Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social indicators – Africa'

Africa is a latecomer to the Social Indicators Movement. The first social indicators for Third World countries were developed by outsiders and covered almost exclusively topics related to basic needs and development. In response to Kenneth Land's and Alex Michalos' historical assessment and their agenda for future 'social indicators/quality of life/well-being' research, the commentary traces how South Africa and sub-Saharan countries-with a little help from many friends who are pioneers in the movement-have succeeded in developing their own home-grown social indicators movement. Addressing some of the themes outlined in the agenda that Land and Michalos set for future research, the commentary discusses the importance of monitoring social change occurring in African society in a 'post-industrialized and much more globalized, and digitized-computerizedroboticized' era: How will new values and nom1s impact on the quality of life of future generations of African people?

Theewaterskloof is a community with several faces. Situated right outside Cape Town, South Africa, the community of Theewaterskloof is distinguished by a low socio-economic standard. Housing and jobs are the main issues that concern the inhabitants of Theewaterskloof. Since 2004 the Theewaterskloof Development Project is run by students and by the Theewaterskloof Development Project Organization. The overall project aims are Service-Learning for students and sustainable rural community development, which in turn should result in increased entrepreneurship, work opportunities and self-sufficiency for the inhabitants in Theewaterskloof.With the complex conditions that characterize the project we found it very valuable to have a sustainable organization representing a strong base and clear concept. We came to understand that the power and motivation to make changes within the organization lies within the organization itself. With this in mind we began researching the project by interviewing involved parties and observing the project in field. The first conclusion we made was that the aims of the Theewaterskloof Development Project in theory and practice were not coherent. We then came to focus on areas within the organization that we perceived to be complex. As a result four themes were identified and processed; 1) Communication, cohesion and will to co-operate, 2) Project office, administration, organization and project management, 3) Enjoyable work assignments, the importance of every person involved and clearer vision on what every person is contributing with, and 4) Clear vision and aim, clarify the purpose of the whole project and clarify the approach to reach the aims. To simplify the themes and make them more applicable we came to our second conclusion; the need of finding a suitable approach for transforming the themes into normative principles. This approach is presented as the Seven Step Approach in which the results are four normative principles; Communication, Project management, Motivation and Strategy, all important for a sustainable organization and the further development of the project. As a final outcome we produced a guide with the base of the Seven Step Approach suited to fit the needs and conditions of Theewaterskloof Development Project. The guide has the purpose of assisting the project organization in achieving the principles to better reach the aims of the project.

The current trends in sustainable development (SO) were examined in this study, which brought about the realisation that SO has become a business imperative. Mining, which is a highly impacting industry, is faced with the dilemma of implementing the principles of SO despite the realisation that its activities are severely limited by· the finite nature of the resource it is capitalising on. This reality, however, does not detract from the non-negotiable requirement for the industry to meet the increasing pressures to act responsibly towards the environment and the community in which it operates. Gold Fields has stepped up to the plate and has already taken several steps to achieve this end. These include the adoption of SO in its Vision, Values and strategies and the development and implementation of a SO framework to ensure the integration of the principles of SO into the business. Furthermore, Gold Fields has also entered into voluntary activities that further cement the commitment the company has towards so. These other initiatives include, inter alia, its International Council on Mining and Metals membership, UN Global Compact participation, becoming a signatory to the cyanide code, IS014001, and so on. This study focussed on several indicator categories and the identification of a set of supporting sustainable development indicators (SOls) for each, which included environmental, social, economic, technological, and ethics, legal and corporate governance (not in order of priority). These indicators were assessed by a carefully selected group of respondents whose collective wisdom and expertise were used to identify and weight supporting SOls for each of the indicator categories. These supporting SOls were in turn used to develop a model that is able to assist in the business's decision making processes when capital investment is being considered . A water treatment project that is currently being considered by Gold Fields was utilised to demonstrate how the decision making model can be applied to two different scenarios. The result clearly and successfully demonstrated that by proactively taking environmental, economic, social, technological, and ethics, legal and corporate governance considerations into account, a gold mining company is able to increase the level of SO of a capital investment project.

