Nature conservation, protected areas and local communities : the Tsitsikamma National Park
- Authors: Le Fleur, Yvette Adele
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: National parks and reserves -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Protected areas -- Management , Programme of Work on Protected Areas , Human ecology -- South Africa -- Tsitsikamma , Nature conservation -- Citizen participation
- Language: English
- Type: thesis , text , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/177247 , vital:42803
- Description: Since the twentieth century, protected areas, usually in the form of nature reserves or national parks, have become increasingly more dominant as an international conservation strategy. An important factor in protected area management is the relationship between protected areas and its surrounding communities. Historically, the fortress conservation model based on the exclusion of human use and occupation prevailed in relation to protected areas. It is known that this approach brought with it many social and environmental injustices to local communities living in or adjacent to parks. However, a shift in conservation thinking occurred towards the end of the twentieth century, where it has increasingly been advocated for a more participatory approach in protected area management. South Africa has signed the international Convention on Biological Diversity that promotes a participatory approach to nature conservation, which is also reflected in the country’s national laws and policies. In relation to the literature and the lens of political ecology, this thesis sets out to assess in what ways and to what extent the participatory approach has been embraced by South Africa’s conservation authorities. As a case study, it looks at the Tsitsikamma National P ark ( incorporated into the larger Garden Route National Park). In order to get insight on h ow the participatory approach plays itself out at the T NP and what the nature of local communities’ relationship with the park is, this study looks at the aspects of (1) local communities’ socio-economic conditions, (2) their relationship with their natural environment, (3) their perception of nature conservation and (4) their perception of tourism. Then, taking all these aspects into account, (5) how local communities, in general, perceive their relationship with the p ark and its authorities. This study looked at the communities of Kurland, Nature’s Valley, Covie and Storms River. It shows in concurrence with other studies, that despite progressive laws and policies that express the intention of the South African state and SANParks to embrace the participatory approach, its implementation o n t he g round is riddled with challenges. , Thesis (MSocSc) -- Faculty of Humanities, Athropology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- Authors: Le Fleur, Yvette Adele
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: National parks and reserves -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Protected areas -- Management , Programme of Work on Protected Areas , Human ecology -- South Africa -- Tsitsikamma , Nature conservation -- Citizen participation
- Language: English
- Type: thesis , text , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/177247 , vital:42803
- Description: Since the twentieth century, protected areas, usually in the form of nature reserves or national parks, have become increasingly more dominant as an international conservation strategy. An important factor in protected area management is the relationship between protected areas and its surrounding communities. Historically, the fortress conservation model based on the exclusion of human use and occupation prevailed in relation to protected areas. It is known that this approach brought with it many social and environmental injustices to local communities living in or adjacent to parks. However, a shift in conservation thinking occurred towards the end of the twentieth century, where it has increasingly been advocated for a more participatory approach in protected area management. South Africa has signed the international Convention on Biological Diversity that promotes a participatory approach to nature conservation, which is also reflected in the country’s national laws and policies. In relation to the literature and the lens of political ecology, this thesis sets out to assess in what ways and to what extent the participatory approach has been embraced by South Africa’s conservation authorities. As a case study, it looks at the Tsitsikamma National P ark ( incorporated into the larger Garden Route National Park). In order to get insight on h ow the participatory approach plays itself out at the T NP and what the nature of local communities’ relationship with the park is, this study looks at the aspects of (1) local communities’ socio-economic conditions, (2) their relationship with their natural environment, (3) their perception of nature conservation and (4) their perception of tourism. Then, taking all these aspects into account, (5) how local communities, in general, perceive their relationship with the p ark and its authorities. This study looked at the communities of Kurland, Nature’s Valley, Covie and Storms River. It shows in concurrence with other studies, that despite progressive laws and policies that express the intention of the South African state and SANParks to embrace the participatory approach, its implementation o n t he g round is riddled with challenges. , Thesis (MSocSc) -- Faculty of Humanities, Athropology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
Academic readiness of students for higher education: a case for academic support at Rhodes University
- Authors: Khoza, Lebogang Peter
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: College student development programs -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Dropouts -- Prevention , College students -- South Africa-- Makhanda -- Social conditions , School failure -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Academic achievement-- South Africa -- Makhanda , Student adjustment -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Counseling in higher education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Student Integration Model , Conceptual Framework Model , Geometric Design of Student Persistence
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147848 , vital:38678
- Description: The worrying existence of incidences of student retention, poor pass rates and an increase in repetition rates is a cause for concern for institutions of higher learning in South Africa. The problem of student retention is not new in our institutions of higher learning. Support structures, strategies, and policies need to be developed for different academic and social challenges that students face daily. This study explores the need for academic support at Rhodes University; it also explores the internal and external problems that students face, the perceptions and experiences of students on academic support available to them. The study implemented a narrative research approach implanted within a qualitative research framework. Data was collected through a questionnaire, and narrative interviews. Tinto’s Student Integration Model was used to analyse the data in this study and was supplemented by Louw’s conceptual framework model and Swail’s Geometric Design of Student Persistence. These three models position the student experience as the foundation for academic support programmes and development. The study argues that as long as effective and adequate academic support is lacking, students will continue to experience difficulties in completing their studies. The findings from the study reveal that at present, Rhodes University provides support to students who are in extended studies. However, this support system disadvantages many students, notably those not in the extended studies programme. As a result, such students are not supported through strategies and structures that extended studies students receive. Furthermore, the data generates internal and external problems that student face daily, as a result, the findings showed that there is a need for academic support at Rhodes. The study recommends that Rhodes University must establish an academic unit that will provide academic support to all students registered in the university.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Khoza, Lebogang Peter
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: College student development programs -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Dropouts -- Prevention , College students -- South Africa-- Makhanda -- Social conditions , School failure -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Academic achievement-- South Africa -- Makhanda , Student adjustment -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Counseling in higher education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Student Integration Model , Conceptual Framework Model , Geometric Design of Student Persistence
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147848 , vital:38678
- Description: The worrying existence of incidences of student retention, poor pass rates and an increase in repetition rates is a cause for concern for institutions of higher learning in South Africa. The problem of student retention is not new in our institutions of higher learning. Support structures, strategies, and policies need to be developed for different academic and social challenges that students face daily. This study explores the need for academic support at Rhodes University; it also explores the internal and external problems that students face, the perceptions and experiences of students on academic support available to them. The study implemented a narrative research approach implanted within a qualitative research framework. Data was collected through a questionnaire, and narrative interviews. Tinto’s Student Integration Model was used to analyse the data in this study and was supplemented by Louw’s conceptual framework model and Swail’s Geometric Design of Student Persistence. These three models position the student experience as the foundation for academic support programmes and development. The study argues that as long as effective and adequate academic support is lacking, students will continue to experience difficulties in completing their studies. The findings from the study reveal that at present, Rhodes University provides support to students who are in extended studies. However, this support system disadvantages many students, notably those not in the extended studies programme. As a result, such students are not supported through strategies and structures that extended studies students receive. Furthermore, the data generates internal and external problems that student face daily, as a result, the findings showed that there is a need for academic support at Rhodes. The study recommends that Rhodes University must establish an academic unit that will provide academic support to all students registered in the university.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
‘Regulated Flexibility’ and labour market regulation: a case Study of Twizza Soft Drinks in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Flatau, Scott
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Labor market -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa , Industrial relations -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141288 , vital:37959
