The response of the Christian churches to HIV/AIDS prevention - a developmental challenge: The example of Hout Bay

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-92).Although the churches are engaged in efforts of relief, care and welfare their intervention attempts, do not deal with the fundamental causes. According to Korten their interventions are classified as first generation interventions. They help alleviate the symptoms of a problem; however, they do not deal with the causes. HIV/AIDS is spread in the midst of ubiquitous poverty and deepens poverty by depriving poor families of income and redirecting scarce resources to care for the sick. HIV/AIDS prevention is thus an important development agenda. Development, understood as an improvement in the human condition, therefore implies prevention of HIV/AIDS and tackling poverty. This dissertation will argue that, unable to make a significant contribution to behaviour change at an individual level, churches should seek to play a more effective role in poverty eradication at the structural level. This, it is argued, will contribute indirectly to preventing HIV/AIDS

Women Empowerment and socioeconomic inequality in immunization coverage: a case study of Zambia

Basic immunisation coverage for children between 12-23 months in Zambia was 68% in 2013. Nevertheless, a substantial number of child deaths persist as a result of preventable disease. This study assesses the relationship between women empowerment and immunisation coverage in Zambia. It also investigates socio-economic inequality in full, partial, and immunisation intensity. Thus, the findings will support improved immunisation coverage, especially for those who are the poorest in Zambia. The study uses the 2013-14 Zambia Demographic and Health Surveys (ZDHS), which are nationally representative household surveys [12]. This dataset incorporates information regarding children from 0 to 59 months and for men and women aged 15- 49 years old. The two main study variables are women empowerment and immunisation. Immunisation was divided into three categories namely, full, partial and no immunisation. Concentration indices are used to assess inequality in full, partial and no immunisation coverage as well as in the intensity of immunisation coverage. Briefly, a positive concentration index means that immunisation coverage is pro-rich as richer children are more likely to be immunised. A negative index indicates the opposite. The main finding of this study was that socioeconomic status has a significant impact on the immunisation coverage of a child. For children who were fully immunised, immunisation was found to be pro-rich (concentration index = 0.046). The distribution of partially immunised children (concentration index = -0.114) and not immunised children (concentration index = -0.138) is pro-poor. This confirmed that poorer women were more likely to have a partially immunised/not immunised children compared to a child whose mother is richer. Immunisation intensity had a pro-rich outcome (concentration index = 0.153). In addition, the study confirmed the importance of household decision making as a determinant of a child's likelihood of being fully immunised (p-value< 0.01). This study has shown that close attention to factors such as women empowerment and a mother's education can support improved immunisation coverage, especially for those who are the poorest in Zambia. This paper further highlighted the importance of socio-economic status as it impacts on immunisation coverage

Can a Racist Society Produce and Sustain Just and Healthy Interracial Relationships? A Few South African Case Studies

: In this study the experiences, perceptions and challenges of being in a mixed-race relationship (M-R) are explored against the backdrop of previous South African pieces of legislation meant to keep the various race groups apart. The study is located within a conceptual framework predominantly informed by a constructivist approach, including some tenets from the social constructionist approach. For the purposes of this study, six cases of mixed-race couples consisting of black and white partners only were recruited through snowball sampling. The results of the study indicate that individuals found their involvement in M-R relationships to be a positive experience, and thus resulting in a positive attitude change and a sense of personal growth. However, M-R couples and their extended families experienced cognitive dissonance which required them to discard their previously internalised racial stereotypes. To do this, strategies such as cognitive differentiation, re-categorization and de-categorization were used. This enabled the couples and their families to attempt the shift toward non-racial socially constructed categories. Most of the challenges of being in M-R relationships were experienced on both the interpersonal and the inter-group levels. The losses, disadvantages, challenges, concerns and pains experienced by M-R couples were mainly related to family and social disapproval as well as general family and social efforts aimed at discouraging race mixing

The lived experiences of single teenage mothers in Botswana : a phenomenological study

This study was designed to explore-the lived-experiences of single teenage mothers in Botswana, as perceived by them. The participants were teenage mothers who had to leave school due.to pregnancy. They had either completed year one in secondary school or were in year two. Their ages ranged between 16 and 19 years. The ages of their babies range from five to 10 months, with the exception of one child who was three years old. All teenage mothers came from low socio-economic backgrounds with families whose parents were either not working, or were working in the lowest paying jobs as cleaners or drivers. Some were from single parent families with the mother working as a cleaner in government offices. They all lived in the high population density area of Gaborone such as Old Naledi and Broadhurst Self Help Agency, where many illicit behaviours are observed. The study• is undertaken through a phenomenological approach which is guided by the reality of lived experiences to a theoretical construct. This research was conducted to uncover young single experiences .concerning motherhood

Challenges faced by libraries in a democratic South Africa: A case of three community libraries in Limpopo Province

