Doctoral Degrees (Sociology)

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Access to health care and its determinants: the case of older persons in Chivi South district, Zimbabwe.
(2024) Muzvidziwa, Evelyne.; Govender, Jayanathan Perumal.
This study investigates the accessibility of health care services by older persons living in rural areas of Chivi South district. Access to health care has remained invisible in the scholarship in third-world countries like Zimbabwe. In this respect, the study explores the lived experiences of rural older persons residing in Chivi South, a research site embedded in political uncertainty and economic quagmire bedeviling Zimbabwe. This qualitative study was anchored on the interpretivist approach. A sample of 10 key informants and 20 older persons participated in key informant and in-depth interviews. This study established four key findings that will contribute immensely to the sociology of ageing in poor-resourced settings such as Zimbabwe. The cultural meaning of illness among older persons is essential in creating acceptable healthcare services. The consequences of not making a more enabling and inclusive environment for older persons will have a dire impact on healthcare delivery. Changes in policies that support more preventative health and social care globally instead of a reactive approach, which is wholly unsustainable for today’s ever-growing population. In Zimbabwe, older persons are often treated as a homogenous group with similar needs, leading to blanket interventions that overlook individual differences. This has resulted in poorly conceptualized and targeted assistance programs, failing to address local needs. Socially constructed narratives of successful ageing could inform the design of appropriate geriatric policies and programs to transform the healthcare needs of older persons in Zimbabwe. The key findings of the study show that the older persons living in the rural areas of Chivi South district experience challenges such as limited access to economic resources, traveling long distances to access healthcare services, inequalities in the healthcare service delivery system, reduced health status, limited availability, acceptability, and accessibility of healthcare services and inter alia. These challenges limit older persons from accessing much-needed healthcare services. The preeminent aim of this study is informed by the theoretical accounts of Penchansky and Thomas (1981) and Giddens (1984). The structures that frame rural healthcare provision ultimately function as key determinants of the nature and scope of healthcare service utilization, which propounded the structuration theory. Based on the subjective narratives of the research participants, the uniqueness of this study is anchored on its ability to offer a sociological foundation for developing innovative interventions and workable public policy options that support the aging population in African rural spaces. The study showed evidence of how social determinants of health may help reduce disparities in healthcare access for older persons in rural settings. Older persons, especially those residing in poor communities, have unique needs when addressing social health needs. The ageing population in Zimbabwe faces socio-economic predicaments and various challenges in the healthcare sector. It is particularly challenging to manage social connectedness in rural areas because of the issues around accessibility of health care, i.e., physical, financial, and societal barriers, making these multifaceted but crucially critical social determinants of health. Any efforts to improve the health and well-being of older rural persons address rural-urban disparities in healthcare needs and include a focus on the social determinants of health.
Adolescent sexual behaviour and its relationship to familial environment and perceptions: a study of Cape Town, South Africa.
(2020) Chikovore, Emma Shuvai.; Sooryamoorthy, Radhamany.
Worldwide, adolescents are exposed to an array of challenges that include unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). In South Africa, UNAIDS (2019) estimates that 69,000 female and 25,000 male adolescents acquired HIV in 2018. Little research has investigated the role of the family in influencing adolescent sexual behaviour. The significance of selecting South Africa, particularly Cape Town in the province of Western Cape to highlight the family environment and adolescent sexual behaviour nexus was done due to the historical background of high inflow of local and international migration to the city. By far, Western Cape’s HIV prevalence rate of 8.9% in a hyperendemic South African context, makes it one of the lowest in the country (Simbayi et al., 2019). Nevertheless, attractive economic prospects particularly in the city of Cape Town is likely to attract both international and local immigration which is likely to trigger an upward trend of HIV infections. Guided by the Life-Course Perspective Theory, this mixed method approach was carried out firstly, to understand the link between the family structure, the family’s financial circumstances, and parental engagement with their children and adolescent sexual behaviour; and secondly, to understand the perceptions of adolescents and parents on the role played by the family environment in shaping sexual behaviour among adolescents. The study drew data from the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS); a longitudinal study conducted in Cape Town. The study tracked the lives of 4,752 adolescents aged between 14 and 22 and the study spanned between 2002 and 2009. In addition, 15 in-depth interviews (IDI) with adolescents and three (3) focus group discussions (FGD) with parents and adolescents were conducted. The participants in the IDI and FGD were recruited from the same sampling clusters as CAPS. The panel data were analysed using the logistic regression analysis reporting odds ratios (OR), and qualitative data using thematic analysis and the NVivo 11. Adolescents aged between 16 and 19 had higher odds of reporting having initiated sex and having experienced a pregnancy compared to adolescents aged between 14 and 15 years. Odds of reporting early sexual debut and adolescent pregnancy were lower among adolescents living in a family with a father, respectively. Adolescents from a family with a monthly income ≥ R25, 001 had less odds of having experienced a pregnancy, and higher odds of reporting condom use among adolescents from families with an income of R25, 001 and above compared to adolescents from a family with an income of R5,000 and less. These results were later supported by results from the qualitative data as both parents and adolescents blamed early sexual debut and pregnancy on the family environment. The study confirms the important role played by the family environment in determining adolescent sexual behaviour. It recommends the need to pay attention to families when designing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programmes for adolescents.
