Voices of the hungry: A qualitative measure of household food access and food insecurity in South Africa
- Authors: Chakona, Gamuchirai , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/398443 , vital:69412 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-017-0149-x"
- Description: South Africa is rated a food secure nation, but large numbers of households within the country have inadequate access to nutrient-rich diverse foods. The study sought to investigate households’ physical and economic access and availability of food, in relation to local context which influences households’ access to and ability to grow food which may affect the dietary quality. We sought to understand self-reported healthy diets, food insecurity from the perspective of people who experienced it, barriers to household food security and perceptions and feelings on food access as well as strategies households use to cope with food shortages and their perceptions on improving household food security.
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- Date Issued: 2017
West African arthropods hold promise as biological control agents for an invasive tree in the Pacific Islands
- Authors: Paterson, Iain D , Paynter, Quentin , Neser, Stefan , Akpabey, FJ , Compton, Stephen G
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/407119 , vital:70338 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-639c91613"
- Description: African tulip tree, Spathodea campanulata Beauv. (Bignoniaceae), is a large tree of secondary forests, forest edges and savannas that is indigenous to Central and West Africa (Bidgood 1994). It has been widely utilised as an ornamental plant due to its beautiful flowers, fast growth and relative ease of cultivation, as a shade tree in parks and coffee plantations, and as a living fencepost (Francis 1990). Naturalisation has often followed cultivation of the plant, which is now established outside of the native range in Africa (Hedberg et al. 2006), the Caribbean (Francis 1990; Labrada and Medina 2009) and many Pacific islands (Meyer 2004), including Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga,Vanuatu and Tahiti (Lowe et al. 2000; Dovey et al. 2004; Labrada and Medina 2009). On some of these islands it has become a destructive weed, invading indigenous forests and having a severe impact on agricultural production (Labrada and Medina 2009; Larrue et al. 2014). This has resulted in African tulip tree being recognised as one of the 100 worst alien invasive species worldwide, along with only 30 other terrestrial plants (Lowe et al. 2000).
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- Date Issued: 2017
We’re talking about semantics here: Axiological condensation in the South African parliament
- Authors: Siebörger, Ian , Adendorff, Ralph D
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/385389 , vital:68015 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.24.2.03sie"
- Description: This article describes how procedural knowledge is produced in a meeting of the South African parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport, using concepts from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Members of this committee argue over whether or not to amend a draft committee report and in the process co-construct procedural norms for future committee meetings. Participants on both sides of the argument use axiological condensation, in which actions and ideas are associated with each other and charged with a particular moral or affective value ( Maton 2014 : 130) to portray their version of the procedure to be followed as morally superior to that of their opponents. They also use axiological rarefaction ( Maton 2014 : 130) to reinforce their positions by making apparent concessions to those on the other side of the argument. This is revealed through an analysis of the coupling of ideation and Appraisal ( Martin 2000 : 161) in the logogenetic unfolding of members’ talk, combined with elements of Interactional Sociolinguistics ( Gumperz 1982 ). The analysis suggests that axiological condensation and rarefaction in this meeting reflect competing visions of what it means to be ‘pro-democracy’ in post-apartheid South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Women's and health workers’ Voices in open, inclusive communities and effective spaces (VOICES)
- Authors: Kuhlmann, Serbert , Gullo, Sara , Galavotti, Christine , Grant, Carolyn , Cavatore, Maria , Posnock, Samuel
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/281190 , vital:55700 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12209"
- Description: Given the growing popularity of the social accountability approach to governance, we developed and tested measures of governance outcomes to evaluate maternal and reproductive health social accountability interventions. We articulate a theory of change for how CARE's Community Score Card©, a social accountability approach, 1) empowers women, 2) empowers health workers and 3) creates expanded, inclusive and effective spaces for the two to interact. Our measures worked well in surveys of women and health workers. For women, eight of 13 scales had alphas ≥.70. For health workers, five of 11 scales were ≥.70; four were .60–.69. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to develop comprehensive measures of governance outcomes to evaluate a social accountability approach for maternal and reproductive health.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Woody plant species richness, composition and structure in urban sacred sites, Grahamstown, South Africa
- Authors: De Lacy, Peter J G , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180079 , vital:43307 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-017-0669-y"
- Description: Sacred sites are important not only for their traditional, spiritual or religious significance, but may also potentially be valuable for biodiversity conservation in human transformed landscapes. Yet, there has been little consideration of sacred sites in urban areas in this respect. Consequently, to better understand the ecosystem service and conservation value of urban sacred sites, inventories of their floral communities are needed. We examined the richness, composition and structure of the trees and shrubs in 35 urban churchyards and cemeteries in the City of Saints (Grahamstown). The combined area of urban sacred sites (38.7 ha) represented 2.2% of the city area and 13.6% of the public green space area. Species richness of woody plants was high, albeit dominated by non-native species. Levels of similarity among sites were low, indicating the effects of individual management regimens. There was no relationship between age of the site and measured attributes of the vegetation, nor were there any significant differences in vegetation among different religious denominations. However, the basal area and number of woody plants was significantly related to site size. These results indicate the significant heterogeneity of urban sacred sites as green spaces within the urban matrix. The significance of this heterogeneity in providing ecosystem services to users of sacred sites and the broader urban communities requires further investigation.