- Description: Following the negotiated settlement, which led to the ANC assuming power in South Africa in1994, debates concerning the nature of the South African labour market ensued between policy makers and economists alike. Central to understanding the South African labour market was the policy objective of regulated flexibility that has guided the formation of labour legislation in the post-1994 period, including the Labour Relations Act of 1995, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997, the Employment Equity Act of 1998 and the Skills Development Act of 1998. Regulated flexibility attempts to accommodate the interests of the employer for flexibility and the interests of the employee in regulation or security. These four Acts and the relevant provisions contained within them are the central focus of this research paper, in particular how they affect the case study firm Twizza Soft Drinks. An interpretivist approach was utilised as the preferred research methodology with in-depth, semi-structured interviews being the primary source of data collection. This research paper attempts to situate more clearly the impact of South Africa’s macro-economic policies since 1994 on labour market policy and undertakes an exploration of internal dynamics of firms in response to exogenous factors, such as government regulation. The key finding suggest that some Acts (BCEA, LRA) do not impose a significant burden on the firm and some provisions can lead to beneficial outcomes such as business modernisation and the adoption of formal Human Resource Practices. Conversely, some provisions contained in the EEA increase the administrative burden and therefore increase the indirect cost on the firm.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Flatau, Scott
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Labor market -- South Africa , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa , Industrial relations -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141288 , vital:37959
- Description: Following the negotiated settlement, which led to the ANC assuming power in South Africa in1994, debates concerning the nature of the South African labour market ensued between policy makers and economists alike. Central to understanding the South African labour market was the policy objective of regulated flexibility that has guided the formation of labour legislation in the post-1994 period, including the Labour Relations Act of 1995, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997, the Employment Equity Act of 1998 and the Skills Development Act of 1998. Regulated flexibility attempts to accommodate the interests of the employer for flexibility and the interests of the employee in regulation or security. These four Acts and the relevant provisions contained within them are the central focus of this research paper, in particular how they affect the case study firm Twizza Soft Drinks. An interpretivist approach was utilised as the preferred research methodology with in-depth, semi-structured interviews being the primary source of data collection. This research paper attempts to situate more clearly the impact of South Africa’s macro-economic policies since 1994 on labour market policy and undertakes an exploration of internal dynamics of firms in response to exogenous factors, such as government regulation. The key finding suggest that some Acts (BCEA, LRA) do not impose a significant burden on the firm and some provisions can lead to beneficial outcomes such as business modernisation and the adoption of formal Human Resource Practices. Conversely, some provisions contained in the EEA increase the administrative burden and therefore increase the indirect cost on the firm.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
A critical analysis of development NGO programmes in rural areas: a case study of East Cape Agricultural Research Project in South Africa
- Authors: Sanyangore, Agnes
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: East Cape Agricultural Research Project , Non-governmental organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96187 , vital:31248
- Description: For a number of decades now, development non-governmental organisations (DNGOs) have been central to the world-wide development system which involves funding from international donors. Overall, DNGOs rely quite fundamentally on their donors for organisational sustainability, such that upward accountability to donors is inevitable. At the same time, as development agents, DNGOs are often celebrated for the deep participatory methodologies used when engaging with the beneficiaries of their programmes, leading to significant downward accountability – as least potentially. Often, for DNGOs, an awkward tension between upward and downward accountability exists. This thesis considers this tension by examining a DNGO in South Africa, namely, the East Cape Agricultural Research Project (ECARP), which focuses on questions around land redistribution. ECARP works with farm labourers and dwellers on commercial farms and small-scale farmers on redistributed farms. In the context of a broader understanding of ECARP’s mission, capacities and programmes, the thesis looks specifically at ECARP’s food security and sovereignty programme amongst small-scale farmers on redistributed farms. By drawing upon Interface theory, the thesis discusses in detail the diverse manner in which ECARP uses participatory methodologies in this particular programme. The thesis concludes that there is a reasonable degree of downward accountability in this programme, but that this does not distract from the fact that ECARP remains within the tension-riddled space marked by dual demands for accountability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Sanyangore, Agnes
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: East Cape Agricultural Research Project , Non-governmental organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96187 , vital:31248
- Description: For a number of decades now, development non-governmental organisations (DNGOs) have been central to the world-wide development system which involves funding from international donors. Overall, DNGOs rely quite fundamentally on their donors for organisational sustainability, such that upward accountability to donors is inevitable. At the same time, as development agents, DNGOs are often celebrated for the deep participatory methodologies used when engaging with the beneficiaries of their programmes, leading to significant downward accountability – as least potentially. Often, for DNGOs, an awkward tension between upward and downward accountability exists. This thesis considers this tension by examining a DNGO in South Africa, namely, the East Cape Agricultural Research Project (ECARP), which focuses on questions around land redistribution. ECARP works with farm labourers and dwellers on commercial farms and small-scale farmers on redistributed farms. In the context of a broader understanding of ECARP’s mission, capacities and programmes, the thesis looks specifically at ECARP’s food security and sovereignty programme amongst small-scale farmers on redistributed farms. By drawing upon Interface theory, the thesis discusses in detail the diverse manner in which ECARP uses participatory methodologies in this particular programme. The thesis concludes that there is a reasonable degree of downward accountability in this programme, but that this does not distract from the fact that ECARP remains within the tension-riddled space marked by dual demands for accountability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A platform for women’s experiences? a case of the hip hop scene in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Kabwato, Sasha Nyasha
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Hip-hop -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Popular culture -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rap musicians -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Musicians, Black -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Women musicians, Black -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Women, Black -- South Africa -- Makhanda -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96503 , vital:31287
- Description: The main aim of this research is to examine the hip hop scene in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape and whether hip hop can serve as a significant platform to discuss women’s lived experiences. This study also places focus on how female rappers construct their rap personas, as well as how they are perceived by their male counterparts. In order to understand the multifaceted viewpoints, it was necessary to interview both male and female hip hop artists. Eight interviews were conducted with eight young black rappers who are actively involved in the Grahamstown hip hop scene. It was found that hip hop, like any other art form, is a significant platform for women to express themselves, however gender constraints limit who is willing to listen to and promote their music. Male rappers advocate for women to talk about their stories, yet are more unlikely to listen because it does not relate to their struggles. In addition, there seem to be four specific tropes that female rappers choose to construct their identities from. Female rappers tend to create their personas around: Queen Mother, Fly Sista, Bitch with Attitude, and Lesbian. However, these categories are fluid and it was found that women navigate these categories depending on their audience and message they want to convey at a particular moment. Lastly, there is a split between Grahamstown West (Rhodes University) and Grahamstown East (township). University students are unlikely to perform in the township, and township residents rarely perform at organised events in Grahamstown West. In addition, Rhodes University students are more likely to feature on the university run radio station, rather than Radio Grahamstown, the local community radio.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Kabwato, Sasha Nyasha
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Hip-hop -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Popular culture -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rap musicians -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Musicians, Black -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Women musicians, Black -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Women, Black -- South Africa -- Makhanda -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96503 , vital:31287
- Description: The main aim of this research is to examine the hip hop scene in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape and whether hip hop can serve as a significant platform to discuss women’s lived experiences. This study also places focus on how female rappers construct their rap personas, as well as how they are perceived by their male counterparts. In order to understand the multifaceted viewpoints, it was necessary to interview both male and female hip hop artists. Eight interviews were conducted with eight young black rappers who are actively involved in the Grahamstown hip hop scene. It was found that hip hop, like any other art form, is a significant platform for women to express themselves, however gender constraints limit who is willing to listen to and promote their music. Male rappers advocate for women to talk about their stories, yet are more unlikely to listen because it does not relate to their struggles. In addition, there seem to be four specific tropes that female rappers choose to construct their identities from. Female rappers tend to create their personas around: Queen Mother, Fly Sista, Bitch with Attitude, and Lesbian. However, these categories are fluid and it was found that women navigate these categories depending on their audience and message they want to convey at a particular moment. Lastly, there is a split between Grahamstown West (Rhodes University) and Grahamstown East (township). University students are unlikely to perform in the township, and township residents rarely perform at organised events in Grahamstown West. In addition, Rhodes University students are more likely to feature on the university run radio station, rather than Radio Grahamstown, the local community radio.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A sociological analysis of Rhodes University students’ understanding of depression
