives on retributive justice. The study is grounded in the Yoruba worldview, which frames retribution as essential for restoring cosmic and social equilibrium when moral norms are violated. The data analysis used textual analysis of Aníkúlápó’s narrative depictions of crime and punishment as insights into traditional Yoruba principles of retributive justice. The findings reveal that the movie accurately portrays customary public punishment processes in precolonial Yoruba society aimed at communal justice and harmony. Beliefs in supernatural forces dispensing divine retribution are also authentically represented. While punishments seek to deter crime and rehabilitate offenders, scholarly critiques note occasional unfairness and excess. Overall, the analysis of the movie illuminates the pivotal role of retribution in Yoruba's cultural identity and moral philosophy. The key themes in the study relate to retribution's links to cosmic balance, supernatural dimensions, and functions as deterrence and rehabilitation. By situating the analysis of Aníkúlápó within scholarship on African jurisprudence, the study elucidates Yoruba perspectives on fate, choice, proportionality, and pragmatism when responding to moral complexities and wrongdoing. This study contributes original humanistic insight into indigenous African philosophies of social harmony beyond punitive justice. This study recommends comparing diverse narratives and contemporary attitudes to enrich the understanding retribution's nuanced cultural significance.
Cultural nationalism in Mashingaidze Gomo’s A Fine Madness
(SciELO, 2014) Makombe, Rodwell
For many years, African countries have struggled to develop an ideological framework that suits the dynamics of the African context. From the writings of literary artists to those of political figures such as Kwame Nkrumah, the call has remained consistent: Africa needs to formulate its own path of development and disentangle from the tentacles of colonialism and neocolonialism. While négritude, as a cultural movement, was a direct response to the impact of Western civilisation on Africans in the aftermath of colonization, Gomo’s A Fine Madness may be read as a response to the West’s dominance in the neoliberal global order. It interrogates the relationship between Europe and Africa in light of persistent war and instability in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Like négritude, Gomo’s work advocates the promotion of African ways of doing things politically, economically and culturally and shuns neocolonial relationships of exploitation. Adopting an anti-imperialist position, A Fine Madness holds the West responsible for fuelling conflict in some African countries for commercial gain. The article interrogates the concept of cultural nationalism as it has been appropriated in Gomo’s work. Focusing on selected poems, the article argues that A Fine Madness is a militant intervention in African politics, and a voice of resistance to the obtaining neoliberal global order.
Gender-based violence : an exploration of its forms, concepts and causes in South Africa
(2022-05-28) Olalere, Folasayo Enoch
Just as in many other countries, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is also pervasive in South Africa, where cultural norms and gender-based customs and traditions condone and reinforce abusive practices. Even though women are the most reported victims of gender-based violence, research shows that men too can be victims. According to Article 13 of the Istanbul Convention, a preventive intervention requires heightened awareness as a first step in changing attitudes and behaviour that perpetuate the different forms of GBV. However, to create an effective awareness, the various forms, concepts, and causes of GBV must be identified and used as a guide in developing awareness. Hence, this paper seeks to investigate the forms, overarching causes and contributing factors influencing the prevalence of gender-based violence in South Africa. The study conducted a systematic literature review to identify, select and critically appraise existing empirical studies on GBV in South Africa. The systematic review used PRISMA guidelines for literature selection and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) data extraction form to extract relevant data, and this data was further analysed using thematic analysis. The findings from the systematic review were described using a summary table, which reveals the different forms of GBV, the overarching causes and the contributing factors to GBV in South Africa. These findings will help develop awareness campaigns that challenge persistent myths, prejudices, stereotypes and disrupt different pathways that lead to GBV
Investigating health care providers’ attitudes towards victims of sexual violence and abuse in a university in south west Nigeria
(Journal of Critical Reviews, 2020-07-21) Adedokun, Theophilus Adedayo
Health care providers play a fundamental role in the society as the foremost members of the health care service team for the victims of sexual violence and abuse and their attitudes towards victims of sexual violence and abuse can play an essential role in the standard of health care services provided for sexual violence and abuse victims. Thus, this study investigates the attitude of care providers towards sexual and abuse victims in a university health center in Nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo University in South west Nigeria. A random sampling of 40 students of Obafemi Awolowo University and 15 health care providers from Obafemi Awolowo University health center was conducted. A survey and focused group discussion were used as the research instrument of this study. The result of the study shows that the females are mostly the victims of sexual violence and abuse and this is because of the attitude of culture towards female gender. The finding also reveals that sexual violence is a function of power relation between the abused and the abuser and this study concludes that sexual violence is an abuse of power. The study also showed that health care providers have insufficient knowledge in dealing with sexual violence and abuse victims. This study therefore recommends that health care providers should be more professional in dealing with victims of sexual violence and abuse. Health facilities should also provide posttraumatic intervention within the health facilities to complement the work of health care providers and to soothing the pains of the victims.