An investigation of indigenous knowledge systems as a survival strategy for the displaced Tokwe Mukosi flood Victims in Chingwizi Camp, Zimbabwe.
(2023) Mverecha, Kainos.; Khan, Sultan.
Abstract available in PDF.
An assessment of the sociology undergraduate curriculum at the four universities in the Eastern Seaboard region.
(1999) Essack, Shaheeda.; Stears, Louw-Haardt.
No abstract available.
Between hope and uncertainty: a no returning journey of African graduates from the United States of America to their home countries.
(2022) Nkoko, Mosa.; Joseph, Rudigi Rukema.
International Migration is steadily growing and has become a global phenomenon that is unavoidable. In Africa, there are thousands of people who move to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Germany to name a few and they are made up of highly skilled migrants from their respective home countries. Migrants who are considered highly skilled not only consists of occupation professionals but also students who have completed their university education in their home countries and decided to further their studies abroad with the hope to come back and better their lives and that of their families. However, after the completion of their studies, most of them decide to stay behind in the host country. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the reasons why Sub-Saharan Africans; South African, Kenyans and Nigerians in particular are reluctant to go back home upon completion of their studies and decided to stay in the U.S. The appropriate research paradigm that was used in this study is pragmatic because it accepts a mixed and multimethod research. Therefore, the investigation consisted of mixed methods; quantitative and qualitative research methods whereby data was collected by means of online surveys which had 224 respondents under quantitative data collection and 21 respondents under qualitative research methods who completed their university education in their home countries and decided to pursue their graduate degree in the U.S. The data was collected in two distinct phases; first the quantitative data, followed by the qualitative data collection which informed the quantitative results. The students were sampled using non-probability sampling namely snowball which included purposive sampling and the same individuals were included in both data collections. The eligibility criteria in this study were that the participants had to be citizens in their country of origin, have graduated from any accredited university in their home country, have graduated with a master’s or doctorate degree from any accredited University in the U.S. and have stayed a year or more in the U.S after completion of their studies. Additionally, the researcher identified four individuals who fit the criteria and were willing to participate. These individuals also knew other relevant willing participants who fit the criteria and helped the researcher to locate them. Those participants too referred the researcher to other individuals and so on and forth. Since the relevant participants were difficult to locate, purposive sampling helped the researcher to find the potential participants through internet recruitment. These participants were chosen according to the criteria that have been set. The theories used in this research study are World systems theory and Rational Choice theory as they are suitable to evaluate the reasons why African graduates do not return to their home countries after completing their studies abroad. Based on the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data of this study, opportunities that include employment, better wages compared to their home country, higher standard of living compared to their home country, research training opportunities and scholarships have contributed to the African graduate’s decision to stay in the host country. Thus, Economic factors have strongly been identified as contributing to their decision to stay in the U.S after completing their studies. The findings revealed that they first decide to migrate to acquire a high level of qualification with the hope that it results in advancement of their careers and when offered opportunities where they are currently living and the opportunities are better than that which can be offered in their home countries, they decide to stay. This study also examined their experiences after deciding to remain in the U.S and despite acculturative stress such as perceived racism, loneliness, and stress; they have had positive experiences which entailed being offered employment and better salary. In addition, this study examined their attitudes and perceptions after deciding to remain in the Unites States, majority of them consider it as land of opportunities. It can be concluded in this research study that even though brain-drain analysts have not settled the debate of whether it is beneficial or detrimental to the sending countries as countries experience it differently, it is evident from the previous literature that the negative impacts of the brain drain outweighs the positive ones. The inequality of economic, political, and social levels between developing and developed countries determine the flow of migration. Without a doubt highly skilled individuals will always gravitate to countries that offer them opportunities to use their skills and can better their lives and that of their families resulting in sending countries losing professionals needed for development. Therefore, it is recommended that origin countries should look inward and address the brain-drain by implementing policies that will make improvements in their countries to attract them back or create channels that will assist in them contributing their knowledge and skills even when they are abroad. Finally, this study has contributed to the body of knowledge on international student-migration and a no return of African graduates specifically from South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria who decided to remain in the U.S upon completion of their studies. Additionally, it has contributed to the body brain-drain knowledge in academia and higher education, African graduates’ communities/countries, stakeholders and most importantly, policy makers as it has shed light on the nature and implications of the emigration of highly skilled/educated professionals. Key words: international students, migration, international migration, study abroad, brain drain, African graduates, human flight capital, globalization.
