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Exploring upbringing styles of highly resilient students in South Africa: a mixed methods study
Full text linkParents play a critical role in supporting the development of resilience in childhood and early adolescence. Most South Africans lack basic resources, so research into and commitment to resilience is of great importance. This study investigated the styles of parenting experienced by highly resilient South African students. Participants were 136 South African university students aged 18 to 23 (female = 44.9%, black = 66.9%). They completed the Child and Youth Resilience Measure. Further, six of the highest scoring students participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews on their retrospective parenting experiences. Quantitative analysis showed females had a higher mean resilience score than males. Qualitatively, thematic analysis identified the following parenting styles: loving caregiving, and behavioural control. Loving caregiving was expressed through accounts of encouragement, acceptance, and attentive regard. Behavioural control was demonstrated by verbal interactions of discipline, corporal punishment, and curfews. This implies a connection between specific parenting practices and high resilience in students, providing valuable insights for developing programs to boost children?s resilience.
Q&A on South African business innovation trends, 2002-2021. Fact sheet 51
No full textIn the early 2000s, South Africa's annual GDP growth rates rose steadily, but then fell progressively in the decade following the 2008 global financial crisis. During this period of declining growth, the country's business sector faced major pressures, from intermittent load shedding, rising global commodity prices, and the advent of disruptive technologies and business models. Exacerbated by the sudden arrival of a global pandemic in 2020, businesses encountered tough choices to reorient to new conditions that included accelerating digitalisation
and geopolitical uncertainty. Drawing from South Africa���s innovation data for the industry and services sectors, this fact sheet answers key questions about innovation trends across four survey periods (2002-2004, 2005-2007, 2014-2016 and 2019-2021
Ways of sharing information for innovation-driven local economic development: emerging lessons from Karoo districts
No full textMany municipalities want to invest in innovative economic activities but lack guidance on how to target such investments. This information gap affects municipalities unevenly, with resource-poor areas facing greater
barriers. Based on HSRC work in the Karoo, Peter Jacobs and Mandy Booys discuss how information about innovation could be shared with municipal stakeholders.N/
HIV surveys in the last 20 years in South Africa: implications, impact and lessons
Full text linkPaper presented at a seminar at Hasselt University, Belgium, 19 MarchIn 2005 and 2006, the SABSSM team undertook a 2-year project entitled Replication of the South African HIV prevalence, behavioural risks and mass media survey in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland funded by a grant of Euros 400 000 (almost R4 million at the time of the award) from the EU.N/
Knowledge for development: university-firm interaction in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Uganda: working papers
No full textAugustThe Research on Knowledge Systems (RoKS) 2006 competition provided funding that has opened up a new field and delineated the contours of a research agenda in relation to the changing role of the university in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments in developing countries are increasingly imitating developed countries, by adopting policy, incentives and programmes aimed to promote linkages between universities and firms. In sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest number of low-income countries, there is evidence to suggest that policy-borrowing to promote university-industry linkages is occurring, but in a manner that does not take sufficient cognizance of the specifics of the local context and conditions, which may have unintended deleterious consequences. There is as yet not a great deal of research on the changing role of universities, but what does exist often engages with the challenges in aspirational and normative ways. There has been little systematic analysis of the conditions of universities, firms and their potential for interaction to contribute to growth and development in the low income countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Such concerns inspired a study to examine systematically how university-firm interaction contributes to national development goals in three countries at different stages of development in sub-Saharan Africa, namely Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa. The study was also conducted in nine other countries, in Latin America (Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina and Mexico) and Asia (Korea, China, India, Malaysia and Thailand), providing a basis for systematic comparative work across countries of the South
Identifying clusters of innovation barriers in farming enterprises: a K-modes clustering approach
Full text linkDespite the relevance of agriculture in terms of its contribution to food security and environmental sustainability, empirical evidence on the nature and effects of barriers to innovation, remains very limited. This problem has often led to inconsistent policy design, failing to meet the needs and expectations of farming enterprises. Innovation profiling and segmentation have emerged as important tools for understanding how businesses innovate. Using data from the South African Agricultural Business Innovation Survey (AgriBIS-2016-2018), this study applies the Kmodes clustering algorithm, to group farming enterprises based on the innovation barriers they face. The analysis identified three distinct clusters with differing innovation profiles. The findings show that
businesses in Cluster 2 recognised institutional barriers such as Lack of Government Support (65.4%) and Stringent Agricultural Policies (93.6%) as key barriers to their innovations, while Cluster 3 businesses
highlighted environmental factors as critical impediments to their innovation. Cluster 1 businesses faced a diverse range of resource related barriers. This study addresses a key knowledge gap and increases our understanding of the barriers to agricultural innovation. The findings have important implications for innovation policy instruments and strategies aimed at promoting agricultural innovation, sustainability, productivity and resilience in the face of barriers to innovation.
Older people’s perceptions and use of technology
No full textQuality of life for older people; however, minimal evidence is documented in the African context. This chapter aims to address this gap by exploring the use of technology among older people in Durban, South Africa. This study draws on data collected from 60 participants aged 60 years and older. The interviews reveal that most older people have access to at least one technological device, but utilisation remains relatively low. Those who use technology do so for entertainment or to stay informed. Social media is an important means to stay connected to friends and family. The findings of this chapter have important implications for the inclusion of older people in the use and development of technological advancement, which can improve the quality of life of a rapidly ageing population.
HE should produce free thinkers, not conformers, expert says
No full textUniversities should move from producing graduates who know how to work the system and, instead, embrace new forms of thinking that promote social justice, according to Shanen Ganapathee, a former member of the faculty at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda.N/
South Sudan’s peacebuilding dilemma: navigating the final stretch of R-ARCSS and beyond
Full text linkHSRC Policy Brief, MarchThis policy brief seeks to elevate key issues, which are deemed to be hampering security sector reforms, economic progress, coupled with deliberate unwillingness to implement the R-ARCSS. Finally, the threats of renewed violence, frequent inter-communal conflicts, resources mismanagement, and public frustration may potentially lead to further chaos. As such, urgent action is required to mitigate ignition of deeper instability.N/
Myth and reality in South Africa's history: a conflicted past
No full textHistory matters. Some wish to bury it; others to use it selectively for their own purposes. But in the case of any nation it must be confronted honestly. Just as the Freedom Charter proclaims that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, so does its history. And the country was liberated by its people, not one specific group. Myth and Reality in South Africa’s History is a collection of eighty newspaper opinion pieces and feature articles published over a span of thirty years. Their purpose was to examine significant past lives, movements and events, and interpret their contemporary significance for a general readership. Emphasis was placed on individuals and organisations that had tended to be neglected by post-liberation discourse, which was prone to exaggerate the role of certain movements.N/