The Elderly Offender and the Elderly Victim of Crime: A South African Overview

2018 ◽  
pp. 79-97
Author(s):  
Christiaan Bezuidenhout ◽  
Karen Booyens
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
The Elderly

scholarly journals Does money empower the elderly? Evidence from the Agincourt demographic surveillance site, South Africa1

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (69_suppl) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Case ◽  
Alicia Menendez
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Old Age ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Pension ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
Health And Development ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Socioeconomic Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
To Receive

Aims: To quantify the impact of the South African old age (social) pension on outcomes for pensioners and the prime-aged adults and children who live with them, and to examine alternative means by which pensions affect household outcomes. Methods: We collected socioeconomic data on 290 households in the Agincourt demographic surveillance area (DSA), stratifying our sample on the presence of a household member age-eligible for the old-age pension (women aged 60 and older, men aged 65 and older). Results: The presence of a pensioner significantly reduces household reports that adults and, separately, children missed meals because there was not enough money for food. In addition, girls are significantly more likely to be enrolled in school if they are living with a pensioner, an effect that is driven entirely by living with a female pensioner. Our results are consistent with a model in which pensioners have a greater say in household functioning once they begin to receive their pensions. Conclusions: We find a program targeted toward the elderly plays a significant role in children's health and development.

scholarly journals Uses and gratifications of computers in South African elderly people

Comunicar ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (45) ◽  
pp. 09-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Bosch ◽  
Bronwyn Currin
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Computer Use ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
Research Focus ◽  
Interpersonal Contact ◽  
Nuevas Tecnologías

Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with residents at an old-aged home in Cape Town, South Africa, this study examines the main uses and gratifications elderly people get from computers. While the research focus in Africa has been on the health of elderly people, particularly with respect to HIV/AIDS, there is little research into their adoption of new technologies, as the research focus with respect to that topic has been primarily on youth. This study found that the participants use email and social media to maintain contact with family and friends outside of, and sometimes even within the neighborhood. Furthermore, keeping in contact involved not only communication, but also observation of activities - like news, photographs and discussions. Using a uses and gratifications framework, this study found that participants felt connected with society both through their communication with and observation of people, and through keeping themselves informed about news and current interest topics. By using the Internet the elderly people communicated with more people than they had before. Some of the participants felt less isolated and lonely because of their computer use. Nevertheless, use of computers did not weaken their interpersonal contact outside of computer use. A partir de entrevistas en profundidad, realizadas en un hogar de la tercera edad en Ciudad del Cabo (Sudáfrica), este estudio analiza los principales usos y gratificaciones que reciben las personas mayores en interacción con los ordenadores. En África, mientras el énfasis investigador se ha puesto en los últimos años en la salud de los mayores, especialmente en cuanto al SIDA, existe muy poca investigación sobre el uso de los mayores en cuanto a nuevas tecnologías, ya que la investigación en relación con las mismas se ha centrado principalmente en la juventud. En este estudio se halló que los participantes utilizan el correo electrónico y las redes sociales para mantener el contacto con familiares y amigos y a veces incluso con su vecindario. Además, mantener el contacto suponía no solo comunicación, sino también observación de actividades, como noticias, fotografías y conversaciones. En el contexto de los usos y gratificaciones, el trabajo ha evidenciado que los participantes se sentían conectados con la sociedad, tanto por su comunicación como por la observación de las personas, y por mantenerse informados de las noticias y los temas de interés actuales. Mediante el uso de Internet, las personas de edad avanzada se comunicaban mucho más de lo que antes se habían comunicado con otras personas. Algunos de los participantes se sentían menos aislados y solos, debido a su uso del ordenador. Sin embargo, se demostró también que el uso de los ordenadores no obstaculizó los contactos interpersonales tradicionales.

Intergenerational Relations in a Society in Transition: A South African Case Study

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Møller
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Intergenerational Relations ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Generation Gap ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Family Solidarity ◽  
Special Cases

ABSTRACTIn South Africa the generation gap is seen as the problem of disaffected youth. This paper discusses intergenerational relations from the perspective of the elderly whose social security and happiness in old age is dependent on the mutual family support system. Family solidarity in 300 three-generation urban households was assessed using measures based on ones developed by Mangen, Bengtson, and Landry (1988) and a single item measuring satisfication with family life used in earlier South African quality-of-life studies. Results confirmed that harmonious family living was associated with the subjective well-being of elders. The South African measure of family harmony was most closly related to the affective dimension of the Mangen et al. (1988) family solidarity construct. Good affective and consensual relationships between the middle and top generations made the most significant contributions to satisfactory family life from the viewpoint of elders. Contrary to expectations there was little evidence of strained relationships between the oldest and youngest generation. Findings intimated that the middle generation plays an important role in closing the generation gap in the more cohesive families by promoting mutual respect and understanding between old and young. Although three-generation households may, by definition, represent special cases of family solidarity during the current unrest in South African townships, it is concluded that the findings augur well for family care of the aged.

