Phenomenological investigation into the decentralisation of primary health care services in Bophirima District, Northwest Province

Since 1994 a number of health reforms took place in furthering democracy. These changes included the decentralisation of Primary Health Care Services. This study is a phenomenological research that chronicles the Primary Health Care decentralisation experiences in the Bophirima District of the North-West Province. Using a descriptive phenomenological orientation, the purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of participants associated with decentralisation in the Bophirima District. Also, to illustrate how the participants perceive these experiences in relation to Primary Health Care services. Furthermore, to provide scientific evidence regarding factors related to the decentralisation of PHC services in the Bophirima District. These and other issues remain of paramount importance given the current state of health care in the South Africa. This study took place in the outskirts of the semi-rural area of Bophirima and Central District in the North-West Province. The investigation followed qualitative research design that was descriptive, exploratory, contextual and phenomenological in nature. The sampling procedure involved non-probability purposive, sampling technique with a sample size of five participants. Data was collected by using an unstructured interview technique. The modified Giorgi method of analysis was used for qualitative data analysis. These are contained in Burns and Grove (2001:596) and Polit and Beck (2004:394) are fully explicated in Chapter Four. Guba model (in Babbie & Mouton, 2001:180) was utilised to ensure the trustworthiness of the study. Ethical requirements were considered throughout and these are reflected in chapter four of the thesis.Three forms of decentralisation: deconcentration, delegation and devolution were identified in the findings. The investigation further indicated that the integration of primary health care services was also underway at the time of decentralisation. This integration triggered different psychological and emotional states amongst research participants. Most importantly, the research revealed that the interest of leadership across three spheres of government played a key role in the decentralisation of PHCs and integration of PHCs, while highlighting the importance of community participation in health service delivery (CP). In conclusion, the decentralisation process was generally perceived as empowering although, nationally, leadership needs to be strengthened to support provinces and districts regarding major policy issues such decentralisation. Key recommendations were made and further research was suggested.Health StudiesD. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies

Forget Burial: Illness, Narrative, and the Reclamation of Disease

Through a theoretical and archival analysis of HIV/AIDS literature, this dissertation argues that the AIDS crisis is not an isolated incident that is now over, but a striking culmination of a long history of understanding illness through narratives of queer sexual decline and national outsiderhood. Literary representations of HIV/AIDS can be read as a means of resistance to the stigmatization of people of color, women, immigrants, and queers, debunking the narratives that vilify these subjects as threats to national security and health. In drawing connections between illness, history, and the African diaspora, my work adopts a queer theoretical approach to illuminate how boundaries around sexual and gender identities are often intertwined with representations of nationality and race. Through a feminist analysis of novels by Sarah Schulman, Rebecca Brown, Jamaica Kincaid, Patricia Powell and Octavia Butler, this project demonstrates how discourses of HIV/AIDS have been metaphorically and linguistically connected to symbols ranging from national borders to capitalist commodities, and even gothic vampires. In conjunction with these fictional texts, I concurrently undertake an archival study of writing by community leaders from the first decade of the pandemic whose work successfully countered and reinscribed harmful narratives of HIV/AIDS. By integrating transnational literature with archival materials by New York City-based writers including Iris De La Cruz, Katrina Haslip, and Bradley Ball, my work communicates the urgency of transcending national borders and narrative genres to effectively confront the HIV/AIDS pandemic on a global scale

Of hopes, villains, and Trojan horses : Open Access academic publishing and its battlefields

