scholarly journals Socioeconomic status and self-reported tuberculosis: a multilevel analysis in a low-income township in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Murray Cramm ◽  
Xander Koolman ◽  
Valerie Møller ◽  
Anna P. Nieboer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Multilevel Analysis ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Eastern Cape

Low-income resident’s preferences for the location of wind turbine farms in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 10-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Hosking ◽  
Mario Du Preez ◽  
Gary Sharp
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Choice Modelling ◽  
Development Scenarios ◽  
Local Municipality ◽  
Wind Energy Development

There is a general consensus that South Africa should be generating more power through harnessing renewable energy resources, such as wind power. However, there is no consensus with regard to the location of such generating projects. This paper describes a wind farm project proposed for development in the Kouga Local Municipality, reports low-income local residents’ preferences on its nature and applies choice modelling to analyse these preferences. A questionnaire was presented to each respondent, the discrete choice experiment component of the questionnaire included two different onshore wind energy development scenarios and a status quo option. The scenarios differed by the combination of four elements: the distance of the wind turbines from residential areas, job creation, the number of turbines and a subsidy allocated to each household.

scholarly journals Higher SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Workers with Lower Socioeconomic Status in Cape Town, South Africa.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Alexandra Shaw ◽  
Maynard Meiring ◽  
Tracy Cummins ◽  
Novel Chegou ◽  
Conita Claassen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
High Background ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic ◽  
Antibody Positivity ◽  
High Degree

Abstract Background: South Africa has a high degree of inequality between population groups. The first wave of COVID-19 may have affected people in lower socioeconomic groups worse than the affluent. The SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and the specificity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests in South Africa is not known. Methods: We tested 405 volunteers representing all socioeconomic strata from the workforce of a popular shopping and tourist complex in central Cape Town with the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. We assessed the association between antibody positivity and COVID-19 symptom status, medical history, and sociodemographic variables. We tested 137 serum samples from healthy controls collected in Cape Town prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to confirm the specificity of the assay in the local population.Results: Of the 405 volunteers tested one month after the first peak of the epidemic in Cape Town, 96(23.7%) were SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive. Of those who tested positive, 46(47.9%) reported no symptoms of COVID-19 in the previous 6 months. Seropositivity was significantly associated with living in informal housing, residing in a subdistrict with low income-per household, and having a low-earning occupation. The specificity of the assay was 98.54%(95%CI 94.82%-99.82%) in the pre-COVID controls.Conclusions: There is a high background seroprevalence in Cape Town, particularly in people of lower socioeconomic status. Half of cases are asymptomatic, and therefore undiagnosed by local testing strategies. These results cannot be explained by low assay specificity.

scholarly journals Bioenergy use and food preparation practices of two communities in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 26-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paxie W. Chirwa ◽  
Cori Ham ◽  
Stella Maphiri ◽  
Marlett Balmer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
High Level

A study was undertaken in two communities that use firewood in the Keiskammahoek area of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa to understand their behaviour with regard to energy use during food preparation as well as the extent of practising efficient cooking habits. The results showed that despite the high level of electrification, firewood was used in most households (≥ 60%) for cooking while electricity was mostly used (≥ 90%) for lighting. Firewood is also preferred for cooking food that takes a long time to prepare, while more convenient sources of energy such as electricity is used for short periods of cooking and re-heating of food. Secondary sources of energy used for cooking included paraffin, dung, leaves and twigs. The study found that there was some deliberate use of energy saving techniques in both communities, although limited and not necessarily practiced with a view to saving energy. Less than half of the respondents soaked hard grains and beans before cooking; while all of them cut food into smaller pieces before cooking commenced. A third of respondents had utensils ready before cooking commenced in one village while two thirds placed utensils and food together before they commenced food preparations in the other village. Pots were covered with lids and water was added in small amounts as required. The heat from fire was not monitored, but fires were extinguished after use. The greatest potential for improvement exists around cooking appliances; where all households were found to be using three-legged pots on open fires when cooking with biomass energy. Open fires are highly inefficient and the use of efficient biomass cook stoves would increase efficiency. It is recommended that in order to reduce the use of biomass-derived energy consumption and expenditure in low-income households, the use of multiple energy sources and portable energy efficient firewood stoves should be promoted. In addition, there should be an aggressive dissemination of information on further processing of fuelwood into forms that can easily be stored and used; and various forms of pre-treatment of hard foods.

scholarly journals “A Guy ‘Does’ and You Don’t, They Do You Instead”: Young People’s Narratives of Gender and Sexuality in a Low-Income Context of South Africa

