scholarly journals Collective Responses to the 2018 Water Shortage in Cape Town: An Explorative Qualitative Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6638
Author(s):  
Jarle Eid ◽  
Tuva Emilie Øyslebø
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Personal Norms ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
The City

In 2018, the Western Cape region in South Africa experienced a significant drought. At a certain date termed “Day Zero”, it was projected that about 3.7 million people in the City of Cape Town would run out of water. In this qualitative study, we provide a context for the situation and explore how a group of individual residents interpreted and adapted to the situation by changing their norms in order to preserve water. A systematic text condensation identified three superordinate themes that captured essential aspects of how the informants interpreted the situation and mobilized to cope with the environmental crisis. Three core processes are exemplified with direct statements from the informants. Specifically, these were labeled “making sense of the situation”, “taking part in the action” and “looking to the future”. The interview data suggest that the water shortage emerged as a significant existential experience transcending personal norms, mobilizing action, and reminding the informants about an uncertain future. The findings from this study may inform future research on pro-environmental action and sustainability.

scholarly journals Patterns of blunt force homicide in the West Metropole of the City of Cape Town, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 113 (5/6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtnee Clark ◽  
Calvin G. Mole ◽  
Marise Heyns ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The West ◽  
Blunt Force ◽  
Blunt Force Trauma ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Salt River ◽  
The City ◽  
Ballistic Trauma

There is currently a lack of information regarding the prevalence of and characteristics associated with blunt force trauma related homicides in South Africa. Information relating to the patterns of blunt force trauma could assist in the development and implementation of interventions targeted at specific areas or individuals as well as direct future research towards areas in need of investigation. This study is a 5-year retrospective review of autopsy reports obtained from Salt River Mortuary (Cape Town, South Africa). The prevalence of blunt force trauma was considered for unnatural deaths with a focus on homicide. The patterns of homicidal blunt force trauma are also presented. A total of 15 519 autopsy cases was analysed. In 1198 (7.72%) of these cases, the cause of death was found to be blunt force trauma and 828 (5.32%) of these cases were classified as homicides. Approximately 11% of blunt force homicide cases occurred in combination with sharp and/or ballistic trauma. Men from poor socio-economic areas were shown to be most at risk of blunt force homicide in the City of Cape Town.

scholarly journals Perceptions of the financial sustainability of an indigent policy in a selected municipality in the western cape, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-22
Author(s):  
Robert Schultz ◽  
Rozenda Hendrickse
Keyword(s):  
Research Study ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Bus Services ◽  
The City

The eradication of poverty is an important priority for the South African government. The Constitution makes provision for vulnerable households and, therefore, local government has to develop policies to address the needs of the poor. Municipalities developed and adopted Indigent Policies to ensure that the poor households have access to essential basic services. This led the researcher to investigate what challenges are related to the financial sustainability of the Indigent Policy in its implementation process at the City of Cape Town for the period from 2003 to 2016. This study followed a qualitative research approach. Data were collected by conducting in-depth interviews. The participants were selected, because they had access to the most recent information that relates to the Indigent Policy. The researcher respected the rights of participants by allowing them the freedom to withdraw at any stage of the research study, ensuring confidentiality, ensuring anonymity, ensuring fair treatment and protecting the participants from any harm and discomfort throughout the research study. The researcher is of the opinion that all of the respondents are confident that the Indigent Policy is sustainable. However, should it become too expensive for the City of Cape Town to maintain the Indigent Policy, it could result in the budget of some other services being reprioritized. It is recommended that the City of Cape Town develops a beneficiary system for qualified indigents to allow them to receive additional benefits from other City of Cape Town facilities such as libraries, swimming pools and the MyCiTi bus services.

scholarly journals Spatial and Temporal Trends of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from Wastewater Treatment Plants over 6 Weeks in Cape Town, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12085
Author(s):  
Renée Street ◽  
Angela Mathee ◽  
Noluxabiso Mangwana ◽  
Stephanie Dias ◽  
Jyoti Rajan Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning System ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Western Cape Province ◽  
The City

Recent scientific trends have revealed that the collection and analysis of data on the occurrence and fate of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater may serve as an early warning system for COVID-19. In South Africa, the first COVID-19 epicenter emerged in the Western Cape Province. The City of Cape Town, located in the Western Cape Province, has approximately 4 million inhabitants. This study reports on the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater of the City of Cape Town’s wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) during the peak of the epidemic. During this period, the highest overall median viral RNA signal was observed in week 1 (9200 RNA copies/mL) and declined to 127 copies/mL in week 6. The overall decrease in the amount of detected viral SARS-CoV-2 RNA over the 6-week study period was associated with a declining number of newly identified COVID-19 cases in the city. The SARS-CoV-2 early warning system has now been established to detect future waves of COVID-19.

Water crisis could threaten South Africa’s opposition

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Pressure ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Water Crisis ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
The City

Significance The Democratic Alliance (DA), the main national opposition, runs both the Western Cape provincial government and the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality but has been subject to severe criticism over its disaster management and the imminent likelihood of ‘Day Zero’ -- the cutting of non-essential water supplies. The difficulties come at a particularly inopportune time for the DA as it is already struggling to counter the image of a reforming ANC under its popular new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa. Impacts Despite the DA's woes, persistent internal ANC divides in the Western Cape will likely prevent it taking control of the province in 2019. Maimane will face mounting internal pressure to make bolder structural economic reforms part of the party's 2019 platform. The DA could struggle to convince voters of significant gains from DA-led metros -- such as Nelson Mandela Bay -- won in 2016.

scholarly journals How different Cape Town residential suburbs helped avert Day Zero

