South Africa's `Rainbow People', national pride and optimism: a trend study

Since the first democratic elections of 1994, South Africans are popularly known as the ‘rainbow people'. The paper reports the acceptance of the rainbow as political symbol of unity among the diverse people of South Africa at three times: Immediately after the 1994 elections, two years later in 1996, and five years later in 1999 after the second general elections. The database for the study are responses to items placed with a syndicated national survey conducted countrywide. The public discourse on the rainbow is reviewed through personal interviews with a panel of 25 elites contacted in the run-up to the second general elections. The researchers revisit conclusions based on the earlier results (Møller, Dickow and Harris, 1999). The third round of research finds that the appeal of the rainbow as political symbol has waned but is still inclusive of all groups in society. Projections of national pride have shifted from the rainbow as symbol of unity and reconciliation to other icons of achievement such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme and prowess in sport. Support for the political symbolism of the rainbow is positively associated with happiness, life satisfaction and optimism. Lack of a focus of national pride is associated with pessimism. Results support the conclusion reached earlier that belief in the `rainbow nation' ideal boosts optimism and promotes happiness during South Africa's transition to a stable democracy, thereby preventing alienation among the losers under the new political dispensation. Linkages between acceptance of the rainbow symbol, subjective well-being and optimism are discussed in the light of the socio-political changes which have taken place in South Africa since democracy

South Africa's "Rainbow People", national pride and happiness

Since the first free elections were held in April 1994, South Africans are popularly known as the ''rainbow people''. The paper inquires whether South Africans who experienced pride in their nation in the first years of democracy also perceived a greater sense of subjective well-being. It is proposed that national pride in post-apartheid South Africa might be fused with or work through self-esteem to lift levels of happiness. The paper traces the history of the new integrating civil religion of the rainbow people and the acceptance of the rainbow as a political symbol of unity among the diverse people of South Africa immediately after the 1994 elections and two years later. The proposed link between national pride and happiness was explored with data from two independent national surveys, the 1995 South African World Values Survey conducted by Markinor and a June 1996 MarkData syndicated omnibus survey. The study found that the appeal of the rainbow as political symbol was inclusive of all groups in society and that feelings of national pride and support for the rainbow ideal were positively associated with subjective well-being. As indicated by intensity and frequency measures, the majority of South Africans were proud of their country and could name a national achievement that inspired pride. Better-off South Africans tended to be happier and more satisfied with life but less proud, while the poor were less happy but fiercely proud of their country. Results suggest that belief in South Africa’s ''rainbow nation'' ideal may have assisted in boosting happiness during the transition to a stable democracy, thereby preventing alienation among the losers under the new political dispensation. Supporters of the ideal of the rainbow nation were more optimistic than others about the future of their country

The role of quality of life surveys in managing change in democratic transitions: the South African case

The South African Quality of Life Project has tracked subjective well-being, life satisfaction and happiness, since the early eighties at the national level. In most democratic countries around the globe, the average citizen says he or she is satisfied with life in general. In South Africa this is not the case. Since the early 1980s, the trend study shows up disparities between one sector of the South African population that is satisfied with life in general and various aspects of life and another sector that is very dissatisfied. Generally, the better-off report higher levels of satisfaction and happiness than the worse-off. The most plausible explanation for the South African quality-of-life constellation is the huge gap in living standards between rich and poor, a legacy of the apartheid era, which discriminated against blacks and to a lesser extent against Indian and coloured people. Euphoria following on the first democratic elections in April 1994, which registered equally high aggregate levels of happiness and life satisfaction among all sectors of the population, was short-lived. Under democracy, expectations “for a better life for all”, the election slogans for the 1994 and 1999 general elections, has risen. South Africa has one of the most enlightened constitutions, which guarantees basic human rights and supports advancement of the previously disadvantaged. As long as South Africans perceive barriers to accessing the material rewards of democracy, they do not see justice has been done. South Africa is currently grappling with problems common to other societies in transition to democracy. Since 1994, government programmes and policies have been devised to address the critical twin problems of poverty and inequality in society. The latest round of research for the South African Quality of Life Trends Project probes popular assessments of the policies and programmes aimed at improving the quality of life of ordinary South Africans. Interviews with a panel of 25 opinion leaders in the run-up to the June 1999 general elections were followed by a nationally representative opinion survey in October 1999. The paper outlines the role of social indicators in monitoring quality of life in South Africa and reports findings from the elite and rank-and-file surveys. Generally, the winners and losers in the new political dispensation see changes from a different perspective. The disadvantaged are more likely to have seen material gains and recommend increased delivery of services and opportunities for social mobility. The advantaged, who have mainly experienced non-material or no gains since 1994, are more likely to be pessimistic about the future. It is concluded that the groundswell of optimism will sustain the majority of South Africans who are still dissatisfied with life until their dreams of the good life are fulfilled

