Research Articles (Sociology and Social Anthropology)
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- ItemAgeing in a plural society(Health & Medical Publishing Group, 1976-07) Cilliers, S. P.The differential position and involvement of the aged in each population group in the Republic of South Africa are illustrated on the basis of an analysis of the age structure of the population, sex ratios, life expectancy, degree and nature of urbanisation and industrialisation and family structure. It is concluded that the problems and needs of the aged in modernising plural societies differ for each population group, and that there thus exists a need for a flexible and non dogmatic approach to the needs of the aged.
- ItemApplying the nominal group technique in an employment relations conflict situation : a case study of a university maintenance section in South Africa(AOSIS Publishing, 2009-09) Van Der Waal, Cornelis (Kees) S.; Uys, Josephine (Tina) M.After a breakdown in employment relations in the maintenance section of a higher education institution, the authors were asked to intervene in order to try and solve the employment relations conflict situation. It was decided to employ the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) as a tool in problem identification during conflict in the workplace. An initial investigation of documentation and interviews with prominent individuals in the organisation was carried out. The NGT was then used in four focus group discussions to determine the important issues as seen by staff members. The NGT facilitates the determination of shared perceptions and the ranking of ideas. The NGT was used in diverse groups, necessitating adaptations to the technique. The perceived causes of the conflict were established. The NGT can be used in a conflict situation in the workplace in order to establish the perceived causes of employment relations conflict.
- ItemA bibliometric analysis of South Africa’s scientific outputs : some trends and implications(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2011-02) Kahn, MichealThe paper examines the change in volume of South African publications as indexed to the Web of Science over the periods 1990–1994 and 2004–2008. It was noted that publication volumes have increased sharply even while the stock of researchers has remained static. A number of factors may account for the rise including the increase in the Department of Education publication subsidy, the increase in the number of South African journals indexed to the Web of Science and a shift in focus to fields with higher publication propensity. For example, it was noted that a new growth area has emerged in the field of infectious diseases. The publication count by author institution showed that collaboration with foreign authors has increased considerably across the two periods and it is suggested that it is this factor that best accounts for the rise in volume. The concentration by subject area permitted some judgement to be made regarding the prospects for the five grand challenges of the Ten Year Innovation Plan. Lastly, it was noted that if it is collaboration that is driving the volume increase, the system is vulnerable to offshore changes.
- ItemBuilding resilience: the gendered effect of climate change on food security and sovereignty in Kakamega Kenya(MDPI, 2021) Liru, Pauline; Heinecken, LindyClimate change is a global threat, affecting the food security and food sovereignty of many depending on agriculture for their livelihoods. This is even more pronounced in Kenya, given their over-reliance on rain-fed crops and the frequency of floods and droughts in the country. Through qualitative interviews, this study set out to establish how climate change not only affects the food security, production and consumption of rural women farmers in Kakamega County, Kenya, but their response to climate shocks. Using resilience theory as a lens, we established that women use different pathways to mitigate the effects of climate change on their livelihoods. The study found that initially women adopt coping strategies that are reactive and not sustainable, but soon adapted their farming strategies, using their indigenous knowledge to exercise some control over both their food security and food sovereignty. Besides this, they use their human and social capital to expand their networks of support. By linking up to other organizations and gaining access to government support, they are able to challenge patriarchal relations that perpetuate poverty and inequality and bring about more transformative and sustainable responses to climate change.
- ItemColoured migration in the Cape region at the beginning of the 21th century(SUN MeDIA Bloemfontein -- University of the Free State -- UFS, 2003) Bekker, Simon; Cramer, JosephINTRODUCTION: During the twentieth century, the port of Cape Town transformed itself from a town of some 150 000 to a city of 3 million. Before this period, different cultural traits of in-migrating and resident groups had mixed and produced new syncretic features that were passed on to the next generation. In the second half of this century, however, state policies imposed separation and unequal access to state resources among groups within this population. Accordingly, the identities of coloured, black and white – imposed as they have been by the state from above – could not but continue to carry meaning in the lives of Cape Town’s residents and of those living in its hinterlands. Though rarely the primary identities of residents, these labels are widely acknowledged to be both shared and meaningful.