Community libraries are crucial for people to have access to information to satisfy their multiple needs. As custodians of information and knowledge in diverse spheres, they play a role in the socio-economic development of nations. This article attempts to investigate challenges faced by libraries in three different settings in post-apartheid South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative research design. The users, librarians and a wellplaced official of the relevant department were interviewed. Convenience sampling was used to select users and librarians while purposive sampling was used to select an official. Face-to-face interviews and observation and a checklist were used to collect data. Senior officials of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture need to study challenges revealed by the findings and to take action to remedy the situation.Information Scienc

School Library Development Initiatives in a Democratic South Africa: Roles of the Various Stakeholders

Equitable resource allocation and provision is critical in all schools including those in the disadvantaged rural communities to improve learner outcomes and the quality of education irrespective of the educational paradigm. With a wide variety of educational resources in a school environment, quality of education and learner achievement can be entrenched and improved. However, the majority of the schools in poor and developing countries are still characterised by an inferior quality education and poor learner outcomes owing to an array of contextual realities and factors – amongst them high poverty levels and lack of adequate educational facilities and resources in schools. The aim of this conceptual article is to highlight the roles various stakeholders can play to advance and champion effective development of libraries in all South African schools in the post-apartheid era. Based on the literature review, the study highlights roles various stakeholders can play to champion and advance effective library development initiatives in all schools. The study recommends that a cohort of distinct stakeholders need to play their roles actively for all schools to have an effective library and information services (LIS) to enable teachers and learners to have equitable access to information for curriculum and non-curriculum related activities

Clients knowledge of renal donation at a specific urban health care facility in the Limpopo Province

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the knowledge of clients regarding renal donation at a specific urban health care facility in the Limpopo province. A quantitative, explorative, descriptive and cross-sectional design was used. Data was collected using a structured pre-tested questionnaire. Out of 317 questionnaires, 300 were valid and considered for the study. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software version 25. Data was presented using tables, graphs and charts. The study revealed that 32% (n=95) were males and 68% (n=205) were females. The results showed that there are a significant correlations between the attitudes, knowledge and actions of clients with regards to renal donation. The study revealed inadequate knowledge on the majority 74,7% (n=224) of the respondents on renal donation. A recommendation was that awareness campaigns on renal donation to be planned on world kidney days. Furthermore, the recommendations of the study will be presented to the Limpopo Department of health to take effective measures to educate people with relevant information on renal donation. A policy regarding awareness programme of renal donation should be developed.Health StudiesM.A. (Public Health

Transcending existing frontiers to achieve selected sustainable development goals: The role of community libraries in South Africa

Globally, extreme poverty remains an enormous socioeconomic and multifaceted challenge, which has a ripple effect on other factors that affect the quality of life of citizens. Continuing and expanding on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations (UN) developed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs aimed at improving the livelihood of citizens by entrenching human development particularly in poor and developing countries. This is a conceptual paper based on the document analysis or literature review. The article is aimed at analysing information sources and highlights new frontiers community libraries can play in assisting the general South African public to be aware of the good intentions of the SDGs and to mobilise them to strategically work towards achieving them. As hubs for knowledge economy, community libraries need to transcend their existing frontiers to entrench socioeconomic development and transformation in South Africa to improve quality of life of the citizens

Contribution of selected chapter nine institutions to records management in the public sector in South Africa

Records management plays a significant role in ensuring accountability, transparency and good governance. Chapter nine institutions, on the other hand, are democratic institutions responsible for the promotion of accountability, transparency and good governance in the public sector through various forms such as investigation, reporting and recommendations. Although the regulatory role of records management in the public sector is the responsibility of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA), it seems that this responsibility is cumbersome for the organisation as several scholars concur that the public sector is characterised by poor records management. As a result, NARSSA is unable to support governmental bodies in managing records properly. Given the position of chapter nine institutions in government and their mandate as set out by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, these institutions are able to hold the state accountable for their actions, unlike NARSSA. This study adopted the World Bank’s evolution of good governance as the conceptual framework to investigate the contribution of selected chapter nine institutions, specifically the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) towards records management in the public sector in South Africa. Qualitative data was collected through document analysis and interviews with purposively selected participants from the AGSA and the SAHRC. At the AGSA, participants were records management professionals and auditors, whereas at the SAHRC only staff members responsible for the implementation of access to information legislation were interviewed. Although the study established that records management is a key enabler to the process of access to information and the auditing process, the relationship was not fully explored by the SAHRC, which has little or no interaction with the NARSSA. However, the AGSA has taken the lead in this regard as it has managed to develop a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NARSSA. Organised records enable the AGSA to audit the public sector and to facilitate access to records in terms of freedom of information legislation. The study concludes that there is a need for chapter nine institutions to work hand in hand with NARSSA for the purpose of fostering proper record keeping in the public sector. It is recommended that this study be extended to other chapter nine institutions such as the Public Protector.Information ScienceM. Inf. (Archival Studies