Mobile-mediated mothering from a distance: A case study of Somali mothers in Port Elizabeth, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 656-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celine Meyers ◽  
Pragna Rugunanan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mobile Platforms ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Emotional Bonds ◽  
Distinct Category ◽  
Port Elizabeth ◽  
Educational Pursuits

This article explores the mobile-mediated mothering experiences among migrant Somali mothers living in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with Somali mothers to examine how Imo, Viber, Skype and WhatsApp enable them to fulfil important maternal responsibilities toward their left-behind children in Somalia. The findings reveal that three types of maternal tensions occur due to their migration: guilt and concern, family strains, and judgement in Somali communities. Efforts to overcome these tensions include the adoption of mobile technologies to continue to mother from a distance. Migrant Somali mothers in this study mediate mothering using mobile platforms by: (a) transferring remittances to their children’s caretakers, (b) sustaining emotional bonds, (c) teaching religious beliefs, and (d) encouraging educational pursuits. By focusing on mothers as a distinct category of women, this study contributes to the theoretical call for more scholarship on matricentric feminism.

Exploring the Integration of Indigenous Knowledge Into Public Library Services With an Inclusive Intent Using a Critical Theory Lens

2020 ◽  
pp. 266-285
Author(s):  
Maned Mhlongo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Multiple Case

Despite legislative and regulatory frameworks that have paved the way for transformation and inclusivity of public libraries in South Africa, there seems to be little or no integration of indigenous knowledge (IK). The exclusion of IK from public library services has potential to counteract efforts towards the provision of inclusive services. This chapter demonstrates how critical theory was used as a lens in a multiple case study that explored the integration of indigenous knowledge (IK) into services of public libraries in South Africa. Looking at the articulation of IK, services that are provided to ensure inclusivity, and issues that impact on IK integration in public libraries, semi-structured interviews were conducted from purposefully selected heads of provincial library services in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used. Using critical theory to frame the analysis, findings indicate understanding of aspects of IK including its oral nature. A paucity of engagement with IK as an aspect of inclusive service provision was noted.

scholarly journals Battlefields Tourism: The status of heritage tourism in Dundee, South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (26) ◽  
pp. 121-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clinton David van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Heritage Tourism ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mining Town ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The Status ◽  
Local Residents

Abstract Heritage tourism is a significant contemporary facet of tourism in many developing countries. This paper analyses the economic opportunities for battlefield- heritage tourism in South Africa by examining the battlefields route within KwaZulu-Natal. Through structured interviews with stakeholders and structured questionnaires with visitors and local residents, this research explores the understanding of heritage tourism as well as perceptions of its influence on the physical landscape and gauges the importance of this form of tourism as a driver for local economic development in South Africa. Dundee, a small coal-mining town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa - where several battlefields are found, is used as a case study. The study demonstrates that several issues need to be addressed if this niche of cultural and heritage tourism is to be a sustainable and responsible form of tourism in South Africa.

scholarly journals Strengthening public financial management in the health sector: a qualitative case study from South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. e006911
Author(s):  
Jodi Wishnia ◽  
Jane Goudge
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Boundary Crossing ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Financial Management

IntroductionEffective public financial management (PFM) ensures public health funds are used to deliver services in the best way possible. Given the global call for universal health coverage, and concerns about the management of public funds in many low-income and middle-income countries, PFM has become an important area of research. South Africa has a robust PFM framework, that is generally adhered to, and yet financial outcomes have remained poor. In this paper, we describe how a South African provincial department of health tried to strengthen its PFM processes by deploying finance managers into service delivery units, involving service delivery managers in the monthly finance meeting, using a weekly committee to review expenditure requests and starting a weekly managers’ ‘touch-base’ meeting. We assess whether these strategies strengthened collaboration and trust and how this impacted on PFM.MethodThis research used a case study design with ethnographic methods. Semi-structured interviews (n=30) were conducted with participant observations. Thematic analysis was used to identify emergent themes and collaborative public management theory was then used to frame the findings. The authors used reflexive methods, and member checking was conducted.ResultsThe deployment of staff and touch-base meeting illustrated the potential of multidisciplinary teams when members share power, and the importance of impartial leadership when trying to achieve consensus on how to prioritise resource use. However, the service delivery and finance managers did not manage to collaborate in the monthly finance meeting to develop realistic budgets, or to reprioritise expenditure when required. The resulting mistrust threatened to derail the other strategies, highlighting how critical trust is for collaboration.ConclusionEffective PFM requires authentic collaboration between service delivery and finance managers; formal processes alone will not achieve this. We recommend more opportunities for ‘boundary crossing’, embedding finance managers in service delivery units and impartial effective leadership.