Open Access to scholarly literature has become a popular concept that rapidly catapulted onto the (European) science policy-making stage. In particular, since its inception some 20 years ago by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), there has been an idea that the conventional subscription-based system of scientific journal publishing should be gradually replaced with free online access worldwide. Because research results reported in such publications are often paid for through public funding, suggests a common argument, broader societal groups, practitioners, and other scholars should have immediate and unrestricted access to them. However, translating this vision into practice reveals a number of varying and at times conflicting interests and goals of involved actors. The controversies around Open Access range from the two main implementation models (the so-called Green and Golden roads to Open Access) that were initially proposed as complementary by the BOAI but have increasingly grown to be seen as competitive by their respective proponents, to more recent national and international science-policy interventions that aim to achieve 100% Open Access by a certain target year. By taking the example of negotiations between Dutch research universities and the scientific publishing company Elsevier, in this thesis I investigate how different expectations are attached to the proposed transition to full Open Access, how it has started to affect actual publication practices, and how it could ultimately re-order the whole academic publishing system according to a novel economic logic of author-side publishing fees. For this purpose, I have conducted a case study which includes interviews with negotiation team members and researchers in the Netherlands as well as Open Access monitoring statistics and other empirical materials. Building on Grounded Theory and Situational Analysis approaches as well as infrastructure studies and re-infrastructuring as my overall theoretical framework, I show how controversies around Open Access can be illuminated through these lenses. In doing so, the thesis contributes to current debates by adding more nuanced perspectives and original insights. Offener Zugang zu wissenschaftlicher Literatur ist schnell zu einem populären Konzept avanciert, das derzeit große Aufmerksamkeit in der (europäischen) Wissenschaftspolitik genießt. Seit der Erklärung der Budapester Open Access Initiative (BOAI) vor 20 Jahren gibt es Bestrebungen, das herkömmliche Publikationssystem auf Basis kostenpflichtiger Abonnements durch freien elektronischen Zugang zu wissenschaftlichen Zeitschriften zu ersetzen. Weil viele Forschungsergebnisse, die dort veröffentlicht werden, aus öffentlicher Hand finanziert werden, so das gängige Argument, sollen andere Forschende, Fachleute aus der Praxis sowie die breitere Öffentlichkeit einen unverzüglichen und uneingeschränkten Zugang zu diesen Publikationen bekommen. Doch die Versuche, diese Vision umzusetzen, offenbaren eine Vielzahl von unterschiedlichen und teilweise widersprüchlichen Interessen und Zielen von beteiligten Parteien. Dies fängt bereits mit den zwei Implementierungsmodellen (sog. Grüner und Goldener Weg zu Open Access) an, die von BOAI ursprünglich als komplementär vorgeschlagen wurden, jedoch zunehmend in Konkurrenz zu stehen scheinen. Aber auch neuere (inter-)nationale Interventionen seitens der Wissenschaftspolitik, die die Erreichung von 100% Open Access bis zu einem bestimmten Jahr anstreben, lösen kontroverse Reaktionen aus. Aufbauend auf einem Fallbeispiel mit Verhandlungen zwischen den niederländischen Universitäten und dem Wissenschaftsverlag Elsevier gehe ich in dieser Dissertation den Fragen nach, wie an die angestrebte Open-Access-Transformation unterschiedliche Erwartungen geknüpft werden, wie sie die eigentlichen Publikationspraktiken zu beeinflussen beginnt und wie das wissenschaftliche Publikationssystem insgesamt durch neuartige Publikationsgebühren umgeordnet werden könnte. Zu diesem Zweck habe ich eine Fallstudie durchgeführt, welche Interviews mit Mitgliedern von Verhandlungsteams und Forschenden in den Niederlanden, Monitoring-Statistiken zu Open Access sowie weitere empirische Materialien inkludiert. In Anlehnung an Grounded Theory und Situationsanalyse sowie an Infrastrukturforschung und Re-Infrastrukturierung als theoretischen Rahmen zeige ich auf, wie Kontroversen um Open Access aus diesem Blickwinkel beleuchtet werden können. Dadurch trägt diese Dissertation differenziertere Perspektiven und neue Erkenntnisse zu laufenden Debatten bei

The Perceived Impact Of Integrated Development Planning (Idp) On The Social And Economic Development Of Local Communities Of Magareng Local Municipality, Northern Cape Province

DissertationThe first democratic elections in 1994 has resulted in the government beginning a fundamental transformation process in all three spheres of government to give effect to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and to address numerous developmental challenges that local government faced. The municipalities are responsible for the provision of services to the communities in a sustainable and accountable manner, as well as to promote the social and economic development of their communities. Therefore, a municipality must structure and manage its administration as well as its planning and budgetary processes to give priority to the basic needs of the community, to promote the social and economic development of the community, as well as to participate in national and provincial development programmes. The main purpose of an Integrated Development Plan (IDP) of a municipality is to enhance the level of service delivery, to promote sustainability and to address poverty through an integrated and aligned approach among role players and stakeholders within the municipalities’ jurisdiction. The main purpose of this study was to analyse the perceived impact of the IDP on the social and economic development circumstances of the communities within the Magareng Local Municipality of the Northern Cape Province. For the realisation of the aim and the objectives of this study a qualitative research methodology was adopted. The literature study was based on the requirements of a qualitative study, which includes extensive literature, legislation, policy documents journal articles, books, conference papers, internet and government reports about, developmental local government, IDP and LED in the context of South African local government. An empirical study was also administered. A semi-structured questionnaire was utilized to elicit information from selected ward councilors of the Magareng Local Municipality regarding the perceived impact of IDP on the social and economic development of communities of Magareng Local Municipality of Northern Cape Province. Except for the above, a semi-structured interview schedule was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with selected municipal officials responsible for IDP and LED of Magareng Local Municipality. It was found during the literature review that although the IDP is an important strategic tool to address the socio-economic backlogs and development challenges of municipalities, more still needs to be done in order to ensure that the medium-term and long-term priorities are effectively implemented to promote effective service delivery and socio-economic conditions of communities in the Magareng Local Municipality. From the findings of the semi-structured questionnaire it was found that the majority of the ward committee members were of the opinion that the social development needs of the local communities of Magareng Local Municipality were not adequately addressed by the municipality. From the findings of the semi-structured interviews the majority of the municipal officials were of the opinion that the municipality was unsuccessful in its role to promote developmental local government with the aim to improve the social and economic circumstances of local communities. It was recommended that the Magareng Local Municipality should focus more on ward-based social and economic developmental needs and priorities in its IDP, such as poverty alleviation, job creation, youth development and local economic growth related LED projects and programmes. This could be done by attracting investments from business partners and other stakeholders. The vigorous implementation and execution of IDP and LED related projects and programmes need to be at the forefront of all social and economic development initiatives. It is recommended that the provincial government and sector departments provide support, guidance and sufficient funds to ensure that Magareng Local Municipality will be able to implement its IDP and LED related projects and programmes effectively. This will assist the municipality to complete and reduce the turnaround time of IDP and LED related projects and programmes to promote the social and economic development of local communities