Despite the many changes that have occurred in South Africa since the end of apartheid, there are still residual effects of it, as is evidenced in the disparity of living conditions between different racial groups. It is also evident that there are differences in the work tasks and working conditions of nurses working in different work environments. This project looks at how living conditions as well as working conditions interactively affect the health, subjective well-being, and work ability of nurses. Questionnaires were completed by, and interviews were conducted with nurses from Settlers Hospital and seven municipal clinics within Grahamstown (n=152). The participation rate was approximately 71%. The questionnaires included self-report, forced-choice questions regarding basic demographics of the nurses, work conditions, living conditions, subjective satisfaction levels, as well as a simplified version of the Nordic Questionnaire of Musculoskeletal Strain (Kuorinka et al., 1987), and the Work Ability Index (WAI) (Tuomi et al., 2006). The questionnaires were translated into Afrikaans and IsiXhosa. One-on-one interviews were conducted with the participants, in order to obtain a 24-hour dietary recall, an indication of physical activity levels, as well as measurements of stature, mass, waist girth and hip girth. Factor analysis was performed to identify common variance from amongst the variables, while canonical correlations examined the interaction between the sets of factors. It was found that variables relating to demographic factors, living conditions, and working conditions were closely linked to each other. Factors from each of these groups were associated with life, health, and job satisfaction, anthropometric measures, musculoskeletal strain, and WAI scores. Satisfaction levels appeared to be largely determined by socioeconomic status, while anthropometrics, WAI scores, and levels of musculoskeletal strain were associated with levels of smoking and drinking, race, age, stature, position and tenure.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An alternative measure of progress to GDP was evaluated in the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela tribe (in total N = 119) using subjective wellbeing or happiness. The major dimensions of happiness were assumed to be physical, mental, social, spiritual, educational, environmental, occupational, and financial wellbeing or income and governance. Amongst the Bakgatla, correlation testing identified two clusters or core sub-sets of relationships, based on the strength of relationships, which appear to work in parallel to one another, with divergent outcomes of either increased happiness or income. The first cluster is related to traditional economic rationality and consists of Education Level, Income and Employment Security. The second cluster, more closely related to principles of sustainable development, consists of Social Wellbeing, Environmental Wellbeing and Happiness. An insignificant correlation between Income and Happiness exists. A multiple regression analysis was conducted with Happiness as the dependent variable and the major wellbeing dimensions as the independent variables (R² = .286). Statistically significant Standardized Beta’s calculated in the regression analysis are Social wellbeing (0.464), Educational level (-0.226), Governance (0.205) and Physical wellbeing (0.194). Although a cause-and-effect relationship can’t be assumed, the supposition is that ceteris paribus: • Happy people tend to have higher levels of social wellbeing or social capital; • The more educated people are, the less happy they are; • The more trust people have in public institutions and the state, the happier they are; and • Happy people tend to be healthier. Therefore, holding all other explanatory variables constant, it can be assumed that income has no bearing on subjective wellbeing. Therefore we reject the Null Hypothesis that the Bakgatla’s progress is purely determined by their annual per capita income. The relationship between income and subjective wellbeing for the Bakgatla follows global patterns - an initial increase in happiness as income increases is pronounced but ‘flattens’ somewhat as a higher level of income is reached and diminishes as very high levels of income are achieved. The critical turning point where income has a diminishing rate of return on satisfaction is around R20 000 per annum per person. This corroborates the human needs theories which proposes that a hierarchy of needs for human beings exist and until the basic needs are met, higher needs cannot