An exploratory study investigating a group of South African children's economic socialization and understanding : a comparison between two social classes

Bibliography: leaves p. 146-156.The purpose of this study was to collect data pertaining to South African children's economic socialization. A paucity of systematic and comprehensive work exists in this field in general, and as regards South African research, the only attempt to investigate children's economic socialization is an unpublished honours thesis (Robinson, 1983). For this reason broad aims and exploratory research hypotheses were formulated. A total of 108 children took part in this study. (Fifty-four were from a working class background and 54 were from a middle class background). An equal number of children were selected from the following age groups: 4-4 years and 11 months; 5-5 years and 11 months; 6-6 years and 11 months; 7-7 years and 11 months; 10-10 years and 11 months; and 11-11 years and 11 months. As regards the school going children an equal number were selected from the above average, average and below average level of schooling achievement. Children were classified into one of the latter three categories on the basis of their performances in their two most recent school examinations

“In the trenches”: South African vice-chancellors leading transformation in times of change

Abstract Background South Africa is committed to developing and transforming universities in order to meet its development goals and university leadership is a key factor in the achievement of these goals. In the context of multiple challenges and historical inequalities, the role of the university vice chancellor is of critical importance. However, a focus on university vice chancellors is not a common focus on leadership studies in South Africa. Aim This paper examined the transformational goals and strategies of nine black university vice chancellors in South Africa in order to understand how they direct transformation of higher education in the country. Methods The paper draws from narrative inquiry underlined by transformational leadership theory (TFL) and focuses on in-depth interviews with university vice chancellors. Results The study focused on the key themes that direct vice chancellors’ transformational leadership strategies. These are devolution of power, the need to transform the institutional culture and attain social equity through putting students first and addressing the next generation of academic scholars. Conclusion The paper draws attention to the enduring imperative to transform universities through a social equity lens and the significance of vice chancellors’ transformational agendas and strategies in this regard. The local context of the university plays an important role in transformational leadership goals and strategie

Social cohesion, sexuality, homophobia and women’s sport in South Africa

In the post-Apartheid era sport has been consistently celebrated as an avenue for fostering social change, curing various social ills, and uniting South Africans across the divides of race, class, gender and geography. The argument for using sport to foster social cohesion in South Africa rests on two main assumptions: firstly, that direct participation in sport and physical activity promotes sustained communication, collaboration and understanding across social divides; and secondly, that the success of national teams and athletes promotes national pride and unity. In this article we raise the question of whether sport can indeed foster social cohesion in a context where women’s sports participation and symbolic embodiment of the nation give rise to regulatory schemas that enforce compulsory heterosexuality and mainstream constructs of ‘feminisation’. We explore these issues by drawing on media reports of cases in which South African elite women athletes have had their gender or sexual identities questioned, challenged or regulated according to heteronormative gender regimes. By so doing we argue that efforts to increase women’s sports participation or the promotion of women athletes as embodiments of the nation can contribute to facilitating social cohesion. To realise the potential of sport as a tool for building social cohesion, a conscious and dedicated effort must be made, we argue, to deal more directly with narrow heteronormative gender regimes and the homophobic attitudes and prejudices that these foster.Keywords: Gender, sexuality, homophobia, sport, social cohesion, race,South Afric

Taxi ‘sugar daddies’ and taxi queens: male taxi driver attitudes regarding transactional relationships in the Western Cape, South Africa

Media reports are emerging on the phenomenon of young girls who travel with older mini-bus taxi drivers, and who are thought to have sex with the drivers in exchange for gifts and money. The extent to which such relationships might facilitate unsafe sexual practices and increased risks for both the men and the young women, often referred to as taxi queens, remains an important question in the light of the current challenges of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. However, very little research has been undertaken on this issue, especially regarding the perceptions and experiences of taxi drivers. Thus this paper aims to provide some preliminary findings on taxi drivers’ attitudes and beliefs about taxi queens and their relationships with taxi drivers. A 22-item questionnaire was administered to 223 male taxi drivers in two regions in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Taxi drivers in this study largely saw the relationship between taxi drivers and the young girls who ride with them as providing status for both the girls and drivers, and there seemed to be recognition of the transactional nature of the relationship between taxi drivers and taxi queens. The stigmatisation of young girls who ride with taxi drivers was evident. Drivers had knowledge and awareness of the risks of unsafe sex and supported condom use, although there appeared to be some uncertainty and confusion about the likelihood of HIV infection between drivers and girls. While taxi drivers recognised the role of alcohol in relationships with young girls, they seemed to deny that the abuse of drugs was common. The study highlights a number of key areas that need to be explored with men in the taxi industry, in order to address risk behaviours for both taxi drivers and the girls who ride with them

An explorative study of serial rape and victimisation risk in South Africa.