British emigration to Durban, South Africa : a sociological examination of Richardson's conceptual framework.
(1968) Johnston, Peter Henry Wallace.; Higgins, E.; Dickie-Clark, H. F.
No abstract available.
Child mobility, time use and social exclusion : reframing the discourses and debates.
(2013) Rama, Sharmla.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
This study asserts that the everyday life, daily activities and mobility interaction remains peripheral within the Sociology of Childhood and Mobilities in particular and sociology in general. This is not to say that there are no sociological studies on child mobility. Instead, existing studies usually focus on the impact of child mobility on adult mobility, their daily lives and schedules with children’s voices, experiences and needs remaining obscure. This generates a passive, univocal, skewed and constrained portrayal and (re)presentation of the child. These unreflected habituations have particular implications for children’s inclusion, participation, and well-being in society; and are in conflict with contemporary and global shifts in childhood and mobility studies. This dissertation, then examines the conceptualisation and problematisation of child mobility in current studies, statistics, policies and interventions, with a particular focus on South Africa. This encompasses questions about the epistemological worldview and evidence-base supporting the various policies and practices. In terms of the reification and privileging of some paradigms, Max Weber’s analysis of ‘social action’, ‘social closure’ ‘domination’ and ‘monopolization’ is appropriated and redirected. Closure (exclusion) rests on the process of subordination, whereby dominant groups close opportunities to groups it categorises as inferior, or ineligible. Children’s subordinate roles in hierarchical structures in societies are derived based on, amongst other factors, culture, age, gender and generation. These codes are used to exclude or include individuals or groups. The utility of closure theory is in the theorising of adult roles; rationalisation of adult dominance; and the limiting of children’s agency and autonomy in institutions in societies. This includes adult roles in research and policy-making communities. This suggests that we need to reflect on, re-evaluate and reframe our approach to listening, talking, thinking and writing on, and about, children. The study asserts the relevancy of the pragmatic and critical constructivist lens in mediating the paradigmatic and epistemic shifts necessary for sociological (re)engagement and reframing of the discourses and debates on child mobility. The approaches are compatible with current developments in field (s) and are important to producing sociologically relevant knowledge on and about children.
Churches and service delivery in South Africa : the Black Charismatic Church Ministries (BCCMs), as agents for service delivery in the Eastern Cape.
(2013) Sharpley, Nelly.; Mare, Paul Gerhardus.