be met. The present findings have implications for the Bakgatla: in order to increase happiness and promote development, the Bakgatla should focus on four key aspects: meeting basic needs; increasing social capital; increasing trust in the Tribal Authorities; and improving physical health. In addition, education and environmental wellbeing should also be focal points but changes need to be made to the education curriculum so that there is a strong focus on sustainable development. An important policy implication that the Bakgatla need to consider, is balancing the needs of the current generation with the needs of future generations. Economic growth or income may bring a certain amount of happiness; environmental destruction, crime and human health implications may outweigh these benefits and happiness in both the current and future generations.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie is subjektiewe welstand of geluk as alternatief vir bruto binnelandse produk (BBP) as vooruitgangsmaatstaf by die Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela-stam (altesaam N = 119) ondersoek. Die veronderstelde hoofaspekte van geluk wat in die studie getoets is, is fisiese welstand, geesteswelstand, maatskaplike welstand, spirituele welstand, opvoedkundige welstand, omgewingswelstand, beroepswelstand, finansiële welstand of inkomste, en bestuur. Korrelasietoetse onder die Bakgatla het twee beduidende groepe of kernsubstelle verwantskappe uitgewys, welke groepe oënskynlik gelyklopend funksioneer, met uiteenlopende dog nieverwante uitkomste van hetsy verhoogde geluk of verhoogde inkomste. Die eerste groep hou verband met tradisionele ekonomiese rasionaliteit, en bestaan uit onderrigvlak, inkomste en werksekerheid. Die tweede groep, wat eerder met beginsels van volhoubare ontwikkeling saamhang, bestaan uit maatskaplike welstand, omgewingswelstand en geluk. Die studie toon onbeduidende verband tussen inkomste en geluk. Meervoudige regressieontleding is met geluk as afhanklike veranderlike en die hoofwelstandsaspekte as onafhanklike veranderlikes uitgevoer (R² = 0,286). Statisties beduidende gestandaardiseerde betakoëffisiënte wat in die regressieontleding bereken is, is maatskaplike welstand (0,464), opvoedingsvlak (-0,226), bestuur (0,205) en fisiese welstand (0,194). Hoewel oorsaak-en-gevolg-verwantskap nie aanvaar kan word nie, word daar vermoed dat, met alle ander faktore gelyk: • gelukkige mense geneig is om hoër vlakke van maatskaplike welstand of maatskaplike kapitaal te geniet; • hoe meer opgevoed mense is, hoe ongelukkiger is hulle; • hoe meer vertroue mense in openbare instellings en die staat het, hoe gelukkiger is hulle; en • gelukkige mense geneig is om gesonder te wees. Indien alle ander verklarende veranderlikes konstant gehou word, word daar dus aanvaar dat inkomste geen verband met subjektiewe welstand toon nie. Daarom word die nulhipotese dat die Bakgatla se vooruitgang alleenlik deur hul jaarlikse inkomste per capita bepaal word, verwerp. Die verwantskap tussen inkomste en subjektiewe welstand vir die Bakgatla volg internasionale patrone: Aanvanklik neem geluk duidelik toe namate inkomste verhoog, plat dan effens af namate hoër inkomstevlak bereik word, en verminder aansienlik wanneer baie hoë inkomstevlakke bereik word. Die kritiese draaipunt waar inkomste verlaagde opbrengskoers op tevredenheid toon, is sowat R20 000 per jaar per persoon. Dít staaf die menslikebehoefte-teorie wat aan die hand doen dat mense oor hiërargie van behoeftes beskik en dat daar eers in basiese behoeftes voorsien moet word voordat behoeftes hoër op in die hiërargie aan die beurt kan kom. Hierdie bevindinge het bepaalde implikasies vir die Bakgatla: Ten einde geluk te verhoog en ontwikkeling aan te moedig, behoort die Bakgatla op vier kernaspekte te konsentreer, naamlik voorsiening in basiese behoeftes, die vermeerdering van maatskaplike kapitaal, die verhoging van vertroue in die stamowerhede, en verbetering van liggaamlike gesondheid. Voorts behoort opvoedkundige en omgewingswelstand ook fokuspunte te wees, maar moet die onderrigkurrikulum aangepas word om sterker klem op volhoubare ontwikkeling te plaas. Belangrike beleidsimplikasie wat die Bakgatla moet oorweeg, is om ewewig te vind tussen die behoeftes van die huidige geslag en die behoeftes van toekomstige geslagte. Ekonomiese groei of inkomste kan inderdaad sekere hoeveelheid geluk skep. Tog kan omgewingsvernietiging, misdaad en swak menslike gesondheid hierdie voordele en geluk in sowel die huidige as toekomstige geslagte oorskadu. Bykomende navorsing word vir die toekoms aanbeveel.

