"A sociological investigation of the influence of regular school feeding scheme on learners' academic performance at Ngqele Primary School in Nkonkobe municipality, Eastern Cape"
- Authors: James, Ntombovuyo Gloria
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: School children--Health and hygiene Nutrition--South Africa--Eastern Cape School attendance--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Sociology
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11516 , vital:39079
- Description: This study sought to examine a sociological approach of the influence of regular provision of school feeding scheme on learners’ academic performance at Ngqele Primary School, Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The study explored the views of teachers and parents pertaining to regular provision of school feeding scheme on learners’ academic performance. In addition, the study examined the impact of regular provision of school feeding scheme on school attendance and the sustainability of the regular provision of school feeding scheme. The study utilized both qualitative and quantitative research methods in the form of in-depth interviews, and a survey method. The process was made possible through the use of purposive sampling and cluster sampling to generate the targeted participants of the study. The findings of the study have shown that the school feeding scheme has got an impact on learner’s academic performance due to the fact that learners are able to listen and pay attention to the teacher if they are fed, the SFS has a positive impact on learners’ attendance and high enrolment. However, the study has also shown that, despite the positive impact of the school feeding Scheme, there were some challenges that also impacted negatively on learners, the school and the implementation of the programme. Such challenges include irregular supply of food, food shortages and poor quality of food.
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Exploring the sand dune mining in the Xolobeni community : perceptions and narratives of environmental sustainability
- Authors: Sigwayi, Ziyanda
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Environmental impact analysis Sand dunes Sand and gravel mines and mining
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Sociology
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16363 , vital:40714
- Description: Historically, mining in South Africa, is one of the major anchors of the economy. As a mining giant, South Africa has also borne the major brunt of socio-ecologic effects of mineral exploitation over the years – - thus, giving rise to agitation by advocacy groups and local people in mineral-rich communities where mining is perceived as environmentally unsustainable and a social threatening to cultural heritages of host communities. For the state, mineral exploitation is a cardinal pillar of the economy and generator of employment for ordinary citizens. Similarly, mining companies hold a utilitarian view of mining is a source of revenue and employment. It is thesis sets of perceptions – differing though – that present a major challenge in the proposed titanium mining project in Xolobeni, a rural community in Mbizana Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The debate over mining in this community borders on both the history of resistance against state intrusion in Mpondoland and on environmental rights agitation. The central problem of this study centres on understanding how the perceptions of risks and vulnerability (associated with mining project) among the major stakeholders – local community, government, advocacy groups and the mining company intersect. In order to deal with this problem, the study adoptseds the qualitative research design. It is hoped that qualitative data will be able to explore the narratives of participants deeply. The study will also draw on official documents and secondary sources associated with mining and related discourses in South Africa. An insight into the findings reveals an intensely divergent position stance between two major solidarities – community/advocacy groups on one side, and the state/mining company on the other. This sharp dualism deepens the suspicions historical relationship between the community Mpondos and the South African state. It also places the Xolobeni mining- related conflict with the South African state at the centre of resource- related conflicts in other African states, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, among others.
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Women and volunteerism in environmental management : a case study of wildlife and environment society of South Africa (WESSA), East London, South Africa
- Authors: Nyamahono, James Donald
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Environmental management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Sociology
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15100 , vital:40175
- Description: The literature on community participation in development processes has established a high level of consensus around the fact that the sharing of the burdens and benefits of participation is devoid of equality or equity. While some have emphasised the imperative of participation, others have highlighted the inherent contradictions in the process, describing it as an avenue for manipulation and exploitation. Still some have questioned the usefulness of the broad-based grassroots participation. This study is located within this debate and focuses on female volunteers‘ involvement in coastal protection in East London, South Africa. A survey was carried out with 100 unemployed women volunteering under a major environmental protection non-governmental organisation in addition to key-informants within the study organisation. The female volunteers‘ motives and their overall perspectives on their participation as volunteers were uncovered using the Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI) questionnaire, while in-depth interviews were conducted with key officials of the study organisation to access their perspectives on why institutional stakeholders engage women as volunteers in environmental management. The findings revealed that voluntary environmental participation was driven by multiple, but contradictory, impulses. While the volunteers attached great importance to environmental management, hence, their involvement, factors such as age, educational background, employment status, income level, dependency, population group membership, social ties and other psycho-social dynamics played a role in their decision to work as volunteers. The data also revealed a crucial shared sentiment among the volunteers: they all felt people in the higher echelons of the organisation were unfairly ―profiting‖ from their unpaid labour. When these perspectives were analysed against the views of the officials of the study organisation, the contradictions of voluntary environmental participation became stark. The study concludes from the findings that in the crucial arena of environmental participation, participation is not the same thing as voluntary environmental participation, and voluntary environmental participation is not the same thing as voluntary environmental participation by women.
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