Here you will remain : adolescent experience on farms in the Western Cape

Bibliography: pages 182-190.The thesis examines adolescent experience on two grape-growing farms in the Western Cape. Particular attention is paid to the daily lives of farm residents with special reference to adolescents and the power relations between farmers and farm residents and between males and females insofar as they affect adolescents. The current literature on conditions on white-owned farms in South Africa lacks detailed research at the micro-level. This thesis begins to fill the gaps in the literature by providing an understanding of how people on the farms pursue their day-to-day lives. Six months intensive fieldwork was conducted on two farms in the Western Cape. During this time participant observation was supplemented by a household survey, the correction of life-histories and interviews with farm residents. Adolescent labour was documented in both summer and winter by using observations, 24-hour recalls and instant checks. An important theme which recurs throughout the thesis is that of the entrapment and encapsulation of farm residents. I show that despite the fact that different people - men, women and adolescent girls and boys - have different options for resisting the constraints of farm existence, they remain trapped in the valley with few alternative opportunities for employment elsewhere

Dealing with inequality in Early Bronze Age Crete

This study seeks to shed light on problems associated with current views of social inequality as they have been applied to the Early Bronze Age in Crete. The aim is to elucidate the epistemological status of the concept of inequality in Aegean archaeological discourse and to disclose the tacit assumptions that have made problematic our dealings with the phenomenon of inequality. My critique of classic approaches to inequality stems from two facts: first, from their inclination to treat inequality as a phenomenon limited in time and space and second, from their largely untheorised treatment of the relationship between wealth and relational inequalities when it is exactly this relationship that needs to be brought into the open. Wishing to deal with critique in a constructive manner, I suggest a few ways in which one may go beyond current approaches to inequality, toward a new and more rewarding way of inquiring into the matter. This is supported with an archeological example from the Early Bronze Age cemetery at the site of Mochlos. The central argument is that inequality is a universal social fact and that by continuing to pursue its origins we perpetuate the arbitrary and misleading ethnocentric constructions of modernity. There is no such thing as a division between egalitarian and hierarchical social formations but rather societies as moral communities. Being is not fixed but is recursively formed through processes of valuation always presenced within the realm of social practice and interaction. Both power and what we call 'status' are transactional affairs as well as practical accomplishments. People do not simply find themselves in relations of power; they achieve, perpetuate, reinvent or resist debts and structures of influence. The value of different resources, the efficacy of debt obligations and structures of influence are realised in usage. In the case of resources this is achieved in the manner of their employment, in that of debts and influence this is attained as lived commitments among agents. Drawing upon the concept of performance, I suggest that an alternative approach can enable us both to rethink inequality along more productive lines and to answer questions that previous accounts have been proved incapable of dealing with

Practical examination of computer presence in electro-instrumental music

This thesis explores the following questions: What is the influence of algorithmic software on the composition process? How can spectromorphologies be manipulated in search of coherent and lucid coupling in electro-instrumental (EI) music? What are the practical implications of the performance of EI music? This thesis will unfold practicalities, creative approaches, and new directions for the practice of EI music, drawing together spectromorphological theory and instrumental techniques. Framed around a body of work for solo instrument/ensemble with computer, I will assess each aspect of my musical process. Musical vocabularies, grammatical organisation and collaborative performance practices will be discussed. Specifically, my research breaks down components of composition into context, materials and an attempt towards categorisation and grammatical organisation including spectral and algorithmic techniques. With the knowledge that the computer has influence on the music making process, I identify and discuss some of its key contributions. Additionally, knowing that the tools and spaces that facilitate performance also impact the music, I seek to understand how these tools and environments contribute in order to get the best musical responses from them. Collaboration is a key theme, and throughout the thesis I pay attention to performer presence in the music making process. This thesis should be read in conjunction with my submitted portfolio for relevant case studies and musical examples