- Authors: Kadula, Tadala
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: College students -- South Africa -- Mental health , College students -- South Africa -- Mental health -- Case studies , Depression, Mental , Rhodes University -- Students -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96258 , vital:31255
- Description: Using the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism, this research sought to analyse and explore how Rhodes University students, both depressed and not depressed, understand depression, and how their understanding influences their interaction with people who do suffer from depression. For the purposes of this paper, eight participants were involved in an in-depth interview process. Out of the eight participants, six of them suffered from depression while the other remaining two participants had never suffered from depression, but they were close to someone who had depression. The findings of this research varied, some understood depression as a mental disturbance, others understood it as a condition that affects your emotions, and others understood it as a multifaceted condition that is highly subjective and cannot be understood using standardized measures. The participants’ personal experience and introduction into a new environment, in this context, university, changed their understanding of depression. The change in how they understood depression correlated with the change in how they interacted with depressed people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Kadula, Tadala
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: College students -- South Africa -- Mental health , College students -- South Africa -- Mental health -- Case studies , Depression, Mental , Rhodes University -- Students -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96258 , vital:31255
- Description: Using the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism, this research sought to analyse and explore how Rhodes University students, both depressed and not depressed, understand depression, and how their understanding influences their interaction with people who do suffer from depression. For the purposes of this paper, eight participants were involved in an in-depth interview process. Out of the eight participants, six of them suffered from depression while the other remaining two participants had never suffered from depression, but they were close to someone who had depression. The findings of this research varied, some understood depression as a mental disturbance, others understood it as a condition that affects your emotions, and others understood it as a multifaceted condition that is highly subjective and cannot be understood using standardized measures. The participants’ personal experience and introduction into a new environment, in this context, university, changed their understanding of depression. The change in how they understood depression correlated with the change in how they interacted with depressed people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A sociological analysis of the Rhodes University Students and staff members’ perceptions on the use of traditional medicine and biomedicine
- Authors: Mankantshu, Buncwanekazi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ethnopharmacology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , College students -- Attitudes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , College students -- Medical care -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rhodes University -- Students -- Attitudes , Rhodes University -- Employees -- Medical care , Rhodes University -- Employees -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96280 , vital:31257
- Description: The primary objective of this study was to understand to the role that discourse on traditional medicine plays in the choices that Rhodes University students and staff make regarding who they consult when they are sick. A secondary objective was to explore the participants’ views on the Department of Health’s draft policy on the institutionalisation of African traditional medicine and potential collaboration with the biomedical health care system. This was a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews and questionnaires to collect data, which was interpreted using thematic data analysis. A key finding was that participants were mostly influenced by their families with regard to the health care choices – either biomedical or traditional medicine. And that affordability, accessibility and availability are not important factors in health care choices as suggested by literature. Participants also based their decisions on what they believed would help them, either biomedicine or traditional medicine.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mankantshu, Buncwanekazi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ethnopharmacology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , College students -- Attitudes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , College students -- Medical care -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rhodes University -- Students -- Attitudes , Rhodes University -- Employees -- Medical care , Rhodes University -- Employees -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96280 , vital:31257
- Description: The primary objective of this study was to understand to the role that discourse on traditional medicine plays in the choices that Rhodes University students and staff make regarding who they consult when they are sick. A secondary objective was to explore the participants’ views on the Department of Health’s draft policy on the institutionalisation of African traditional medicine and potential collaboration with the biomedical health care system. This was a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews and questionnaires to collect data, which was interpreted using thematic data analysis. A key finding was that participants were mostly influenced by their families with regard to the health care choices – either biomedical or traditional medicine. And that affordability, accessibility and availability are not important factors in health care choices as suggested by literature. Participants also based their decisions on what they believed would help them, either biomedicine or traditional medicine.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
An analysis of understandings of and attitudes towards transgender people on a South African university campus
- Mantungo, Xolelwa Thandokazi
- Authors: Mantungo, Xolelwa Thandokazi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Transgender people -- South Africa -- Public opinion , Gender identity -- South Africa -- Public opinion , Transgender college students -- South Africa , Rhodes University -- Students -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76309 , vital:30546
- Description: There are issues that always arise when it comes to gender identities and gender expressions. These issues are a result of the gender binary that corners people into being either feminine or masculine. Our societies are shaped in ways that supports this gender binary. If you are born a female, you are expected to be feminine and if you are born a male you are expected to act in a masculine way. When a person whose gender identity does not correspond with his or her assigned sex at birth, their behaviour is problematized and sometimes even criminalized and they are considered as deviant individuals by many societies. Consequently, most people who do not conform to gender societal norms are more exposed to violence, stigmatization, discrimination, marginalization, and victimization. People have difficulty understanding that there is ‘gender variance’, in other words, that there are more than just two genders. It is apparent that, even though societies enforce the gender binary, there are individuals who wish to express their genders in different ways, thus there are people who identify as transgender. The main focus of this dissertation is on the gender identities of transgendered people. Transgender people are people whose gender identity and or gender expression is distinct from the sex to which they were assigned at birth. The transgender group is a minority group (including in African countries) and one can argue that it is either misrepresented, misunderstood, hardly visible and ignored. This is evident when one looks at the lack of research on transgender populations in Africa. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the understandings that people have about transgender people on a South African university campus. In this dissertation the intent is to explore what it means to be transgender, the Rhodes University students’ understandings of transgendered people, the issues of gender identities and gender expressions and the challenges that transgender people face. The research question that this dissertation seeks to find an answer to is “Do Rhodes University students understand the notion of transgender and how do they react towards transgendered people on campus?”
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mantungo, Xolelwa Thandokazi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Transgender people -- South Africa -- Public opinion , Gender identity -- South Africa -- Public opinion , Transgender college students -- South Africa , Rhodes University -- Students -- Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76309 , vital:30546
- Description: There are issues that always arise when it comes to gender identities and gender expressions. These issues are a result of the gender binary that corners people into being either feminine or masculine. Our societies are shaped in ways that supports this gender binary. If you are born a female, you are expected to be feminine and if you are born a male you are expected to act in a masculine way. When a person whose gender identity does not correspond with his or her assigned sex at birth, their behaviour is problematized and sometimes even criminalized and they are considered as deviant individuals by many societies. Consequently, most people who do not conform to gender societal norms are more exposed to violence, stigmatization, discrimination, marginalization, and victimization. People have difficulty understanding that there is ‘gender variance’, in other words, that there are more than just two genders. It is apparent that, even though societies enforce the gender binary, there are individuals who wish to express their genders in different ways, thus there are people who identify as transgender. The main focus of this dissertation is on the gender identities of transgendered people. Transgender people are people whose gender identity and or gender expression is distinct from the sex to which they were assigned at birth. The transgender group is a minority group (including in African countries) and one can argue that it is either misrepresented, misunderstood, hardly visible and ignored. This is evident when one looks at the lack of research on transgender populations in Africa. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the understandings that people have about transgender people on a South African university campus. In this dissertation the intent is to explore what it means to be transgender, the Rhodes University students’ understandings of transgendered people, the issues of gender identities and gender expressions and the challenges that transgender people face. The research question that this dissertation seeks to find an answer to is “Do Rhodes University students understand the notion of transgender and how do they react towards transgendered people on campus?”
