The reactive

Includes bibliographical references.Lindanathi Mda works a dead end job at a video store and runs an operation selling ARV's with his friends, Carmichael and Linireaux. He is tormented by the memory of having contributed to his younger brother Luthando's death. He lives a life of evasion, taking drugs and a substance called Industrial in Cape Town's suburbs, until he receives a message from Bhut' Vuyo, Luthando's step-father, which reminds him of a promise he made to their family eight years ago. While old wounds resurface, Lindanathi is faced with the decision of continuing a life of evasion or returning home and facing the responsibility that comes with everything he left behind. "The Reactive' is a novel that seeks to explore the implications of an increasingly technologized society coming to a head with more traditionally based ideas of place and identity, as well as the idea of forming a "self" based on an unreliable memory, and a continually compromised process of mentation, due to the proliferation of ephemeral media forms and chemical abuse

Reasons for late booking of pregnant women at antenatal care clinics in King Sabata Dalindyebo Sub-district in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Background: The initiation of ante-natal care booking is universally recommended in the first trimester of pregnancy. While working in the Oliver Reginald Tambo district in the Eastern Cape Department of Health, the researcher noticed that late booking was the norm in all sub-districts, especially in the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) sub-district, resulting in impaired antenatal care and an increased potential for adverse outcomes such as maternal mortalities. Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the reasons for late booking for antenatal care by pregnant women in the KSD sub-district. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine reasons why women were booking late for antenatal in KSD sub district. Methods: Thirteen in-depth, unstructured interviews were conducted with late bookers (i.e., those who sought antenatal care (ANC) after twenty weeks of pregnancy) between July and August 2015. The interviews were recorded and, subsequently, transcribed by a reputable linguist from Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and analysed using Creswell’s thematic analysis model. Findings: The average gestational age of booking was 22 weeks (ranging from 22 to 28 weeks). Most women were teenagers and young unmarried women, most of whom were still attending school. All were unemployed. Most had experienced previous pregnancies. All these women delayed attending clinic early due to their ignorance of the exact gestational period for one to start the clinic. Although most of the women did not have direct reasons, the bulk of their reasons for delays were linked to long distances being travelled, leading to the payment of expensive taxi fees. This may also be attributed to cultural factors that seem to promote a veil of secrecy regarding pregnancy, the desire for visual evidence of pregnancy first and the practice of married women having to care for sick relatives. Conclusion: Poor access to clinics is a fundamental systemic failure and a major contributor and one of the reasons why women delayed in attending antenatal care clinics. Low socio economic status and cultural beliefs, coupled with long distance and expensive taxi fare, are other reasons for late booking

The effects of HIV/AIDS epidemic on teachers and learners of one secondary school in Mthatha District

The aim of this research study was to investigate the effects of HIV/AIDS on teachers and learners of one Secondary School in Mthatha District of Eastern Cape, South Africa. The research design used was a case study; both quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed. The research was conducted in one secondary school, where data was collected using the interview schedules and the questionnaires. The teachers and learners were the respondents. Close-ended responses were analysed using Statistical Programme for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software. Open-ended responses and interviews were analysed manually using sentence analysis, themes, categories and pattern. Interview responses were also analysed and interpreted using descriptions. From the analysis and interpretation of results, the following main findings emerged: HIV/AIDS has a devastating and deadly effect on both learners and teachers such as:-early sick pensions, redeployments, high teacher death rate, high learner death rate and learner absenteeism. Learner and teacher absenteeism trough HIV/AIDS epidemic, learner drop-out from school because of HIV/AIDS, non-fulfillment of future goals by the learners were discovered by the researcher as some of the findings from the study. From the findings it emerged that HIV/AIDS has devastating and deadly effect on both learners and educators. Support on those who are affected by HIV/AIDS epidemic is recommended by the researcher and the strategies that can be used to control HIV/AIDS epidemic

Towards increasing the scale of co-operative housing delivery : lessons from the Troyeville Co-operative Housing Project within the Johannesburg Municipality.

