3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The impact of migration on Emnambithi households: a class and gender analysis(2010-06-30T10:42:01Z) Fakier, KhayaatAbstract This dissertation is a study of social reproduction in different classes of migrant households in Emnambithi, a town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It traces the history of households in this community under the impact of racialised dispossession and migration, and illustrates how households were stratified into distinct classes. The three classes identified are a semi-professional, educated class, a migratory working class, and the marginalised, a segment of the “bantustan” population who never had the possibility of working in the capitalist economy during apartheid. The research then focuses on the gendered nature of social reproduction in households in the post-apartheid era, when this community continues to be shaped by migration. The research illustrates that class-based advantage and disadvantage are reproduced in post-apartheid South Africa. The dissertation analyses the different ways in which household members – predominantly migrant and resident women – deal with daily provisioning and consumption, education and care of the dependants of migrants in the absence of some members of the household. The study argues that social reproduction varies significantly in different classes of households. The class-based and gendered nature of social reproduction has implications for an understanding of developmental needs in post-apartheid South Africa, and this research opens up ways in which job creation and social policies could lead to class-based redress and gender equity.Item The appropriateness of certification of patients to Sterkfontein hospital .(2006-11-14T11:58:31Z) Khanyile, Vusi NormanSection 9 and 12 of the South African Mental Health Act No. 18 of 1973 as amended, defines standards and procedures related to the involuntary commitment of mentally ill persons to mental institutions or care and rehabilitation centres. Despite these provisions in practice clinicians are faced with the challenge of appropriateness of certification of mentally ill persons to psychiatric hospitals. This study was undertaken to establish the number of patients regarded as inappropriately certified and admitted to Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital over one month during 2003. The clinical and demographic characteristics of this group were investigated. Its impact on hospital resources was assessed and commitment standards were compared. The patients’ hospital records were used to achieve the above objectives. About 20% of patients were found to be inappropriately certified as per definition, collectively they spent a total of 834 days in hospital at the cost of over half a million rands. It was concluded that in practice there may be patients who are inappropriately certified and that they significantly impact on hospital resources. Reasons for this need further investigations and the certification standards and procedure may need to be revised to minimize the problem.Item The Communicative Opportunities Afforded Parents of Premature Infants who had Graduated from a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)(2006-10-27T06:56:17Z) Crisp, LynziThis study endeavored to explore the opportunities afforded parents to develop optimal communication with their infants during their experience of the NICU in a private-sectored hospital. Six sets of parents participated in a semi-structured interview and completed a short questionnaire. They were interviewed one year after their infants were discharged from the NICU. The interview and questionnaire probed the three main components that are known to influence the development of optimal communication between parents and their infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU): the infant’s prematurity and medical condition; the nature of the NICU; and the parents’ ability to adjust and adapt to the challenges faced during the NICU experience. The data obtained was analysed qualitatively using a constant comparative method. Six main themes emerged: preparedness; contact with the infant; bonding; information; support; and previous parenting experience. The findings reflected that the parents were afforded limited opportunities for the development of adequate infant-parent interaction. The implications of this study highlight the need for appropriate developmental and family-centred care to be implemented within NICUs in private-sector hospitals, the role of the speech-language therapist in the NICU team to be defined, and future research into the nature of the care provided within NICUs in South Africa.