Effects of different building blocks designs on the statistical characteristics of Automated Zone-design Tool output areas

Prior to any census, the country usually gets demarcated into small geographic units called census enumeration areas, districts or blocks. In most countries, these small geographic units are also used for census dissemination. In cases where they are not used for census release, they are normally used as building blocks for developing output areas or they are aggregated to higher spatial levels in an effort to preserve privacy or confidentiality. Buildings blocks are therefore, of significant importance towards results that could be drawn from either aggregated higher level or from output areas developed using these small geographic areas. This paper aimed at evaluating the effects of different building blocks on the statistical characteristics of output areas generated using the Automated Zone-design Tool (AZTool) computer program. Different spatial layers (such as Enumeration Areas (EAs), Small Area Layers (SALs) and SubPlaces) from the 2001 census data were used as building blocks for the generation of census output areas with AZTool program in both rural and urban areas of South Africa. One way-Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was also performed to determine statistical significance of the AZTool results. Results showed that the AZTool output areas generated from smaller areas (EAs and SALs) tend to be more homogeneous than the ones generated from larger areas (SubPlaces) when using dwelling type and geotype as homogeneity variables. The output areas from smaller areas also had narrower population distribution and more compact shapes than their counter-parts. In addition, the AZTool optimised output areas from the smaller areas allowed a clear distinction of the scale effects than output areas from larger areas. It was concluded that indeed different building blocks did have an impact on the statistical qualities of the AZTool optimised output areas in both rural and urban settings in South Africa.Keywords: AZTool; Building blocks; Enumeration areas; Output areas; Scale effects; Small Area Layers; SubPlace

South Africans’ understanding of and response to the COVID-19 outbreak: An online survey

Background. The COVID-19 outbreak is in an accelerating phase, and South Africa (SA) has had the highest number of documented cases during the early phase of the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.Objectives. To assess South Africans’ understanding of and response to COVID-19 during the first week of the country’s lockdown period.Methods. An online survey was conducted in SA from 27 March to 2 April 2020. The survey was distributed widely among several websites and social media networks, including on a data-free platform. Descriptive statistics of knowledge, risk perception, access to and trust in information sources, and public and media opinions were calculated. Estimates were benchmarked to the 2019 national adult population estimates.Results. Of the 55 823 participants, the majority (83.4%) correctly identified the main symptoms of COVID-19. Over 90% had correct knowledge of the incubation period, with lower rates for 18 - 29-year-olds. Knowledge of symptoms and the incubation period varied significantly by population group (p<0.001), dwelling type (p<0.001) and sex (p<0.001). A quarter (24.9%) perceived themselves as at high risk of contracting COVID-19. Risk perception varied by age, population group, employment status and dwelling type (p<0.001). The most prevalent COVID-19 information sources were government sources (72.9%), news websites/apps (56.3%), satellite television (51.6%) and local television (51.4%).Conclusions. Understanding knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of people facing the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial for guiding strategic policy. These findings provide public understanding of COVID-19 as the phases of the country-level epidemic progress, and also directly inform communication needs and gaps

Towards an understanding of the spatial aspects of social cohesion in South Africa

Paper presented at the Global Geospatial Conference, at UNECA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 4-8 Novembe

Development of health density indicators in South Africa using GIS

Paper presented at GISSA Ukubuzana, Kempton Park, 2-4 OctoberThe scope and emphasis of a public health program are necessarily influenced by the changing characteristics of the population it serves. In South Africa, population growth between 2004 and 2009 has outstripped the availability of health facilities. GIS provides ideal platforms for decision makers to easily visualize problems in relation to existing health services as well as distribution of health facilities and their surrounding populations. Therefore this research was aimed at developing health density indicators in South Africa at a sub-provincial level using GIS in order for decision makers to target appropriate populations and areas for intervention. This research used the existing (5043) public health facilities data (2010) together with some additional data from the Department of Health and Stats SA Community Survey 2007 population estimates at municipality level to develop two health facilities density indicators. The first indicator, health facilities per population, was calculated by dividing the number of health facilities by the total population (per 10 000) at a municipal level. The second indicator was calculated by dividing the number of health facilities by square kilometre. Findings showed that most municipalities that had a low coverage in terms of the number of health facilities per 10000 population are located in the eastern part of the country as well as in urban areas even though there are more health facilities in these urban areas as the total population is also much higher due to migration. Therefore, the combination of the two indicators is of high importance in final decision making in prioritizing areas for health care interventions for large municipalities characterized with low populations

