scholarly journals Shifts and continuities in Zulu personal naming practices

Literator ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sihawukele Ngubane ◽  
Nompumelelo Thabethe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cultural Environment ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Personal Names ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Liberal Capitalism ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
Naming Practices

It is widely accepted that, in all societies, personal naming practices and culture are intertwined. Given that culture is not static, but dynamic and ever changing, personal names have undergone a major transformation due to socio-cultural and political factors. This article reflects on shifts and continuities in the practice of personal naming amongst the Zulu people. Emerging data demonstrate the evolution from pre-colonial Africa to the post-1994 period in South Africa. It is further illustrated that the reclaiming of indigenous names in the new democratic dispensation is perceived as a way for Africans to re-define and re-affirm their identities, thus de-stigmatising their culture. Ultimately, this article makes a strong argument that personal naming, in any society, is not detached from the socio-cultural environment. Rather, personal naming and culture are inextricably linked to socio-political conditions at any historical moment. This is demonstrated in the shift from personal naming practices greatly inspired by communal values to those steeped in contradictions within the epoch of neo-liberal capitalism. It is, therefore, concluded that shifts in people’s consciousness lead to fundamental shifts in personal naming practices.

Names as pointers: Zulu personal naming practices

1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Suzman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
World View ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Personal Names ◽  
Anthropological Linguistics ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
Naming Practices

ABSTRACTChildren in many African societies have meaningful names – unlike their Western counterparts, whose names are primarily labels. In Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, and many other cultures, namegivers traditionally chose personal names that pointed to a range of people and circumstances that were relevant at the time of the child's birth. These highly individual or unique names were part of particular social frameworks that have long been evolving with Western acculturation. Like the social frameworks within which they are embedded, naming practices are in the process of change.This article investigates change in Zulu naming practices as a reflection of wider social changes. Taking historical accounts as the source of traditional namegiving, an analysis of rural, farm, and urban names shows quantitative and qualitative differences in naming practices. Contemporary names differ significantly from traditional ones, and provide evidence that the world view within which names are given is in the process of redefinition. (Anthropological linguistics, naming, South Africa, Zulu)

scholarly journals “Enwau Prydeinig gwyn?” Problematizing the idea of “White British” names and naming practices from a Welsh perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-259
Author(s):  
Sara Louise Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Underlying Assumption ◽  
Cultural Community ◽  
Personal Names ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
Naming Practices

Our personal names are a potential source of information to those around us regarding several interconnected aspects of our lives, including our: ethnic, geographic, linguistic and cultural community of origin, and perhaps our national identity. However, interpretations regarding identifiably “White British” names and naming practices are problematic, due to the incorrect underlying assumption of a homogeneity in the indigenous communities of ‘Britain.’ The field of names and naming is a particularly good example of the wide linguistic and cultural chasm between the Welsh and English indigenous ‘British’ communities, and thus the generally paradoxical concept of “Britishness” in its wider sense. In this paper, I will explore names and naming practices which are particularly distinctive to a Welsh context, thus unearthing and opening up for wider debate the hidden diversity within the assumed and imposed category of “White British privilege.”

The Santiniketan School

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raman Siva Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Environment ◽  
Rabindranath Tagore ◽  
Nationalist Movement ◽  
Colonial Art ◽  
Elective Affinities ◽  
Temporal Boundary ◽  
University Town ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
Art Schools

The Santiniketan School refers to a small group of artists who were active in Santiniketan, a small university town north of Calcutta, from 1921 to the 1950s. The most prominent among these artists are Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), Nandalal Bose (1882–1966), Benodebehari Mukherjee (1904–1980) and Ramkinkar Baij (1906–1980). Their work marks a departure from the historicist moorings of the earlier nationalist movement in Indian art and the development of a contextual modernism sensitive to the physical and cultural environment, as well as to the historical moment in which the artists lived. While Rabindrath Tagore provided the framework, Nandalal Bose fashioned its pedagogic program, which was more broad-based than that of colonial art schools and more modern in outlook. Although it began with anti-colonial and pan-Asian interests, the school’s stress on freedom, and the individual pursuit of elective affinities and eclectic assimilations, meant that it became more cosmopolitan and modernist over the years. Bound by shared concerns rather than a common style, the school represents the most fruitful modernist movement in pre-independence India. Defined more loosely, the Santiniketan School represents a larger circle of artists trained at Santiniketan, encompassing a wider geographical and temporal boundary, and thus includes Satyajit Ray (1921–1992) and K. G. Subramanyan (1924--) among its later luminaries.

scholarly journals For Whom and by Whom Children Are Named: Family Involvement in Contemporary Japanese Naming Practices

Genealogy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Giancarla Unser-Schutz
Keyword(s):  
Family Involvement ◽  
Chinese Character ◽  
Common Elements ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
Personal Names ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Naming Practices

In pre-modern Japanese naming practices, familial relationships were frequently demonstrated systematically through personal names, but with changing lifestyles, family structures and naming trends, such systematic ways of creating familial ties through personal names have largely been lost. However, personal names may still express familial ties, but in different ways than in previous times. To consider this, this article utilizes a unique data set of 303 messages in municipal newsletters from parents about how they chose their child’s name, focusing on who was listed as choosing the name; whom the child was named for; and common elements within parent–child pairs and sibling sets. Parents themselves were most frequently noted to have selected the name, followed by the child’s older siblings; in comparison, grandparents were listed rarely. The use of a shared kanji ‘Chinese character’ between parents and children was also not common; however, it was more frequently observable in siblings’ names. Although the data set is small in size, the data strongly suggests that contemporary families are focused more on creating intragenerational connections between siblings, rather than intergenerational familial ties, which may be a result of the nuclearization of contemporary families.

