The Role of Ecological Infrastructure (EI) in Mitigating the Impacts of Droughts
- Authors: Mantel, Sukhmani K , Xoxo, Sinetemba , Mahlaba, Bawinile , Tanner, Jane L , Le Maître, David
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/438209 , vital:73443 , ISBN 978-0-6392-0304-1 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2928_web.pdf
- Description: To explain how well-managed ecological infrastructure can help to miti-gate the impacts of droughts on human livelihoods and well-being and to propose strategic responses that will maintain and enhance the value of this service that people will embrace and implement.
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- Date Issued: 2021
Access and control of biodiversity in the context of biopiracy: the case of pelargonium sidoides in the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality
- Authors: Doyle, Anastasia Roxane
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Biopiracy -- South Africa , Traditional ecological knowledge -- South Africa , Plants, Cultivated -- Patents , Biodiversity -- Conservation -- South Africa , Pelargoniums -- Harvesting -- South Africa , Pelargonium sidoides -- Harvesting -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76321 , vital:30547
- Description: The purpose of this research is to explore access and control of biodiversity in the context of biopiracy with specific reference to the case of pelargonium sidoides in the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. The research is informed by the increased appropriation of local biodiversity and indigenous knowledge by industry as well as global debates on promoting sustainable resource utilisation and sustainable rural livelihoods. This study adopts a two-pronged conceptual approach mainly, Marx’s Ecology and the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Framework (SRLF). The former provides useful insights into the processes and dynamics of power asymmetries between developed and developing countries, capital accumulation, inherent displacement and the predatory nature of capitalism. Whilst the latter addresses how livelihoods are fashioned in a holistic way. As a significant starting point the South African political economy is examined through the lens of the two economies debate. This research is primarily qualitative using in-depth interviews, observations and archival research as the primary data collection techniques. Preliminary site visits were conducted to negotiate access. Key informants of the study were representatives of the core groups (interested and affected stakeholders) involved in the case of pelargonium sidoides. Specifically, participants included representatives from the Imingcangathelo Community Development Trust and the Masakhane Community Property Association, local harvesters, local community members, monitoring and enforcement environmental officers, plant breeders (cultivators), scientists, local businessmen involved in natural resource trade, academics, legal representatives and non-governmental organisations. The Rhodes University research ethical guidelines were followed accordingly. The findings of the study suggest that trade in pelargonium sidoides is influenced by a complex and dynamic interplay between the state-industry-rural elite coalitions. Moreover, that this activity is largely centralised and exclusionary. This process is depicted in the unsustainable utilisation of pelargonium sidoides and other natural resources, the dismantling of local livelihoods, exploitation of harvesters and an incoherent environmental governance structure. At the core of this unequal system of exchange is industry, which effectively functions to generate profits whilst dispossessing peripheral communities such as the Masakhane community. The study therefore, argues that in order for local communities to access the trade there needs to be a shift in this system of unequal exchange. Not only regarding beneficiation, but in building community capacity and becoming involved as critical stakeholders in the governance of resources in the study area. The study found that there are competing narratives that inform the status and sustainability of pelargonium sidoides. Furthermore, given the current trajectory of the Masakhane community’s struggle for land, access to natural resources and exclusion from decision-making regarding pelargonium sidoides, the area will continue to be underdeveloped with concomitant poverty, inequality and comprised rural livelihoods.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Learning to learn: a critical realist exploration into the home established learning practices of a marginalised community in Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Armstrong, Meredith
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Minorities -- Education (Higher) -- South Africa , Readiness for school -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Marginality, Social -- South Africa , Critical realism
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/93778 , vital:30939
- Description: This study was completed as part of a project exploring social inclusion and exclusion in South African higher education. In a globalised world, the achievement of a qualification from an institution of higher education is increasingly key to finding any sort of employment. This is particularly the case in South Africa where employment amongst black citizens is inordinately high. The aim of the research reported upon in this thesis was to better understand the construct of ‘epistemological access’ (Morrow, 1992), often used in relation to the needs of black working class students entering higher education, in relation to performance data (see for example, CHE, 2016) that repeatedly shows that black students fare less well than their white peers. Following what might be termed a ‘social’ approach to understanding access, this study begins long before most students have even heard of higher education and focuses on identifying the mechanisms that come into play at much earlier level of learning and literacy development. The study outlines the development of ‘ways of being’, or social practices, surrounding learning in a marginalised community in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This was achieved by means of critical ethnography and it is therefore qualitatively based. The study shows how social structures enable or constrain a child’s school readiness and how they then go on to support or impede progress in school where the language and literacy needed for educational success are further developed. The study therefore aims to allow us to explain global data indicating that the single greatest indicator of a young person’s ability to access and succeed in higher education is the level of education of caregivers in their homes of origin. Examined from a critical perspective (i.e. with a concern for social justice), this study has made use of a framework using social, psychological and linguistic theory and more, particularly, the work of sociologist Margaret Archer (1995, 1996, 2003). The study makes particular use of Archer’s ‘morphogenetic framework’ which allows for an analysis of the way structure and culture impact on a child’s development over time. As I was concerned that my own social status might impact on the understandings I developed as a critical ethnographer, the study acknowledges my own experiences of learning and the way my own family sought to enhance them as enabling. In doing this, the study aims to better contribute to understandings of social justice in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Training intervention for volunteers supporting victims of intimate partner violence in South Africa
- Authors: Thomas, Samantha
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Intimate partner violence -- Psychological aspects , Victims of family violence -- Services for -- South Africa , Marital violence , Victims of dating violence , Family violence -- Law and legislation , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65079 , vital:28679