scholarly journals Being treated like ‘waste’ during the ‘golden years’: Practical-theological perspectives

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petria M. Theron
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
South African ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Elder Abuse ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The South ◽  
The Status ◽  
African Context ◽  
Practical Theological

The South African Government published the Older Persons Act no. 13 of 2006. The objectives of the Act are inter alia to maintain and promote the status, well-being, safety and security of older persons, to maintain and protect their rights and to combat abuse of older persons. This act is indispensable, as the elderly (people of 65 and older) form a growing segment of the South African population (4.767% in 1996 − 5.019% in 2011). They are in many regards extremely vulnerable, as they often face negative views regarding older people, experience discrimination, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Many atrocities are committed against them and one hears horror stories of older people who are abused and/or neglected by their own children and/or other people. One could almost say that these people, during their so-called ‘golden years’, are treated like ‘human waste’. I will investigate this phenomenon and attempt to interpret it within the South African context. I will then identify certain biblical guidelines to orientate one’s attitude towards old age and the elderly. To conclude, I will propose strategies to prevent elder abuse and restore human dignity to them.

The search for significance: meaning making in elderly South Africans following the emigration of their adult children

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-479
Author(s):  
Vinitha Jithoo ◽  
Maria Marchetti-Mercer ◽  
Leslie Swartz
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Ambiguous Loss ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Elderly Parents ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
International Boundaries ◽  
The Impact

Globalization and the mobility of people across domestic and international boundaries have become part of the rhythm and tempo of the modern world, and increasingly the elderly remaining behind comprise a sizable and integral part of contemporary society. Their successful adaptation has become an important consideration not only for them, but for their families and society. This article explores the coping strategies used in finding coherence when confronting this disruptive life event. As part of a larger study exploring the impact of South African emigration on the elderly, we interviewed 25 elderly parents of skilled emigrants. Using thematic analysis, we show how these parents coped with ambiguous loss of emigration, making use of technology and alternative configurations of identity and care to conceptualize their lives and current contexts. More research is needed to understand migration and aging, an issue likely to become more prominent.

scholarly journals The Standard of the Reasonable Person in Determining Negligence – Comparative Conclusions

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 1-55
Author(s):  
Raheel Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Physical Disabilities ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Current Application ◽  
Reasonable Person ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
General Standard

The standard of the reasonable person or its equivalent, in general, is used in many jurisdictions to determine fault in the form of negligence. Although the standard is predominantly objective it is also subjective in that the subjective attributes of the person against whom the standard applies as well as the subjective circumstances present at the time of the delict or tort lend themselves to an objective-subjective application. In South African law, before a person can be judged according to the standard of the reasonable person, the person must first be held accountable. If a person cannot be held accountable, then the standard does not apply at all. The general standard of the reasonable person cannot be applied to children, the elderly, persons with physical disabilities, persons with mental impairments or experts. Therefore, depending on the subjective attributes of the person against whom the standard is being applied, the standard may have to be adjusted accordingly. The general standard of the reasonable person would be raised when dealing with experts, for instance, and lowered when dealing with persons with physical disabilities. This contribution considers whether the current application of the standard of the reasonable person in South African law is satisfactory when applied generally to all persons, no matter their age, experience, gender, physical disability and cognitive ability. The application of the standard of the reasonable person in South African law is compared to the application of the standard of the reasonable person or its equivalent in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France. Just as South African law applies the standard of the reasonable expert to experts, this contribution explores whether the South African law should be developed to use similar adjusted standards when dealing with children, the elderly, persons with physical disabilities and so on. The general standard of the reasonable person cannot be applied to children, the elderly, persons with physical disabilities, persons with mental impairments as well as experts. Thus depending on the subjective attributes of the person against whom the standard is being applied, the standard may have to be adjusted accordingly or if the person cannot be held accountable, not applied at all. The general standard of the reasonable person would for example be raised when dealing with experts and lowered when dealing with persons with physical disabilities.   This contribution considers whether the current application of the standard of the reasonable person in South African law is satisfactory when applied generally, to all persons, no matter their age, experience, gender, physical disability and cognitive ability. The application of the standard of the reasonable person in South African law is compared to the application of the standard of the reasonable person or its equivalent in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France. Just as South African law applies the standard of the reasonable expert to experts, this contribution explores whether the South African law should be developed to use similar adjusted standards when dealing with children, the elderly, persons' with physical disabilities and so on.       [1]        In French law bonus pater familias as three separate words is encountered (see para 3.4 below) whereas in South African law, bonus paterfamilias, as two separate words is encountered (see for example, Neethling and Potgieter Law of Delict 142-143). In this contribution, for the sake of uniformity and convenience, bonus pater familias as three separate words will be used.  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document