Language Acquisition Through Motor Planning (LAMP): Impact on Language & Communication Development for Students with Complex Disabilities

Thesis advisor: Susan BruceAugmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is central to the lives of many individuals who are not able to effectively use spoken language. AAC systems are an essential component of a student’s ability to access his/her world, including daily communication and school content. The provision of such systems is a high priority in the field and supports the emancipation of those with limited voice, power, and independence that must function within a social structure that has been designed for the more typically abled. The study employed a single-case multiple staggered baseline design with randomized intervention implementation and intervention schedule using the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards from 2010. Five students with complex disabilities using advanced speech generating devices with the LAMP method, Language Acquisition Through Motor Planning, (Halloran & Halloran, 2006), of picture symbol organization participated in the study. The LAMP method was examined, and the potential impact on language and communication it may have. Specifically, the ability to use print versus picture symbols for communication and literacy was investigated within the context of a highly structured 1:1 literacy lesson facilitated by interventionists. Results indicated that all students made varying degrees of gains in the use of print words. These gains were sustained in the generalization phase. Operational skills were impacted demonstrated by increased skill development in navigation of the speech generating device and the type of vocabulary selected. In addition, communication functions were expanded, and in some cases, there was a significant increase in the complexity of word usage across people and settings. Discussions on interventionists perceptions are presented and integrated within individual student results providing context and direction on training needs.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction

Financial openness, financial fragility and policies for economic stability: a comparative analysis across regions of the developing world

This book presents a comparative analysis of the policy responses of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean to the challenges that greater external financial openness and price and exchange-rate flexibility pose to economic stability. Greater external openness has significantly narrowed developing economies’ policy space, while at the same time increasing the potential for financial fragility and instability. These challenges, which have come to the fore since the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, are also manifest in the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and will shape the post-pandemic recovery. The book examines how different countries have used capital controls and macroprudential tools and highlights key lessons learned.Presentation .-- Introduction .-- Chapter I. Capital flow regulation: selected experiences in developing countries from Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific and analysis of the type of capital controls needed to confront the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 / Esteban Pérez Caldentey, Zebulun Kreiter, Martín Abeles .-- Chapter II. Challenges posed by the Global Development trajectory from 2022 to 2030 / Terry McKinley .-- Chapter III. A critical assessment of macroprudential regulation and comparative regional experiences focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean / Esteban Pérez Caldentey, Lorenzo Nalin, Leonardo Rojas .-- Chapter V. Macroprudential policies in Asia: A consideration of some Asian experiences / Jayati Ghosh .-- Chapter VI. Macroprudential policies in Latin America / Pablo Gabriel Bortz .-- Chapter VII. A Framework to Interpret Macroprudential Policies in an Era of Financialization / Matías Vernengo .-- Chapter VIII. A baseline stock-flow model for the analysis of macroprudential regulation guidelines and policies for Latin America and the Caribbean / Esteban Perez Caldentey, Lorenzo Nalin, Leonardo Rojas .-- Chapter IX. Finance-led premature de-industrialization and the role of external macroprudential policy for post-COVID-19 transformative development: Latin America in a comparative perspective / Alberto Botta, Giuliano Yajima, Gabriel Porcile .-- Chapter X. Conclusions / Esteban Pérez Caldentey, Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid, Lorenzo Nalín