- Description: Intimate Partner Violence continues to be a significant social problem in South Africa, requiring a systematised and effective response at multiple levels. The organisation at the centre of this research offers crisis intervention to victims of intimate partner violence, providing basic psychological support, legal information and referrals. The volunteer crisis interventionists are exposed to numerous in-depth accounts of violent and distressing victimisation, making them more vulnerable to vicarious traumatisation. Through this work, their prior assumptions about personal safety, the trustworthiness of other people, and basic justice in the world, are challenged. The challenge to these assumptions increases the likelihood of countertransference victim blaming responses, as it is often easier to hold the client responsible for the tragic event than for the support worker to transform their own assumptions about safety and justice. This victim blaming response is supported by the dominant patriarchal ideology which frequently seeks to maintain the systems of oppression, excusing the perpetrator and placing responsibility on the victim. It was therefore clear that in order to do this work effectively, volunteers needed to be trained to identify their countertransference reactions and emotional responses, as well as undergo a critical re-assessment of their ideas relating to intimate partner violence and victimisation. Using an Intervention Research paradigm, this research designed and developed a training programme based on transformative learning theory, moving away from traditional information models of training to a focus on emotional skills and critical self-insight. The phases of the intervention refined the intervention in order to ensure that the research objectives were met and that the programme could be easily replicated. The evaluation of each phase showed an increased capacity for critical insight, and evidence for a transformative shift in the trainees understanding and approach to intimate partner violence.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Workplace health promotion: a case of Rhodes University support staff
- Authors: Chigumete, Tinatsei Gabriella
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Rhodes University -- Employees -- Health and hygiene , Employee health promotion -- South Africa -- Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPharm
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/44509 , vital:25414
- Description: Background: Non-communicable diseases are rapidly advancing as leading causes of morbidity and mortality across social classes, exerting pressure on existing financial, organizational, and human resources. Health promotion is a common practice in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases, but workplace health promotion has not yet been well established in many workplaces. Identification of past workplace initiatives and exploring their facilitating and limiting factors is thus important to take into consideration when planning future initiatives. Well-informed and guided workplace health promotion initiatives are essential to improve the general health of staff, and these also need to take the broader cultural, socioeconomic, and environmental factors influencing non-communicable diseases in the target population into account. This two-phase study was conducted at Rhodes University. A needs assessment was conducted to identify current policies and practices of workplace health promotion and to identify any shortcomings of the initiatives that have previously been attempted to raise awareness of non-communicable diseases at Rhodes University. The second phase of this project aimed to address concerns raised in the first phase through a health promotion initiative for support staff that focuses on the prevention of noncommunicable diseases through heart healthy diets and physical activity. Method: The first phase of the current study involved working with the support staff and key stakeholders. Using the participatory action research approach and the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to guide the research, 11 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and 10 focus group discussions were conducted with support staff members to identify factors affecting workplace health promotion. Participant opinions on how to improve these initiatives were sought. The participants were asked to identify areas on which the intended intervention should focus, as well as to identify their preferred means of communicating health messages. During this phase, a group of support staff members who volunteered their involvement in the design and delivery of the educational intervention was also identified. They chose to go by the name, the Health Awareness Group.In an interim phase of the study, three health information leaflets informed by the results from the above activities were designed. These leaflets underwent a series of qualitative evaluations by other health professionals, a culture and African languages expert, and the Health Awareness Group, to assess content validity, context specificity, and cultural appropriateness for the target group. A series of quantitative tests for readability, suitability, and actionability was also conducted. The health information leaflets were then used as written materials in the educational intervention of the project. Members of the Health Awareness Group were also trained as peer educators through a series of workshops. This enabled them to promote and raise awareness of heart healthy diets and physical activity to others in the workplace. Workshops were participatory in nature and were guided by the Social Cognitive Theory. They were also equipped with the completed health information leaflets to distribute to their peers and to use as reference sources of information when needed. Results: Participants in the semi-structured interviews reported that some health promotion initiatives have previously been attempted and advertised to support staff, but the turnout was poor and most staff did not seem to understand the health benefits of these initiatives. The support staff, in turn, stated that most health talks were conducted in English, contained medical jargon, and that they would have preferred these initiatives either to be simplified or presented in their home language, and to display cultural sensitivity. Support staff have also reported that advertisements were too cliche to elicit their interest. They also suggested incentivising initiatives for better participation. Another key suggestion was to facilitate these initiatives in the university departments they work or other convenient venues, rather than at central venues. It was also suggested that these initiatives be part of the work calendar, as they are often 'impromptu' and, as a result, staff members did not have enough notice to take time off work. Several staff members requested 're-runs of these initiatives because one-time show cases are often inadequate'. Colourful visual representations on posters or leaflets, short plays or films were also proposed as modes of delivering health information. During the design of the material to be used for this project's intended intervention, the health information leaflets were deemed readable, suitable, actionable, context-specific, and culturally appropriate. Workshops conducted during Phase 2 of the study proved to be valuable in training peer educators. Members of the Health Awareness Group also deemed the workshops useful, and reported their readiness to be agents of change in the workplace. Conclusions: Based on the input of key stakeholders and support staff, health promotion policies and protocols for non-communicable diseases have not yet been developed. Health promotion initiatives, especially for support staff, that address non-communicable diseases have previously been attempted at the university but were not well-received. Factors affecting workplace health promotion were identified. Knowledge of these factors was useful in designing and tailoring the written educational materials and the educational intervention to the needs of the support staff and to redress the deficiencies of previous initiatives. The health leaflets were deemed appropriate for use by the target population. They addressed pertinent information needs. The health information leaflets and workshops were useful in equipping the Health Awareness Group with knowledge on heart healthy diets and promotion of physical activity. Continued the involvement of representatives from the Human Resources and Wellness offices will assist in ensuring the sustainability of this workplace health initiative.
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- Date Issued: 2017