The spatial relationship between tuberculosis and alcohol outlets in the township of Mamelodi, South Africa

Background: The availability of alcohol in society is known to increase the risk of a range of negative health outcomes. Objectives: The aim of this research is to determine if there is a spatial association between tuberculosis and alcohol outlets in Mamelodi, South Africa. We also aim to examine whether the socio-economic characteristics of the neighbourhood in which an alcohol outlet was located was related to the magnitude of tuberculosis in the immediate vicinity of the alcohol outlet. Methods: Location quotient analysis is used to compare the extent of tuberculosis within a series of buffer intervals (100m, 200m, 300m) immediately surrounding alcohol outlets with tuberculosis across the township of Mamelodi as a whole. Results: The density of tuberculosis around alcohol outlets in Mamelodi at all buffer distances was found to be substantially higher than across the township as a whole. These findings indicate that the risk of tuberculosis in Mamelodi is higher around alcohol outlets. Alcohol outlets located in more deprived areas of Mamelodi were significantly associated with higher density of tuberculosis relative to alcohol outlets located in more affluent neighbourhoods. Conclusion: Despite alcohol outlets forming an integral part of the urban landscape in townships in South Africa, they may facilitate the transmission of tuberculosis. Keywords: Tuberculosis and alcohol outlets; Mamelodi; South Africa

COVID-19 and the academe in South Africa: Not business as usual

The famous R.E.M. song laments ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it, I had some time alone, I feel fine…’. Many South Africans would agree that COVID-19 signals the end of the world (or business) as we know it, and through the lockdown we have certainly had some time alone. But contrary to the lyrics, all may not be fine, especially for South Africa’s scientific community. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has impacted every economic and social sector1 across the globe, including higher education in South Africa. Every student and staff member at a higher education institution will have been affected in some way and to varying degrees; not one person will emerge from this unscathed. It is impossible to predict every short- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we will experience the aftershocks for a long time to come. Here we discuss some of these impacts, ranging from undergraduate level to large research projects, and we offer suggestions on how to mitigate some of the damage.Geograph

A socio-structural analysis of crime in the city of Tshwane, South Africa

High and rising levels of crime plague post-apartheid South Africa. A common explanation for these high crime rates relates the country’s unique socio-political past to a system of ineffective social control mechanisms that suggest high levels of social disorganisation within certain communities. Other explanations emphasise the presence of disaffected youths and deprivation, as well as the rapid immigration of people from neighbouring African countries into South Africa. I examined a number of these socio-structural explanations of crime on contact crime rates in the city of Tshwane, South Africa. The findings are largely consistent with the social disorganisation theory, as well as with what has previously been suggested in local literature. In order to supplement these preliminary findings, the effects of the same socio-structural explanations on contact crime rates were determined for predominantly Black, White, and ‘Mixed’ (containing a mix of both Black and White residents) suburbs using spatial regression models. Evidence from these analyses suggests that the effects of the various socio-structural explanations do not appear to traverse racial lines. Rather, the findings suggest non-uniformity in terms of the extent to which the various socio-structural factors impact contact crime rates based on race

A geodemographic profiler for high offender propensity areas in the city of Tshwane, South Africa

Postapartheid South Africa has been plagued by an increase in crime across all categories. While a significant amount of criminological research has been undertaken in the country, the spatial analysis of crime and offenders, a basic prerequisite for a functional crime management strategy, has not been adequately addressed at a sufficiently fine scale of aggregation. This paper reports on the geodemographic development of offender risk profiles for neighbourhoods in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. Geodemographics is a relatively new geo-analytical technique that is being increasingly used in policing applications to complement law enforcement techniques and provide further insight into offenders and their offences. Findings of the study indicate that neighbourhoods at a high risk for offender development are amongst the most socially and economically deprived in the municipality and are disproportionately occupied by black Africans. The results highlight a need to reassess the current law enforcement approach to crime reduction in the country and return to the crime prevention initiatives that were part of the National Crime Prevention Strategy of the 1990s.

The impact of the Canterbury Earthquakes on the temporal and spatial patterning of crime in Christchurch, New Zealand

The Canterbury Earthquakes struck the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand between September 2010 and February 2011. The Earthquakes resulted in widespread structural damage to Christchurch, the main city of the region, and greatly impacted other aspects of society including crime. In this study, we adopt an exploratory approach to investigate the impact that these earthquakes have had on the temporal and spatial patterning of four types of crime in Christchurch: assault, domestic violence, burglary and arson. Overall crime has decreased in post-quake Christchurch with the notable exception of domestic violence. We found remarkably similar temporal signatures of crime for all crime types occurring across both the pre- and post-earthquake periods. Spatially, crime has increased in the majority of neighbourhoods in Christchurch post-quake despite overall crime levels being down. Explanations for this paradoxical and other finding are outlined in the context of a rebuilding and recovering city.http://journals.sagepub.com/loi/anjhj2018Geography, Geoinformatics and MeteorologyStatistic