The modus operandi of perpetrators for credit card fraud in the Vaal Region, South Africa
(Informa UK Limited, 2021-01-01) Maluleke, Witness; Motseki, Moses Morero; Mokwena, Rakgetse John; Dlamini, Siyanda
Card payments in South Africa continue to be a predominant part of the National Payments System in an evolving payments ecosystem. Due to the growing volume of electronic payments, the monetary strain of credit card fraud is turning into a substantial challenge for financial institutions and service providers, thus forcing them to continuously improve their fraud detection systems. This article attempts to explain the Modus Operandi (MO) of perpetrators of credit card fraud in the Vaal Region in South Africa. The article begins with an examination of the extent of the challenge and response by the relevant stakeholders, especially the Criminal Justice System (CJS). This study was carried out utilising a qualitative research approach with a convenience, purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Thirtynine (39) interviews were conducted to solicit the views of the participants and police investigators from Vanderbijlpark, Sebokeng, Sharpeville and Vereeniging police stations, members of the community, and victims of credit card fraud were interviewed. These interviews were analysed according to the phenomenological approach, aided with the inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) to identify the participants’ responses and themes. The findings indicated that the extent of credit card fraud in Vaal region is reaching alarming rates. Based on the findings, the authors provided recommendations such as: police investigators being taken for regular workshops and training on how to investigate sophisticated methods used by perpetrators such as technology, awareness in the society about credit card fraud should be prioritised and enhanced.
Pornographic objectification of women through Kwaito lyrics
(Routledge, 2012-10-29) Blose, Maud
This Profile discusses the portrayal of women through Kwaito music and their frequent pornographic objectification in the popular township music genre. It considers the apparent shift away of Kwaito from its roots in the moment of popular expectation of the liberated South Africa and its desire to be an expression of the voices of the townships, both democratic, indigenous and controversial. The Profile draws on research to enquire into opinions of fans on the representation of women and asks whether the musicians have strayed from the track which has brought them into the limelight, popular support and success. While not representative of the whole genre, the Profile reviews a sample of lyrics and asks if there is another direction where popular music might go, particularly, whether gender equality and women’s sexual exploitation will continue to exist in tension and contradiction. It is argued that popular music as an example of township music culture that embraces the ideas of post-apartheid freedom and that speaks to the democracy, and of non-racism and gender equality, may have been overtaken by a more compelling commercial pull: that as long as it sells on the streets, anything goes. It is argued that gendered cultural values hold importance both in how women are represented by men and women in a male-dominated music industry and in a culture that must increasingly be aware of the crisis posed to women of uncritical acceptance of cultural messages that accept gender violence and abuse as a necessary ingredient for success.
Sharing our Stories : using an online encyclopaedia as the basis for a general education module on local history, creative writing and social justice
(LIASA, 2012) Stewart, Graham Douglas James
Conventional wisdom suggests that the best way of equipping first-year university students with the skills to cope with the rigorous demands of discipline-specific discourse is through an “academic literacies” approach. In other words, by developing their abilities to discern different disciplinary contexts and settings, students may more confidently adopt appropriate linguistic practices in their studies (Archer 2010: 497). I would suggest that where the approach frequently falls short, is in the narrow range of discipline-specific materials provided for student consumption. To achieve the desired levels of linguistic agility for university study, students need a mental gymnasium with a truly challenging set of apparatus. It is not only students of literature who need exposure to creative writing. Reading of creative fiction can ignite the narrative imagination of the first-year university student, provoking an exploration of cultural diversity, social justice and identity. Novels, plays, poetry and short stories can engage the reader more deeply than factual studies, and engender a thoughtful, responsive and responsible attitude towards society. A sense of social justice is fundamental to the development of good citizenship, and it has been argued that the study of creative writing, especially that which is embedded in local and regional history, provides a sound scaffolding for student learning experiences through related writing activities and debate. Online literary and historical encyclopaedias can provide an ideal information landscape for the development of learning modules that focus on local literature. A structured e-learning module may build on such online sources by assisting the student to navigate the abundant references and discover materials that may be probed more deeply through reading assignments, writing tasks and discussion. This paper presents a case study of the design and development of a general education learning module – “Sharing our stories” – intended to provide students with enriching encounters with local literature while advancing their academic reading and writing skills. The module draws on the content of the Encyclopaedia of South African Arts, Culture and Heritage (ESAACH) which plays an integral part as a springboard to the exploration of local writing. While students encounter a variety of short stories, extracts from novels and biographical writing, a blog feature ensures that the students’ own contributions are lodged within the bigger story – what Ngugi wa Thiong’o calls the “collective history” - of our region (Wa Thiong’o 1986: xi).
Television violence : a reflection of the views of children in South Africa
(2012) Usadolo, Sam Erevbenagie; Gwauya, Tafadzwa Tsitsi
Contrary to what is commonly available in literature, this study examines children’s view about their understanding of television violence. The participants were selected using a stratified sampling procedure. The data analysed showed that the children are very conscious of violent contents on their televisions and would eschew it where possible. Findings about younger participants in the study show that they believe television violence is real as opposed to older ones. The children’s views about the WWE wrestling came along gender line and age. The older boys and the young participants of both sexes (58%) believe WWE wrestling is real as opposed to 42 percent who are mainly girls of older ages. Regarding their favourite characters, the female participants prefer characters who are funny, nice and with good personality. Boys, on the other hand prefer characters with actions and full of energy. Finally, the data showed that the children would imitate their favourite characters based on their discernment of what is good. This, in other words shows that the children are able to make critical judgement of television characters’ behaviours