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What is the space for “place” in social studies of astronomy?
Get PDFAll large-scale telescope facilities are constructed within a geographical, social, historical, and political context that includes nested layers at the global, national, and local levels. However, discussions about the geographic siting of astronomy facilities, for example, the communities in which they are embedded or the interactions between the facility and its locale, are uncommon in social science studies of astronomy, and no extant review focused on this gap in the literature. In this literature review and discourse analysis, we explore the ways in which research about astronomy facilities and their local communities has emerged, and the extent to which it focuses
on the Global South. We find that literature addressing the social and policy aspects of astronomy facilities has an emphasis on the Global North. However, literature addressing host communities has an emphasis on the Global South. Broadly, the discourses related to host communities in the Global South have emerged from reflections on the controversies related to large-scale telescopes in Hawai’i, Chile, and South Africa. One common theme linking these discourses is that a focus on benefits at the national and international levels obscures a range of problematic power dynamics and outcomes at the local level. The notion of the Global South as an ‘empty space’ in which astronomical observation does not constitute impactful action amongst local communities, is challenged by discourses that centre local contexts, and challenged by discourses that employ conceptual frameworks with a focus on revealing power dynamics.
Job satisfaction in South Africa: the quest for job quality
Get PDFJob satisfaction is a key determinant in ensuring and maintaining a productive workforce. It is an outcome of the interaction between individual personal characteristics, work values, needs and expectations on one hand and work rewards or outcomes on the other hand. Job quality, in turn, ensures decent working conditions and livelihoods for workers. In this study, we investigated the distribution and determinants of job satisfaction of employed workers in South Africa, drawing on data collected through nationally representative surveys on social attitudes conducted in 2005 and 2015. The findings indicate that what workers seek (value) in a job exceeds their actual experience (outcomes), although the gap between expectation and outcome in the baseline survey has narrowed in the end-point survey. Furthermore, workers tend to favour job outcomes and rewards that are extrinsic in nature over intrinsic ones in current labour market conditions, yet shifts are discernible over time. Where extrinsic needs are satisfied, the importance of intrinsic ones increases.
Factors influencing progressive utilization of palliative care services among cancer patients in Kenya: the case of Nairobi hospice
No full textThe rising cases of non-communicable diseases, specifically cancer, have led to the integration of palliative care in their management. However, only 10% of cancer patients have access to palliative care. Healthcare utilization is an important step in disease management as it aids individuals in accessing opportunities for the prevention and treatment of diseases. The study applied the binary probit model to estimate the progressive utilization of palliative care services by cancer patients. The aim of the study was to determine factors influencing the progressive utilization of palliative care by cancer patients. A cross-sectional data survey was conducted for 169 cancer patients seeking palliative care at the Nairobi Hospice in 2013. For each patient, the predisposing, enabling, and need (PEN) factors were analyzed as key criteria for applying progressive utilization of palliative care at the Nairobi Hospice as compared to those residing in other counties in the study. Descriptive statistics showed that 27% of patients studied resided in Nairobi County, where 61% were female, 62% were married, 35% had primary education, 44% were self-employed, and 59% had medical insurance. Probit regression and marginal effects showed that employment and religion were significant in determining the progressive utilization of palliative care. Employment status and religion are consequently the main factors that both governments and health-focused non-governmental organizations need to consider increasing the probability of progressively utilizing palliative care to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.
South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development sector results and trends: not-for-profit sector R&D at a glance 2020/21. Fact sheet 46
No full textThe not-for-profit sector plays an important role tackling the structural causes of social challenges facing the country. In addressing these challenges, and through collaboration, NPOs conduct R&D critical to the needs of South Africa. R&D expenditure in NPOs has increased significantly in the past decade, from R170 million in 2011/12 to R1.568 billion in 2020/21. The majority of R&D spending was in the medical and health sciences, particularly infectious diseases with a focus on tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and malaria, which are key health challenges in South Africa. NPOs rely heavily on foreign funds, with approximately 65% of R&D funding coming from abroad
Pilot testing two versions of a social network intervention to increase HIV testing and case-finding among men in South Africa's generalized HIV epidemic
No full textLocating undiagnosed HIV infections is important for limiting transmission. However, there is limited evidence about how best to do so. In South Africa, men have been particularly challenging to reach for HIV testing due, in part, to stigma. We pilot-tested two versions of a network-based case-finding and care-linkage intervention. The first, TRIP, asked "seeds" (original participants) to recruit their sexual and/or injection partners. The second, TRIPLE, aimed to circumvent some stigma-related issues by asking seeds to recruit anyone they know who might be at risk of being HIV-positive-unaware. We recruited 11 (18% male) newly diagnosed HIV-positive (NDP) seeds from two clinics in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and randomly assigned them to either TRIP or TRIPLE. Network members were recruited two steps from each seed. The TRIP arm recruited 12 network members; the TRIPLE arm recruited 62. Both arms recruited NDPs at higher rates than local clinic testing, with TRIP (50.0%) outperforming (p = 0.012) TRIPLE (14.5%). However, TRIPLE (53.2%) was far superior to clinics (27.8%) and to TRIP (25.0%) at recruiting men. Given challenges around testing and treating men for HIV in this context, these findings suggest that the TRIPLE expanded network-tracing approach should be tested formally among larger samples in multiple settings.