The research presented in this thesis is both a qualitative and quantitative case study of two Black Charismatic Church Ministries (BCCMs) from semi-urban areas in the Eastern Cape Province; one in uMdantsane Township in Buffalo City Municipality, East London and the other in Kwa-Magxaki Township in Nelson Mandela Metropol Municipality, Port Elizabeth. The study examines how these ministries confront the socio-economic challenges of the communities within their areas of operation. It seeks to ascertain whether or not such ministries are current and potential agents for service delivery in the Province. The ministries’ service delivery efforts are examined against the banner of civil society, as agents that can work with destitute communities, local government and other sectors of civil society for better service delivery. The study was prompted firstly by the prevalence of socio-economic challenges, related to no or poor service delivery in the Province despite government’s efforts and promises. Secondly, it was motivated by government’s call for partnerships with churches and Faith-based Organizations (FBOs) in service delivery (see page 15 Chapter 1). The study is partly ethnographic and used observation, a structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews as data collection methods. The findings suggest that while the BCCMs are willing to be agents of service delivery, their efforts are clouded by a number of challenges. Whereas a CSO is supposed to serve the society in general, the BCCMs discriminate against non-church members. As beneficiaries of service delivery, communities also are concerned that BCCMs efforts prove to be short-term rather than long term strategies for community development. Furthermore they are uninformed on partnering in service delivery. Local governments also do not have clearly defined operational procedures of this partnership. This study presents a number of recommendations: the concept of partnership with churches and FBOs in service delivery needs to be revisited with clarity. Secondly, I suggest a Community Indaba, which will be a neutral community desk of equal participation on service delivery directed at community development through combined efforts of BCCMs, Communities, Local Government and Civil Society Organizations/Non-Government Organizations (CSOs/NGOs) in the Province for better realization of BCCMs’ service delivery efforts (see page 179 Chapter 7).
Climate governance through indigenous knowledge systems for sustainable development in Mutoko District of Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe.
(2020) Mugambiwa, Shingirai Stanley.; Joseph, Rudigi Rukema.
Climate governance has over the years become a topical issue among scholars and policymakers. The concept has come into prominence as a result of the severe effects that climate change has on the livelihoods of communities around the world. In Zimbabwe, rural communities have been grappling with various climate-related challenges occurring in the country since the early 1990s. Nevertheless, the current climate change theories have not effectively established a comprehensive system of climate governance that is within the context of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Therefore, the main aim of this sociological inquiry was to explore climate governance using Indigenous Knowledge Systems in pursuit of sustainable development in a Zimbabwean rural community. The study takes a swipe at adopting either a purely positivist or constructivist paradigm despite the fact that the constructivist paradigm is considered important for understanding Indigenous Knowledge and practices that are employed by local communities to adapt to climate change risks. As such, the study employs an approach that acknowledges the social interpretation and construction of IKS climate governance necessitated by grounded theory. The study adopted a qualitative method and data was collected through in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion. Grounded theory and Thematic Content Analysis were adopted as methods of data analysis. This qualitative enquiry linked climate change with rural livelihoods opportunities in an effort to determine how the impacts of climate change affect rural communities vis-à-vis sustainable development. The inquiry was executed through the theoretical specs of a triangulation of Grounded theory, Sustainable Livelihoods Approach and Afrocentricity. The study found that knowledge of climate change plays a pivotal role in paving way for IKS climate governance. The study also revealed that indigenous climate change adaptation dominates the communities’ adaptation options and it stands as a key informant for Scientific Methods employed and IKS climate governance. Lastly, the major contribution of the study was the development of an IKS climate governance conceptual model that was informed by the findings of the study.
Coping with political corporatism: state-international non-governmental organisation relations in post-2000 Zimbabwe.
(2021) Ntini, Edmore.; Sooryamoorthy, Radhamany.; Mtapuri, Oliver.
