Yesterday’s Heroes?

Martyrdom ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Punt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
The One

Jeremy Punt argues that the canonisation of South Africa’s anti-Apartheid heroes is an important component in the construction of a narrative of a country emerging from a violent, divisive past informed by racialist engineering and deliberate processes of exclusion and othering. The icon of the struggle against Apartheid and the one who most often springs to mind is, of course, Nelson Mandela, around whom quite a hero if not a martyr cult was erected. Heroes’ discourse plays an important role in structuring memories about South Africa’s past and negotiating identities in the present. Notwithstanding the ambiguities, the role of anti-Apartheid heroes and their veneration are important in underscoring new group values, restoring human dignity and self-esteem while at the same time articulating identity and acknowledging leadership and achievement. But the commemoration of heroes is also time and place bound and therefore susceptible to constant critique and adjustments as evident from recent events in South Africa.

South Africa at a Turning Point?

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke Zuern
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
State Collapse ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Electricity Provision

South Africa is at a crossroads. The state has not adequately addressed dire human development needs, often failing to provide the services it constitutionally guarantees. As a result, citizens are expressing their frustrations in a variety of ways, at times including violence. These serious challenges are most readily apparent in poverty, inequality and unemployment statistics, but also in electricity provision, billing and affordability as well as a recent spate of racially motivated attacks which highlight the tension both among South Africans and between South Africans and darker skinned foreigners. The country has, however, been on the brink before and avoided the worst-case scenario of full-scale civil war and state collapse. Far too often South Africa's past successes have been attributed to the role of one man, Nelson Mandela. While Mandela was indeed an extraordinary human being who rightly deserved the international awards and accolades as well as the deep admiration of so many, South Africa's triumphs as a society and a state are the product of both cooperative and conflicting contributions by a wide range of actors. A central question at the present juncture is how well equipped domestic actors and institutions are to address the crisis. The following pages seek to provide some insights and through the perspectives of three authors to consider causes and possible responses.

The Resilient Constitution

2021 ◽  
pp. 277-309
Author(s):  
David Dyzenhaus ◽  
Alma Diamond
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Extreme Pressure ◽  
The Face ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
The One

This chapter evaluates the so called 'transitional constitution' of South Africa and the 'permanent constitution' of Colombia. Through a comparative approach, it contends that constitutions are better understood in terms of their resilience rather than either being transitional or permanent, and that a 'resilient constitution' is the one capable of springing back even after being subjected to extreme pressure, as long as leaders maintain their commitment to governing within the limits of the law. In this sense, the differences between the Colombian transitional justice and the South African case do not stem primarily from the 'permanence' of its Constitution, but rather from the difficulties and tensions inherent to any transitional justice process, because it derives from some of the very rights it is designed to promote. The chapter then details how the jurisprudence of the Colombian Constitutional Court on transitional matters can be understood as having moved from an understanding of the Constitution as permanent, to one of resilience that does not represent a new power grabbed by the Court. Rather than that, it signals an understanding of the role of the Court in maintaining a constitutional order even in the face of existential threats to it.

scholarly journals Self-Esteem and Motivation for Learning in Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Reasoning and Verbal Fluidity

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5768
Author(s):  
Nieves Moyano ◽  
Alberto Quílez-Robres ◽  
Alejandra Cortés Pascual
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The One

The goal of the present study was to analyze the joint role that non-cognitive (motivation and self-esteem) and cognitive (verbal fluency and reasoning) factors play on academic achievement, both as a global score and in relation to specific subjects, such as language and literature and mathematics. We also analyzed the mediating role of cognitive factors. We recruited a sample of 133 primary education students (aged 6–9 years old) (47.6% girls, 52.6% boys), to whom various measures of the above-indicated variables were administered. Several predictive models were tested through a mediational regression analysis. The results indicated the relevance of intrinsic motivation together with self-esteem as predictors of academic achievement mediated by the cognitive abilities verbal fluency and reasoning. These relationships differed depending on the specific subject. We discuss the educational implications of these findings and emphasize, on the one hand, that academic achievement depends on both cognitive and non-cognitive factors and, on the other hand, the malleability of cognitive factors, as they seem to improve based on motivation and self-esteem.

scholarly journals Re-orienting occupational therapy: Embracing generative disruption and revisiting a posture that acknowledges human dignity