- ItemA comparative analysis of passive constructions in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa : Grammar and acquisition(Stellenbosch University, Department of Linguistics, 2017) Potgieter, Anneke PeroldWhilst literature on the acquisition of passive constructions by speakers of European languages abounds, there is a dearth of grammatical descriptions of passive constructions in (especially South) African languages that may serve as a basis for acquisition studies. Furthermore, the majority of studies have focused on monolingual participants only, leaving the typical multilingual African language acquisition context underrepresented. This paper addresses these gaps in the literature by offering an in-depth cross-linguistic comparison of passive constructions in the three official languages of the Western Cape, a province in South Africa, namely the Germanic languages English and Afrikaans and the Southern Bantu language isiXhosa. The grammatical description of passives in these languages covers the nature of the passive verb complex; the placement of the object and, in long passives, subject arguments; movement of the object argument across clause boundaries in infinitival clauses; existential passive constructions; case assignment; restrictions on passivisation; and verbal versus adjectival passive constructions. This information may serve as basis for finer syntactic analyses, studies of cross-linguistic bootstrapping, and also descriptive grammars. The paper finally presents normative data for the acquisition of passive constructions by monolingual speakers of English and by speakers of languages closely related to Afrikaans and isiXhosa (such data not yet being readily available for the latter two languages). The reported higher frequency of passive constructions in Bantu languages is cited as a possible explanation for the relatively early acquisition of this otherwise notoriously late-acquired construction.
- ItemThe decline of academic bilingualism in South Africa : a case study(Springer, 2009-10) Hill, Lloyd BennettLanguage policies in South African higher education were formalized between 2000 and 2002, just prior to a major restructuring of the higher education system. During this period institutions of higher learning were expected to formulate both a language policy and a detailed language plan. National policies on language in education are intended to substantiate the constitutional commitment to using and developing the 11 official languages. Gaps between official commitments to ‘multilingualism’ and actual language practices are nevertheless evident at national and institutional levels. In this article I explore the concepts ‘bilingual university’ and ‘academic bilingualism’, as a prelude to a contextualized discussion of the decline of English-Afrikaans bilingualism at the University of Port Elizabeth (which after the January 2005 merger with the PE Technikon, became part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University). I explore the emergence of a gap between formal policy pronouncements and actual institutional practices. I then situate this local trend within the wider context of post-1994 political and socio-economic changes and the emergence of a new official discourse on ‘multilingualism.’ I explain the ostensive shift from a ‘dual medium’ to a ‘multilingual’ policy at UPE in terms of broader trends and contradictions in the national field of higher education. The article employs a theoretical framework, which—drawing on the work of Bourdieu— seeks to (a) situate the case within a wider national field of higher education, and (b) theorise ‘academic bilingualism’ as form of cultural capital within this field. In terms of this framework, the analysis of the case raises specific questions about current institutional language policies in South Africa and more general questions about the nature of bilingualism in higher education.
- ItemDiminishing returns : circulatory migration linking Cape Town to the Eastern Cape(UCT -- University of Cape Town, 2001) Bekker, Simon
- ItemFootball as code : the social diffusion of soccer in South Africa(Routledge, 2010-03) Hill, Lloyd BennettThis essay explores the processes associated with the emergence of rugby and soccer as distinct ‘sporting codes’ in South Africa. Beginning with an elaboration of the concept of ‘sporting code’, the author traces in broad brush strokes the events that transformed the two English codes into new forms of cultural capital in transnational sporting fields. Set against this wider context, the focus then shifts to the ‘social diffusion’ of rugby and soccer in the territories that would subsequently constitute the South African state. It is argued that between 1859 and the discovery of gold in 1886 rugby and soccer emerged in two relatively distinct fields, centred on the British Cape and Natal colonies. The essay then explores the stratification of these fields, following the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910. Particular attention is given to the relative status of rugby and soccer in the colonial education systems and in the post-1910 national education system.