This thesis focuses on the relations between International Non-governmental Organisations (INGOs) and the State in post-2000 Zimbabwe (2000–2009). This was an epoch depicting the democratisation process as posing a threat to the reign of Robert Gabriel Mugabe since 1980. My thesis is that in post-2000 Zimbabwe, INGOs and the State co-existed in a dichotomy where they needed each other. The aim of the study is to describe the nature of INGO-State relations in post-2000 Zimbabwe and construct an explanatory theoretical framework. The study is guided by the main research question: How have INGOs coped with political corporatism in the post-2000 Zimbabwe period? The study focuses on the nature of political repression directed at the INGOs by the post-2000 Zimbabwe and how the INGOs coped with the hostile political environment in fulfilling their mandate. The setting of the study is post-2000, a time when Zimbabwe was characterised by a severe economic meltdown, political contestation and political violence. The study employs two theoretical frameworks, namely Michael Foucault’s theory of governmentality and Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the State. The study is philosophically grounded in the interpretivist paradigm and adopts a case study design and a qualitative research approach. Purposeful and snowballing sampling techniques were used complementarily to access willing participants. The sample consisted of 21 informants from INGO officials and State officials. From the INGOs, five participants were engaged in humanitarian organisations while five were engaged in developmental INGOs. Eleven participants were evenly spread among five government departments. The semi-structured interview was used as the major instrument of data collection augmented by document analysis of the Private Voluntary Organisations’ Act (2002) and the NGO Bill (2004) and other statutory instruments regulating the operations of INGOs in post-2000 Zimbabwe. The study finds that from 2000 onwards, the State in Zimbabwe used its governmentalities and capital to effect political corporatism or repression against INGOs. The co-existence of INGOs and the State was characterised by antagonism and mistrust although they concomitantly needed each other. Political corporatism became the instrument for controlling INGOs, political ideology and political dissent. Confronted with dilemmas, INGOs had to adopt coping strategies in post-2000 Zimbabwe. The study advances the theory of expedience in explaining the nature of INGO–State relations in post-2000 Zimbabwe as its major contribution to knowledge on INGO–State relations. The theory of expedience posits that both parties to a conflict need each other on one hand and are in bitter rivalry on the other hand. The pendulum of power swings between political power and the power of resources. The study recommends the removal of hindrances to enhance the smooth operations of INGOs such as limiting the powers of the executive directors and ministers as enshrined in the NGO Bill (2004) and PVO Act (2002), repealing repressive laws, and freeing the airwaves and the media as a way of fostering the democratic participation of organisations and citizens. Democratic participation helps to cultivate mutual trust and confidence. The respect for human rights and rule of law cannot be over-emphasised.
"The corporate guerillas" : class formation and the African corporate petty bourgeoisie in post-1973 South Africa.
(1991) Nzimande, Emmanuel Bonginkosi.; Edwards, Ian.
No abstract available.
A cross-generational study of the perception and construction of South Africans of Indian descent as foreigners by fellow citizens.
(2014) Pillay, Kathryn. Chetty, Kathryn.; Mare, Paul Gerhardus.
This thesis examined how the perceptions of South Africans of Indian descent as foreign, by fellow South African citizens, have changed or the extent to which they have remained the same from the time of the first arrival of indentured labourers from India in 1860 to the present. In so doing the study also revealed how those classified as ‘Indian’ in South Africa have constructed their identities in relation to, and because of, differing social, political and economic contexts. In order to achieve the aims of this research, the study was periodised based on the key political transitions over the last 150 years. As a result, the constructions and perceptions of ‘Indians’ by others were explored from the period of indenture under colonialism (1860-1910), through to the formation of Union (1910-1948), into apartheid (1948-1994) and ultimately through to democracy (1994-present). The data collection methods included documentary sources, oral histories, and semi-structured interviews. The main documentary sources collected included articles from The Mercury and Ilanga newspapers, spanning 150 years but taken from the key periods as discussed above. In addition it was deemed equally important to conduct in-depth interviews with South African families of Indian descent. The trajectories of five such families, and of the individuals within these family units, were explored, covering the period from the arrival of the first immigrant from India to South Africa, to the present day. The findings reveal that the perceptions of ‘Indians’ as foreign have endured more than it has altered in the psyche of fellow South Africans through each of the political dispensations and because the dominant racial discourse has persisted throughout the various periods albeit through varying mechanisms and diverse narratives justifying it at different times. Although democracy brought with it hope for a more inclusive South Africa with the African National Congress-dominated parliament adopting a constitution based on shared citizenship, the basis of the policies that followed however represent the antithesis of inclusion by entrenching existing notions of difference through the perpetuation of ‘race’ categories that were previously reproduced and legitimised by the repealed apartheid-era Population Registration Act. Blatant xenophobic discourse against South Africans of Indian descent are indeed still apparent, with the latest expressions centering around notions of autochthony which imply that ‘Indians’ are not indigenes of South Africa and hence should have no claim to its resources.
Culture contact : the Afrikaner as a minority in Durban : a study in network theory and practice.
(1981) Close, Mordaunt Ernest.; Watts, Hilstan Lett.
No abstract available.
Designing and assessing the feasibility of an active learning approach to the teaching of legal research.
(2008) Kuhn, Rosemary Jean.