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshan Galvaan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Therapy Services ◽  
Difficult Dialogues ◽  
Occupational Justice ◽  
The One

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Amidst the Covid-19 lockdown that commenced in March 2020, while the profession and service-users were coming to terms with its vast implications, the Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa initiated a Webinar series that stimulated provocative discussions and difficult dialogues. The authors of this paper deliver a commentary, critically engaging with the challenges of cogently articulating the contribution of occupational therapy services across various sectors of service delivery during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. The challenges of on the one hand, negotiating the abrupt cessation of rehabilitation services, especially in the public sector and, on the other, advancing the reasoning for accessible, community-based services, are considered AIM: The commentary draws from presentations at and reflections on the webinar hosted on 24 June 2020 titled 'Ethical and Moral Challenges for Occupational Therapy'. In this paper, the competing ethical and moral issues arising from being urged to adopt different ways of thinking and doing occupational therapy during the Covid-19 lockdown are outlined PROPOSITION: It is suggested that experiences emerging from this pandemic are urging the profession to rethink its positionality in the health sector. Two main considerations deserve attention: The first is rethinking how we use occupational therapy knowledge to act from and in relation to local contexts, viewing people who are marginalised as knowledge and action partners through generative disruption. The second is to revisit what it entails to foster a posture that acknowledges human dignity CONCLUSION: Generative disruption includes a continuous and unabashed critical reflection of and on the limits of our practice and knowledge at hand. It means that we need to include service users and community partners in taking necessary steps to render services in local contexts most needed in recalibration toward social and occupational justice. In our knowledge-making partnerships, it is also imperative to revisit the posture of acknowledging human dignity Keywords: Covid-19; occupational therapy; occupational justice; human dignity; generative disruption

scholarly journals Transmission and transformation in higher education: Indigenisation, internationalisation and transculturality

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Horsthemke
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
The Other ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Transmission Of Knowledge ◽  
The One ◽  
Educational Transmission

There have been various approaches to the transmission and transformation of systems, practices, knowledge and concepts in higher education in recent decades, chief among which are drives towards indigenisation, on the one hand, and towards internationalisation, on the other. After briefly discussing and dispensing with radical versions of these, theories that reject any claim to validity or legitimacy by the rival approach, this article examines more nuanced accounts that deserve appropriately serious consideration. Thus, in the former instance, there is an emphasis on the local that nonetheless acknowledges a debt to the global, whereas conversely the emphasis on the global is seen as compatible with an acknowledgement of diversity, difference and particularity. What is gained and what is lost in these various approaches to educational transmission and transformation? After reflecting, in this regard, on lessons from both Africa and Europe – in particular, on the debates in South Africa around Africanisation and decolonisation, and in Germany around global interdependence – I cautiously endorse the idea of ‘transculturality’ (as contrasted with ‘multiculturality’ and ‘interculturality’) as a promising philosophical perspective on transmission of knowledge and practices, and as conceptualising transformation of higher education. The role of philosophy, in particular, consists in part in counteracting the hegemony of both traditional and homogenising (‘colonising’) authority.

scholarly journals Graphic design for social justice in South Africa

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Latha Ravjee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Graphic Design ◽  
State Power ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
The Status ◽  
Visual Impact

In this dissertation I examine of the role of graphic design in the struggle for social justice in South Africa - with specific reference to the concept of human rights. I am motivated by an overwhelming awareness that the Bill of Rights in post-apartheid South Africa exists in striking contrast to the daily struggles for human dignity. In addressing this contradiction I present a historical examination that focuses on the visual impact of the creative combination of images and text to effect socioeconomic and political change. Drawing from Steve Biko’s philosophy of psychological liberation and Paulo Freire’s educational philosophy for critical thinking, I distinguish between propaganda and education. I take the stand that people are not really free if they blindly accept the myths of the established state order and I explore the various ways in which society is misguided by these myths. I argue that unlike graphic design that maintains the status quo and represents the propaganda of the established order, ‘graphic design for social justice’ represents the voice of people’s power against state power. Through this study and practice I conclude that the role of graphic design for social justice in South Africa is to uncover the myths of state power by presenting scenarios that encourage critical thinking, dialogue and open debate about power and the abuse of power in the continued struggle for human dignity. It is intended that this body of work, and the exhibition that results from it, contributes in part to the writing and documentation of a history of South African socio-political graphics.

