Browsing by Author "de Wet, Jacques"

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    ‘Asihlali Phantsi!': a study of agency among isiXhosa-speaking women traders in a Cape Town township
    (2020) Mpofu-Mketwa, Tsitsi Jane; de Wet, Jacques
    This study examined how isiXhosa-speaking women street traders in Cape Town's Langa Township exercised agency in responding to similar structural constraints and opportunities that affected their livelihoods. Drawing on Giddens's Structuration Theory and Sen's Capabilities Approach, I unpacked and conceptualised agency as five dimensions (reflexivity, motivation, rationality, purposive action and transformative capacity). This analytical framework was then used to assess the ways in which women from a poor township community exercised their agency as street traders. A case study methodology (n=25) was adopted using participant observation and in-depth interviews. Miles and Huberman's thematic coding approach guided the qualitative analysis. The study found that structurally imposed constraints were rooted in class, multiple sources of power dynamics, and material constraints related to health; while opportunities emanated from market mechanisms of supply and demand, community social support systems in the form of social capital and social networks, family support and statutory social welfare programmes. Other key findings included resistance to patriarchy, cultural norms and practices, such as submission to abusive partners and unreasonable demands from extended family members. The findings report structure and agency as mutually constitutive in so far as familial circumstances, previous work experience, social capital, educational achievements and temporality either reinforced or diminished the participants' agency. Three profiles of agency among the women traders emerged from the data. The profiles demonstrated varying degrees of enablement (most enabled, moderately enabled and least enabled) and that individual agency was a distinguishing factor. Reflexivity, as a dimension of agency, presented as more fluid and malleable than the other four dimensions. The findings show that agency is reasonably elastic and it can expand capabilities and opportunities for enablement. Finally, the study proposed a diagnostic tool for assessing and enhancing agency with potential applications in entrepreneurial training for development. My study contributes to a theoretical understanding of the concept of agency, the role it plays in development at a micro-level and criteria for assessment. Furthermore, lessons learnt from the profiles can be applied to development practice and entrepreneurial training among African women traders.
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    Beekeeping and Capacity Building for Sustainable Development: A Critical Assessment of a Beekeeping Training Programme in Cape Town’s Manenberg Township
    (2018) Musaya, Lilly; de Wet, Jacques
    Beekeeping is an important industry in South Africa yet it is in decline. The South African government and development agencies see the increasing production deficits in the industry as a business opportunity for income generation for social-economically disadvantaged groups. However, most of these developmental initiatives, which have taken the form of beekeeping training programmes have not succeeded in creating a profitable and sustainable source of income. My study interrogated one such project in order to determine how beekeeping training programmes could be revised to increase the likelihood of trainees becoming viable beekeepers. I have drawn on the International Labour Organisation’s knowledge and skills development framework (called Training for Rural Economic Empowerment) to assess the methodological processes used in the development and implementation of the beekeeping programme. I collected data using a combination of qualitative interviews, documentary sources and participant observation, and then used Miles and Huberman’s thematic coding approach to analyse the qualitative data. My main finding is that there were methodological gaps in the pre-training, training and post-training phases of the beekeeping programme, either because of the exclusion of participants’/targeted groups’ inputs in the processes, or because participatory decision-making processes with participants were misapplied. As a result, the beekeeping training programme did not match the participants’ needs, economic opportunities in their area, and their social situations, and these circumstances contributed, in large part, to the graduates not taking up beekeeping.
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    Selective Suppression: Relations between Civil Society Organizations and the State in Zimbabwe
    (2021) Mpani, Nyasha Mcbride; de Wet, Jacques
    This study assessed whether civil society organizations in Zimbabwe that have previously been suppressed by the state, currently experience any change in their relations with the state under the Mnangagwa Presidency. I adopted a case study approach to comparatively assess the experiences of two civil society organizations relations with the state over a two- year period. The two case studies are of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ). Selected media sources, including the organizations' social media (i.e., Facebook, websites, and Twitter) and non-state news media, were used to obtain mainly qualitative data and basic numerical information. Gramsci's theory of hegemony and Foucault's concept of ‘panoptic surveillance' informed my analytical framework. The findings show that state suppression is at the core of the relations between state and civil society organizations that are critical of the state in Zimbabwe. The recurring forms of suppression include arrests, detention, assaults, abduction, torture, raids, theft, surveillance, judicial harassment, cyber-attacks/smear campaigns, travel bans, salary cessation and abuse. The findings suggest that ongoing state suppression is worse than during the latter part of Mugabe's Presidency. Selective suppression of targeted civil society organizations that are critical of the state also reflects diminishing democracy in Zimbabwe. This appears to be a general pattern in the region and one possible reason why bodies such as African Union and the Southern African Development Community are reluctant to discipline member states, including Zimbabwe, for human rights violations or state repression of critics.
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    The translation of the Vertigo Symptom Scale into Afrikaans: A pilot study
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2011) Rogers, Christine; de Wet, Jacques; Gina, Ayanda; Louw, Ladine; Makhoba, Musa; Tacon, Lee
    Vertigo is a common clinical problem that is challenging to diagnose and treat. While it has a broad range of aetiologies, the association between vestibular disturbance and anxiety is well established. The Vertigo Symptom Scale (VSS) is a questionnaire that assesses both dizziness and dizziness-related anxiety. The aim of this study was twofold. First, a translation of the VSS into Afrikaans was evaluated using the Delphi technique. Consensus was achieved within the Delphi rounds and a final tool was agreed upon. Second, the Afrikaans Vertigo Symptom Scales (AVSS) was piloted on a sample of vertiginous and control participants. The results of the pilot study yielded significant statistical differences between the groups on both subscales of the tool (vertigo symptom scale and anxiety and autonomic symptom scale). Results suggest that the AVSS is able to identify patients with vertiginous disturbance and anxiety. The AVSS presents with good sensitivity and specificity as measured by the ROC curve. Clinical implications are discussed.