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Careerism and capitalism as women’s emancipation: a critical analysis of Rand Merchant Bank’s ‘Athena Programme', South Africa
- Authors: Mosesi, Poloko Prudence
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Rand Merchant Bank (South Africa) , Women in economic development -- South Africa , Women in finance -- South Africa , Neoliberalism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140344 , vital:37881
- Description: Against the backdrop of debates on feminism and neo– liberalism, this thesis presents a critical analysis of Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB) Athena programme in South Africa – an award– winning programme run by women, which aims to develop women as senior managers – and of the type of feminism it represents, using a Marxist feminist theoretical framework. Rand Merchant Bank’s is one of the largest investment banks in Africa, part of the giant First Rand Group (FRG) alongside First National Bank (FNB) group. The thesis, based on a detailed case study using qualitative methods, argues that Athena is a very much product of its time: it advances the argument that if more women were in position of power, women in general would be free, and it views the problem of women’s oppression with an individualist lens, which focuses on attitudes and confidence. Athena, like many initiatives of the neo– liberal era, such as Sandberg’s Lean– In philosophy and the Nike Foundation’s ‘Girl Effect’ promote individual understanding and emancipation of women, which sees emancipation in terms of creating a neo– liberal subject that operates more effectively within a capitalist framework, sees capitalism as the solution – rather than the cause – of women’s unequal circumstance and ignores structural issues like class. In effect, Athena argues that the free market and big corporations are neutral tools that can answer the question of women equality, if only women had the correct attitudes, and so long as corporate hierarchies and profits are accepted as fair, and women are seen as an untapped resource that can be used in a ‘smart economics.’ What all these initiatives have in common is shifting the burden and responsibility to women without proper interrogation of the systems that perpetuate inequalities, and a trickle– down theory, according to which more women capitalists and more women in the ruling class will empower the women in the working class.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mosesi, Poloko Prudence
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Rand Merchant Bank (South Africa) , Women in economic development -- South Africa , Women in finance -- South Africa , Neoliberalism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140344 , vital:37881
- Description: Against the backdrop of debates on feminism and neo– liberalism, this thesis presents a critical analysis of Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB) Athena programme in South Africa – an award– winning programme run by women, which aims to develop women as senior managers – and of the type of feminism it represents, using a Marxist feminist theoretical framework. Rand Merchant Bank’s is one of the largest investment banks in Africa, part of the giant First Rand Group (FRG) alongside First National Bank (FNB) group. The thesis, based on a detailed case study using qualitative methods, argues that Athena is a very much product of its time: it advances the argument that if more women were in position of power, women in general would be free, and it views the problem of women’s oppression with an individualist lens, which focuses on attitudes and confidence. Athena, like many initiatives of the neo– liberal era, such as Sandberg’s Lean– In philosophy and the Nike Foundation’s ‘Girl Effect’ promote individual understanding and emancipation of women, which sees emancipation in terms of creating a neo– liberal subject that operates more effectively within a capitalist framework, sees capitalism as the solution – rather than the cause – of women’s unequal circumstance and ignores structural issues like class. In effect, Athena argues that the free market and big corporations are neutral tools that can answer the question of women equality, if only women had the correct attitudes, and so long as corporate hierarchies and profits are accepted as fair, and women are seen as an untapped resource that can be used in a ‘smart economics.’ What all these initiatives have in common is shifting the burden and responsibility to women without proper interrogation of the systems that perpetuate inequalities, and a trickle– down theory, according to which more women capitalists and more women in the ruling class will empower the women in the working class.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Colloquial terms used in young adults’ talk about sexual practices, sexual subjectivities and sexual desires’
- Authors: Robertson, Cassandra Ann
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Youth -- Sexual behavior , Sex in popular culture , Communication and sex , Language and sex
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96551 , vital:31293
- Description: Much of the growth in sexualities‘ research has taken the form of large scale surveys, but there is also increased interest in qualitative approaches that provide useful insights into the experiential and subjective aspects of sexuality, and illuminate the social and cultural contexts shaping these experiences. The reason for this research is to provide a richer understanding of the language that young people employ when speaking about sexuality. This study examines young adults‘ talk about sexualities with a special focus on the way in which colloquial terms are deployed in this talk and through the presence of gendered and/or heteronormative assumptions. Data consisted of posts off a student-led social media site and the study design employed was a validity check group interview. The social media site allowed its followers to post anonymously about a range of sexualities related issues. Data were analysed thematically, using a deductive, critical, and post-structuralist approach with key insights drawn on from Michael Foucault, Adrienne Rich, Gayle Rubin, Judith Butler and Rosalind Gill. Three overarching themes emerged: young adults spoke to sexual practices, sexual subjectivities and sexual desires. A major focus of this talk is casual sex. This talk showed that there are attempts to undermine gendered and heteronormative power relations, for example, non-normative sexual experiences were not seen as deviant, although those who were engaging in monogamy and casual sex were constructed as deviant sexual subjects. Yet underpinning of these power relations still took place, for example, in the female missing discourse of desire, the internalisation of male sexual desires over female sexual desires and the sexual double standard. There was a clear divide between the sexual practices and sexual subjectivities that were considered to be good and bad. This research therefore has the potential to benefit sexuality interventions by bringing into sharp focus the actual experiences of young adults.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Robertson, Cassandra Ann
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Youth -- Sexual behavior , Sex in popular culture , Communication and sex , Language and sex
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96551 , vital:31293
- Description: Much of the growth in sexualities‘ research has taken the form of large scale surveys, but there is also increased interest in qualitative approaches that provide useful insights into the experiential and subjective aspects of sexuality, and illuminate the social and cultural contexts shaping these experiences. The reason for this research is to provide a richer understanding of the language that young people employ when speaking about sexuality. This study examines young adults‘ talk about sexualities with a special focus on the way in which colloquial terms are deployed in this talk and through the presence of gendered and/or heteronormative assumptions. Data consisted of posts off a student-led social media site and the study design employed was a validity check group interview. The social media site allowed its followers to post anonymously about a range of sexualities related issues. Data were analysed thematically, using a deductive, critical, and post-structuralist approach with key insights drawn on from Michael Foucault, Adrienne Rich, Gayle Rubin, Judith Butler and Rosalind Gill. Three overarching themes emerged: young adults spoke to sexual practices, sexual subjectivities and sexual desires. A major focus of this talk is casual sex. This talk showed that there are attempts to undermine gendered and heteronormative power relations, for example, non-normative sexual experiences were not seen as deviant, although those who were engaging in monogamy and casual sex were constructed as deviant sexual subjects. Yet underpinning of these power relations still took place, for example, in the female missing discourse of desire, the internalisation of male sexual desires over female sexual desires and the sexual double standard. There was a clear divide between the sexual practices and sexual subjectivities that were considered to be good and bad. This research therefore has the potential to benefit sexuality interventions by bringing into sharp focus the actual experiences of young adults.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
From farm-workers to farm-owners: a case study of the socio-economic impact of a land reform project on Battlesden farm, Alice, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Nyanda, Langaliphumile
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Battlesden Farm (South Africa) , Farmers -- Social conditions -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies , Agricultural laborers -- Social conditions -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies , Land tenure -- Government policy -- South Africa , Land reform -- South Africa -- Case studies , Rural development -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96484 , vital:31284
- Description: This is an evaluation of a land reform project of a community which was given land in 2001. There were 16 participants who were interviewed to give their perspectives on different areas of the project which, including the functioning of the Communal Property Associations (CPA), the role of strategic partners such as agribusinesses, and the support provided by the state in ensuring the success of the project. The participants were also asked about the general development of the farm since ownership was transferred to the community in 2001. The study revealed disappointing results in the state of the farm, and the lack of development that has taken place. This was evident in the functioning of the CPA, and the high unemployment which was prevalent on the farm. There were elements of dependency which resulted from the mentorship of the agribusiness, as well as a lack of state support in the general operations of the farm.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Nyanda, Langaliphumile
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Battlesden Farm (South Africa) , Farmers -- Social conditions -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies , Agricultural laborers -- Social conditions -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies , Land tenure -- Government policy -- South Africa , Land reform -- South Africa -- Case studies , Rural development -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96484 , vital:31284
