A place for civics in a liberal democratic polity? Contemporary civic discourse on democracy and representation

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Democracy, Popular Precedents, Practice and Culture, 13-15 July, 1994

SECTOR POLICING THAT WORKS: A case study of the West Rand

In December 1993, the national police commissioner issued a draft National Instruction on sector policing. The West Rand policing area in Johannesburg has interpreted this instruction creatively and ambitiously, and used it to fashion a new style of grassroots policing. This article describes the form of policing taking shape in the West Rand and the challenges facing police officials in the area

ASSESSING THE FUTURE OF RURAL POLICING: The impact of closing the Commandos

Implicit in President Mbeki’s controversial announcement in February 2003 that the Commandos are to be phased out is a statement that the SAPS is now strong enough to police rural South Africa on its own, and that the uncomfortable, transitional role the military has been playing in this area can come to an end. The key question posed in a recent ISS study was whether rural policing would be strengthened or weakened by the decision. The research suggests that closing the Commandos will weaken rural policing but strengthen the policing of contact crimes in rural towns

FINDING THE MEANINGS OF AIDS: ARV treatment in an Eastern Cape village

What happens to the meanings of AIDS when treatment for it becomes universally available? The author asks this question in Lusikisiki, where a successful antiretroviral treatment programme in the district’s 12 clinics made treatment accessible. The most profound effect is a whittling away of public denial. As nurses begin successfully treating opportunistic infections, so villagers’ definition of AIDS broadens considerably; infections previously considered the work of witchcraft are now identified with AIDS. However, two years after the beginning of treatment, AIDS remained highly stigmatised. Although everyone knew where to go for treatment, some stayed at home and got sicker, while others tried to initiate treatment secretly. The future of the meaning of AIDS depends a great deal on whether the health system can maintain the quality of its service. If radically understaffed clinics begin finding ways to turn patients away, people will look increasingly to traditional and lay-healers for treatment and accept alternative explanations for illness.

The global retinoblastoma outcome study : a prospective, cluster-based analysis of 4064 patients from 149 countries

DATA SHARING : The study data will become available online once all analyses are complete.BACKGROUND : Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular cancer worldwide. There is some evidence to suggest that major differences exist in treatment outcomes for children with retinoblastoma from different regions, but these differences have not been assessed on a global scale. We aimed to report 3-year outcomes for children with retinoblastoma globally and to investigate factors associated with survival. METHODS : We did a prospective cluster-based analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed between Jan 1, 2017, and Dec 31, 2017, then treated and followed up for 3 years. Patients were recruited from 260 specialised treatment centres worldwide. Data were obtained from participating centres on primary and additional treatments, duration of follow-up, metastasis, eye globe salvage, and survival outcome. We analysed time to death and time to enucleation with Cox regression models. FINDINGS : The cohort included 4064 children from 149 countries. The median age at diagnosis was 23·2 months (IQR 11·0–36·5). Extraocular tumour spread (cT4 of the cTNMH classification) at diagnosis was reported in five (0·8%) of 636 children from high-income countries, 55 (5·4%) of 1027 children from upper-middle-income countries, 342 (19·7%) of 1738 children from lower-middle-income countries, and 196 (42·9%) of 457 children from low-income countries. Enucleation surgery was available for all children and intravenous chemotherapy was available for 4014 (98·8%) of 4064 children. The 3-year survival rate was 99·5% (95% CI 98·8–100·0) for children from high-income countries, 91·2% (89·5–93·0) for children from upper-middle-income countries, 80·3% (78·3–82·3) for children from lower-middle-income countries, and 57·3% (52·1-63·0) for children from low-income countries. On analysis, independent factors for worse survival were residence in low-income countries compared to high-income countries (hazard ratio 16·67; 95% CI 4·76–50·00), cT4 advanced tumour compared to cT1 (8·98; 4·44–18·18), and older age at diagnosis in children up to 3 years (1·38 per year; 1·23–1·56). For children aged 3–7 years, the mortality risk decreased slightly (p=0·0104 for the change in slope). INTERPRETATION : This study, estimated to include approximately half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017, shows profound inequity in survival of children depending on the national income level of their country of residence. In high-income countries, death from retinoblastoma is rare, whereas in low-income countries estimated 3-year survival is just over 50%. Although essential treatments are available in nearly all countries, early diagnosis and treatment in low-income countries are key to improving survival outcomes.The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and the Wellcome Trust.https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/homeam2023Paediatrics and Child Healt

Personal identity and the police occupation in South Africa

This thesis explores the question, 'Who do South African police officers think they are and how does this shape police practice?' Based on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork in Cape Town and the Eastern Cape province of South Africa in 2012/13, it is an exploration of the deep-seated perceptions, stories and imaginings that South African Police Service (SAPS) officers have of themselves, their occupation and their country, in the early twenty-first century. It unpacks how officers’ individual narratives shape, and are shaped by organisational narratives and forces, and how this interplay influences police practice in an unequal and violent young democracy. The thesis suggests that a job in the SAPS is primarily just that, a job. It is a means to strive and survive in a country saturated in vulnerability and risk. Most officers join the organisation after other dreams have slipped out of reach. Once recruited they re-write their self-narratives to accommodate their new circumstances. Recruited from lineages long-oppressed, the meaning and income the job brings to their lives is usually more important to them than the work they carry out. As a result, they seek first to please their institutional overseers and ease the pressure of the job. This is achieved by enacting institutional performances that promote the idea that the SAPS is a rational, effective, evidence-based and rule-bound organisation made of up well trained officers performing common-sense crime prevention tasks, while hiding the darker side of police work. Using carefully choreographed performances, the SAPS and its officers present a strategically crafted façade behind which individual officers strive to secure their sense of self. When the façade is challenged, some resort to violence in an attempt to garner the respect they seek.This thesis is not currently available in OR