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Anthropology

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Browsing Anthropology by Author "De la Porte, Susan."

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    Expectations, obligations and goals: an ethnographic study of two HIV/AIDS support groups south of Durban, South Africa.
    (2009) Hixon, Amy.; De la Porte, Susan.
    A focus on care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the world has become a key discussion in the general HIV/AIDS discourse. This thesis provides an in-depth analysis of two HIV/AIDS support groups operating in areas south of Durban, South Africa. In particular, the thesis presents the readers with a description of the 1) purpose of HIV/AIDS support groups, 2) main participants involved in HIV/AIDS support groups, and 3) an overview of how the two HIV/AIDS support groups under study operate. The grounded theory approach of this study led to the emergence of two themes crucial to the understanding of the HIV/AIDS support groups under study, the existence of widespread conflict, and a system of "negotiated" reciprocity within each support group. The thesis uses the framework of Victor Turner's social drama, and the anthropological theories of reciprocity, in order to analyze these concepts. This thesis reveals that each support group operates within an environment, in which a discrepancy of expectations, obligations, and goals amongst the support group participants exists. Additionally, the support group members and the sponsoring organization of both support groups have varying perceptions of the support group, both in its ideal and actual form. Finally, the thesis reveals the way in which each support group oscillates between a state of stability and conflict, and how conflict and negotiation, in turn, become inherent within, and synonymous with, everyday organisation and operation of the support groups.
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    An exploratory study of the experiences of care-givers of children with autism in KwaZulu-Natal.
    (2012) Shaik, Shabnam.; De la Porte, Susan.
    The term ‘autism’ was first used in 1906 to describe a condition in adults. The term was later used again in 1943 and 1944 by Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger respectively who used the term to describe symptoms found in children. Autism was a relatively unknown condition until the 1980s and 1990s when research on the condition began to increase. The increase in research and availability of information lead to a better understanding of autism and related disorders and there has since been an increase in the number of people diagnosed with 1 in 150 children being diagnosed with autism in South Africa. Autism manifests before 36 months of age with males being four times more susceptible to Autism Spectrum Disorders than females. Research available on autism and related conditions has focused largely on scientific studies in the attempt to discover a cause for the disorder and a cure for it. In recent years there has been an increase in parents writing about their experiences with their children who have autism, however very little literature is available on non-kin care-givers and their experiences in working with children with autism. This thesis provides a view into the world of the non-kin care-giver through research carried out at two school sites in the KwaZulu-Natal region. This research through participant observation and interviews aims to fill the gap in the literature regarding non-kin care-givers of children with autism. The study looks at why non-kin care-givers choose to work with children with autism, the stress and challenges associated with working with children with autism, the highlights and personal impacts of working with children with autism and why non-kin care-givers continue to work in this field. In addition this thesis looks at the experiences of parents of children with autism and as such aims to describe a symbolic journey that parents and non-kin care-givers embark on with autism. In order to understand this symbolic journey this thesis has used the theoretical framework of van Gennep’s (1960) Rites de Passage and Goffman’s (1969) Spoilt Identity and Stigma, analysing each stage of the participants involvement in relation to the concepts of separation, transition or liminality and finally incorporation. By using these theories to analyse the research findings this thesis argues for the formation of a group identity through shared experiences and understandings of autism and in this way for the creation of an Autism Community.
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    An exploratory study of the non-kin models of care available to orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal.
    (2010) McCarthy, Ashling Elizabeth.; De la Porte, Susan.
    Victims of HIV/AIDS are not only those who are infected with the disease, but also those who are affected by it; such as the children of infected parents and relatives, and indeed, all children living in communities in which the disease has reached epidemic proportions. As the number of orphaned and vulnerable children continues to rise unabated in South Africa the question remains as to who will look after these children once their parents, and relatives, have died. Research shows that the extended family continues to be the first line of support for such children; however, the dissolution of the extended family, due to HIV/AIDS, is also widely documented. The aim of this study is to explore two non-kin models of care which are available to orphaned and vulnerable children in KwaZulu-Natal; a transition home and a cluster foster home. The two organisations chosen for the study cater for children who are at different stages of childhood; one caters specifically for babies and toddlers, while the other caters for children and young adults between the ages of five and the early twenties. Both organisations emerged as a response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic which is profoundly evident in the areas in which the organisations are situated. The theory of social rupture thesis is utilised as it asserts that the extended family is reaching breaking point in terms of absorbing orphaned and vulnerable children, and therefore that it is slowly losing its ability to act as the first line of support against the disease. Based on the research and findings of this study, this hypothesis was found to be true, as was evident in the large (and increasing) numbers of children who can be found living in non-kin models of care around South Africa. An interesting phenomenon which was documented in both organisations was the re-emergence of the father figure in the home setting. South Africa is a country where the majority of children grow up without a traditional father figure and these two homes expressly include men in the lives of the children in order to highlight what they consider to be the necessary role of men within a family setting. This study explores the central themes which emerged during the research; that of the impact of shifting care-givers on the development of children, as well as the many socio-cultural issues which foster parents face while raising foster children.