Urban Revolt in South Africa: a Case Study

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Feit
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Near Neighbour ◽  
Court Records ◽  
Leaders And Followers ◽  
Port Elizabeth ◽  
The Way

Thisarticle has as its theme the organisation of an African urban revolt in South Africa from 1960 to 1965. Reference is made mainly to events in Port Elizabeth and its near neighbour, East London; it need hardly be added that there were similar developments in other parts of the country. The way in which the revolt was organised was little reported at the time, and the details emerged only in the verbatim court records of the trials of both leaders and followers. Press reports of these trials are scattered over a number of South African newspapers, whose reporting—while good—is not as detailed as the documents; and a few items appear in the overseas press. The importance of this revolt, which is still being waged from outside South Africa's borders, might justify an analysis of what took place in the country itself, even if the research on which it is based remains incomplete.

An Empirical Assessment of the Effectiveness of Offenders’ Rehabilitation Approach in South Africa: A Case Study of the Westville Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-369
Author(s):  
Patrick Bashizi Bashige Murhula ◽  
Shanta Balgobind Singh
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
Dynamic Factors ◽  
Qualitative Research Methodology ◽  
Criminal Behaviors

The South African Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has a constitutional mandate to provide rehabilitation programs that address offenders’ criminal conducts. The rehabilitation approach currently used to deliver this mandate is grounded on the needs-based model where dynamic factors associated with recidivism are systematically targeted in the treatment of offenders’ criminal behaviors. In this research, a qualitative research methodology was employed, and a case study research design was utilized. Purposeful non-probability sampling was utilized to recruit participants. Thirty inmates and 20 correctional center officials who met the inclusion criteria for the study were selected to participate. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data during the empirical investigation. The findings of this study demonstrated that the DCS’s mission is far from being accomplished due to its failure to implement rehabilitation programs. The research study, therefore, recommends that for the success of a rehabilitation approach in South Africa, a critical review of the strategy meant to achieve this goal is required.

Resource provision and access to indigenous knowledge in public libraries in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-287
Author(s):  
Maned Mhlongo ◽  
Patrick Ngulube
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Multiple Case

This paper is part of a larger qualitative multiple case study that sought to explore the integration of indigenous knowledge in public libraries in South Africa. The paper draws from semi-structured interviews with selected heads of provincial library services in South Africa to determine the extent to which public libraries provide targeted resources to enhance access to IK. Results reveal that that there are no targeted resources to facilitate access to IK. Concerted efforts to facilitate access by increasing the number of libraries were noted. Notwithstanding these efforts, there seems to be a paucity of IK, which has implication for inclusive services. It is recommended that libraries look beyond enabling access to the Internet but also explore how they can further optimise ICT usage as a way of facilitating access to IK through capturing, organising and disseminating knowledge of indigenous communities.

scholarly journals An economic case for regulating against the use of non-deposit carrying glass containers of beverage in South Africa

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-445
Author(s):  
S. Hosking
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Glass Waste ◽  
Recycling System ◽  
System A ◽  
Glass Containers ◽  
Private Cost ◽  
Port Elizabeth ◽  
Glass Packaging

As a result of minimal private cost many people dispose of non-deposit bearing glass containers in ways which cause glass pollution: hazardous broken bottles and litter. This pollution imposes costs on users of the affected environment and on municipalities, which have most of the responsibility to clean up, although in South Africa the two main glass packaging producers also play a role by operating a recycling system. A case study was carried out in the Port Elizabeth area in which exploration is made of the glass that does not get recycled and an intuitive analysis is made of the costs of different options for managing recyclable glass waste. It is concluded that the case deserves further investigation for introducing legislation in South Africa making bottle deposits mandatory.