- Description: This is an evaluation of a land reform project of a community which was given land in 2001. There were 16 participants who were interviewed to give their perspectives on different areas of the project which, including the functioning of the Communal Property Associations (CPA), the role of strategic partners such as agribusinesses, and the support provided by the state in ensuring the success of the project. The participants were also asked about the general development of the farm since ownership was transferred to the community in 2001. The study revealed disappointing results in the state of the farm, and the lack of development that has taken place. This was evident in the functioning of the CPA, and the high unemployment which was prevalent on the farm. There were elements of dependency which resulted from the mentorship of the agribusiness, as well as a lack of state support in the general operations of the farm.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Labour market perceptions of students at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college in Grahamstown, South Africa
- Authors: Khambule, Nelisa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Eastcape Midlands College (Makhanda, South Africa) -- Students -- Attitudes , College students -- South Africa -- Makhanda -- Attitudes , College graduates -- Employment -- South Africa , Labor market -- South Africa , Employability -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96515 , vital:31289
- Description: In the context of South Africa, the supply of intermediate to high-level skills is central to economic growth and development. The post-school education and training sector is a critical source of these skills. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are expected to provide the intermediate to high-level skills that are required in a fast-changing global and national economy. In addition to fulfilling the goal of meeting the skills needs of the country, TVET colleges are expected to expand access to education and training opportunities and create pathways that will ensure smooth transitions for learners from college to employment. Using the third-generation labour market segmentation approach to the study of labour markets, this study sought to investigate the various socio-political factors that influence TVET college students’ perceptions about employment opportunities in the labour market with a NCV qualification. Using a qualitative methodology, this research investigated whether TVET students at Eastcape Midlands College felt adequately prepared for the labour market with their prospective post-secondary school qualification. The findings varied, with some students being of the view that the theoretical component of their programme of study could be improved to better prepare them for the labour market, and others, being of the view that the practical component could be improved. At a general level, the findings showed that the students did not have perfect knowledge of the availability of employment opportunities for their prospective qualifications.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Khambule, Nelisa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Eastcape Midlands College (Makhanda, South Africa) -- Students -- Attitudes , College students -- South Africa -- Makhanda -- Attitudes , College graduates -- Employment -- South Africa , Labor market -- South Africa , Employability -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96515 , vital:31289
- Description: In the context of South Africa, the supply of intermediate to high-level skills is central to economic growth and development. The post-school education and training sector is a critical source of these skills. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are expected to provide the intermediate to high-level skills that are required in a fast-changing global and national economy. In addition to fulfilling the goal of meeting the skills needs of the country, TVET colleges are expected to expand access to education and training opportunities and create pathways that will ensure smooth transitions for learners from college to employment. Using the third-generation labour market segmentation approach to the study of labour markets, this study sought to investigate the various socio-political factors that influence TVET college students’ perceptions about employment opportunities in the labour market with a NCV qualification. Using a qualitative methodology, this research investigated whether TVET students at Eastcape Midlands College felt adequately prepared for the labour market with their prospective post-secondary school qualification. The findings varied, with some students being of the view that the theoretical component of their programme of study could be improved to better prepare them for the labour market, and others, being of the view that the practical component could be improved. At a general level, the findings showed that the students did not have perfect knowledge of the availability of employment opportunities for their prospective qualifications.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
South African Trade Union responses to xenophobia in workplaces: the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA)
- Authors: Gongqa, Nombulelo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Xenophobia , Xenophobia-- South Africa , National Union of Mineworkers , National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa , Labor unions -- South Africa , Immigrants -- South Africa , Marginality, Social -- South Africa , Social conflict -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115061 , vital:34074
- Description: This research looks at how trade unions relate to immigrants and how inclusive they are to immigrants who form part of the South African working class. South Africa has been an immigrants receiving country for decades, where most immigrants are from neighbouring countries within the South African region. It was the trade unions that empowered workers to gain back some of their basic rights during the apartheid era, and they did this for all workers who worked in sectors where they were exploited and mistreated by the apartheid regime on the basis of their skin colour. This research aims to understand how trade unions respond to xenophobia in the workplace, and the ways their strategies increase inclusion of immigrants in the trade unions. This research focuses on the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), seeking to find whether they have strategies and planned ways to respond to xenophobia in South African workplaces. This research also looks at the impact of nationalism in South Africa on immigrants. It shows that whilst the concept of nationalism is to protect South Africans, it does exclude immigrants because it places South Africans before immigrants when it comes to benefiting from the resources of the country. This shows that protecting one section of the working class over another weakens the working class movement. To get views from the trade unions, trade union officials were interviewed and from the interviews, common themes were picked out. From the interviews, it can be identified that trade union officials believe that immigrants should be included in the trade unions, and they should be treated with dignity. However, there are some conflicting themes, which highlight the view that South African locals deserve to get the resources of the country, such as housing, before immigrants. The themes will be discussed in the research to highlight the different perspectives that came from the trade union officials.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Gongqa, Nombulelo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Xenophobia , Xenophobia-- South Africa , National Union of Mineworkers , National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa , Labor unions -- South Africa , Immigrants -- South Africa , Marginality, Social -- South Africa , Social conflict -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115061 , vital:34074
- Description: This research looks at how trade unions relate to immigrants and how inclusive they are to immigrants who form part of the South African working class. South Africa has been an immigrants receiving country for decades, where most immigrants are from neighbouring countries within the South African region. It was the trade unions that empowered workers to gain back some of their basic rights during the apartheid era, and they did this for all workers who worked in sectors where they were exploited and mistreated by the apartheid regime on the basis of their skin colour. This research aims to understand how trade unions respond to xenophobia in the workplace, and the ways their strategies increase inclusion of immigrants in the trade unions. This research focuses on the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), seeking to find whether they have strategies and planned ways to respond to xenophobia in South African workplaces. This research also looks at the impact of nationalism in South Africa on immigrants. It shows that whilst the concept of nationalism is to protect South Africans, it does exclude immigrants because it places South Africans before immigrants when it comes to benefiting from the resources of the country. This shows that protecting one section of the working class over another weakens the working class movement. To get views from the trade unions, trade union officials were interviewed and from the interviews, common themes were picked out. From the interviews, it can be identified that trade union officials believe that immigrants should be included in the trade unions, and they should be treated with dignity. However, there are some conflicting themes, which highlight the view that South African locals deserve to get the resources of the country, such as housing, before immigrants. The themes will be discussed in the research to highlight the different perspectives that came from the trade union officials.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Students’ perceptions of their employability as revealed by their understandings of the South African Labour Market
- Authors: Gabobegwe, Maoshadi Keletso
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71482 , vital:29857