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-134
Author(s):  
B. Ouweneel ◽  
K. Winter ◽  
K. Carden
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Water Crisis ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Water Restrictions ◽  
Different Response ◽  
The City ◽  
Capita Cost

Abstract Between 2015 and 2018, the Western Cape region of South Africa experienced three consecutive years of below average rainfall. The local authority of Cape Town imposed water restrictions to avert ‘Day Zero’, an event that was expected to occur if the storage capacity of the main dams supplying the city fell to below 13.5%. This study analyses how different residential areas in Cape Town responded to water restrictions and tariffs that were imposed from January 2016 to October 2018 during the midst of the water crisis. It further explores the potential implications for tariff adjustments that were designed to sustain water conservation measures beyond the drought, while also being sensitive to the ability of poorer households to access sufficient water at an appropriate per capita cost. Different socio-economic groups displayed a different response to the restrictions. A delay or lag-time was observed in lower-income suburbs during the initial phases of water restrictions, while middle- and higher-income suburbs responded immediately. Once the water crisis eased by mid-2018 and restrictions were reduced, more affluent suburbs began relaxing their water conservation efforts. Nevertheless, lower-, middle-, and higher-income suburbs significantly reduced their water demand by 32, 59, and 58%, respectively, over the study period. It can therefore be concluded that water restrictions and accompanying tariffs altered water use of all users regardless of socio-economic status.

Working in the Cape Archives; A letter from the field

Itinerario ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-35
Author(s):  
Pieter van Duin
Keyword(s):  
Race Relations ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Trade Union Movement ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City

After spending two and a half months in the city-jungle of Johannesburg, I was finally able to go to Cape Town. The Cape Archives was one of the most important places for my research into the urban labour and race relations and the history of the Trade Union Movement in the Western Cape.

Exploring peoples’ lived experience of complex regional pain syndrome in Australia: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren Beales ◽  
David Carolan ◽  
Joshua Chuah-Choong ◽  
Sarah Hammond ◽  
Eimear O’Brien ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Pain Syndrome ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Patient Perspectives ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Right

AbstractObjectivesComplex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a persistent pain condition which is often misunderstood and poorly managed. Qualitative studies are needed to explore the lived experience of the condition and to better understand patient perspectives on their management experiences and needs. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experience of CRPS in Australia, including exploration of their perceptions of care and advice received from healthcare professionals.MethodsA qualitative study with individual in-depth semi-structured, face-to-face interviews was performed (n=15, 80% female, average time elapsed since diagnosis 3.8 years). Qualitative data were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach.ResultsFour main themes with associated subthemes were identified, representing the participants’ journey: (1) Life Changing Impact of CRPS (Subthemes: Impact on self, Impact on others); (2) Variable Experiences of Care (Subthemes: Helpful experiences of care, Unhelpful experiences of care); (3) Making Sense of CRPS (Subthemes: Knowledge and understanding, Dealing with unpredictability); and (4) Perceptions on Lessons Learned from Living with CRPS (Subthemes: Acceptance was an important part of the journey, Trial and error was necessary to find an individual way forward, Coping strategies).ConclusionsThe themes identified align to and expand on prior qualitative research findings in people with CRPS. It highlights the challenges people face related to their personal self, their close relationships and their social and work roles. It highlights the difficulties these people have in finding reliable, trust-worthy information. These findings suggest that healthcare professionals may benefit from education about how to better support people with CRPS, including helping people to navigate to the right care. Engaging people with CRPS in the development of educational resources should be a future research goal. It is recommended that patient perspectives are incorporated into the development of care pathways for CRPS.

Pressure management in Waitakere City, New Zealand - a case study

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 135-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Pilipovic ◽  
R. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Loss ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Design Tool ◽  
Network Computer ◽  
Water Pipeline ◽  
The City

In 1996, as part of Waitakere Council’s Water Cycle Strategy, a pressure standardisation programme to permanently lower the average supply pressure citywide was implemented with the aim of reducing water loss and water use. The experience gained during the 1994/95 Auckland water shortage had confirmed that there was considerable scope to reduce pressures in many areas. Since 1996 water pressures have been reduced in over 60% of the reticulated area of the city, with the average pressure reduced from 710 kPa to 540 kPa. As a result of this programme water loss from the network has been reduced, there has been a reduction in the frequency of mains breaks and it is likely that the life of water pipeline assets has been extended. Furthermore both pressure and demand management initiatives have reduced per capita water use in the city by more than 10%. A network computer model was used as a design tool to check the network under various pressure regimes and cost benefit analyses were carried out for various design scenarios. Fire sprinkler systems were checked as part of the design process. Minimum service standards were not reduced and in some cases pressures were actually increased. This paper covers the various aspects of the design, the implementation and the results of the pressure standardisation programme.

Powerful Inscriptions: On the Semiotic Phenomenology of BDSM

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Joseph Martin
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Linguistic Turn ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Sociology Of Deviance ◽  
History Of ◽  
Semiotic Phenomenology ◽  
Sex Wars

BDSM encompasses a range of practices—bondage and discipline (BD), dominance and submission (DS), sadism and masochism (SM)—involving the consensual exchange of power in erotic contexts. This chapter provides an overview of scholarship on BDSM, drawing on the history of academic studies of the phenomenon, ranging from the psychology of perversion, the sociology of deviance, and the feminist “sex wars” to more recent ethnographic and phenomenological turns. The chapter focuses on the importance of discourse and affect for making sense of BDSM, both for those who seek to analyze the phenomenon and for practitioners themselves. Drawing on ethnographic research and other data, the chapter shows how language and discourse are key to answering interconnected questions about the semiotics and phenomenology of BDSM (what these practices mean and how practitioners experience these practices affectively). Thus, a potential “linguistic turn” in BDSM studies is essential for future research on this erotic minority.

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