Complex journeys and methodological responses to engaging in self-study in a rural comprehensive university

The context in which self-study research is conducted is sometimes complex, affecting the manner in which related data is gathered and interpreted. This article comprises collaboration between three students and two supervisors. It shares methodological choices made by graduate students and supervisors of a rural university at which, self-study research was introduced in 2010. As individuals, and as a collective, we reflect on the reasons and decisions for adopting certain research approaches towards self-study: the ways in which such decisions are negotiated in conceptualising, conducting, transcribing, and supervising graduate research. While self-reflexive data-collection approaches (mainly journal writing and storytelling) guide our research, the manner in which data is analysed and presented to the wider university community is influenced by expectations and by the context of the university. We, therefore, use innovative approaches differing from self-study research, speaking more to the challenges and expectations of a rural context. We further reflect on the implications such choices have for our research and the work produced where knowledge shifts are executed, methodologies are re-defined and social change is desired.

Measuring social cohesion: toward a social cohesion barometer for South Afirca

PSPPD Policy Brief 4 Decembe

Tutorials to support learning: Experiences of nursing students in a competency-based nursing programme

No Abstract

Towards a social cohesion barometer for South Africa

A familiar scene erupted on 14 August 2012 when 350 people of the Khayelitsha community in Cape Town came out in protest against poor housing and sanitation; stones were thrown and one man fatally injured. At the time of writing this chapter, this was the latest in a long list of incidents showcasing cracks in the sheen of the rainbow nation. These service delivery protests that have come into prominence in the last decade highlight the social divisions between the haves and the have-nots, the wealthy and the impoverished. In addition, the first half of 2012 also bore witness to a number of other incidents such as anti-immigrant protests in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and elsewhere revealing the many other social divisions in South Africa. At a recent summit on social cohesion in Kliptown in Gauteng, the national government publicly identified social disunity as a challenge for the post-apartheid nation and social cohesion as one of the most important tasks of democratic governance in the country. The current democratically elected government is cognisant that the country's legacy of racial division remains unresolved and that class divisions, along with unresolved regional, ethnic and cultural divides and prejudices, brood beneath the national surface. These divisions have the potential to undermine the post-apartheid transition, threatening the nation's economic, political and social stability. As a result of this concern, the term 'social cohesion' has become common in South African development debates, featuring in government planning documents, academic panels, media debates and parliamentary hearings. The meaning and importance of the term is intuitively clear, connoting 'solidarity' and a safer, more caring, more equal and more harmonious society. The significance given to social cohesion at the national level is marred, however, by the inadequacy of the tools that academics, researchers and citizens have to measure cohesion in South African society. In an attempt to overcome this challenge and better understand the level of social disunity in the post-apartheid nation, the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development funded researchers at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) to quantify and measure social cohesion in South Africa. This chapter is based on that research and presents a multidimensional tool for understanding and measuring social cohesion. The researchers hope the results will assist policymakers to track the success of existing programmes, to increase social cohesion and to highlight new areas that demand attention. In conducting this study, the researchers relied on literature as well as expert opinions to construct the conceptual framework. This framework will attempt to incorporate the complexities associated with the concept, whilst simultaneously providing a platform that could be used as a measurement framework.

Reducing Barriers to the Consumption of Traditional Fruits and Vegetables by Migrant Communities in Johannesburg: Recommendations for Urban Policy and Planning

This Briefing Note is the second in a series of four deriving from research conducted between May and July 2023 in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) at two research sites: the Central Business District and Soweto South. The research explored the role of traditional fruits and vegetables (TFVs) in the lives of local and cross-border migrant communities. This Briefing Note reports key findings on the drivers of, and barriers to, the consumption of these TFVs on the part of migrant communities. It then proposes a series of policy and planning recommendations for national and local government, civil society organisations and communities in order to foster increased consumption of these products, given their cultural and nutritional value. This is important in the context of a city in which more than one-third of residents have recently experienced food insecurity