Social workers worldwide play a pivotal role in delivering social services to those in need of such services. Designated social workers (DSWs) deliver statutory services pertaining to the protection of children in need of care and protection. All social workers are confronted by several professional risk factors that jeopardise their well-being; yet risks specifically observed in DSWs support the plea to enhance their resilience. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological inquiry was to explore pathways of resilience among resilient South African DSWs by studying relevant literature and examining South African DSWs’ lived experiences. A secondary purpose was to draw on these experiences and literature to develop guidelines for South African DSW supervisors who may encourage the promotion of DSW resilience. Conducting a qualitative research synthesis was the first step and resulted in the confirmation of social worker risk and a deficient understanding of South African DSW resilience. An advisory panel of social work, DSW, and resilience experts assembled and formulated indicators of resilience in resilient South African DSWs, namely: a value-embedded life, having a support network, and having personal strengths, which, next, facilitated the identification of 15 resilient South African DSWs through snowball sampling. These 15 DSWs wrote narratives and were interviewed through semi-structured interviews in order to explore their lived experiences of workplace risks and their resilience processes. The findings concluded that these DSWs adapted to workplace adversities by living a purpose- and practice-informing creed, enjoying supportive collaborations, engaging in constructive transactions, and accentuating the positive. Guidelines for South African DSW supervisors, which emerged from these findings and literature, were proposed to be framed by reflective supervision as a step towards promoting South African DSW resilience.
PhD (Social Work), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Bibliography: 129-134.
If the main objective of schooling is the holistic development of the learner, i.e. the development of cognitive skills, critical thinking skills, social skills, life skills, creativity and emotional maturity, then it stands to reason that a quality school is one which contributes to such a holistic development of the learner. Therefore indicators of quality schooling would be those factors which make the holistic development of the learner possible. The important point to bear in mind however, is that these factors (indicators) in themselves are not standard nor static, they are dynamic and context-specific. It is this conceptual framework which underpins the research study. Tue research study is informed by the work of West and Hopkins (1996), Schmelkes (1996), Heneveld (1994) and Govinda & Vargese (1993), who propose a more ''whole school approach" in the measurement of school performance. The indicators of quality schooling were measured separately, but it is their collective impact that must be considered when attempting to assess the quality of schooling. Over a seven month period a co-educational secondary public school centrally situated in a community which resides in an economically and socially deprived area of the Western Cape, was closely observed and studied. The items and questions used in the questionnaires, interviews and observations were significantly influenced by the following: the work of West and Hopkins' (1996) four domains of school effectiveness; the IIEP research on increasing and improving the quality of basic education and Heneveld's (1994) model: Factors that determine School Effectiveness. The case study illustrates that when assessing the quality of schooling of any school it is important to assess all the factors that impact on the quality of schooling.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. 30 October 2014.
The reporting of non-financial data has steadily increased over the past three decades and there is evidence that including social and environmental indicators in the annual report is correlated with improved environmental performance of listed companies. The annual reports of a selection of 82 JSE-listed companies, including the full JSE Top 40, were analysed for mentions of the natural environment for the reporting periods of 2010 and 2012. The introduction of the King III principles by the JSE occurred between these two periods, providing an opportunity to assess the impacts that this move had on annual reporting. Attention was paid to mentions in the leadership reviews by the Chairmen and the CEOs, presence of empirical environmental data, environmental KPIs and the manner in which these data were presented and discussed in the report. In addition, a survey asking qualitative details of company reporting policy was conducted among the staff members responsible for environmental reporting of these companies. The standard and sophistication of environmental reporting varied widely across the sample, with Top 40 companies generally reporting better than non-Top 40 companies. Primary industries were more likely to provide empirical data than service industries and only agricultural industries appeared concerned with the manner in which changes in the natural environment could affect their business. There remains a wide variation in the type and detail of environmental reporting across the sample with very little evidence that the data, as reported, play a meaningful role in the decisions of either management or investors.