Serial rape attracts much media attention and has become a topic of increased interest and concern. However, both locally and internationally, there is a paucity of empirically based research. The limited research which exists often does not focus on the victim as a “subject” which could contribute to solving existing cases or in curtailing the serial rapist. In this article, socio-demographic characteristics of 75 victims of serial rape, and how they were selected by the rapist were used to construct a general profile of the people who are the targets of the serial rapist. Factors or contexts which put women at risk are also identified and investigated. Comparisons are made between the characteristics of the victims of serial rapists in other countries, while comparisons are also made between the victims of single-victim rapists and those of the serial rapist. Of great concern is, amongst others, that the results indicate that in South Africa a large number of victims of the serial rapist are girl children. Limitations of the research are indicated, while a suggestion for future research concludes the article

Mega-events and tourism impacts : foreign visitor perceptions of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

There are several impacts of hosting events that relate to economic and social development aspects. South Africa has used sport tourism to promote the country as a major sports events destination. Research on mega-events tends to focus on economic impacts, including tourism effects. Very few, however, examine visitor perceptions of the event to establish experiences and concerns. This article examines the positive and negative relationships between tourism and the hosting of mega-events with a special focus on the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Africa’s first mega-event. Additionally, visitor perceptions derived from interviews undertaken with 4 814 foreign tourists during the World Cup are examined. The results reveal that foreign visitors generally enjoyed their stay in South Africa and perceived the country as a good tourism destination. The article concludes that tourism outcomes related to the hosting of mega-events need to be planned, particularly if more widespread benefits are to be realised within the tourism industry and in local communities. In particular, the positive experiences and images of South Africa as a result of the World Cup should be integrated into an appropriate destination marketing strategy

A descriptive study of the modus operandi of serial rapists in South Africa.

This article reflects research of which the aim is to increase our collective knowledge of the modus operandi of serial rapists in South Africa in an attempt to contribute to the prevention and prosecution of perpetrators. The sample consists of 22 convicted cases of serial rapists and reflects 204 victims. The authors note that a mere understanding of the modus operandi of serial rapists is not sufficient to fully understand the behavior of these perpetrators. However, they draw attention to the argument that understanding the perpetrator’s modus operandi has been recognized by both criminal investigators and academics as making a valuable contribution to understanding crimes, including that of serial rapists. A behavioural checklist was developed to provide assistance with accounting for the chronological pattern of the crime from the time of victim acquisition to the actual attack. The rational choice perspective and routine activity theory were then used as an organizing framework within which to analyse the strategies of the perpetrator. The results indicated that the modus operandi exhibited by a group of serial rapists in South Africa differs from offenders in other countries. Aspects of the routine activity theory is contextualized and utilized to interpret the current findings. The authors highlight shortcomings of the current research and suggest how the current findings should form the basis of further research

'Sometimes taxi men are rough' : young women's experiences of the risks of being a 'taxi queen'

The 'taxi queen' phenomenon in which young women become involved with older male taxi drivers while taking public transport has received little attention as an area of research. However, there are concerns that the exploitative nature of such practices of transactional sex may have public health consequences, in particular exposure to coercive sexual practices, risk of HIV infection, unwanted pregnancies, substance abuse, and economic vulnerability of young girls. This study aimed to explore the experiences of school-age girls of their relationships with public mini-bus taxi drivers, in order to achieve a better understanding of these relationships and their consequences. The study was conducted in 2009 in Cape Town and the southern Cape region in the Western Cape Province. Given the exploratory nature of the study, qualitative methodology was used. An open-ended qualitative interview guide was developed, and 25 interviews were conducted: 16 in Cape Town, and nine in the southern Cape region. Ages ranged from 13 to 31, although the majority were in their mid-teens. Thematic analysis of the interviews generated a rich and complex range of perspectives, with many contradictory perceptions and experiences emerging from the texts. While there was widespread recognition of the transactional and stigmatising nature of the relationship between older taxi drivers and so-called taxi queens, and that there were a range of physical and emotional risks related to these relationships, the research also highlighted the manner in which the phenomenon of taxi queens gives expression to issues both unique to the particular dynamics of these transactional relationships, as well reflective of the experiences of youth more generally. Thus, in considering young women's vulnerability to violent, coercive and risky practices that may endanger their health and well-being, greater understanding of the specificity and variability of these experiences, together with recognition of the resonances with broader concerns facing South African youth, are needed. It is important that responses to the taxi queen phenomenon do not simply problematise the young women, but rather address the larger context that both facilitates such relationships as well as exacerbates the impact.http://www.aspj.co.za/index.php/ASPJgv201

Black, South African, lesbian: Discourses of invisible lives

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe main aim of the present study is to undertake an examination of the discourses regarding lesbianism as produced by a group of black South African lesbians.South Afric

Hetero-sexing the athlete: public and popular discourses on sexuality and women’s sport in South Africa

On the African continent sport has, particularly in the last two decades, been hailed as a useful tool in the quest for nation building and social cohesion. A popular claim is that sport has a particularly powerful role to play in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. Yet what often remains silenced in assertions about the benefits and potentials of sport, are the ways in which sport also produces and sustains exclusion, frequently along sex/gender and racial lines. Sport has social and cultural significance precisely because it provides an avenue for the reproduction of normativities of embodiment, gender and sexuality. In this article, we critically examine how South African discourses on sport reproduce heteronormative and racialised ideas about women’s sport and women athletes. Focusing in particular on representations of South African women’ athletes, we raise questions about the type and form of visibility that is afforded South African sportswomen. Using examples of public debates and media coverage regarding three South African women athletes –Eudy Simelane, Caster Semenya and Portia Modise – we argue that three representational regimes shape discussions of gender, sexuality and women’s sport in South Africa; annihilation, domestication, and expulsio