Promoting sustainable development implementation in higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 1176-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bankole Awuzie ◽  
Fidelis Emuze
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Single Case Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This study aims to review the zeal exhibited by universities in South Africa towards aligning institutional mandates of teaching, learning, research and community engagement to the sustainable development (SD) agenda. The implementation of the SD agenda across higher education institutions (HEIs) continues to draw attention from the wider society. This is because HEIs are increasingly being looked up to for leadership in this regard. However, although several studies are quick to identify various factors which have driven the adoption of sustainable practices in HEIs, the paucity of studies seeking to identify the drivers for SD implementation remains glaring. This is particularly so in developing countries like South Africa. Design/methodology/approach To confirm the exploratory data from desktop study on public university engagement with sustainability in South Africa, a single case study was conducted in the Central University of Technology (CUT). The single case study design adopted semi-structured interviews and document reviews as data collection techniques. Purposive snowballing sampling technique was strictly adhered to in the selection of interviewees. Interviewees were selected on the basis of their roles in the implementation of the CUT’s sustainability agenda. Findings Data emanating from these interviews were analysed thematically using qualitative content analysis. Although a plethora of drivers were identified, there appeared to be a consensus between most of the interviewees that the quest for cost reduction remained the most significant driver for the viable implementation of the sustainability agenda at CUT. Research limitations/implications It is expected that findings from this study would provide a platform for the development of effective implementation strategies in South African HEIs. Also, the findings contribute to filing the extant gap observed concerning implementation and drivers for engendering SD implementation in HEIs in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. Practical implications By highlighting the drivers for SD implementation, this study contributes to the development of a more receptive social ontology among various stakeholders in an HEI towards the agenda, particularly within the SSA context where there is low level of awareness and buy-in by these stakeholders. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution to the research base of SD in HEIs and implementation.

scholarly journals Transformative Adult Learning in New Social Movement – a Case Study from South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-171
Author(s):  
Marta Čubajevaitė
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Interesting Phenomenon ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

Abstract New social movements in South Africa could play a prominent role in mobilizing the communities to reflect critically and address the repercussions of the neo-liberal agenda which manifests itself in perpetual exclusion of under-educated adults and provision of poor quality education. Few studies especially from the perspective of the activists leave a potential research area of a very interesting phenomenon of how people learn while struggling for social justice. Therefore this article based on a single multi-site case study on a social movement cohering around literacy issues in Gauteng, South Africa, aims at answering, what forms of learning and education the social movement encompassed, how did the group conscientization occur and what are the individual transformations. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion were held with 13 learnersactivists and 2 adult educators. By applying Mezirow’s individual transformation and Freirean group conscientization models the analysis of primary and secondary data, revealed that the engagement in the social movement challenged and changed learnersactivists’ understanding of educational status within their respective communities. This in turn led to transformative action addressing the problems identified. On the individual level, some learners-activists became more tolerant and willing to cooperate with those of different political ideologies, able to tap into community resources. Finally, the potential of social movements as adult learning environments are outlined.

scholarly journals Challenges and Survival Strategies of Vulnerable Groups Under covid-19 Induced Lockdown: The Case of Durban Waste Pickers

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-88
Author(s):  
Tigere Paidamoyo Muringa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Urban South ◽  
Convenience Sampling ◽  
Waste Pickers

Despite the notion that waste pickers are amongst the economically excluded groups in urban South Africa, little is known about their lockdown experience. This study explores the survival strategies of waste pickers in Durban during the COVID-19 induced level 5 lockdown. It employs a case study to illuminate the challenges and various survival strategies adopted by the waste pickers in response to harsh living conditions imposed by the lockdown measures. Two empirical questions are asked in this study- what are the challenges faced by the waste pickers? and what were the surviving strategies employed by waste pickers? Data for this study were collected using semi-structured interviews with pickers. Using a convenience sampling technique, n=15 waste pickers from the South Beach area were interviewed. The study revealed that the pickers lost income and their assets. As a means of survival, the pickers resorted to drugs, crime, and moved to shelters.

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