scholarly journals Studying South African Black Gay Men’s Experiences: A First-Time Researcher’s Experience of Reflexivity in a Qualitative Feminist Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tshepo Maake
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Feminist Study ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Intersecting Identities ◽  
Black Gay Men ◽  
African Black ◽  
First Time

Qualitative research on gay experiences in South African society is slowly gaining momentum. However, it is accompanied by serious ethical implications and positionality dilemmas that should be considered in carrying out such research. Black gay researchers’ discussions of reflexivity in research that focuses on gay identities and realities in South Africa remain minimal. This paper focuses on a first-time gay male researcher’s experience of being reflexive in a qualitative feminist study on the realities of Black gay men in mining workplaces. It highlights the importance of reflexivity and how it is enacted by a gay researcher who studies a gay population that they are in some way a part of, especially in South Africa, where sexuality is still a contentious topic. It is easy for a researcher to alter participants’ narratives when they are a part of the population because they already have certain perceptions based on their personal experiences. This paper posits that the sexual and other intersecting identities and personal experiences of a researcher matter in research on vulnerable sexual minorities and should be a basis for critical reflections in qualitative feminist research.

Nicholas Bhengu — The Impact of an African Pentecostal on South African Society

Exchange ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-348
Author(s):  
Anthony Balcomb
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
African Society ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Political Activist ◽  
African Black ◽  
Significant Case ◽  
The Impact

AbstractNicholas Bhekinkosi Bhengu was founder and leader of the Back to God Crusade in South Africa. This movement started in the mid-1950s and became affiliated with the Assemblies of God in South Africa. But Bhengu's influence went far beyond the confines of the movement he started. His revivals impacted South African society in a profound way and he became internationally recognized as a powerful force for change in South Africa. Controversially, however, he did not enter into the political arena as such, even though he was at one stage of his life a member of the Communist Party of South Africa and even later on in his career continued to affirm the policies of this party. Though apparently apolitical his message had profound political consequences. For example he did much to promote the self-confidence and dignity of his people (despite the dehumanising influences of apartheid which he openly denounced), he insisted on reconciliation between the so-called 'red' people and the so-called 'school' people amongst South African black Africans, and he politely but veryfirmly rejected the standards imposed by white society on blacks. There were also very specific reasons — both theological, philosophical, and pragmatic — why he chose not to become a political activist. His is therefore a very significant case study of the socio-political influences of a ministry that was not overtly political.

Some Reflections on Reparation in Post-Apartheid South Africa, using a Couple Therapy Intervention as a Microcosm of South African Society

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Hill ◽  
Sylvia Poss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Couple Therapy ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Depressive Position ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
Transference And Countertransference ◽  
Constructive Engagement ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Therapy Intervention

The paper addresses the question of reparation in post-apartheid South Africa. The central hypothesis of the paper is that in South Africa current traumas or losses, such as the 2008 xenophobic attacks, may activate a ‘shared unconscious phantasy’ of irreparable damage inflicted by apartheid on the collective psyche of the South African nation which could block constructive engagement and healing. A brief couple therapy intervention by a white therapist with a black couple is used as a ‘microcosm’ to explore this question. The impact of an extreme current loss, when earlier losses have been sustained, is explored. Additionally, the impact of racial difference on the transference and countertransference between the therapist and the couple is explored to illustrate factors complicating the productive grieving and working through of the depressive position towards reparation.

Revisiting Poverty, Human Development and Inequality in Democratic South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 097370302110329
Author(s):  
Vusi Gumede
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
National Income ◽  
Population Group ◽  
Poverty Dynamics ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty Index

There are many questions related to poverty in South Africa that remain unsatisfactorily answered. Given the poor performance of the South African economy, including declining per capita incomes and increasing unemployment, since 2010 or so, it is important to examine poverty dynamics in the recent years. Many recent studies in this regard have relied on 2015 data, and do not examine all the three interrelated aspects of wellbeing viz. poverty, human development and inequality. In this context, this paper uses all the five waves of the National Income Dynamics Study and employs different poverty and inequality measurement techniques to investigate poverty dynamics, human development and inequality during the post-apartheid period in South Africa. The estimates suggest that although poverty was declining prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the African/Black population group is the most affected by poverty. The phenomenon of feminisation of poverty is also verified based on the evidence of increasingly more women in poverty than men. The proportion of population experiencing multiple deprivations, measured by the Multidimensional Poverty Index, have not changed in the post-apartheid period. Similarly, human development has not improved during this period. South African society continues to be one of the most unequal societies in the world. The paper argues that the inability to sufficiently reduce poverty, unemployment and inequality results from the weak performance of the South African economy. In the same vein, it is the structure of the South African economy that has kept the levels of human development low and income inequality high.