Building solid foundations: programme effects evaluation of the grade RR programme at Christel House Junior School
Get PDFCommissioned by the Christel House Junior SchoolEarly childhood, from birth to nine years old, is the most important developmental period of an individual's life. As a result, Early childhood development (ECD) is increasingly becoming a focus for education policy debates around the world. ECD refers to the processes through which young children grow and thrive physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, morally and socially" (McCoy, Zuilkowski, Yoshikawa & Fink, 2017). It is during this time that a foundation is laid for holistic development while cultivating a motivation for lifelong learning, preparing children for adulthood (Biersteker & Dawes, 2008). The value of ECD is driven by insights from multiple fields, including neuroscience, economics, and social sciences, which indicate that healthy development in early life
is the foundation on which future success is built.N/
User-reported quality of care: findings from the first round of the People's Voice Survey in 14 countries
No full textHigh-quality care is essential for improving health outcomes, although many health systems struggle to maintain good quality. We use data from the People's Voice Survey a nationally representative survey conducted in 14 high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries to describe user-reported quality of most recent health care in the past 12 months. We described ratings for 14 measures of care competence, system competence, and user experience and assessed the relationship between visit quality factors and user recommendation of the facility. We disaggregated the data by high-need and underserved groups. The proportion of respondents rating their most recent visit as high quality ranged from 25% in Laos to 74% in the USA. The mean facility recommendation score was 7.7 out of 10. Individuals with high needs or who are underserved reported lower-quality services on average across countries. Countries with high health expenditure per capita tended to have better care ratings than countries with low health expenditure. Visit quality factors explained a high proportion of variation in facility recommendations relative to facility or demographic factors. These results show that user-reported quality is low but increases with high national health expenditure. Elevating care quality will require monitoring and improvements on multiple dimensions of care quality, especially in public systems.
Promoting innovation collaboration in South Africa: unveiling patterns and barriers
Get PDFHSRC Policy Brief, MarchThis policy brief classifies groups of innovation-active firms in terms of their modes of collaboration, using evidence from the most recent Business Innovation Survey (BIS) 2019-21, to offer empirical evidence of existing patterns and trends of innovation collaboration as a foundation for policy action.N/
Never look back: a collection of poems
No full textMy consciousness of the disparity between black and white in South Africa was awakened when I noticed the difference in amenities for blacks in townships and the rich white suburbs. I was an avid reader of Drum magazine from a young age. I got exposed to African leaders in the late 1950s: Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah, Modibo Keita, Obafeni Awolowo; in South Africa there were names like Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Chief Albert Luthuli, Nana Mahomo, Peter Molotsi and Robert Sobukwe. On 6 March 1957, Kwame Nkrumah became the head of Ghana. I heard about this from our teacher, Philip Mahuma.N/
Towards African collaborative Doctoral programmes: synthesis report
No full textCommissioned by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), DecemberThis report is based on a study commissioned by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) from the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in December 2021 with the aim of producing a baseline understanding of the current nature, structure, and process of doctoral training at the alliance's 16 member universities,1 so that areas of convergence and prospects for developing collaborative doctoral programmes across these institutions may be identified. It provides a synthesis of ten country reports2 that consider the implementation of 32 humanities and natural sciences doctoral programmes across the member universities within their institutional and national contexts. In the context of globalisation and internationalisation, national higher education systems and institutions across the world have grappled with the challenge of increasing competition in the sector and have increasingly reflected on how they can produce knowledge and develop highlevel skills more effectively, as well as on the intended outcomes of such knowledge production and skills development. One response has been to seek to develop collaborative teaching and research programmes at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in order to improve structures; the quality of the student experience; and the quality and relevance of the skills being developed.N/