The concept of population ageing is a development issue that has received much attention due to the demographic transition that is occurring globally, marked by declining levels of fertility and mortality. Therefore, the implications of population ageing for older persons within the context of Social Development was examined from the perspective of government and non government officials. The study was confined to older persons and the policies and programmes implemented by the Department of Social Development. The study employed an exploratory research design within a qualitative paradigm. Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire were distributed to officials in the nine provinces. Thirty six questionnaires were received and qualitative methods of data analysis were used to analyse and interpret the data. The main finding of the study is that there is congruence in what government officials and the non government officials view as implications for older persons. Central to this is that the issue of ageing does not receive attention on the agenda of government. The top five priorities for older persons are healthy ageing, economic security, community/home based care services for older persons, having care and support systems for older persons and an improved quality of life/poverty alleviation. Based on the demographic determinants of population ageing, the findings are that there will be an increased demand for services for older persons which might place a strain on the social assistance and health care programmes. The issue of ageing was viewed positively as an opportunity by government officials and pessimistically as a challenge by NGO’s. The most common problems in old age is a reliance on the younger generation and or the state for their care and support, abuse, high levels of illiteracy and the burden of care for their children and grandchildren. The future older person is likely to be in better health and better educated than the older person of today if the necessary public investments are made now in these areas. The study makes recommendations for the adoption of a South African plan of action on ageing, inter-sectoral budgeting, development of specialised programmes, review of current policies and legislation for older persons, strengthening the partnership with the NGO sector and facilitating ageing mainstreaming within government programmes.
Sociology
M.A. (Social Development)

Masters in Public Administration - MPA
The Namibian Government has recently embarked on the formulation of an empowerment strategy similar to South Africa’s Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) policy - the Transformation of Economic and Social Empowerment Framework (TESEF) for Namibia. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) more specifically, results-based M&E has also recently emerged worldwide as an important tool in public sector management reform and is focused on the attainment of outcomes and development results at project, programme and policy levels. The problem being investigated in this study concerns the shortage of evidence in BBBEE policy and legislative documentation of a coherent M&E framework inclusive of a set of indicators that can measure BBBEE progress against its set objectives and anticipated outcomes.Through an investigation on the state of an M&E framework for BBBEE and South Africa’s good experiences regarding the development of a Government-wide (including all sectors) coherent M&E system a number of lessons of experience have been drawn for the anticipated implementation and M&E framework of TESEF and the establishment of a Government-wide M&E system in Namibia.The study reveals that there is currently (May 2009) no comprehensive M&E framework inclusive of set of indicators in effect to measure BBBEE progress towards its objectives and anticipated outcomes. The suitability of available indicators to measure BBBEE derived from the South African Development Indicator framework (SADI) and the Compendium of Indicators for the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (CIPGDS) of the Western Cape are assessed and the potential for indicator development has been explored. Through an appropriate methodology a comprehensive set of indicators that address the objectives and anticipated outcomes of BBBEE are developed and suggested in this study.The study found that while Namibia sees herself in the final phase of TESEF formulation with the release of the latest TESEF Draft Strategy Document (April 2008) the country also sets out plans in its National Development Plan (NDP3) for period 2007/08 –2011/12 for the establishment and institutionalisation of a government-wide M&E system dedicated to the results-based M&E approach. The study finds valuable lessons for Namibia in South Africa’s Government-wide M&E (GWM&E) system drawn from South Africa’s development of: a Policy Framework for GWM&E system; a comprehensive set of national development indicators across prioritised clusters (the South African Development Indicator framework); and the established public sector capacity building and M&E support organs such as the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA) formerly known the South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI) and the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA).Apart from the potential indicators to measure BBBEE developed as part of the study’s recommendations, the study also recommends that an M&E framework for TESEF is developed upon finalization of the policy’s objectives and anticipated outcomes and that this framework is included in the final TESEF design to guide its effective implementation.