- Description: The state of the South African labour market is characterized −among other things− by inequalities and the chronic issue of unemployment, with a rate that has come up to 27.7% in the third quarter of 2017. Considering this, unemployment in South Africa is explained by numerous authors as a structural issue. In a sense that unemployed people do not have the skills required by the labour market. But, since education attainment improves an individuals’ employment prospects and outcome. It would be expected that people with higher education would have high prospects of getting employment. Yet, people with higher education qualifications also face challenges of obtaining employment. Even though research finds that graduate unemployment is not as bad when compared to general and overall unemployment of the country. It still remains that skills shortages and/or mismatch are deemed to be the main contributor of the South African graduate unemployment. Existing research finds that just as the labour market is characterized with differences on the grounds of gender and race. This also reflects on how graduates enter the labour market. With the white race having more employment outcomes than blacks and males than females. It is against this background that this dissertation set out to explore what Rhodes University final-year students’ −who are nearing the transition from varsity to the labour market− perceive to be their employment prospects and outcomes. Taking into consideration the issue of unemployment and inequalities in the labour market. In essence, one of the key issues that the dissertation focuses on, is what students think of their employability based on their understanding of the labour market. More than that, the dissertation investigates how aspects such as the student’s field of study, race and gender factor into how students understand the labour market and ultimately how they perceive their employment prospects and outcomes. As a consequence, evidence suggests that students’ perceptions of the labour market influences how they perceive their employability. Over and above, the research finds that the students field of study especially, features significantly in how students perceive the labour market and their employability. While race and gender also factored in students’ responses, it was not as significant as compared to their field of study respectively. The general finding is that students are well aware of the issues of the labour market and are concerned about the implications of these issues on their employability. This awareness and concern varied based on students’ field of study, race and gender.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Gabobegwe, Maoshadi Keletso
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71482 , vital:29857
- Description: The state of the South African labour market is characterized −among other things− by inequalities and the chronic issue of unemployment, with a rate that has come up to 27.7% in the third quarter of 2017. Considering this, unemployment in South Africa is explained by numerous authors as a structural issue. In a sense that unemployed people do not have the skills required by the labour market. But, since education attainment improves an individuals’ employment prospects and outcome. It would be expected that people with higher education would have high prospects of getting employment. Yet, people with higher education qualifications also face challenges of obtaining employment. Even though research finds that graduate unemployment is not as bad when compared to general and overall unemployment of the country. It still remains that skills shortages and/or mismatch are deemed to be the main contributor of the South African graduate unemployment. Existing research finds that just as the labour market is characterized with differences on the grounds of gender and race. This also reflects on how graduates enter the labour market. With the white race having more employment outcomes than blacks and males than females. It is against this background that this dissertation set out to explore what Rhodes University final-year students’ −who are nearing the transition from varsity to the labour market− perceive to be their employment prospects and outcomes. Taking into consideration the issue of unemployment and inequalities in the labour market. In essence, one of the key issues that the dissertation focuses on, is what students think of their employability based on their understanding of the labour market. More than that, the dissertation investigates how aspects such as the student’s field of study, race and gender factor into how students understand the labour market and ultimately how they perceive their employment prospects and outcomes. As a consequence, evidence suggests that students’ perceptions of the labour market influences how they perceive their employability. Over and above, the research finds that the students field of study especially, features significantly in how students perceive the labour market and their employability. While race and gender also factored in students’ responses, it was not as significant as compared to their field of study respectively. The general finding is that students are well aware of the issues of the labour market and are concerned about the implications of these issues on their employability. This awareness and concern varied based on students’ field of study, race and gender.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A narrative study of patients’ illness experiences on antiretroviral treatment
- Authors: Tsope, Lindiwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) Social aspects South Africa , HIV infections Social aspects South Africa , Stigma (Social psychology) , Antiretroviral agents , Disclosure of information , Social media in medicine South Africa , Discourse analysis, Narrative
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63032 , vital:28356
- Description: Eight female respondents, who have publicly disclosed their HIV-positive status on social media, were involved in a semi-structured in-depth interview process. Using the theoretical frameworks of symbolic interactionism and social constructionism, the study explores the effects of antiretroviral treatment on patients’ illness experiences, looking at the personal and social symbolisms and meanings attached to taking antiretrovirals. The study revealed a positive and inspirational aspect of living with HIV/AIDS and especially consuming antiretroviral therapy. It became evident that the knowledge participants had of antiretrovirals before consuming them was misguided and based more on false ‘general knowledge’ among laypersons than actual medical fact. Moreover, the study revealed that there is a social reconstruction of narratives that has taken place in each participant’s life due to consuming antiretrovirals. Publicly disclosing their statuses has also proved to have both negative and positive consequences for the individuals and for society at large. While there is a consensus that participants’ illness experiences are directly affected by antiretroviral treatment, each participant’s narrative is different, yet positive.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Tsope, Lindiwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) Social aspects South Africa , HIV infections Social aspects South Africa , Stigma (Social psychology) , Antiretroviral agents , Disclosure of information , Social media in medicine South Africa , Discourse analysis, Narrative
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63032 , vital:28356
- Description: Eight female respondents, who have publicly disclosed their HIV-positive status on social media, were involved in a semi-structured in-depth interview process. Using the theoretical frameworks of symbolic interactionism and social constructionism, the study explores the effects of antiretroviral treatment on patients’ illness experiences, looking at the personal and social symbolisms and meanings attached to taking antiretrovirals. The study revealed a positive and inspirational aspect of living with HIV/AIDS and especially consuming antiretroviral therapy. It became evident that the knowledge participants had of antiretrovirals before consuming them was misguided and based more on false ‘general knowledge’ among laypersons than actual medical fact. Moreover, the study revealed that there is a social reconstruction of narratives that has taken place in each participant’s life due to consuming antiretrovirals. Publicly disclosing their statuses has also proved to have both negative and positive consequences for the individuals and for society at large. While there is a consensus that participants’ illness experiences are directly affected by antiretroviral treatment, each participant’s narrative is different, yet positive.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Al-Shabaab and the sources of its resilience and resurgence: Cold War legacies and Jihadism in Somalia
- Authors: Gardiner, Richard
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Shabaab (Organization) , Jihad , Cold War -- Influence , Cold War -- Social aspects -- Somalia , Somalia -- Foreign relations , Refugees, Somalian -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63833 , vital:28495
- Description: This study examines the continued development and survival of the group, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahidin, commonly known as al-Shabaab – which emerged in 2006 as the militant wing of Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union and became an independent group in 2007. The group has survived in spite of the fact that it has endured significant losses of personnel, resources and territory in Somalia. The study examines al-Shabaab’s sources of resilience, resurgence and diversity. To achieve this, the study focused on the narratives of nine Somali nationals living and working in Durban, Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth, who fled their home country as a result of the ongoing violence and instability. Through understanding war as experience and placing the individual and community at the center of analysis, a people-centered approach is developed in understanding the organisation. This allows the study to challenge the state centered approaches to security and International Relations (IR) theory, which is important in the case of an armed, transnational, non-state actor such as al-Shabaab, whose operation and mobilisation requires no territorial base. The study makes use of social constructivism as a theoretical lens, as it provides an alternative way of analysing a non-state actor, specifically within an African context. The study argues that al-Shabaab's war within Somalia and East Africa is a territorial manifestation of a global phenomenon which highlights the importance of understanding its unique history within Somalia and East Africa. Importantly, the study also shows that veterans of the Afghan-Soviet war brought back ideas and tactics which have played a central part in shaping al-Shabaab's ideology and tactics. It is argued that al-Shabaab's process of decentralisation has ensured their survival but also alienated them from the Somali population. It is demonstrated that their insurgent tactics and process of intelligence gathering means that they operate in the shadows, making it difficult to locate them. Furthermore, the study shows that the role of regional actors and the presence of African Union peacekeepers have ensured that they have a constant enemy which provides a sense of cohesion and drive. The study concludes that al-Shabaab exists at a nexus of factors; its survival has and will depend on both domestic and transnational factors. Without the transnational nature of the organisation, al-Shabaab would not have become the organisation it is today. However, the future of al-Shabaab is heavily dependent on the security situation within Somalia. The immediate objectives of the group are focused within Somalia. Therefore, if the state institutions are consolidated within the country and human security levels improve, the organisation will struggle to operate with the same freedom it currently enjoys.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Gardiner, Richard
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Shabaab (Organization) , Jihad , Cold War -- Influence , Cold War -- Social aspects -- Somalia , Somalia -- Foreign relations , Refugees, Somalian -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63833 , vital:28495