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- Date Issued: 2017
The benefits from and barriers to participation in civic environmental organisations in South Africa
- Authors: Higgins, Olivia , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180813 , vital:43648 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0924-6"
- Description: With growing global public awareness of a wide range of conservation and environmental issues, environmental volunteerism is increasing. In order to attract and retain volunteers, it is useful to understand what benefits they hope for as well as the barriers that hinder their participation. Here we examine the benefits from and barriers to participation in 26 conservation and environmental civic organisations in South Africa, categorised by their primary mission as botanical, wildlife or green. Questionnaires were sent to volunteers on the mailing list of each civic organisation (and 66 responses received), supplemented with direct interviews with key staff and five focus group discussions. There were differences in the perception of benefits obtained and barriers experienced by volunteers between the three groups. Respondents from botanical and green civic organisations rated enjoyment of the task as the primary benefit, whereas the most common response amongst wildlife organisation volunteers was a higher level of life satisfaction. Lack of time was a major barrier across all groups, whilst lack of communication between organisers and volunteers was mentioned frequently by volunteers in wildlife and green organisations. The mean number of hours offered per volunteer was significantly higher amongst wildlife organisations than either botanical or green ones, but for all three, the value of volunteer contributions was, at several millions of rand annually, substantial. There was no relationship between the number of perceived benefits and the number of hours volunteered. This study indicates that motivations and barriers differ amongst volunteers, which is important to acknowledge in attracting and optimising the contributions of conservation and environmental volunteers.
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- Date Issued: 2015
The trade in and household use of Phoenix reclinata palm frond hand brushes on the Wild Coast, South Africa: Effects on soil nutrients
- Authors: Mjoli, Nwabisa , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180800 , vital:43647 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-015-9316-9"
- Description: The Trade in and Household Use of Phoenix reclinata Palm Frond Hand Brushes on the Wild Coast, South Africa. This paper reports on an investigation of the harvesting, trade, and use of hand brushes made from fronds of the wild palm, Phoenix reclinata. We considered both the abundance of the resource as well as the demand. Within the harvesting areas, there were approximately 141 palm plants per hectare, of which almost two-thirds showed no signs of frond harvesting. During harvesting, most fronds (82%) were left on the plant, 16% were removed to make brushes, and 2% were cut and discarded. Although the number of harvesters had increased during the last decade, most felt that the number of palm plants had remained stable or even increased over the same period. There was strong consensus that cut fronds were replaced within two months, after which a particular stem could be harvested again. Harvesting and trade were practiced largely by middle-aged to elderly women, who had limited formal education, skills, and employment prospects. Most had entered the trade because of cash income poverty. The main markets for selling the palm brushes were in nearby urban areas. The income earned from the trade was modest, but still rated highly by the traders, for most of whom it was the second most-important source of cash income. For many users, the palm brushes was found to be the only type of brush suitable for cleaning mud and cow-dung flooring and, most importantly for many, their use forms part of a long household use history and culture.