The Exceptionally Soft X-ray Spectrum of the Low-mass Starburst Galaxy NGC 1705

NGC 1705 is one of the optically brightest and best studied dwarf galaxies. It appears to be in the late stage of a major starburst and contains a young super star cluster. Type II supernovae are therefore likely to have been a major effect in the recent evolution of this galaxy and are likely to have produced a superbubble whose affects on the low-density ambient interstellar medium can be ideally studied. ROSAT PSPC observations of this galaxy reveal two striking blobs of X-ray emission embedded in \Ha loops which can be interpreted as both sides of the upper plumes of the same superbubble. These sources are a surprise. They are much softer than those observed from other starburst dwarf galaxies, and are so soft that they should have been blocked if the observed Galactic HI column density were uniformly distributed across NGC 1705 or if the sources were embedded in the HI disk of NGC 1705. In addition, the total X-ray luminosity in the ROSAT energy band of 1.2x10^{38} erg s^{-1} is low in comparison to similar objects. We discuss possible models for the two X-ray peaks in NGC 1705 and find that the sources most likely originate from relatively cool gas of one single superbubble in NGC 1705. The implications of the exceptional softness of these sources are addressed in terms of intrinsic properties of NGC 1705 and the nature of the foreground Galactic absorption.Comment: 7 pages, 2 ps-figures, LATEX-file; accepted for publication in ApJ.Letter

Satisfaction With The Status Quo: Why has Religious Terrorism not yet Gained Ground In Chad?

Chad is one of those countries touched by Islamist violence that has originated mostly from its neighbours. However, thus far Chadian Muslims and Christians have demonstrated a positive attitude toward religious cohabitation. Survey data from a unique dataset of five Chadian cities confirm the population’s willingness to accept peaceful coexistence as well as a high level of religiosity. However, the data reveal Islamist fundamentalist attitudes among wealthier respondents who received either an Islamic-based primary education or have a first university degree. This combination is an unusual result. These respondents also show the highest support for authoritarian structures and the Chadian leadership. This leads to the conclusion that Islamist fundamentalism is most prominent among those persons who benefit most from the present regime

The Indo-U.S. Library of Coude Feed Stellar Spectra

We have obtained spectra for 1273 stars using the 0.9m Coud\'e Feed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This telescope feeds the coud\'e spectrograph of the 2.1m telescope. The spectra have been obtained with the #5 camera of the coud\'e spectrograph and a Loral 3K X 1K CCD. Two gratings have been used to provide spectral coverage from 3460 \AA to 9464 \AA, at a resolution of $\sim$1\AA FWHM and at an original dispersion of 0.44 \AA/pixel. For 885 stars we have complete spectra over the entire 3460 \AA to 9464 \AA wavelength region (neglecting small gaps of $<$ 50 \AA), and partial spectral coverage for the remaining stars. The 1273 stars have been selected to provide broad coverage of the atmospheric parameters T$_{eff}$, log g, and [Fe/H], as well as spectral type. The goal of the project is to provide a comprehensive library of stellar spectra for use in the automated classification of stellar and galaxy spectra and in galaxy population synthesis. In this paper we discuss the characteristics of the spectral library, viz., details of the observations, data reduction procedures, and selection of stars. We also present a few illustrations of the quality and information available in the spectra. The first version of the complete spectral library is now publicly available from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) via FTP and HTTP.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 4 table

The global debate on the future of artificial intelligence: the need for international regulation and opportunities for German foreign policy

With the current developments in the field of artificial intelligence, the process of digitalisation has reached a new stage. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to analyse the large amounts of data collected today in completely new ways. Companies and countries are spending considerable resources to take advantage of these analytical possibilities. However, artificial intelligence is also dependent on the quality of the underlying data; it is completely unsuited for many tasks and has, so far, largely escaped human control. Germany should therefore use its influence in international forums to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in politically sensitive areas. In addition, the Federal Government should carefully examine on what data basis, for what purposes, and under what conditions artificial intelligence can make a contribution to the planning of foreign policy strategy. (author's abstract