Branded

Branded is set in an allegorical near future South Africa stratified by an economic apartheid. Cell phones are used for social control, both as passes that provide entry to designated places and electroshock punishment that can be administered by the SAPS. In the wake of a superdemic, crime and anti-corporate activism are harshly dealt with and the worst punishment is being 'disconnected', your cell phone deactivated, cut off from money, communication and entrance to public spaces. Genetic tampering has become pervasive with mutacute pets and modified police dogs called Aitos. The story follows four characters: Kendra, a young artist who has just enrolled in a flagship corporate sponsorship programme, Toby, a waster who dabbles in journalism, Lerato, an ambitious Aidsbaby raised in a corporate skills institute and desperate to defect to another company and Tendeka, an anti-corporate activist who is becoming increasingly rabid

Subjective well-being in teachers : a study of selected schools in KwaZulu-Natal.

Master of Social Sciences in Counselling Psychology. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Durban, 2017.This study aimed to assess subjective well-being of South African teachers according to their job demands and resources, while making a comparison between public and independent schools. This study used a quantitative, cross-sectional research design with a sample of 368 teachers from multiple public and independent schools within the KwaZulu Natal province. Participants completed a survey that included a biographical questionnaire, the Job Demands Resources Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale and the Subjective Well-Being Scale. Statistical analyses showed that the scales used, as well as their components, are valid and reliable. Results suggest that job resources and subjective well-being are positively correlated, while job demands have a negative relationship with subjective well-being. Interestingly the opposite was found for satisfaction with life, where a positive relationship existed with job demands while a negative relationship was found with job resources. Results show that while teachers in public and independent schools seem to have similar degrees of job resources, teachers in public schools show higher degrees of job demands. Additionally, teachers in public schools show higher levels in satisfaction with life than teachers in independent schools, while levels of subjective well-being were similar. This implies that teachers in public schools maintain satisfaction with life despite increased demands, which could be attributed to increased work engagement in teachers in public schools. This is an area that could be further researched. Nevertheless, the results of this study provide valuable insight into the relationship between subjective well-being and satisfaction with life, specifically with regards to job demands and resources in public and independent South African Schools. The cross-sectional design of this study implies that causality between variables could not be established. Furthermore, the use of quantitative self-report questionnaires suggests response bias along with a lack of qualitative data. The study used suburban public schools and not rural public schools, which may have an impact on the generalisability of the results. After consideration of the findings of this study it has been recommended that organisations provide teachers with opportunities to learn and grow, and that teachers are encouraged to find meaning and purpose in their work, as well as to develop their personal resources. Future studies could investigate the mediating factors that illustrate the connection between subjective well-being and job demands and resources

Writers Researching: Fact and Fiction

What is the relationship between research and the writing process and between historical ‘truth’ and fictional ‘truth’? Are there boundaries which should not be crossed? In this course writers will talk about the research that resulted in their recent novels. Ron Irwin, author of Flat Water Tuesday, will discuss how he researched people, places and real events and the challenges associated with turning the events of one’s own life into a novel. Helen Moffett, one of the trio behind the Girl Walk In series, will explain how she and her co-authors research and write erotica novels, providing insight into collaboration, champagne and condoms. Award-winning Lauren Beukes will describe how she ‘kinks’ reality in relation to the real-world research that informed The Shining Girls and Zoo City. Angela Makholwa will explore the process of writing the criminal mind, including interviews with a serial killer for Red Ink, and research about women who killed their husbands for Black Widow Society. Readers always assume that everything that happened in your book happened to you, complains Finuala Dowling, so what’s the point of trudging uphill for five hours in search of one sentence? Referring to both Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart and her latest manuscript, The Fetch, she discusses the price of authenticity