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"Things here in township schools are different": crime insecurity and schooling in SA townships
No full textThis paper examines how crime, insecurity, and social disorganization affect the educational experiences of learners and teachers in two secondary schools in Umlazi township, South Africa. Drawing on social disorganization theory and qualitative data from interviews and focus groups, the study shows how crime is normalized within school environments, while community-led safety initiatives often destabilize rather than protect learning spaces. The findings highlight the limitations of education reforms that ignore broader structural violence and call for multidimensional strategies that integrate schooling with community development, poverty alleviation, and public safety initiatives. Building on relational theories of peace and dialogue, the paper argues that restoring hope in township schools requires rehumanizing relationships, fostering restorative practices, and strengthening community cohesion. Ultimately, educational transformation must be part of broader social justice efforts, recognizing that the conditions of learning are inseparable from the structural inequalities that shape township life.
South Africa: in search of a employment escape to a growth path
No full textThis chapter is structured as follows. First, we examine the sectoral patterns of economic growth in South Africa. This is followed by a comparative assessment of industries without smokestacks (IWSS) and the non-IWSS
sectors. We then identify constraints on growth in four specific IWSS sectors and provide a quantitative analysis of future employment growth between 2019 and 2028.
An analysis of the maize marketing structure and its effects on the marketing performance in Zimbabwe: a case of the Mazowe District
No full textThe study ascertains the maize marketing structure and its effects on the marketing performance in Zimbabwe. The Structure Conduct Performance model was used as the primary tool of analysis. The results indicated that there were too few buyers in the maize grain market to attain a competitive market. The maize grain trade is concentrated, and a few traders control it. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index was 0.203, implying a concentrated maize market. The local market channel had a Marketing Efficiency Index of 3.733, compared to 2.322 for the GMB. While both indices were low, the GMB channel was the least efficient compared to the literature standard. The late payment by the GMB has short-circuited the ability of smallholder farmers to generate a cash flow with which to fund their farming and other non-farming activities. The study recommends reducing the number of intermediaries to lessen their influence in the marketing channels and provide more shares to farmers. There is a need to optimize GMB’s logistical operations and ensure timely payments to significantly contribute to improving market efficiency, reducing losses, and strengthening the resilience of Zimbabwe's food systems.
The first South African national gender-based violence study: a baseline survey on victimisation and perpetration
No full textPaper presented at the Western Cape Provincial Victim Empowerment Forum, Cape Town, 18 SeptemberN/
# FeesMustFall protests in South Africa: a critical realist analysis of selected newspaper articles
No full textUsing Critical Realism, this article looks at articles from selected South African newspapers which reported on the #FeesMustFall protests. The study established that, arising from the protests, was a culture characteried by tensions and distrust amongst stakeholders such as students, university management and the government. This, the article argues, was a result of how each of these stakeholders perceived, and went on to exercise, their agency in an attempt to resolve the conflict arising from the protests. To avert a recurrence of negative consequences of student protests such as the destruction of property and development of toxic and adversarial relationships amongst different stakeholders, the article recommends collaborative approaches to conflict resolution in South African higher education. These approaches need to be framed differently from those in which some stakeholders seek to use their agency to achieve outright victory over other stakeholders - a recurring mode of engagement during the #FeesMustFall protests.
A tailored mhealth intervention for improving antenatal care seeking and its determinants among pregnant adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: pilot randomized controlled trial
No full textAdolescent pregnancy is of public health concern due to high rates of pregnancy-related complications and lower
antenatal attendance among adolescent girls and young women. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have the potential to improve pregnancy health behaviors and thereby birth outcomes. Overall, 412 adolescent girls and young women were enrolled, of which 254 (62%) completed the posttest survey (64% control, 59% intervention). Patient record data were obtained for 222 of the 412 (54%; in both control and intervention) participants. A total of 84% (63/75) and 72% (54/75) rated the intervention messages highly regarding their content value and their motivational nature for behavior change, respectively. Participants responded to an average of 20% of the 2-way messages they received. Mean appointment attendance did not differ significantly between the experimental (4.86, SD 1.76) and control (4.79, SD 1.74; P=.79) groups. Appointment attendance was higher among intervention participants who responded to ≥50% of messages (“high-responders”; 5.08, SD 1.66) than intervention participants who responded to fewer messages (4.82, SD 1.79) and control participants (4.79, SD 1.74; P=.86). The mean increase in knowledge scores was significantly higher among experimental group high-responders (2.1, SD 3.17) than the control group (0.7, SD 2.73; β=1.50; P=.045).
Introduction
No full textCoinciding with a trend of rising economic divides within many countries, scholarly interest in the subject of inequality has grown significantly in the 21st century. Since its creation in 1987, the Social Inequality module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) has evolved into an exceptionally comprehensive country-comparative individual-level database on public beliefs about inequality and socioeconomic conditions. The module stands out among international surveys due to its extensive thematic depth and breadth, along with the
long times pan it covers. This provides unique opportunities for charting and monitoring longitudinal trends in social inequality, as well as for conducting comparative analyses aimed at advancing theories that incorporate the national context as an integral part of the explanatory framework. This introduction describes the content, coverage, and history of the fifth wave of the Social Inequality module (2019). This survey wave was conducted in 34 countries and combines previously fielded topics with new ones that speak to current debates in different
areas of inequality research. The fifth wave introduces new questions focusing on anger and unfairness, reducing inequality by market actors, government inefficacy, lived experience of inequality, economic insecurity and deprivation, and social trust. This introduction chapter also presents some descriptive findings on these new topics, and offers an outlook on the content of this edited volume, which further explores these themes through a range of studies utilizing the ISSP data.
An innovation measurement framework for the South African cultural and creative industries
No full textThere is increased scrutiny on the directionality of innovation systems in advancing critical global sustainability and development objectives. Equally, innovation policy mixes require complimentary measurement agendas to track activity and outcomes and inform public investment decisions. South Africa has a clear innovation policy mix for its arts, culture and heritage (ACH) dispensation. However, innovation indicators are not yet integrated within the monitoring and evaluation framework of the ACH dispensation. In this paper, a directionality-sensitive innovation measurement framework for the cultural and creative industries (CCI) is proposed with indicator categories addressing a fuller variety of system actors than are typically assessed in innovation surveys. The framework was piloted in South Africa’s Western Cape Province and yielded several methodological insights and data. Key among these is the value of survey interviews for data enumeration that bridges respondent understanding of the concept of innovation, as well as combining object- and subject-based approaches to mitigate against measurement error. By adopting this framework, data comprising a richer cross-sectional view of innovation in the CCI can be compared and analysed, in-country and across countries, enabling several potential research and policy monitoring use cases.
Afro-resilience: Africa’s strategic realignment in a multipolar world
No full textDespite lacking major weapon manufacturing facilities, Africa remains the world’s largest recipient of arms and ammunition given that most of the ongoing armed conflicts globally are on the continent. Paradoxically, while the continent is home to the highest number of peacekeepers, it also faces the greatest number of conflicts globally. Moreover, despite possessing the world’s largest youth population, vast land resources, abundant sunshine, significant water bodies, and agriculture as a central pillar of its economies, Africa remains the world’s poorest region and continues to suffer from severe food insecurity. These stark contradictions highlight the urgent need for Africa to address the systemic problems of armed conflict, climate change and underdevelopment, underscoring the considerable work required for the continent’s economic and social emancipation.N/