This study set out to design and assess the feasibility of an active learning approach to a legal research module. The study was a case study of the second year undergraduate Legal Research Writing and Reasoning (LRWR) module on the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. This module forms part of the basic law degree curriculum. The author, a subject librarian at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has been involved with this module for several years. The module is situated within the general lecture timetable and the lecture format is unsuitable for a module such as this one that requires practical work. Students of law need to have a sound knowledge of the published legal literature because of the particular nature of the role of legal literature in the study of law, the vast array of literature available and the complex presentation of information within the sources of law. Students of law also need to be able to read, understand and apply the law to given situations. Legal education in South Africa has undergone considerable changes since 1994 alongside those in higher education generally. Since 2001 the LLB degree has become a four year undergraduate degree replacing the old three year undergraduate plus two year post-graduate qualification. New national qualification requirements emphasise a range of skills such as problem-solving, numeracy, computer skills, writing, and finding and using information. This is partly as a means of redressing the differential preparedness of students for university, a legacy of schooling of variant quality that was a feature of Apartheid governance prior to 1994. Thus students are having to complete the law degree in a shortened time period; do not have the benefit of an undergraduate degree before embarking on the law degree, and need to develop competencies in a range of skills and knowledge adjacent to substantive law modules. Information literacy is a process, an active problem-solving process and an amalgam of skills and knowledge concerned with identifying an information need, finding, evaluating and using a range of information to answer that need in appropriate ways. The problem-solving nature of the study of law, the new national requirements for a legal education and the characteristics of information literacy suggest that these three elements could be usefully combined in an active learning and teaching process to enable students of law to develop a holistic approach to learning skills and knowledge of legal research, writing and reasoning in the South African context. The research questions that arose in response to the research problem required an investigation into current research and writing with regard to information literacy, legal education, learning, teaching and assessment and whether an active learning approach was feasible with a large class size of approximately 130 students. The situation in South African law faculties as regards legal research teaching and learning needed to be considered to situate the current study in the broader national context. The literature review enabled the development of a theoretical framework for the LRWR module that took cognisance of a range of national, institutional and classroom climates, aims, objectives, outcomes and content for modules, the study of law, characteristics of learners and factors affecting their performance, teaching strategies, instructional design, assessment and information literacy. The module itself was designed in terms of a problem-solving situation which encompassed a range of integrated skills in order to manage the problem. An active learning approach was adopted in the form of group and class discussion, with a range of scaffolded written, oral and practical exercises and assignments to help students investigate the problem scenario from a number of perspectives. The design of the module required data in the form of demographic characteristics and work habits of the students in the class inclusive of learning styles which were acquired through the application of a questionnaire and learning styles inventory. Knowledge and skills with respect to module content were measured in terms of a pre- and post-test. A reflection exercise and focus groups provided evidence about how the students responded to the overall design of the module and in particular the active learning approach. The data collected and analysed suggested that the integration of information literacy, problem-solving processes with respect to the study of law and active learning was feasible and successful in this large class situation to varying degrees. The students in the module had expanded their repertoire of skills and knowledge, had appreciated the relationship between research, writing, reasoning and discussion and enjoyed the active learning approach. The contribution this research makes is with regard to the character, design and implementation of information literacy programmes in academic libraries in South Africa in particular, given the dearth of published practitioner research in this country. The research has also provided a comprehensive theoretical and practical framework for developing an information literacy programme within the changing South African legal education context. The research in this specific context usefully provides a baseline from which to develop and promote information literacy as a critical approach within the study of law.
Developing a model for a corporate records management system with special reference to sustainability reporting in Iringa region, Tanzania.
(2005) Mwani, Bukaza Loth Chachage.; Ngulube, Patrick.; Stilwell, Christine.
The effect of the crisis in scholarly communication on university libraries in South Africa.
(2010) Hoskins, Ruth Geraldine Melonie.; Stilwell, Christine.