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- Date Issued: 2015
Household wealth status and natural resource use in the Kat River valley, South Africa
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181301 , vital:43717 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.04.011"
- Description: Much work has demonstrated the significant role and value of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in the livelihoods of rural people in southern Africa and elsewhere. The findings provide a mean or composite picture, averaged across the sample households within each community. Yet, within any given community, there is significant socio-economic differentiation. It is important to acknowledge such differentiation when considering policy and management interventions to support rural livelihoods and promote sustainable resource use. This paper reports on a study in South Africa, the objective of which was to explore wealth-related differences and similarities in the use and value of NTFPs. Data on NTFP consumption, purchase, and sale were collected from households in three rural villages. Households were divided into three wealth classes and patterns of NTFPs use between the classes examined. There was no difference in the proportions of households in each wealth class using NTFPs, nor the total number of NTFPs used per household. Yet, there was some supporting evidence that poorer households derive greater benefits from NTFPs than do wealthy or intermediate households. One clear difference was that, with increasing wealth, households purchased significantly more NTFPs, and a greater proportion of wealthy households did so. Conversely, a greater proportion of poor households were involved in the sale of one or more NTFPs, and they sold a greater number per household, compared to wealthy and intermediate households. Detailed examination of use and value of four NTFPs (fuelwood, wild fruits, edible herbs, and grass hand brushes) revealed that in all instances, the poorest households used more of the resource per capita than the other wealth classes. This was not the case for comparisons based on the total household as the unit of analysis. Gross annual direct-use value did not differ between the wealth classes for any of the four NTFPs examined, at the household level. But on a per capita basis, a significantly higher gross annual direct-use value was evident within poorer households for fuelwood and edible herbs. The significance of these differences is discussed.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Harvesting impacts on commonly used medicinal tree species (Catha edulis and Rapanea melanophloeos) under different land management regimes in the Mpumalanga Lowveld, South Africa
- Authors: Botha, Jenny , Witkowski, Ed T F , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181379 , vital:43728 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v47i2.77"
- Description: Harvesting of products from plants in the wild is widespread throughout southern Africa. Particularly important products are plant parts used in traditional medicine. However, the impacts of harvesting practices are rarely quantified, with as yet insufficient generic rules across species and life forms. This limits the predictive ability to monitor and manage the affected populations. This paper examines the harvesting impact on two popular woody medicinal species used throughout sub-Saharan Africa, namely Catha edulis (Vahl) Forssk. ex Endl. (bushman’s tea) and Rapanea melanophloeos (L.) Mez. (Cape beech). In both species, basal diameters, heights, and the number of size classes in the harvested populations were lower than in unharvested. Densities of harvested populations were higher in both species, including densities of young plants, but the frequency of individuals in larger size classes was lower. The populations of both species being harvested for medicinal products appeared to be withstanding the current levels of harvesting, but the population structure of C. edulis populations being harvested for poles on the roadside and near human settlements had been substantially altered. Despite the resilience of the two species to harvesting for medicinal products, loss of habitat or changes in land use pose a threat to a number of the assessed populations.
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- Date Issued: 2004
Impact of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients in the Kruger National Park
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Scholes, Robert J
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181874 , vital:43776 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v43i1.210"
- Description: Although fire is recognised as an important determinant of the structure and function of South African savannas, there are few studies of long-term impacts. Controlled burning blocks of contrasting fire season and frequency have been maintained throughout the Kruger National Park for almost 50 years. This paper reports on a quantitative study of the Satara plots to determine the long-term impacts of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients. Increasing fire frequency significantly decreased woody plant basal area, biomass, density, height, and mean stem circumference. The number of stems per plant and the proportion of regenerative stems increased with increasing fire frequency. Effects on species richness of woody plants were inconsistent. There were no significant differences attributable to fire frequency for any of the soil variables except organic matter and magnesium. Organic carbon was highest in the fire exclusion treatment and lowest in soils from plots burnt triennially. Magnesium levels were greatest in the annually burnt soils and least in the triennial plots.
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- Date Issued: 2000