- ItemFrom biopower to ontopower? violent responses to wildlife crime and the new geographies of conservation(Medknow Publications, 2018) Buscher, BramIntensifying global dynamics of wildlife crime are rapidly reshaping conservation politics, practices and geographies. Most pronounced are the manifold violent responses to wildlife crime, including direct lethal action and increasing anticipatory action to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. This paper reflects on these dynamics in relation to recent literature that employs Foucault's concept of biopower to understand the governance of increasingly precarious human and non-human life. Building on Brian Massumi's exposition of ontopower – an 'environmental power' that “alters the life environment's conditions of emergence” – I explore whether we are seeing a move from bio- to ontopower where the imperative is less the construction of systemic forms of governmentality to ensure life's ‘optimisation’ than on processually pre-empting incipient tendencies towards unknown but certain future threats to life. Phrased differently, ontopower focuses on how to prevent nature's destruction in the future through pre-emptive measures in the present. Drawing on empirical research on violent responses to rhino poaching in South Africa, the paper argues that we are seeing the uneven emergence of new geographies of conservation based on ontopower. It concludes by speculating whether conservation's insecurity is turning into its pre-emptive other by making (green) war necessary for non-human life's survival.
- ItemFrom the ocean to outer space – and almost everything in between(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2016) Hart, Tim G. B.No abstract available
- ItemHealth policy and integrated mental health care in the SADC region : strategic clarification using the Rainbow Model(BioMed Central, 2016) Janse Van Rensburg, Andre; Fourie, PieterBackground: Mental illness is a well-known challenge to global development, particularly in low-to-middle income countries. A key health systems response to mental illness is different models of integrated health care, especially popular in the South African Development Community (SADC) region. This complex construct is often not welldefined in health policy, hampering implementation efforts. A key development in this vein has been the Rainbow Model of integrated care, a comprehensive framework and taxonomy of integrated care based on the integrative functions of primary care. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature and strategic forms of integrated mental health care in selected SADC countries, specifically how integrated care is outlined in state-driven policies. Methods: Health policies from five SADC countries were analysed using the Rainbow Model as framework. Electronic copies of policy documents were transferred into NVivo 10, which aided in the framework analysis on the different types of integrated mental health care promoted in the countries assessed. Results: Several Rainbow Model components were emphasised. Clinical integration strategies (coordination of person-focused care) such as centrality of client needs, case management and continuity were central considerations, while others such as patient education and client satisfaction were largely lacking. Professional integration (interprofessional partnerships) was mentioned in terms of agreements on interdisciplinary collaboration and performance management, while organisational integration (inter-organisational relationships) emerged under the guise of interorganisational governance, population needs and interest management. Among others, available resources, population management and stakeholder management fed into system integration strategies (horizontally and vertically integrated systems), while functional integration strategies (financial, management and information system functions) included human resource, information and resource management. Normative integration (a common frame of reference) included collective attitude, sense of urgency, and linking cultures, though aspects such as conflict management, quality features of the informal collaboration, and trust were largely lacking. Conclusions: Most countries stressed the importance of integrating mental health on primary healthcare level, though an absence of supporting strategies could prove to bar implementation. Inter-service collaboration emerged as a significant goal, though a lack of (especially) normative integration dimensions could prove to be a key omission. Despite the usefulness of the Rainbow Model, it failed to adequately frame regional governance aspects of integration, as the SADC Secretariat could play an important role in coordinating and supporting the development and strengthening of better mental health systems.
- ItemHousehold language, residential segregation and social mobility : continuity and change in eThekwini, South Africa(Union for African Population Studies, 2016) Bekker, Simon; Hill, Lloyd BennettThis article uses South African census data for 1996, 2001 and 2011 to explore the relationship between language and social mobility in the metropolitan region of eThekwini (including what was previously known as Durban). We focus particular attention on variables selected to shed light on residential segregation and social mobility, such as education level, income, race and in-migration. Data on adults at ward level (using 2011 ward boundaries) in eThekwini is used to develop a comparative spatial context for this analysis. Our main finding is that English appears in eThekwini to be the household language of the social elite as well as the language of upward mobility and empowerment.
