Unisa Press Journals (University of South Africa)
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“Health for Me Is More Than Just the ‘Traditional’ Not Feeling Ill”: Gay Men Identify and Enhance the Assets that Promote Their Health and Well-Being
No full textDeficit-based approaches seldom consider protective contextual factors, characterise individuals with regard to deficiencies and might not facilitate health promotion efforts effectively. Although deficit-based primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention programmes for gay men are valued, they limit opportunities to focus on the assets that could promote the broader health and well-being of gay men. Conversely, strengths-based approaches could guide gay men to protect, maintain and promote their health and well-being by focusing on acceptance, support, community coherence and resilience. Yet, limited strengths-based health promotion programmes exist for gay men in South Africa and specifically in its North West province. The study aimed to explore and describe the assets of gay men in this province and the strengthening thereof to promote their health and well-being by applying appreciative inquiry. A snowball sample of 11 gay men participated in asynchronous virtual focus groups on a unique Microsoft Power Apps platform. Seven themes were constructed using thematic analysis. Healthier eating, enhanced mental health, being healthy, achieving balance, physical activity and financial well-being contribute to the broader health and well-being of gay men. The assets of gay men that promote their health and well-being include support, care, positivity, goals, abilities, a sense of achievement, self-acceptance, happiness and learning from past experiences. The study identified individual and community enablers or facilitators that enhance these assets and the broader health and well-being of gay men. The findings address the lack of strengths-based health promotion programmes for gay men and offer pathways for researchers and programme implementers to focus on the broader health and well-being of gay men
Lessons Learnt in Promoting Arabic as a Further Education and Training Learning Area in a Selected KwaZulu-Natal Muslim School
No full textThis article reports on a case study of a selected Muslim School in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It explores how the principal, board members, and Arabic teachers navigate the challenges of promoting Arabic as they seek to understand the issues and lessons learnt in developing Arabic as an FET subject. The research question for this article is: What are the lessons learnt in promoting Arabic as an FET learning area? The first author’s PhD study on the rise and decline of Arabic in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase in selected KwaZulu-Natal Muslim schools demonstrated that Muslim parents prefer Muslim schools to promote the Islamic ethos of their children. Paradoxically, the study also highlighted that parents play a significant role in motivating their children to select academic subjects over Arabic, leading to the decline of FET Arabic. The findings of this study are unanimous that the home environment primes Muslim school learners with two essential cultures: social mobility and Islamic cultural heritage. While these two cultures aim to develop learners holistically, learners face a subject choice dilemma when they select academic subjects over Arabic. One of the conclusions of that study was that home culture impacts negatively on the Arabic language, mainly devaluing the integrated status of Muslim schools which are premised on balancing academics and Islamic education
Enhancing the Efficiency of Organic Solar Cell By Incorporating Copper Nanoparticles in PEDOT:PSS
No full textThe performance of bulk heterojunction organic solar cell can be enhanced by incorporating plasmonic copper nanoparticles. In this study, a device with the architecture ITO/PEDOT:PSS:CuNPs/P3HT:PCBM/Ag was fabricated, where PEDOT:PSS was treated with copper nanoparticles synthesised by chemical reduction. Transmission electron microscopy revealed spherical copper nanoparticles with increasing average particle size as the concentration of copper sulphate increases. A face-centred cubic structure with (111), (200) and (220) phases for copper nanoparticles was confirmed using X-ray diffraction. The incorporation of copper nanoparticles induced the plasmonic resonance at 562 nm resulting in light scattering, which was not observed for pristine PEDOT:PSS. The copper nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed in PEDOT:PSS as displayed by scanning electron microscopy. The increase in concentration and annealing temperature of copper nanoparticles improved the intensity of Cα = Cβ vibration mode for PEDOT:PSS and P3HT:PCBM. Incorporating copper nanoparticles in PEDOT:PSS has improved the power conversion efficiency of ITO/PEDOT:PSS:CuNPs/P3HT:PCBM/Ag solar cell from 0.09 to 5.44% as a result of the induced plasmonic resonance observed in the ultraviolet-visible spectra
The Role of Educational Stakeholders in Mitigating Socio-Economic Shocks Causing Students to Drop Out of School in East Shewa, Ethiopia
No full textThis study analyses the role that key education stakeholders play in mitigating socio-economic shocks causing students to drop out of school. The study investigated the role of teachers, parents, support providers, and administrators in four districts of East Shewa zone in Oromia Region, Ethiopia, with respect to their understanding of the severity of school drop-out, collaborative actions to combat it, and context-based handling of shocks. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was employed. Pertinent data were collected from second-cycle primary schools in the areas of Adea, Dugda, Gimbichu, and Fentalle, which were selected based on cluster sampling. Semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions were utilised for the purposively selected participants and a binary-mode questionnaire for the randomly selected groups of teachers in the targeted schools. Data were collected and analysed systematically by means of percentage points and thematic analysis. The findings show that though causes of school drop-out were diverse from place to place in accordance with the socio-economic conditions of the respective communities, the actions taken to combat school drop-out were not cognisant of the communities’ socio-economic conditions as they did not consider the varied nature of shocks. While school drop-out was understood to be a misfortune among supportive groups, teachers, and supervisors, it was not equally understood so by parents, who appeared as representatives of the community. Strategies that different education stakeholders used to combat factors leading to school drop-out were not focused and context friendly
Grade 9 Learners’ Perceptions of the Influence of Peer Relationships on Their Mathematics Performance in Tshwane Municipality Secondary Schools
No full textThe study explored the grade 9 learners’ perceptions of the influence of peer relationships on their mathematics performance in Tshwane municipality secondary schools, South Africa. The study engaged a mixed method approach and applied a descriptive survey design. The sample consisted of 400 learners (280 females and 120 males). A self-fashioned questionnaire was used for data collection, as well as a few open ended questions. The learners’ termly result in mathematics was also used to ascertain their level of achievement. Quantitative data were analysed using the Pearson product moment correlation, while qualitative data were analysed in a narrative form. One null hypothesis was tested for the study and it was rejected. The study disclosed that grade 9 learners’ perceptions of peer relationships was not a statistically significant factor influencing their mathematics performance. The study concluded that peer relationships were poorly appraised, hence could not have influenced grade 9 learners’ mathematics performance. The study recommends that teachers and stakeholders in schools should consider the advocacy of positive peer relationships among learners to help foster acceptability among learners. Furthermore, advocacy for cooperative and interactive learning is recommended to enable learners to learn from each other effectively; this will foster peer mentoring.