The connection between water and human wellbeing is increasingly causing concern about the implications of water scarcity on poverty. The primary fear is that water scarcity may not only worsen poverty, but may also undermine efforts to alleviate poverty and food insecurity. A review of literature revealed that the relationship between water scarcity and poverty is a complex one, with water scarcity being both a cause and consequence of poverty. Furthermore, water scarcity is multidimensional, which makes it difficult to define, while it can also vary considerably, both temporally and spatially. Finally, the relationship between water scarcity and poverty is a difficult one to quantify. Within the context of water scarcity, indicators are viewed by many development analysts as appropriate tools for informing and orienting policy-making, for comparing situations and for measuring performance. However, simplistic traditional indicators cannot capture the complexity of the water-poverty link; hence a proliferation of more sophisticated indicators and indices since the early 1990s. The Water Poverty Index (WPI), one of these new indices, assesses water scarcity holistically. Water poverty derives from the conceptualisation of this index which relates dimensions of poverty to access to water for domestic and productive use. However, the WPI has not been applied extensively at meso-catchment scale, the scale at which water resources managers operate. In South Africa, the Thukela Catchment -in the province of KwaZulu-Natal presents a unique opportunity to assess the WPI at this scale. The Thukela is a diverse catchment with respect to physiography, climate and (by extension) natural vegetation, land use, demography, culture and economy. While parts of the catchment are suitable for intensive agricultural production and others are thriving economic centres, a large percentage of the population in the catchment lives in poverty in high risk ecosystems, with their vulnerability exacerbated by policies of the erstwhile apartheid government. Many rural communities, a high percentage of which occupy these naturally harsh areas, have low skills levels, with a high proportion of unemployed people, low or no income and low services delivery. Infrastructural development, which relates to municipal service delivery, is often made prohibitively expensive by the rugged terrain in which many people live. As in other catchments in South Africa, the Thukela is affected by policies and initiatives aimed at accomplishing the objectives of post-1994 legislation such as the South Africa Constitution and the National Water Act. The potential of the WPI to assess the impacts of these initiatives on human wellbeing and to inform decision .making in the Thukela catchment was investigated. An analysis of a 46 year long series of monthly summations of daily values of streamflows output by the ACRU agrohydrological simulation model has shown that the Thukela, in its entirety , is a water-rich catchment. The reliability of the streamflows, which has implications for communities who collect water directly from 1 streams, is high along main channels but can be considerably less along low order tributaries of the main streams. The flow reliability along the small tributaries is less in winter than in summer. A high percentage of the catchment's population, in addition to being poor and not having access to municipal services, live near, and rely on, the small tributaries for their water supplies. Admittedly, this analysis addresses only one dimension of water poverty, viz. physical water shortage. Nevertheless, the study revealed that despite the Thukela's being a water-rich catchment, many communities are still water stressed. A more holistic characterisation of the water scarcity situation in the Thukela catchment was achieved using the WPI. A review of possible information sources for computing the WPI in South Africa found that many monitoring programmes, information systems and databases are either in existence and are active, or being restructured, or are under different stages of development. If and when they are all fully functional , they should be able to support national assessments of the WPI at meso-scale without the need to collect additional information. A combination of information from some of the active databases and secondary data from other local studies was used to compute the WPI in the Thukela catchment. The assessment uncovered the following: • There is an apparent association between water poverty and socio-economic disadvantage in the Thukela catchment. • There was an improvement in the water poverty situation in most parts of the Thukela catchment between 1996 and 2001, although the degree of improvement varied from subcatchment to subcatchment. Climate change, if it manifests itself by higher temperatures and reduced rainfall, will most likely worsen water poverty throughout the Thukela catchment, with the subcatchments in which many of the poor communities are located being more likely to experience the most severe impacts as the coping capacities of those communities are already strained under current climatic conditions. The findings of this study illustrate the potential of WPI as a tool for informing decision making and policy evaluation at the meso-catchment scale at which many water-related decisions are made.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Intensifying interventions to improve the quality of care that children receive from parents/ primary caregivers is mandated by several strategic objectives, such as the National Plan of Action for Children 2012-2017 (South Africa 2012), the White Paper on Families in South Africa (2013), and the Children’s Amendment Act 41 of 2007 (South Africa 2007). Parenting programmes remain popular parenting interventions (Daly, Bray, Bruckauf, Byrne, Margaria, Pecnik & Samms-Vaughan 2015:18; Richter & Naicker 2013:9) reporting outcomes of enhanced parent-child relationships, improved behaviour of children, and reduced parental stress. There is a concern that parenting programmes offered in South Africa lack evidence of their efficacy (Wessels 2012:9) and cultural and contextual relevance for the recipients (Begle, Lopez, Cappa, Dumas & de Arellano 2012:56; Richter & Naicker 2013:1). The study developed a locally specific parenting support intervention for parents/ primary caregivers living in the low-cost housing development of Welbedacht East using the Intervention Development Design model. Parents/ primary caregivers were involved throughout the study, contributing to the intervention’s applicability, as well as its contextual and cultural relevance. Bioecological and social inclusion theories framed the study. A qualitative research approach supported by an exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used. Two purposive samples (parents/ primary caregivers and community champions) were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the data. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2006) produced the findings that were presented at a consultation workshop attended by research participants and relevant stakeholders where the parameters of the intervention were determined. These were subsequently developed into the elements and intervention protocols by four indigenous community experts following the Delphi process. Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) approach to trustworthiness as presented by Porter (2007:85) and Thomas and Magilvy (2011:152) was used. Cultural competence was maintained throughout and ethical considerations were observed to circumvent harm to participants and uphold the integrity of the research process. The perceptions of the parents/ primary caregivers were consistent with scholarly indicators of ‘good enough’ parenting, but the contextual stressors they experienced challenges their ability to fulfil some of these indicators. An intervention was needed to increase parental capacity to improve parent-child relationships, cultivate life skills for improved psychological health, and advance the financial independence of parents. It was concluded that a parenting programme on its own would fail to address the most pressing needs of parents/ primary caregivers living in disadvantaged circumstances and custom-made parenting support interventions were needed to increase parental capacity to manage the structural challenges that compromised parenting, such as socioeconomic interventions of a social developmental nature.