- ItemHouseholds, fluidity, and HIV service delivery in Zambia and South Africa – an exploratory analysis of longitudinal qualitative data from the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial(Wiley Open Access, 2018) Hoddinott, Graeme; Myburgh, Hanlie; De Villiers, Laing; Ndubani, Rhoda; Mantantana, Jabulile; Thomas, Angelique; Mbewe, Madalitso; Ayles, Helen; Bock, Peter; Seeley, Janet; Shanaube, Kwame; Hargreaves, James; Bond, Virginia; Reynolds, LindseyIntroduction: Population distributions, family and household compositions, and people’s sense of belonging and social stability in southern Africa have been shaped by tumultuous, continuing large-scale historical disruptions. As a result, many people experience high levels of geographic and social fluidity, which intersect with individual and population-level migration patterns. We describe the complexities of household fluidity and HIV service access in South Africa and Zambia to explore implications for health systems and service delivery in contexts of high household fluidity. Methods: HPTN 071 (PopART) is a three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial implemented in 21 peri-urban study communities in Zambia and South Africa between 2013 and 2018. A qualitative cohort nested in the trial included 148 purposively sampled households. Data collection was informed by ethnographic and participatory research principles. The analysis process was reflexive and findings are descriptive narrative summaries of emergent ideas. Results: Households in southern Africa are extremely fluid, with people having a tenuous sense of security in their social networks. This fluidity intersects with high individual and population mobility. To characterize fluidity, we describe thematic patterns of household membership and residence. We also identify reasons people give for moving around and shifting social ties, including economic survival, fostering interpersonal relationships, participating in cultural, traditional, religious, or familial gatherings, being institutionalized, and maintaining patterns of substance use. High fluidity disrupted HIV service access for some participants. Despite these challenges, many participants were able to regularly access HIV testing services and participants living with HIV were especially resourceful in maintaining continuity of antiretroviral therapy (ART). We identify three key features of health service interactions that facilitated care continuity: disclosure to family members, understanding attitudes among health services staff including flexibility to accommodate clients’ transient pressures, and participants’ agency in ARTrelated decisions. Conclusions: Choices made to manage one’s experiential sense of household fluidity are intentional responses to livelihood and social support constraints. To enhance retention in care for people living with HIV, policy makers and service providers should focus on creating responsive, flexible health service delivery systems designed to accommodate many shifts in client circumstances.
- Item'I don’t want to go back to the farm' : a case study of Working for Water beneficiaries(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2013-09-20) Hough, Jan A.; Prozesky, Heidi EileenIn addition to clearing invasive alien plants, the Working for Water (WfW) Programme, as a South African government public works programme, provides short-term employment and training to empower the poor in finding alternative employment within the labour market. Several studies indicate that its beneficiaries become financially dependent on WfW projects and tend to be reluctant to leave the programme. The sociological reasons for this reluctance, however, remain largely unstudied. We therefore address this gap by reporting on a case study of four WfW projects in the Western Cape Province. Face-to-face interviews with beneficiaries suggest that a number of push and pull factors contribute to their dependency on WfW. Chief among these factors is a fear among previous farmworkers of returning to farm work. It was found that the latter can be linked to a historical power-relations legacy between landowners and farmworkers, mainly created by institutional racism still prevailing on many Western Cape farms. These findings bear important implications for the implementation of a new draft WfW policy aimed at encouraging private landowners to employ WfW beneficiaries on their land as clearers of invasive alien plants.
- ItemKaroo research update : progress, gaps and threats(ASSAf, 2021-01-29) Hoffman, Michael T.; Cowling, Richard M.; Petersen, Hana; Walker, CherrylIt has been more than three decades since the conclusion of the Karoo Biome Project (KBP).1 At its height in the late 1980s, the KBP coordinated the efforts of nearly 100 research projects across a range of mainly ecological and agricultural disciplines. In this brief update we examine the research that has occurred in the Nama-Karoo and Succulent Karoo biomes since then and describe the relative contributions made by different disciplines to this body of knowledge. We also highlight efforts to synthesise knowledge across the disciplinary divides. Finally, we identify notable gaps in the research, especially considering the major land-use changes that are occurring across the Karoo. We conclude that new questions should be asked and that significantly greater collaboration between disciplines should be fostered in order to address the pressing challenges facing the Karoo more effectively. This necessitates a far more coordinated response than has been the case to date. Institutional leadership and additional funding will also be required to achieve this.
