Browsing by Author "Kramm, Neil"

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    A wake-up call : equity, inequality and Covid-19 emergency remote teaching and learning
    (Springer, 2020-09-23) Czerniewicz, Laura; Agherdien, Najma; Badenhorst, Johan; Belluigi, Dina; Chambers, Tracey; Chili, Muntuwenkosi; De Villiers, Magriet; Felix, Alan; Gachago, Daniela; Gokhale, Craig; Ivala, Eunice; Kramm, Neil; Madiba, Matete; Mistri, Gitanjali; Mgqwashu, Emmanuel; Pallitt, Nicola; Prinsloo, Paul; Solomon, Kelly; Strydom, Sonja C.; Swanepoel, Mike; Waghid, Faiq; Wissing, Gerrit
    Produced from experiences at the outset of the intense times when Covid-19 lockdown restrictions began in March 2020, this collaborative paper offers the collective reflections and analysis of a group of teaching and learning and Higher Education (HE) scholars from a diverse 15 of the 26 South African public universities. In the form of a theorised narrative insistent on foregrounding personal voices, it presents a snapshot of the pandemic addressing the following question: what does the ‘pivot online’ to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL), forced into urgent existence by the Covid-19 pandemic, mean for equity considerations in teaching and learning in HE? Drawing on the work of Therborn (2009: 20– 32; 2012: 579–589; 2013; 2020) the reflections consider the forms of inequality - vital, resource and existential - exposed in higher education. Drawing on the work of Tronto (1993; 2015; White and Tronto 2004) the paper shows the networks of care which were formed as a counter to the systemic failures of the sector at the onset of the pandemic.
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    Youth and military service: exploring the effects of military socialisation, reintegration and employment
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Kramm, Neil; Heinecken, Lindy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology & Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Military Skills Development System (MSDS) was adopted to rejuvenate the ageing force of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), and has an additional function to provide social uplifment to the youth by alleviating unemployment and providing the youth with skills to assist them in finding gainful employment in the civilian labour market. To date, little is known about the youth that enters the SANDF via the MSDS program and how military socialisation affects the young millennials recruited into the military. Similarly, research on youth reintegration after military service, especially for those that serve for shorter periods, is lacking in South Africa. Equally, how young veterans manage in the civilian work place is also largely neglected in the literature. In this study, I aim to fill this void by exploring the experiences and perceptions of military socialisation, reintegration and employment status. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with MSDS instructors, current and former MSDS members and employment agencies. Discussions were framed around the three key themes this study sought to investigate, namely the effect of military socialisation has on young recruits and how this influences their ability to adapt in civilian life and find gainful employment. The conclusion is reached that the values and aspirations of the millennial youth joining the military differs fundamentally from what the military requires. This is owing to this youth cohort being defined as more individualistic, lacking in discipline, selfish and opinionated. In terms of work preference, they prefer working in flexible work environments, flatter organizations, that are more participatory and less authoritarian, do not necessarily like team work unless it is collaborative and are typically risk adverse. The above character traits and work preferences stand in sharp contrast in terms of what the military desires in recruits and what the organisation can offer in terms of the work environment. The military therefore has to re-socialise young recruits in order to instil the values required by the military to transform these young civilians into soldiers. This socialisation occurs via the total institution that changes recruits fundamentally with effects that are long-lasting as it creates a military habitus which reproduces their military identity in civilian life. The results of this study show that, initially, young recruits experience this as a culture shock, but as they assimilate the military culture that they become more authoritarian, aggressive and masculine. This they convey with them as they reintegrate back into civilian society when they leave the military. However, this is not the only affect that military socialisation has on them. Given that the military is a typical total institution, the loss of institutional support and command structure results in feelings of loss, anxiety, depression and alienation when they leave. Their military habitus and dependency on the command structure in their work effects how and where they obtain employment. These effects are not similar for all military personnel. Combat branches experience finding employment more difficult as they have little skills to peddle on the labour market besides ‘military skills’. Those in the technical and support musterings, find employment easier, but because it is not accredited often have to start their second careers right at the bottom of the ladder. However, irrespective of branch, their military habitus has an impact on how well they integrate into the workplace. These findings raise concerns in terms of the effect that militarization has on the youth, their ability to reintegrate back into society and whether the military should be used, or considered as a tool for social upliftment in a country like South Africa, which is beset with violence.