Implications for the age of South African Devonian rocks in which Tropidoleptus (Brachiopoda) has been found

1983 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Boucot ◽  
C. H. C. Brunton ◽  
J. N. Theron
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
North America ◽  
South African ◽  
Early Carboniferous ◽  
Fossil Plants ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Marine Sedimentation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
First Time

SummaryThe Devonian brachiopod Tropidoleptus is recognized for the first time in South Africa. It is present in the lower part of the Witteberg Group at four widely separated localities. Data regarding the stratigraphical range of the genus elsewhere, combined with information on recently described fossil plants and vertebrates from underlying strata of the upper Bokkeveld Group, suggest that a Frasnian or even Givetian age is reasonable for the lower part of the Witteberg Group. The recognition of Tropidoleptus in a shallow water, near-shore, molluscan association, at the top of the South African marine Devonian sequence, is similar to its occurrence in Bolivia, and suggests a common Malvinokaffric Realm history of shallowing, prior to later Devonian or early Carboniferous non-marine sedimentation. It is noteworthy that Tropidoleptus is now known to occur in ecologically suitable environments around the Atlantic, but is absent from these same environments in Asia and Australia. Tropidoleptus is an excellent example of dispersal in geological time — first appearing in northern Europe and Nova Scotia, then elsewhere in eastern North America and North Africa, followed by South America and South Africa, while continuing in North America.

Why English dominates the central economy

2002 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Wright
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
African Society ◽  
World Language ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Economic Basis ◽  
State Of Affairs

This paper sets out to formulate some of the economic reasons for the continuing dominance of English in the boardrooms, government forums, parastatals and laboratories of South Africa, to consider whether this situation is likely to change, and to assess the extent to which such a state of affairs is at odds with South Africa’s new language policy. The historical reasons for the dominance of English in this sphere are well known: the language’s imperial history, its status as a world language, its role as a medium for political opposition during the apartheid conflict, and the accumulation of capital and economic influence by English-speakers from the mid-nineteenth century onward. However, the day-to-day economic basis for the continuing dominance of English at the apex of South African society has hardly been considered.

scholarly journals Population irruption of the clam Meretrix morphina in Lake St Lucia, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 113 (7/8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson A. F. Miranda ◽  
Nasreen Peer ◽  
Renzo Perissinotto ◽  
Nicola K. Carrasco ◽  
Salome Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Freshwater Input ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Ocean Region ◽  
West Indian Ocean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Eastern Seaboard

The thick-shelled clam Meretrix morphina, previously referred to as Meretrix meretrix, now occurs in the west Indian Ocean region, along the eastern seaboard of Africa, from the Red Sea to the Mlalazi Estuary, close to the Tugela River. Its presence in South Africa is only of recent recording. Meretrix morphina was detected for the first time in Lake St Lucia in 2000. The population declined and was not detected from 2005 until 2011, most likely as a result of a severe drought that resulted in widespread desiccation and hypersalinity in the lake. The system then experienced increased freshwater input resulting in lower salinities from 2011 until 2014, during which time M. morphina reappeared and their population gradually increased. In 2015, M. morphina became abundant in St Lucia, attaining unprecedented densities of 447 ind./m2. Biomass, expressed as a fresh weight, varied in the different basins of St Lucia, ranging from 195 g/m2 at Lister’s Point to 1909.8 g/m2 at Catalina Bay. However, in 2016, when drought conditions returned, M. morphina disappeared. This species appears to thrive under brackish salinities and high temperatures. It is able to establish large populations with high biomass and can become dominant. However, M. morphina is sensitive to desiccation and hypersaline conditions. This clam has substantial commercial value and is exploited along the African east coast, particularly in Mozambique. In future, it may feature more prominently in South African estuaries. However, the ecology of M. morphina is still largely unknown.

scholarly journals A Quarter Century of Democracy and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leepo Johannes Modise
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
Measuring Tool ◽  
The Church

This paper focuses on the role of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) in the South African society during the past 25 years of its services to God, one another and the world. Firstly, the paper provides a brief history of URCSA within 25 years of its existence. Secondly, the societal situation in democratic South Africa is highlighted in light of Article 4 of the Belhar Confession and the Church Order as a measuring tool for the role of the church. Thirdly, the thermometer-thermostat metaphor is applied in evaluating the role of URCSA in democratic South Africa. Furthermore, the 20 years of URCSA and democracy in South Africa are assessed in terms of Gutierrez’s threefold analysis of liberation. In conclusion, the paper proposes how URCSA can rise above the thermometer approach to the thermostat approach within the next 25 years of four general synods.