Political Financing around the World: A Historical Overview and Financing Models; Which Model for Uganda?
No full textThis paper provides an overview of political financing in the world. This enables the proposal to select a suitable political financing model for Uganda. In this regard, an effort has been made to trace the origins of political financing from North America to Africa. The justification for its existence has also been illustrated. Political financing can facilitate the protection and promotion of international human rights standards. This is especially so, regarding citizens’ rights to participate in their public affairs. The paper also shows that money has justifiable and legitimate purposes in electoral campaigns. Its unregulated use, however, may lead to corruption. Finally, the paper suggests a political financing model appropriate to Uganda’s environment. Doctrinal methods of research were used to carry out the study. This method of research involves a library-based analysis of legal sources. There are two steps to the doctrinal research methods. The first step is finding the primary sources of law. The second step is the examination of these primary sources
2023 Control Measures to Curb Violence and the Security Services
No full textThis article discusses the most important court decisions and measures that dealt with violence and the security services in South Africa in 2023. It discusses, among others, the 2023 crime statistics that continue to underline South Africa as a violent society. It indicates, for example, that violent crimes increased while violent protests decreased during the reporting period. Despite the destruction of firearms, violent crimes still include the use of firearms. The article also deals with new measures to curb gender-based violence. It further introduces the newest amendments providing more clarity with regard to the beneficiaries of the educational financial aid regulations issued in terms of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995. The Draft National Policing Policy, rural safety and the rising number of civil claims against the police services are also discussed. The article further discusses the Correctional Services Amendment Bill [B14-2023] and the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill [B40-2023], that give effect to judgments of the Constitutional Court that declared some of the provisions of the original acts unconstitutional. The General Law (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022 increased the penalties for offences committed in terms of this Act. This article discusses the most important 2023 measures and court decisions in relation to crime statistics and violent protests, national unity and reconciliation, security services (police services, correctional services, defence and intelligence services), arms and ammunition, gender-based violence and terrorism
“Sissy Bitch Boys”: Young Effeminate Men Challenging Heteronormativity in a South African Township
No full textThis paper explores the ways in which young effeminate gay men in South Africa resist the power of heteronormativity and its disciplining gendered expectations on their bodies, identities and social practices. It analyses both the everyday forms of power and violence that these gay men’s bodies experience in the context of a township, as well as their ability to resist, respond, and, to some extent, creatively dismantle this heteronormative power. The article demonstrates how young gay men—through being and behaving like “sissys,” “bitch boys” and “girly boys”—explicitly claim sexual visibility while seeking to creatively and agentically disrupt the gendered and sexual norms and expectations placed on them within their heteropatriarchal context. The data for this paper were drawn from semi-structured interviews with 12 gay effeminate young men from the township of Alexandra and conducted between 2020–2022
Gender-based Violence amongst Black Visually Impaired Women in Intimate Relationships: A Literature Review
No full textWhile activists, policymakers, and gender theorists have developed strategies to address gender-based violence (GBV) or intimate partner violence (IPV) for women and Black women in general, they have not attempted to unpack and strategise interventions for Black women with visual impairment (BWVI) facing GBV in intimate relationships. This literature review sought to explore the reported experiences of GBV amongst BWVI in intimate relationships within Southern Africa, as well as which intervention strategies need to be developed based on their needs. A desktop review of available qualitative and quantitative studies from 2000–2023 was conducted to search for publications to answer the following questions: What are the reported experiences of GBV amongst BWVI in intimate relationships? What interventions need to be developed based on their needs? Intersectionality theory underpinned this study. Literature suggests that BWVI report compounded forms of GBV compared to women without disabilities, given their race, gender, and disability status. However, their experiences of GBV were further complicated by a lack of external support and their dependence on perpetrators, making it harder for them to escape from their abusers. As such, it is suggested that the lack of preventative interventions for BWVI from GBV increases their vulnerability to other forms of abuse. Comprehensive interventions based on an intersectional framework are recommended to develop early risk-reduction and empowering strategies to alleviate GBV amongst BWVI within intimate relationships
Awareness and Usage of Educational Video Streaming Databases by Lecturers at the University of the Free State, South Africa
No full textEducational video streaming is a new technology in today’s teaching and learning environment. However, few scholarly publications exist on the awareness and use of educational streaming video databases in South African universities. The aim of the article was to investigate the awareness and usage of educational streaming video databases by lecturers at the University of the Free State. The article adopted a positivist paradigm, a quantitative approach, and a descriptive survey design using the technology acceptance model as a theoretical framework. Data were collected from a probability sample of 80 participants, with 49 responses and a response rate of 61.25%. An electronic questionnaire was used to collect data using closed-ended questions. The findings revealed a general lack of awareness and usage of educational video streaming databases. The article assists management, lecturers, acquisition librarians, and students to explore new ways of using educational streaming video databases