- Description: This study examines the continued development and survival of the group, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahidin, commonly known as al-Shabaab – which emerged in 2006 as the militant wing of Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union and became an independent group in 2007. The group has survived in spite of the fact that it has endured significant losses of personnel, resources and territory in Somalia. The study examines al-Shabaab’s sources of resilience, resurgence and diversity. To achieve this, the study focused on the narratives of nine Somali nationals living and working in Durban, Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth, who fled their home country as a result of the ongoing violence and instability. Through understanding war as experience and placing the individual and community at the center of analysis, a people-centered approach is developed in understanding the organisation. This allows the study to challenge the state centered approaches to security and International Relations (IR) theory, which is important in the case of an armed, transnational, non-state actor such as al-Shabaab, whose operation and mobilisation requires no territorial base. The study makes use of social constructivism as a theoretical lens, as it provides an alternative way of analysing a non-state actor, specifically within an African context. The study argues that al-Shabaab's war within Somalia and East Africa is a territorial manifestation of a global phenomenon which highlights the importance of understanding its unique history within Somalia and East Africa. Importantly, the study also shows that veterans of the Afghan-Soviet war brought back ideas and tactics which have played a central part in shaping al-Shabaab's ideology and tactics. It is argued that al-Shabaab's process of decentralisation has ensured their survival but also alienated them from the Somali population. It is demonstrated that their insurgent tactics and process of intelligence gathering means that they operate in the shadows, making it difficult to locate them. Furthermore, the study shows that the role of regional actors and the presence of African Union peacekeepers have ensured that they have a constant enemy which provides a sense of cohesion and drive. The study concludes that al-Shabaab exists at a nexus of factors; its survival has and will depend on both domestic and transnational factors. Without the transnational nature of the organisation, al-Shabaab would not have become the organisation it is today. However, the future of al-Shabaab is heavily dependent on the security situation within Somalia. The immediate objectives of the group are focused within Somalia. Therefore, if the state institutions are consolidated within the country and human security levels improve, the organisation will struggle to operate with the same freedom it currently enjoys.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An analysis of the asset-based community development approach to early childhood development interventions in Grahamstown township pre-schools: a case study of the Centre for Social Development and Rhodes University Community Engagement
- Authors: Maponya, Mapula
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63670 , vital:28469
- Description: Is the glass half-full or half-empty? The purpose of this research was to show how Centre for Social Development and Rhodes University Community Engagement applies the Asset-Based Community Development approach in ECD interventions in Grahamstown township pre-schools. The subsidiary goals of the research were to highlight the challenges in the Early Childhood Development sector in Gahamstown, find out how the approach contributes to empowerment, participation and sustainability, and analyse the challenges that CSD and RUCE face in applying the approach and the relationship between the two organisations. The case study focused on the Centre for Social Development (CSD) and Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE). These two cases established projects that aim to improve Grahamstown township pre-schools. The apartheid system created a childhood of adversity for black children including inadequate access to social services, quality nutrition, health care and education. Black children in rural areas and townships faced tremendous obstacles in terms of access to quality ECD centres due to poverty and lack of adequate resources. In Grahamstown, various problems such as unemployment, poverty and restrictive apartheid regulations created a need for ECD interventions. Both organisations applied the Asset-Based Community Development approach to improve ECD in Grahamstown. The asset-based approach was created as a response to the impact of the needs-based approach. The needs- based approach focuses on deficiencies that exist in a community and uses outside experts and resources to address the deficiencies. The needs-based approach builds communities from the outside in, further disempowers community members and creates an environment of dependency. The asset-based approach on the other hand, was created to change the legacy of dependency by focusing on capacity building. A capacity-focused paradigm recognizes the gifts, skills and talents of community members. This approach is bottom- up beginning with what is available in the community and building on that. The approach aims to empower people, create a positive outlook on circumstances, and encourages organisations to work together with community members in community development projects. To achieve the main and subsidiary goals of the research, qualitative research was conducted using the case study method. In pursuing the objective of the thesis, I conducted research among ECD practitioners, student volunteers and staff from CSD and RUCE. Based on the findings it is clear that the application of the Asset-Based approach has a positive impact on ECD practitioners, children at the pre-schools and student volunteers. Through the application of the ABCD approach, ECD practitioners became proactive and took the driving seat in the development process. The ECD practitioners built strong relationships with community members and outside organisations. They have improved their skills and qualifications, and are on their way to restoring their agency, finding their voice and achieving independence. This has a positive impact on children at the pre-schools as they receive quality education and care. There are various challenges and contradictions in the application of the approach but the ECD practitioners view the communities in which they operate as half-full and not half-empty
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Maponya, Mapula
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63670 , vital:28469
- Description: Is the glass half-full or half-empty? The purpose of this research was to show how Centre for Social Development and Rhodes University Community Engagement applies the Asset-Based Community Development approach in ECD interventions in Grahamstown township pre-schools. The subsidiary goals of the research were to highlight the challenges in the Early Childhood Development sector in Gahamstown, find out how the approach contributes to empowerment, participation and sustainability, and analyse the challenges that CSD and RUCE face in applying the approach and the relationship between the two organisations. The case study focused on the Centre for Social Development (CSD) and Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE). These two cases established projects that aim to improve Grahamstown township pre-schools. The apartheid system created a childhood of adversity for black children including inadequate access to social services, quality nutrition, health care and education. Black children in rural areas and townships faced tremendous obstacles in terms of access to quality ECD centres due to poverty and lack of adequate resources. In Grahamstown, various problems such as unemployment, poverty and restrictive apartheid regulations created a need for ECD interventions. Both organisations applied the Asset-Based Community Development approach to improve ECD in Grahamstown. The asset-based approach was created as a response to the impact of the needs-based approach. The needs- based approach focuses on deficiencies that exist in a community and uses outside experts and resources to address the deficiencies. The needs-based approach builds communities from the outside in, further disempowers community members and creates an environment of dependency. The asset-based approach on the other hand, was created to change the legacy of dependency by focusing on capacity building. A capacity-focused paradigm recognizes the gifts, skills and talents of community members. This approach is bottom- up beginning with what is available in the community and building on that. The approach aims to empower people, create a positive outlook on circumstances, and encourages organisations to work together with community members in community development projects. To achieve the main and subsidiary goals of the research, qualitative research was conducted using the case study method. In pursuing the objective of the thesis, I conducted research among ECD practitioners, student volunteers and staff from CSD and RUCE. Based on the findings it is clear that the application of the Asset-Based approach has a positive impact on ECD practitioners, children at the pre-schools and student volunteers. Through the application of the ABCD approach, ECD practitioners became proactive and took the driving seat in the development process. The ECD practitioners built strong relationships with community members and outside organisations. They have improved their skills and qualifications, and are on their way to restoring their agency, finding their voice and achieving independence. This has a positive impact on children at the pre-schools as they receive quality education and care. There are various challenges and contradictions in the application of the approach but the ECD practitioners view the communities in which they operate as half-full and not half-empty
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Essence of home: relevance of home and the assertion of place amongst Centane migrants, South Africa
- Authors: Njwambe, Avela Thandisiwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Rural-urban migration -- South Africa , Migrant labor -- South Africa , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Social conditions , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Homelands , Homelands (South Africa) , Home -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/51866 , vital:26136
- Description: South Africa is currently experiencing ever-increasing rural-urban migration with many citizens from the former homeland areas migrating to cities to seek employment. Despite long-term residence in urban areas, many township dwellers do not consider these places to be home. Research into circular migration patterns reveal the lifelong relationships that migrants (amagoduka) have with their family home (ekhayeni). This study aimed to explore this relationship, looking in particular at the meanings imbued in the locality of home. In addition, the role of natural landscapes and social components in constructing meanings and attachments to ekhayeni for Xhosa-speaking migrants in Cape Town townships, who have family linkages to rural villages in the Transkei, was also explored. The study found that the landscape of home remains central to migrants’ cultural identity, belonging and well-being. Childhood experiences in nature, and cultural and recreational activities that continue to take rural inhabitants into these landscapes, remain key to this relationship. The rural area, as a geographical entity embodied with social and cultural/spiritual components continued to supply and satisfy many human needs for migrants, which were seen as crucial for psychological, mental and spiritual well-being.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Essence of home: relevance of home and the assertion of place amongst Centane migrants, South Africa