Masters in Housing. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College 2014In response to the current housing backlog of approximately two million units for both low and middle-income earners, the democratic South African government has adopted different approaches and instruments to deliver affordable housing. One is the co-operative housing model. Co-operative housing is an alternative tenure option to individual ownership and rental; it enables collective ownership for urban households with a monthly income of R1 500 - R7 500 which is slightly different from the income groups (R2 800 – R3 500) accommodated by the pilot projects. This study examines the co-operative housing model in South Africa generally and the extent to which it has been employed by the Johannesburg Municipal authorities to deliver affordable housing to the low to middle-income earners within its area of jurisdiction. Lessons are drawn from the pilot projects delivered between the mid-1990s and early 2000s across South Africa. Given that post-apartheid housing policies recommend the use of co-operative housing, the study explores the development ideologies which influence these policies. Furthermore, the conventional approach to housing delivery is examined as one of the approaches that recognise co-operative housing as a formal strategy to build habitable and high quality homes. The co-operative movement is also analysed as a concept that had a significant influence on the co-operative housing sector. The concept of co-operatives traces its roots to the principles adopted by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) that govern co-operatives across all economic sectors at an international level, including South Africa. International and local experiences of co-operative housing are analysed and discussed in order to establish its strengths and weaknesses. The evolution of the co-operative housing sector with reference to housing policies and the legislation that supports and strengthens its delivery is explored. This lays the foundation for an understanding of the history of co-operative housing delivery and the formation of the Troyeville Housing Co-operative as one of the pilot projects. The historical background of the case study – the Troyeville co-operative housing project - is examined in order to ascertain the practical experience of the delivery of the co-operative housing model. The researcher found that the co-operative housing model has not been vigorously pursued as an alternative tenure option for affordable housing by the Johannesburg local authorities responsible for housing policy implementation. This is due to the challenges experienced during some of the pilot projects as well as political interference, a lack of understanding of the concept, and hasty implementation of the model. Mass housing delivery and rental social housing are preferred over co-operative housing because the local authorities are under pressure to address the housing backlog. These challenges can be addressed if advocates for the model help the existing housing co-operatives to move forward and be independent. The study thus offers recommendations based on the lessons learnt from the Troyeville co-operative housing project in order to promote the successful and sustainable delivery of co-operative housing

Patient and service user engagement in research: a systematic review and synthesized framework

BackgroundThere is growing attention towards increasing patient and service user engagement (PSUE) in biomedical and health services research. Existing variations in language and design inhibit reporting and indexing, which are crucial to comparative effectiveness in determining best practices.ObjectiveThis paper utilizes a systematic review and environmental scan to derive an evidence‐based framework for PSUE.DesignA metanarrative systematic review and environmental scan/manual search using scientific databases and other search engines, along with feedback from a patient advisory group (PAG).Eligible sourcesEnglish‐language studies, commentaries, grey literature and other sources (including systematic and non‐systematic reviews) pertaining to patient and public involvement in biomedical and health services research.Data extractedStudy description (e.g. participant demographics, research setting) and design, if applicable; frameworks, conceptualizations or planning schemes for PSUE‐related endeavours; and methods for PSUE initiation and gathering patients'/service users' input or contributions.ResultsOverall, 202 sources were included and met eligibility criteria; 41 of these presented some framework or conceptualization of PSUE. Sources were synthesized into a two‐part framework for PSUE: (i) integral PSUE components include patient and service user initiation, reciprocal relationships, colearning and re‐assessment and feedback, (ii) sources describe PSUE at several research stages, within three larger phases: preparatory, execution and translational.Discussion and ConclusionsEfforts at developing a solid evidence base on PSUE are limited by the non‐standard and non‐empirical nature of much of the literature. Our proposed two‐part framework provides a standard structure and language for reporting and indexing to support comparative effectiveness and optimize PSUE.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113737/1/hex12090.pd

Native Life in the Third Millennium

In Native Life in the Third Millennium, Masande Ntshanga’s third book after The Reactive (2014) and Triangulum (2019), a poet, philosopher and programmer wrestle with systemic oppression and themselves, navigating anomie, alienation and flashes of abundance in millennial Africa. This excerpt, shared with the permission of Model See Media, is the opening long-form poem that gives the book its title

Farewell to the Rainbow Nation?

More than a quarter of a century since Nelson Mandela became the country’s first democratically elected president, the racial categories of apartheid live on in South Africa. The proud vision of the “Rainbow Nation” is now being challenged by various forms of populism, with racial thinking as the common denominator. How can one advocate for non-racism and cosmopolitanism—in South Africa and the world—without being perceived as a defender of the privileges of the white minority? Oscar Hemer, Professor of the Arts at Malmö University, considers these questions in discussion with South African author colleagues Masande Ntshanga, Ivan Vladislavić and Bronwyn Law-Viljoen

Establishment of a Community Advisory Board (CAB) for tuberculosis control and research in the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu (INK) area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Objectives To strengthen community mobilization, education, awareness and involvement in research to improve Tuberculosis (TB) control, by building partnership between communities and the health sector through the establishment of a Community Advisory Board (CAB) in the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu (INK) area.Methods Key stakeholders from multiple sectors of the target community were identified. Two workshops were held with the aim of communicating the need for CAB and selecting its members. A 22 member INK CAB with representatives from different sectors in the community was selected. CAB members were trained through a 2-day workshop on TB and research.Results Various activities were successfully initiated and spearheaded by the INK CAB, and these involved training of Traditional Healers, recruiting of more TB tracer teams, organizing awareness campaigns during TB World Day, establishing TB school peer educators and links with NGOs to support impoverished TB patients all with positive outcomes.Conclusions The INK CAB is a successful example of providing a mechanism for community consultation and participation that contributes to promoting and facilitating relevant research and TB control activities.Tuberculosis TB control Community Research CAB INK