Social Work
D. Phil. (Social Work)

Thesis (M.Com. (Accountancy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Accounting, 2016.
The mode of reporting performance by firms has shifted radically in recent years from a set of audited annual financial statements, to the inclusion of integrated and sustainability reports. This move has been particularly important for South African listed firms, which are required to prepare integrated reports (and therefore sustainability reports) due to the revision of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listing requirements. Although there are no specific accounting standards at present particularly for sustainability reports, certain reporting frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, have influenced and become leaders in such reporting. The value relevance of the quality of sustainability reports is the focus of this study. This research report tests whether report quality as measured by the GRI reporting categories is value relevant for JSE listed companies, whether better reporting companies achieve better long term performance over the period 2007 to 2015. Value relevance is measured using a 4 tiered portfolio construction technique, which uses the GRI reporting categories to define comparative investment portfolios. The results indicate that GRI firms with the highest report qualities underperformed significantly when compared to the market, with the exception of the C report firms, which showed some level of outperformance in the later portfolio years. Interestingly, the portfolio of firms using frameworks other than the GRI outperformed all of the categories of GRI framework firms, as well as the market. The results for the GRI category firms therefore contradict some of the previous research on the value relevance of sustainability reporting which used different measurement proxies for quality, while the non GRI reporting firm results find similar conclusions. This research report therefore concludes that the GRI framework implementation is relatively low in a South African context, and that the GRI report categories do not provide a measure of report quality for the purpose of measuring value relevance, and rather measure the breadth of reporting. This is partly due to the early stage of development of sustainability reporting within South Africa, as well as the lack of a mandatory assured reporting framework such as the GRI, resulting in many firms preferring not to use the globally favoured GRI framework. It appears that most firms are tailoring the various frameworks available to their needs rather than using a consistent framework, which results in reports not being based on the same framework, and therefore not being comparable, even on a high level indicator basis. This highlights the need for revisions to be introduced in the King IV report which will hopefully assist in formalising the leading sustainability framework, and therefore standardising sustainability reporting, together with providing a linkage to the Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa, which requires investors to integrate their investment decisions with sustainability considerations.
MT2017

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
A significant body of literature has accumulated in the last decade that provides evidence of the growing health care disparities among racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The literature suggests that Black adults share a disproportionate burden in death, disability, and disease. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine report, Unequal Treatment, showed that racial-ethnic disparities in health cannot be entirely attributed to problems of health care access, clinical performance, or patients’ personal characteristics. Many studies have shown that institutional and individual level discrimination that Blacks face in the health care system impacts their health status. This study used secondary data analysis to examine how primary care experience impacts self-reported health status and health care utilization among Black adults. Data were from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) implemented by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Specifically, MEPS Panel 10 (2005-2006) and Panel 11 (2006-2007) data were used in the analyses. The final sample comprised of N=15,295 respondents ages 18 and over. Logistic regression analyses were carried out using Stata Statistical Software, version 11. The study results reflect the disparities among Blacks and Whites on self-reported health and health care utilization. Blacks were 15% less likely to report good health status compared to Whites and had 0.11 less expected office-based doctor visits. Respondents who had better primary care experience had 0.05 times higher expected office-based doctor visits than respondents who did not have good primary care experience. Health care Social Workers should advocate for structural changes in health policy that will take into account the historical marginalization and contemporary inequities that continue to encompass the lives of many Black Americans.