- Authors: Njwambe, Avela Thandisiwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Rural-urban migration -- South Africa , Migrant labor -- South Africa , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Social conditions , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Homelands , Homelands (South Africa) , Home -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/51866 , vital:26136
- Description: South Africa is currently experiencing ever-increasing rural-urban migration with many citizens from the former homeland areas migrating to cities to seek employment. Despite long-term residence in urban areas, many township dwellers do not consider these places to be home. Research into circular migration patterns reveal the lifelong relationships that migrants (amagoduka) have with their family home (ekhayeni). This study aimed to explore this relationship, looking in particular at the meanings imbued in the locality of home. In addition, the role of natural landscapes and social components in constructing meanings and attachments to ekhayeni for Xhosa-speaking migrants in Cape Town townships, who have family linkages to rural villages in the Transkei, was also explored. The study found that the landscape of home remains central to migrants’ cultural identity, belonging and well-being. Childhood experiences in nature, and cultural and recreational activities that continue to take rural inhabitants into these landscapes, remain key to this relationship. The rural area, as a geographical entity embodied with social and cultural/spiritual components continued to supply and satisfy many human needs for migrants, which were seen as crucial for psychological, mental and spiritual well-being.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Policy responses to the sexual and reproductive health of queer youth in the global south: a systematic review
- Authors: Moore, Sarah-Ann
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Sexual minorities -- Africa , Sexual minorities -- Asia , Sexual minorities -- Caribbean Area , Sexual health -- Developing countries , Reproductive health -- Developing countries , Reproductive health services -- Developing countries , Communication in reproductive health -- Developing countries , Sexual minorities -- Youth -- Developing countries , Medical policy -- Developing countries , Homophobia -- Developing countries
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63021 , vital:28355
- Description: Concerns surrounding youth sexual and reproduction health (SRH) are deeply embedded within systems of heteronormativity and ciscentrism. Resultantly, youth SRH is filtered through a lens of heterosexual and cisgender experience, rendering invisible the SRH needs of queer youth. Importantly, a failure to recognise queer experiences of SRH has implications for normative subject positions, which enjoy stronger institutional support and constitute legitimate ways of being. As such, the failure to recognise queer youth as health care subjects within policy has far reaching consequences for their sexual and reproductive health. Within this research, a sexual and reproductive justice (SRJ) framework is adopted as a backdrop for exploring policy documents related to youth SRH within selected global South countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. The final data set comprises of 1035 policy excerpts extracted from 152 policies across these three regions. Research takes the form of a systematic review utilising a deductive framing and positioning thematic analysis. Analysis identifies framings of youth SRH and explores the subject positions assigned to queer youth in relation to these identified framings, with the understanding that the manner in which youth SRH concerns are framed and queer youth are positioned within policies provides an important foundation for the implementation of SRH-related policy. Findings demonstrate that policy responses to youth SRH are most often framed in terms of a public health approach. As a result, dominant understandings of youth SRH serve to reduce youth sexuality to notions of infections and impact, which may speak to an overreliance on biomedical and population-level health models. Themes emerging within human rights framings demonstrate a presumption that rights are equally afforded to, and freely exercised by, all individuals once legally secured, failing to engage with the creation of enabling conditions to realise these rights. Although context and culture framings were by no means exhaustive examples of SRJ, they provide an interesting insight into how such SRJ concerns might be integrated into policy. Importantly, policy responses demonstrate a general pattern hypervisibility of men who have sex with men (MSM) standing in marked contrast to the invisibility of queer youth and other adult queer populations. Within policy extracts, both youth and „MSM‟ are positioned as particularly prone to poor SRH outcomes. By virtue of their inclusion within both populations, queer youth may be considered as especially at risk for, or vulnerable to, such outcomes. Relatedly, these populations (and by extension queer youth) are positioned as in need of correction, containment, and/or protection by those occupying „gatekeeping‟ positions (e.g. health care providers). The positioning of „MSM‟ solely within the context of HIV/AIDS serves to link same-sex sexualities (and at times gender non-conformity) with harmful consequences, suggesting that the positioning of queer youth could similarly serve to conflate their SRH needs with concerns around HIV/AIDS. Many of the subject positions deployed in policies serve to deny the potential for youth and „MSM‟ agency, strength, and resilience. Thus, queer youth subjects are unlikely to be positioned as empowered, autonomous, and agentic. Across both framing and positioning themes, a number of key shortcomings were observed. For the most part, policy responses fail to acknowledge the influence of social, economic, political, and cultural forces that may serve to hinder SRH outcomes according to particular contexts and the intersection of multiple and varied social identities. By obscuring these broader contextual factors and power relations, policy responses may serve to hold individual youth responsible for poor SRH outcomes. In failing to engage with the potential for diversity within youth populations, these populations are largely homogenised. Finally, the need for the creation of an enabling environment in order to secure sexual and reproductive health is largely unacknowledged within policy responses.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Moore, Sarah-Ann
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Sexual minorities -- Africa , Sexual minorities -- Asia , Sexual minorities -- Caribbean Area , Sexual health -- Developing countries , Reproductive health -- Developing countries , Reproductive health services -- Developing countries , Communication in reproductive health -- Developing countries , Sexual minorities -- Youth -- Developing countries , Medical policy -- Developing countries , Homophobia -- Developing countries
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63021 , vital:28355
- Description: Concerns surrounding youth sexual and reproduction health (SRH) are deeply embedded within systems of heteronormativity and ciscentrism. Resultantly, youth SRH is filtered through a lens of heterosexual and cisgender experience, rendering invisible the SRH needs of queer youth. Importantly, a failure to recognise queer experiences of SRH has implications for normative subject positions, which enjoy stronger institutional support and constitute legitimate ways of being. As such, the failure to recognise queer youth as health care subjects within policy has far reaching consequences for their sexual and reproductive health. Within this research, a sexual and reproductive justice (SRJ) framework is adopted as a backdrop for exploring policy documents related to youth SRH within selected global South countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. The final data set comprises of 1035 policy excerpts extracted from 152 policies across these three regions. Research takes the form of a systematic review utilising a deductive framing and positioning thematic analysis. Analysis identifies framings of youth SRH and explores the subject positions assigned to queer youth in relation to these identified framings, with the understanding that the manner in which youth SRH concerns are framed and queer youth are positioned within policies provides an important foundation for the implementation of SRH-related policy. Findings demonstrate that policy responses to youth SRH are most often framed in terms of a public health approach. As a result, dominant understandings of youth SRH serve to reduce youth sexuality to notions of infections and impact, which may speak to an overreliance on biomedical and population-level health models. Themes emerging within human rights framings demonstrate a presumption that rights are equally afforded to, and freely exercised by, all individuals once legally secured, failing to engage with the creation of enabling conditions to realise these rights. Although context and culture framings were by no means exhaustive examples of SRJ, they provide an interesting insight into how such SRJ concerns might be integrated into policy. Importantly, policy responses demonstrate a general pattern hypervisibility of men who have sex with men (MSM) standing in marked contrast to the invisibility of queer youth and other adult queer populations. Within policy extracts, both youth and „MSM‟ are positioned as particularly prone to poor SRH outcomes. By virtue of their inclusion within both populations, queer youth may be considered as especially at risk for, or vulnerable to, such outcomes. Relatedly, these populations (and by extension queer youth) are positioned as in need of correction, containment, and/or protection by those occupying „gatekeeping‟ positions (e.g. health care providers). The positioning of „MSM‟ solely within the context of HIV/AIDS serves to link same-sex sexualities (and at times gender non-conformity) with harmful consequences, suggesting that the positioning of queer youth could similarly serve to conflate their SRH needs with concerns around HIV/AIDS. Many of the subject positions deployed in policies serve to deny the potential for youth and „MSM‟ agency, strength, and resilience. Thus, queer youth subjects are unlikely to be positioned as empowered, autonomous, and agentic. Across both framing and positioning themes, a number of key shortcomings were observed. For the most part, policy responses fail to acknowledge the influence of social, economic, political, and cultural forces that may serve to hinder SRH outcomes according to particular contexts and the intersection of multiple and varied social identities. By obscuring these broader contextual factors and power relations, policy responses may serve to hold individual youth responsible for poor SRH outcomes. In failing to engage with the potential for diversity within youth populations, these populations are largely homogenised. Finally, the need for the creation of an enabling environment in order to secure sexual and reproductive health is largely unacknowledged within policy responses.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018