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Doctoral Degrees (Population Studies)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/8428

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Population Studies) by Author "Preston-Whyte, Eleanor."

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    Church-based social spaces and HIV/AIDS in rural South Africa.
    (2013) Atujuna, Millicent.; Denis, Philippe Marie Berthe Raoul.; Preston-Whyte, Eleanor.
    Primarily, this dissertation examined the extent to which churches have potential in preventing HIV/AIDS. Set in rural KwaZulu-Natal an area marked with both high levels of HIV prevalence and high religious participation, the study used the concept of social space as a framework within which the contribution of churches towards the prevention of further spread of the HIV infection can be understood. Unlike recent studies which have consistently shown that the contribution of churches in the prevention of further spread of HIV infection is likely to emanate from the churches‘ teaching on morality, this study has argued that the contribution of churches in minimizing risky sexual behaviours is likely to emanate from how churches balance their teachings on moral issues and the subsequent practice of social control on the one hand and the provision of social support on the other. This is particularly so because in African settings where behaviour is largely influenced by the prevailing circumstances within society, and where churches are significantly entrenched in the lives of individuals providing a variety of social support services, there is a strong likelihood that churches will have an impact on their adherents‘ behaviour as well. The social space concept, therefore, defines churches not only as institutions enforcing the moral code which churches emphasise but also as caring and integrating forces, providing social support for their members in time of need. The study investigated four churches representing three Christian religious denominations: the Mainline, the Pentecostal and the African Independent churches. In investigating these churches, it used two types of data: The Africa Centre Demographic surveillance Systems (ACDIS) data collected between 2002 and 2004 and the Ethnographic data collected in 2006 consisting of a total of 96 in-depth interviews, 11-13 services of each church type selected, 6-8 church- related activities (or groups in each church), 3 informal discussions with community members and a set of 2 conversational data from each church. The analysis is done in two parts. The first part of the analysis (Chapter Five) focuses on the existing quantitative ACDIS data, examining whether there exists a relationship between church affiliation, participation in church activities and sexual behaviours. The second part uses ethnographic data in order to provide explanations of the observed relationship. Overall, the study found that unlike church affiliation which had no influence on individual sexual behaviour, individuals who participated regularly in church activities were less likely to engage in behaviour that would put them at risk of acquiring the HIV infection. The study found, however, that there existed denominational differences and that churches where participation was high were the same churches likely to influence protective behaviour. The explanation provided from qualitative findings suggested that the ability of these churches to minimise risky sexual behaviour was found in the Intensive Social Spaces that churches and their members constructed. The study concluded that the ability of churches to minimise risky sexual behaviours resulted from an individual negotiating losing the benefits provided by fellow members of the church when she/he ceases to be a member.
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    The dynamics of undocumented Mozambican labour migration to South Africa.
    (2008) Muanomoha, Ramos Cardoso.; Maharaj, Bridgemohan.; Preston-Whyte, Eleanor.
    Labour migration from Mozambique to South Africa is a historical process in Southern African region that dates from the 18th century. However, its formalisation and regulation took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, becoming a part of the Southern African labour market system. Within this labour market system Mozambique is one of the longstanding suppliers, with relatively consistent numbers of contract migrants for the South African mines. In the last two decades the number of contract migrant labourers for the mining industry in South Africa has declined. In contrast, there has been an increase in undocumented migrants from Mozambique to South Africa. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the dynamics of undocumented labour migration to South Africa. The undocumented migrants are mostly male youths from rural areas of southern Mozambique who are pushed by poverty and lack of employment conditions. They enter into the South Africa pulled by a demand for cheap unskilled labour, and they work mainly in the agriculture, construction, informal trade and domestic sector. Their aim is to send or carry back home remittances in cash or kind. However, the presence of undocumented Mozambican immigrants, as well as those from other parts of Southern Africa, has given cause for concern. There is social pressure in South Africa, where in some circles the undocumented migrants are seen as taking jobs from locals, which leads to xenophobic attitudes. The South African government has been forced to adopt restrictive measures, including the repatriation or deportation of undocumented immigrants. Notwithstanding the undocumented migration from Mozambique continues to increase. Findings from the fieldwork in Mozambique and South Africa, obtained through both quantitative and qualitative approaches, confirmed that the undocumented Mozambican labour migration to South Africa was a self-sustaining process through social networks, which helped in the process of adjustment and also allowed migrants to make multiple entries into South Africa. The study concludes that stopping undocumented migration requires the creation of job opportunities in migrant sending areas, particularly in the rural areas, so that people can be employed locally, reducing their dependency on migrant labour. In addition, policies are required that encourage migrants to organize in order to be involved productively in development projects of their communities.