scholarly journals SASS: South African Simulation Survey – a review of simulation-based education

2019 ◽  
pp. 12-20
Author(s):  
R Swart ◽  
R Duys ◽  
ND Hauser
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
The Impact

Background: Simulation-based education (SBE) has been shown to be an effective and reproducible learning tool. SBE is used widely internationally. The current state of SBE in South Africa is unknown. To the best of our knowledge this is the first survey that describes the use and attitudes towards SBE within South Africa. Methods: An online survey tool was distributed by email to: i) the South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA) members; and ii) known simulation education providers in South Africa. The respondents were grouped into anaesthesia and non-anaesthesia participants. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Ethics approval was obtained: HREC REF 157/2017. Results: The majority of the respondents provide SBE and integrate it into formal teaching programmes. There is a will amongst respondents to grow SBE in South Africa, with it being recognised as a valuable educational tool. The user groups mainly targeted by SBE, were undergraduate students, medical interns, registrars and nurses. Learning objectives targeted include practical skills, medical knowledge, critical thinking and integrated management. Amongst anaesthesia respondents: the tool most commonly used to assess the quality of learner performance during SBE, for summative assessment, was ‘expert opinion’ (33%); the most frequent methods of evaluating SBE quality were participant feedback (42%) and peer evaluation (22%); the impact of SBE was most frequently assessed by informal discussion (42%) and learner feedback (39%). In anaesthesia SBE largely takes place within dedicated simulation facilities on site (47%). Most respondents report access to a range of SBE equipment. The main reported barriers to SBE were: finance, lack of trained educators, lack of equipment and lack of protected time. A limited number of respondents report engaging in SBE research. There is a willingness in both anaesthesia and non-anaesthesia groups (96% and 89% respectively) to collaborate with other centres. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge this publication provides us with the first cross-sectional survey of SBE in anaesthesia and a selection of non-anaesthetic respondents within South Africa. The majority of respondents indicate that SBE is a valuable education tool. A number of barriers have been identified that limit the growth of SBE within South Africa. It is hoped that with a commitment to ongoing SBE research and evaluation, SBE can be grown in South Africa.

scholarly journals Sense (Scents) of South Africa

1999 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-5
Author(s):  
Katherine F. Shepard
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
South African ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Speech Pathology ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
The University ◽  
Physiotherapy Education

This paper presents a brief description of some of the author’s perceptions of the land, of physiotherapy education and practice and of the struggle of the nation of South Africa acquired during a 4 week visit in late spring 1997. One week was spent in Cape Town participating in several venues at the International Congress of the South African Society of Physiotherapy. Three weeks were spent at the University of the Witswatersrand in Johannesburg presenting a course in qualitative research to health care colleagues representing the disciplines of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and occupational health. During the time in Johannesburg several health care facilities were visited including Baragwanath Hospital, Natal Hospital and the Wits Rural Facility and Tinswalo Hospital at Acornhoek.

Nkosi, Lewis (1936–2010)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindy Steibel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Working Class ◽  
South African ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Black Protest ◽  
African Black ◽  
The Usa

Lewis Nkosi is increasingly recognized as one of South Africa’s foremost literary critics, and also as an iconoclastic writer of novels and plays. His years as an exile during the apartheid era meant, however, that his reputation within South Africa was for some time less secure than it was abroad. Born in Chesterville, a black Durban township, Nkosi came from a female-headed, working-class family. He was mission-schooled in Eshowe and then embarked on a career that began with a short but important journalistic stint at Drum magazine. To take up a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard in 1961, Nkosi left South Africa on a one-way exit permit. For the rest of his life he lived variously in England, Zambia, Poland, the USA and Switzerland, following a writing and academic career. Nkosi’s style is a distinctive one, at odds with much of the naturalist writing that characterized South African black ‘protest’ fiction of the apartheid years. Influenced by the writings of Faulkner, Kafka and Joyce, Nkosi’s style is modernist, suggestive and symbolic. His loyalty to form, and to the stringent demands of a modernist perception of art, is evident in his critical essays, gathered into three collections: Home and Exile (1965), The Transplanted Heart: essays on South Africa (1975), and Tasks and Masks: themes and styles of African literature (1981).

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