SAGE Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401881904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Graham ◽  
Memory Mphaphuli
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Young People ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Sexual Practices ◽  
Research Focus ◽  
Intensive Research ◽  
Alternative Discourses

The intensive research focus on young people’s sexuality in relation to risk means that young people’s sexuality is often pathologized. We thus miss out on the day-to-day lived realities of how young people negotiate gender identity as well as sexuality in complex, nuanced, but normal ways. This article contributes to an emerging body of research that highlights how young people negotiate gender identity and sexuality in their day-to-day lives, by focusing on the narratives of young persons engaged in heteronormative relationships in a resource constrained setting in South Africa. We offer insights into dominant, but also alternative discourses of gender and sexuality that are not highlighted in the literature in this field. Furthermore, we offer new empirical insights into how socioeconomic status shapes their gender identity, beliefs about sex and their sexual practices, contributing to a small but emerging field of research engaging with the intersection of gender, sex, and socioeconomic status.

scholarly journals Higher SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in workers with lower socioeconomic status in Cape Town, South Africa

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0247852
Author(s):  
Jane Alexandra Shaw ◽  
Maynard Meiring ◽  
Tracy Cummins ◽  
Novel N. Chegou ◽  
Conita Claassen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
High Background ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic ◽  
Antibody Positivity

Background Inequality is rife throughout South Africa. The first wave of COVID-19 may have affected people in lower socioeconomic groups worse than the affluent. The SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and the specificity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests in South Africa is not known. Methods We tested 405 volunteers representing all socioeconomic strata from the workforce of a popular shopping and tourist complex in central Cape Town with the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. We assessed the association between antibody positivity and COVID-19 symptom status, medical history, and sociodemographic variables. We tested 137 serum samples from healthy controls collected in Cape Town prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to confirm the specificity of the assay in the local population. Results Of the 405 volunteers tested one month after the first peak of the epidemic in Cape Town, 96(23.7%) were SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive. Of those who tested positive, 46(47.9%) reported no symptoms of COVID-19 in the previous 6 months. Seropositivity was significantly associated with living in informal housing, residing in a subdistrict with low income-per household, and having a low-earning occupation. The specificity of the assay was 98.54%(95%CI 94.82%-99.82%) in the pre-COVID controls. Conclusions There is a high background seroprevalence in Cape Town, particularly in people of lower socioeconomic status. Almost half of cases are asymptomatic, and therefore undiagnosed by local testing strategies. These results cannot be explained by low assay specificity.

Influence of Knowledge Management Practices on Public Service Delivery by Municipalities

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charleen Musonza ◽  
Ndakasharwa Muchaonyerwa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Public Service Delivery

This study examines the influence of knowledge management (KM) practices on public service delivery by municipalities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The study sought to determine the factors that have triggered the implementation of KM practices; the effectiveness of KM practices towards public service delivery; and the extent to which KM practices have influenced public service delivery by municipalities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in this study. Quantitative data were collected through a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 202 employees at the Raymond Mhlaba Municipality in the Eastern Cape. Qualitative data were collected through observations and interviews of 2 senior managers. The data collected gave a response rate of 72 per cent. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed descriptively and presented verbatim respectively. The results indicated that the internal and external factors included in this study have contributed to the implementation of KM practices in the municipality. Furthermore, the effective use of KM practices has increased the organisational KM initiative, as well as the provision of services such as electricity, education, transport, and social services by the municipality. The study recommends the establishment of KM awareness and the establishment of an integrated system that will assist in effective knowledge sharing, retention and acquisition across municipalities in the Eastern Cape.

Exploring the South African Government Communication on Land Expropriation without Compensation

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (1-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lungisani Moyo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Food Security ◽  
South African ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
South African Government ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
The South ◽  
Land Expropriation ◽  
African Government ◽  
Government Communication

ABSTRACT This paper used qualitative methodology to explore the South African government communication and land expropriation without compensation and its effects on food security using Alice town located in the Eastern Cape Province South Africa as its case study. This was done to allow the participants to give their perceptions on the role of government communication on land expropriation without compensation and its effects on South African food security. In this paper, a total population of 30 comprising of 26 small scale farmers in rural Alice and 4 employees from the Department of Agriculture (Alice), Eastern Cape, South Africa were interviewed to get their perception and views on government communications and land expropriation without compensation and its effects on South African food security. The findings of this paper revealed that the agricultural sector plays a vital role in the South African economy hence there is a great need to speed up transformation in the sector.

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