scholarly journals Urgensi Peranan Keluarga bagi Perkembangan Self-esteem Remaja

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Nikmarijal Nikmarijal
Keyword(s):  
Family Environment ◽  
Parental Control ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Self ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
The Family ◽  
The One

Adolescence is the period of interest due to their properties and its role in determining the life of society. The one that affects its development is self-esteem. Self-esteem is formed through the interaction of individuals with their environment. One family environment, if the environment providing something fun, self-esteem would be positive, but if its not fun and self-esteem will be negative, further support parents, parental control, and relationship to each other between the parents give a direct influence on the development of adolescent self-esteem. This article will expose further the importance of the role of the family in developing the self-esteem of teenage.

scholarly journals DIE GEREFORMEERDE KERKE IN SUID-AFRIKA EN “VROUE IN DIE AMP” 1973-1988

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus Marthinus Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Intensive Study ◽  
History Of ◽  
Biblical Anthropology ◽  
Ordination Of Women ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The One

The Reformed Churches in South Africa and “women in office” 1973-1988The matter of the ordination of women in the offices of pastor and elder has become a burning issue in the Reformed Churches in South Africa (Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika). From 1973 to 2016 various Synods of this denomination struggled with the topic by way of several intensive study reports, which resulted in various decisions on hermeneutical and exegetical grounds. This article is the first in a series of two that investigates the history of the case as it developed from 1973-1988. A second article will deal with the period 1994-2016. The intention of this research is to analyse the reasons for the consistent position not to include women in the particular offices of this denomination. The central theoretical argument of this study is that the hermeneutical approaches of the various Synods are deficient. The role of systematic biblical-theological testimony, as well as a well-developed biblical anthropology as important hermeneutical tools, were not applied efficiently and were obscured by the one-sided grammatical-historical angle of approach.

Beyond Skinner

Worldview ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-48
Author(s):  
Hugo Adam Bedau
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Second Look ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind

Ushered in with hosannahs of critical praise (“If you plan to read only one book this year, this is probably the one you should choose”—New York Times), B. F. Skinner's Beyond Freedom and Dignity has made the bestseller lists for six months. Now that “the growing international storm” (Newsweek) over the book has subsided, a second look is in order. What, precisely, did he say? How persuasive is the behaviorism he trumpets? How does his argument stand up scientifically and philosophically?Skinner proposes to take us “beyond” freedom and dignity because, in his view, people have no freedom, and human dignity is an illusion. These ideals always were mythic, despite their honored place in the literature of our civilization. The “literature of freedom and dignity,” as Skinner describes it with barely concealed contempt, fosters a wholly false doctrine of the nature of man and nurtures our fear of the developing “science and technology of human behavior” because it reduces our opportunities for self-praise and self-esteem. These opportunities shrink as it becomes increasingly implausible to appeal to mysterious powers of the mind in order to explain heroic, clever or original conduct.

scholarly journals Digitalization and Decolonizing Education: A Qualitative Study of University of South Africa (UNISA) Leadership

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 553-560
Author(s):  
Vuyisile Msila ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
The Road ◽  
New Vision ◽  
On The Road ◽  
The One ◽  
The University

The COVID-19 pandemic that shook the world in 2020 forced all educational institutions to search for new ways of teaching and learning. Furthermore, education institutions such as the University of South Africa (UNISA), like all other universities, found themselves with a huge task of promoting digitalization. As a traditional distance education institution, UNISA had to refine digitalization in a time of decolonization in the Global South. This case study examined the role of educational managers in sustaining effective digitalization. Eight UNISA managers were selected and interviewed to understand how they perceived the role of digital leaders. Furthermore, the study sought to understand why it is critical that managers should be in the forefront of digitalization. The study found that at present in Africa it is critical for digitalization to be combined with decolonization. Additionally, when digitalization and decolonization are implemented simultaneously, they become vehicles for social justice and democracy. This then means that education can be a tool for liberation and achievement where the digital divide is minimized. When implemented well, education institutions become institutions with access for success. The conclusions show that a set strategy based on a new vision for a university will harness digital leadership. The participants also mentioned strategic documents at the university; on the one hand are the Five Pillars of Change whilst on the other are the Eight Dimensions of Transformation. Furthermore, the participants claimed that their institution was on the road to success whilst building UNISA as an institution “Towards the African University that builds futures.”

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