- ItemKey features for more successful place-based sustainability research on social-ecological systems : a Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) perspective(Resilience Alliance, 2017) Balvanera, Patricia; Daw, Tim M.; Gardner, Toby A.; Martin-Lopez, Berta; Norstrom, Albert V.; Speranza, Chinwe Ifejika; Spierenburg, Marja; Bennett, Elena M.; Farfan, Michelle; Hamann, Maike; Kittinger, John N.; Luthe, Tobias; Maass, Manuel; Peterson, Garry D.; Perez-Verdin, GustavoThe emerging discipline of sustainability science is focused explicitly on the dynamic interactions between nature and society and is committed to research that spans multiple scales and can support transitions toward greater sustainability. Because a growing body of place-based social-ecological sustainability research (PBSESR) has emerged in recent decades, there is a growing need to understand better how to maximize the effectiveness of this work. The Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) provides a unique opportunity for synthesizing insights gained from this research community on key features that may contribute to the relative success of PBSESR. We surveyed the leaders of PECS-affiliated projects using a combination of open, closed, and semistructured questions to identify which features of a research project are perceived to contribute to successful research design and implementation. We assessed six types of research features: problem orientation, research team, and contextual, conceptual, methodological, and evaluative features. We examined the desirable and undesirable aspects of each feature, the enabling factors and obstacles associated with project implementation, and asked respondents to assess the performance of their own projects in relation to these features. Responses were obtained from 25 projects working in 42 social-ecological study cases within 25 countries. Factors that contribute to the overall success of PBSESR included: explicitly addressing integrated social-ecological systems; a focus on solution- and transformation-oriented research; adaptation of studies to their local context; trusted, long-term, and frequent engagement with stakeholders and partners; and an early definition of the purpose and scope of research. Factors that hindered the success of PBSESR included: the complexities inherent to social-ecological systems, the imposition of particular epistemologies and methods on the wider research group, the need for long periods of time to initiate and conduct this kind of research, and power asymmetries both within the research team and among stakeholders. In the self-assessment exercise, performance relating to team and context-related features was ranked higher than performance relating to methodological, evaluation, and problem orientation features. We discuss how these insights are relevant for balancing place-based and global perspectives in sustainability science, fostering more rapid progress toward inter- and transdisciplinary integration, redefining and measuring the success of PBSESR, and facing the challenges of academic and research funding institutions. These results highlight the valuable opportunity that the PECS community provides in helping build a community of practice for PBSESR.
- ItemLanguage and status on the limits of language planning(SPIL, 2010) Hill, Lloyd Bennett'Language status' is a concept that has been central to South African language policy debates since the early days of the negotiated transition, which culminated in the 1996 Constitutional commitment to developing eleven official languages. This constitutional commitment has not however been translated into a concrete legislative and administrative agenda. Recent critiques of language policy have attributed this 'policy gap' to problems associated with policy implementation. In this article I argue that policy difficulties can equally be attributed to theoretical problems associated with the concept of 'language status', which have their origins in a broader international discourse on language planning. This article is therefore presents a sociological critique of 'language planning', based on a conceptual analysis of key terms that underpin the current debate on language policy: principally 'language', 'language planning' and 'status.'
- ItemLanguage, residential space and inequality in Cape Town : broad-brush profiles and trends(Union for African Population Studies, 2014-05) Hill, Lloyd Bennett; Bekker, SimonThis article uses South African census data for 1996, 2001 and 2011 to explore the relationship between language and demographic change in the metropolitan region of Cape Town. We begin with a conceptual and methodological discussion of the use of ‘language’ as a demographic variable, before commencing with a GIS based analysis of the changing relationship between ‘household language’ and selected census variables associated with post-apartheid demographic change. We focus particular attention on variables selected to shed light on urban inequality, such as education level, income, race and in-migration. Data on adults at ward level in Cape Town is used to develop a comparative spatial context for this analysis. Our main finding is a significant level of continuity between 1996 and 2011 with respect to the geo-social patterning of the three main languages in the metro: Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa. We argue that English and Afrikaans have retained status through proximity to key development corridors. We explain this trend in terms of different streams of migrants, settling at different times and in different regions of the city.
- Item'Let's see if it won't go away by itself'. LGBT microaggressions among teachers in South Africa(University of South Africa Press, 2016) Francis, Dennis A.; Reygan, FinnWe explored types and qualities of microaggressions or subtle forms of discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people among teachers in South Africa. For data collection, we used in-depth interviews. Twenty-five Life Orientation teachers, nine men and 16 women, from both rural and urban schools throughout the Free State Province participated. Our findings suggest heterosexism as well as subtle and sometimes harder to pin down forms of bias – microaggressions ‒ are experienced in these contexts. Given the educational policy shifts on LGBT rights in South Africa, we argue that microaggressions need to be clearly located in the larger macro context of systemic heterosexism which pervades schools and the teaching of sexuality education in South Africa. We conclude with implications for teaching and support interventions to make schools more LGBT inclusive.