The study examined the effect the crisis in scholarly communication had on university libraries in South Africa. The crisis in scholarly communication or the 'serials' crisis as it is better known to librarians has affected many academic libraries worldwide. The monopoly commercial publishers have on the academic serial/journal market has resulted in high priced subscriptions and many libraries have simply cancelled subscriptions or limited the purchase of monographs (books) to pay for ongoing journal subscriptions. A study population consisting of 17 university libraries in South Africa was surveyed by means of an online questionnaire to establish how university libraries in South Africa were affected by the crisis in scholarly communication. The research questions underpinning the study examined the cause of the crisis together with its characteristics, the factors that influenced journal cancellations, the effects of open access on journal cancellations, institutional support for open access repositories and the funding of university library budgets. A total of 12 university libraries (representing 70.6%) responded. Telephonic interviews with the Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Directors or Deans of Research at selected universities were conducted to gather supplementary data as well as verifying some points that emanated from some of the responses to the questionnaire. Results were analysed in terms of frequency of responses and graphically displayed in the form of pie charts and tables. Interpretation of the results reveals South African university libraries, like most academic and research libraries world wide, have been adversely affected by the crisis in scholarly communication. On an annual basis university librarians are faced with hard choices in terms of deciding which journals to cancel. In terms of South Africa, open access initiatives are in the early stages of development and as university librarians have not embraced such initiatives, the benefits are not being realised. Thus university libraries in South Africa are dependent on paid-for journal subscriptions. Maintaining these subscriptions will be more and more difficult as a result of the high cost of such subscriptions and the fluctuating rand. To mitigate some of these difficulties experienced university librarians should make a concerted effort to facilitate access to local research by way of institutional repositories and free content available via open access initiatives. Recommendations for university libraries and librarians are made in light of the results of the survey and the literature review. These recommendations relate to the library budget, librarians knowledge of their library collections, librarians administering and maintaining institutional repositories and facilitating access to open access content.
The emergence of atheism in post-colonial South Africa.
(2017) Pillay, Patrick Brian Segaren.; Settler, Federico Guliano.
This study aims to offer an account of the emergence of the phenomenon of atheism in South Africa and in so doing present a case for its admittance as a new and exciting field of research within the academy in the country. The pervasive assumptions of religious normativity on the continent and in South Africa may serve to conceal a rich and vibrant worldview of atheism which, as this study proposes, can in its own right, also attempt meaningful responses to life’s deepest and most complex questions, without the need to declare an affiliation to any religious authority or sect. It is in the lived realities of atheists and in the makings of their social contexts, inclusive of its political history, its media and its laws, that this study finds its mooring and academic purpose. Given the embryonic nature of this project within a field of study which is under-researched in the country, the research design adopted includes a set of empirical components, by way of direct interviews with a set of self-pronounced South African atheists, an analysis of the phenomenon in relation to the country’s legal framework and jurisprudence, and a survey of the online digital media contexts in which atheism also finds representation. This multi-disciplinary approach sought to broadly trace through factors historic and current, as well as issues foreign and domestic, which have either advanced or suppressed the emergence of atheism in South Africa. Locating this study within the historical development of the worldview of atheism from as far back as Greek antiquity up to advances made in recent years in shaping this field of formal academic research, was considered imperative as a potential gateway for new rounds of future research on atheism itself, or other related sub-categories within the broader field of non-religion. Constructs which are distinctly different but which have grown in alliance with atheism in recent years, such as secularity and humanism have also become essential to the construction of atheist self-identities and the emergence of atheism as a social phenomenon in South Africa. The dialogue developed within this study between related literature resources and the responses of interviewees pointed to a new range of perspectives on atheism which were greater than the sum of these parts, in that South African atheists had demonstrably moved beyond the confines of having their lives defined by the absence of a religious belief system or by something that they are not.
Employment and social inclusion: implications for young adults in Swaziland.
(2016) Khumalo, Thandi F.; Burton, Simon Ingram Robshaw.