South African parents’ view of their role in the education of their young children in South Africa as democratic citizens

2020 ◽  
pp. 1476718X2093807
Author(s):  
Cecilia Klopper
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Young Children ◽  
South African ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Political Factors

This study addressed the knowledge gap regarding South African parents’ view of their role in the education of young children as democratic citizens. The study was conducted with parents of children younger than 8 years in 2 multicultural primary schools in Gauteng, South Africa. The explanatory sequential mixed methods research design was used to collect data from parents in order to answer the research question. The quantitative data were gathered first by means of a questionnaire, and afterwards the qualitative data were gathered by means of semi-structured interviews. The research results showed that when educating their young children to democratic citizenship, participating parents consider various values of a democratic citizen as important including responsibility, respect, participation, norms and values, peacebuilding, love, loyalty, deliberations, kindness, commitment, non-racism, non-sexism, equality, reconciliation, self-control, forgiveness, compassion, tolerance, open-mindedness, a sense of belonging, rule of law and social justice. Participating parents also regard their example as democratic citizens, respect, participation and the creation of a safe, proud and free democratic society as important. They did, however, consider the media and other bad role models as challenges when educating their young children towards democratic citizenship. The most important finding of the study is the influence of negative societal and political factors on the attitudes and opinions of the participating parents. New insights that emerged from the study includes that these parents want to do their best to educate their children as democratic citizens in South Africa, in the best interest of their children as future democratic citizens, but are hindered by certain societal and political factors.

‘Coca-Cola Kids’ - Reflections on Black Adolescent Identity Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garth Stevens ◽  
Rafiq Lockhat
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Black Adolescents ◽  
Identity Integration ◽  
Multiple Impacts ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Adolescent Identity ◽  
Black Adolescent ◽  
Adolescent Identity Development ◽  
The Impact

In this paper the authors make use of Erikson's psychosocial theory and Bulhan's analysis of identity development within oppressed social groups, and explore how black adolescents may be attempting to negotiate the developmental challenges facing them within the changing socio-historical contexts of post-apartheid South Africa. It explores the impact of apartheid-capitalism on black adolescent identity development, as well as the impact of several ideological, economic and socio-political factors on these adolescents' attempts at attaining identity integration and congruence in post-apartheid South Africa. More specifically, the paper firstly argues that both the apartheid and post-apartheid socio-historical contexts have had contradictory and multiple impacts on the development of black adolescent identities and secondly, that the increasing shift from collectivist ideals to individualist ideals amongst many black adolescents, represents one possible response to these shifting socio-historical contexts.

Firms’ Integration into Value Chains and Compliance with Adverse WTO Panel Rulings

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
AYDIN B. YILDIRIM
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
The Us ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Political Conditions

AbstractThis article aims to account for the variation in the time it takes for WTO Members to bring compliance following adverse panel rulings. It seeks to answer the question: under what conditions do defendants swiftly implement adverse rulings of WTO panels? I demonstrate that defendants are more likely to comply without delay when the targeted measures involve firms that are integrated into regional and global value chains. When a dispute touches upon the interests of these firms and targets import-restricting measures, they are triggered to mobilize and press for compliance because they rely on foreign imports. In effect, the mobilization of these firms changes the domestic political conditions in favor of timely implementation. I show the plausibility of my argument in a comparative design with four case studies in which the US and Canada acted as defendants in WTO disputes. I control for a number of political factors and also consider legal sources of variation – i.e. the complexity of the form of implementation – that may impact WTO Members’ record of compliance.

scholarly journals A thesis embargoed: Personnel research and ideology in South Africa after World War II

2021 ◽  
Vol 117 (9/10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann Louw
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
World War ◽  
Party Government ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
The University

Ten years after the conclusion of World War II, the Department of Native Affairs of the National Party government of South Africa sponsored research into the selection of African civil servants. The study was conducted by Rae Sherwood, under the auspices of the National Social Research Council, and the National Institute for Personnel Research. In 1960, Sherwood submitted the work to the University of the Witwatersrand to obtain a PhD degree. Two government departments objected to the award of the degree. In this paper, I recount the history of the research, explaining that the acceleration of the apartheid project between 1948 and 1961 played a significant role in the controversy that developed. The paper furthermore illustrates the difficulties faced by social scientific research under repressive political conditions, and the need for a more nuanced view of the psychological research of the National Institute for Personnel Research in South Africa at the time.

scholarly journals Continuing to Explore the Relation between Economic and Political Factors and Government Survey Refusal Rates: 1960–2015

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-505
Author(s):  
Luke J. Larsen ◽  
Joanna Fane Lineback ◽  
Benjamin M. Reist
Keyword(s):  
Extended Period ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Government ◽  
Good Time ◽  
Presidential Approval ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Time Period ◽  
States Government ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Extended Time Period

AbstractIn the United States, government surveys’ refusal rates have been increasing at an alarming rate, despite traditional measures for mitigating nonresponse. Given this phenomenon, now is a good time to revisit the work of Harris-Kojetin and Tucker (1999). In that study, the authors explored the relation between economic and political conditions on Current Population Survey (CPS) refusal rates over the period 1960–1988.They found evidence that economic and political factors are associated with survey refusals and acknowledged the need to extend this work as more data became available. In this study, our aim was to continue their analysis. First, we replicated their findings. Next, we ran the assumed underlying model on an extended time-period (1960–2015). Last, since we found that the model was not an ideal fit for the extended period, we revised it using available time series and incorporating information about the CPS sample design. In the extended, refined model, presidential approval, census year, number of jobs and not-in-labor-force rate were all significant predictors of survey refusal.

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