The motivation for the research came from seeing young people struggle to get that first job breakthrough to the extent of compromising their qualifications for any available job, including landing in precarious jobs without suitable contracts, susceptible to manipulation. The motivation for my research was interaction with former students and relatives battling to transition from training to work careers whilst dealing with the rising expectations of society in their transition to adulthood. Methodologically, the study utilised a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews to collect primary data. Theoretically, the study was oriented around Bourdieu‘s theory of practice and Mills‘ sociological imagination. The study makes the basic assumption that employment is not only an individual personal experience requiring personal solutions, but it is also a public issue requiring public-political solutions. This research addresses two major issues. Firstly, to record the experiences of young people with employment and provide a voice for young people to share their stories of employment. Secondly, is to contribute to the literature, given the paucity of studies specifically addressing youth employment within the field dominated by unemployment literature. Research findings indicate that employment has positive outcomes and is also filled with challenges. Findings indicate a close relationship between education attainment and access to employment, education is still an important part of human capital. Employment is a life changing experience for young people, having a liberating effect that ensures independence from parents and partners, guaranteeing affordability of basic needs and luxuries, providing an opportunity to settle down and start a family, and enabling integration and participation in society. Challenges include; entering the job market and placed in jobs matching training, delayed entry into the job market encouraging volunteer work as a stepping stone to better jobs, and skills transfer problems whereby the future workforce‘ readiness is put to question. Interestingly, preference for employment supersedes entrepreneurial choices, yet the government and other key stakeholders view entrepreneurship as an alternative to a bulging labour market. The study recommends further research in the activity of young people. The scholarship failure to produce literature on young people‘s activity has caused paucity in this knowledge base.
Ethnicity as identity and ethnicity politically mobilised : symbols of mobilisation in Inkatha.
(1995) Mare, Paul Gerhardus.; Sitas, Aristides.
This thesis. entitled 'ETHNICITY AS IDENTITY AND ETHNICITY POLITICALLY MOBILISED: SYMBOLS OF MOBILISATION IN INKATHA'. presents two major contributions. The first is a discussion of ethnicity that not only draws the distinction between the phenomenon in its mobilised political form. on the one hand. and on the other ethnicity as social identity presenting life stories through which individuals live part of their social existences. but also follows through the theoretical and policy implications. The implications of this distinction suggest ways in which the issue of -ethnicity can be approached within attempts to avoid the conflictual dimension. The second is a study of the manner in which political mobilisation of Zulu ethnicity has occurred. especially during the 19708 and 1980s. through the Inkatha movement. The case study effectively illustrates the manner in which politicised ethnicity functions. in defining a rigid interpretation that allows little flux and movement within. and from and into the ethnic camp. The author integrates the theoretical discussion of the issue of ethnicity and ethnic social identities with comparative and empilrical material drawn nationally and internationally as well as from the extensive cue study of the mobilisation practices of the Inkatha movement and its leadership. In the theoretical approach the complex nature of all identities. and of ethnicity specifically, is stressed, arguing for the multiple experiences of what is presented as homogeneous within ethnic mobilisation. Ethnic identities are gendered, and subject to the effects of class, age, and 'race' distinctions. Ethnicity is, furthermore, much more flexible than would appear to be the case from such mobilisation. It is in this flexibility that an approach to resolving 'ethnic conflict' lies. Within ethnic mobilisation the stress in the interpellations addressed at ethnic subjects is on rigidity, lnflexibility, and single and centralised interpretations. These elements are illustrated through the case study of Inkatha operating from within the previous KwaZulu bantustan. Themes and approaches within the discourse of mobilisation employed to mobilise a regional population into Inkatha are examined. and set against the background and effects of social, political and economic factors.
An examination of homicide statistics in South Africa (1948-2003) using a Durkheim analysis of anomie.
(2007) Thomson, James Douglas Scott.
This work provides a statistical analysis and interpretation of homicide rates and patterns in South Africa for the years 1948 to 2003. Complied from data accessed from the South African Police Services, Mortuary Reports, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Non Government Organisations the patterns of homicide according to race, gender and age are analysed. This thesis proposes that the anomic condition of South African society is a key contributor to the creation and maintenance of the high levels of homicide found in this society. The normalisation of inter-personal violence through the collective conscious of communities and individuals has resulted in the growth of homicide and its continued high levels ten years after the end of Apartheid. This hypothesis is further supported through a survey conducted upon teenage subjects in Kwa-Zulu Natal province of their attitudes towards the use of violence. This work demonstrated strong positive support for interpersonal violence by members of the police and state. The survey also showed significant racial and gender differences in attitudes. The anomic conditions that continue to be present in South Africa will contribute to the weakness of the criminal justice system, and the willingness of individuals and communities to use their own resources to combat crime rather than rely upon the state and its agents for protection. The result being a continued high level of violence and a weak criminal justice system.

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