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An investigation into the attitudes and opinions of traditional healers from Makhaza, Khayelitsha regarding collaboration with healthcare practitioners who use western medical methodologies
(Univeristy of the Western Cape, 2024) Ganya, Babalwa
African traditional medicines play an important role in addressing the health needs of African populations. Research has shown that 80% of South Africans use African traditional medicines and the services of African traditional healers (Mendu and Ross, 2019; Akpa-Inyang et al., 2022, p.2). This qualitative study investigated the attitudes and opinions of African traditional healers from Makhaza, Khayelitsha regarding collaboration with healthcare practitioners who use western medical methodologies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten (10) African traditional healers recruited through snowball sampling. The data was manually transcribed and analysed through thematic analysis. Ethics approval was sought from the Humanities and Social Science Research Ethics Committee at the University of the Western Cape, and permission was granted by the respective African traditional healers. Participants were informed and assured that pseudonyms and not their real names would be used, confidentiality was assured, and their participation was voluntary. Informed consent and an information sheet were provided. The study is grounded in the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) theoretical framework, which recognises the importance of African traditional knowledge and practices in addressing the health needs of African communities. The study's findings indicated that African traditional healers knew there was no formal collaboration or working relationship with health care practitioners. The findings also indicated that African traditional healers were open to the idea of collaboration as the benefits to a patient were emphasised. Mutual respect and acknowledgement were seen as an important part of collaboration. The findings of the study also suggested that African traditional healers should be recognised and acknowledged as important healthcare providers. The study is prompted and influenced by the socio economic disparities and inequities of the healthcare system. The study contributes to the growing body of decolonial scholarship as it relates to healthcare in Africa. The study tries to amplify the experiences and knowledge of the African healing system. The study also acknowledges that it only looked at a one-sided perspective, which is that of African traditional healers and not the views of healthcare practitioners who use western medical methodologies
Conundrums of food governance in South African metropoles
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Kroll, Florian
This thesis reflects on the discourse and practice of urban food governance in the city of Cape Town, considered from the point of view of a Foucauldian analysis of deliberative statecraft. The focus is on the ways in which metropolitan governments have tried to make food systems visible and galvanise strategic intent to govern them. Food systems governance discourse (FSGD) lies at the heart of these efforts. It interprets food systems issues as a wicked problem requiring adaptive governance. How does food systems problematisation inform governmental institutions, policies and rationalities? What are the resulting limitations and affordances of FSGD? To explore these questions, it distils insights from five papers. The first paper, “Mapping obesogenic food environments in South Africa and Ghana: Correlations and Contradictions” (Kroll et al 2019), considers a spatial strategy to problematise food environments. This reveals that, in Khayelitsha, formal shopping centres present problematic food environments, while street traders make healthier options more accessible. Although the key role of poverty highlights the need for interventions beyond food systems, the paper argues that food environments are an appropriate target for governance. Legibilising foodscapes promotes coherent institutional agendas, enabling the state to apply spatial governance instruments to food issues. In the second paper, “Digital storytelling for policy impact: perspectives from co-producing knowledge for food system governance in South Africa” (Adelle, Black and Kroll 2022) the focus of problematization is on how vulnerable people unfold agency in adverse food environments. The paper recounts an intervention that includes actor perspectives in deliberative processes. We argue that participants’ stories impact governance actors’ subjectivities, deepening their understanding and supporting shared agenda-setting. “Agroecology and the metropolitan biopolitics of food in Cape Town and Johannesburg” (Kroll 2021) explores state capabilities to promote agro-ecological transitions. It finds poor alignment between the rationalities and institutions of government and ‘deep, just transition’. However, the presence of sympathetic officials presents opportunities for alliances to reorient instruments of government. The paper argues for persistent strategic engagement between officials and agro-ecological proponents.
Business models: obstructer or driver of early-stage entrepreneurial businesses in the west-coast district municipality, south africa? a model for change.
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Grosch, Reiner
Entrepreneurs operating in rural and emerging economy contexts often encounter acute structural and contextual constraints that limit their ability to build sustainable ventures. Early-stage businesses, in particular, struggle with resource scarcity, limited managerial capacity, and weak integration into broader market and institutional ecosystems. This study investigates how business models function as either enablers or constraints to entrepreneurial development in such settings, focusing on early-stage ventures within the West Coast District Municipality of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Employing an exploratory qualitative design, the research draws on data from in-depth interviews with sixteen purposefully selected entrepreneurs, supplemented by company documents. Thematic and cross-case analysis, conducted with ATLAS.ti 24, reveals that gaps in skills, particularly in planning strategies, financial management, and network building, hinder the growth and utilisation of business models. Furthermore, deficiencies in scanning and interpreting external environmental factors, including competitive dynamics, market opportunities, and regulatory frameworks, exacerbate these challenges. Despite these barriers, the findings highlight the role of dynamic capabilities. Adaptability, a learning orientation, and resilient entrepreneurial mindsets play a crucial role in facilitating the innovation of business models and their alignment with challenging circumstances. The study contributes to the literature by positioning business models not only as structural tools but also as dynamic processes contingent on both internal competencies and environmental awareness. Policy and practice implications underscore the need for programs that develop skills—such as mentoring, strategic management training, and digital skills development—to support business models in areas with limited resources for entrepreneurs.
Entertainment and pandemic: a semiotic remediation discourse analysis on selected pop culture and consumption in South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Meloyer, Jaimy-Lee
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the crucial role of mass media in disseminating information about potential dangers, often through sensationalised framing. The tremendous
additions and growth of communication channels are apparent in our society, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa. Mass media plays a key role in the
dissemination (communication) of potential danger, framing it in a sensationalised way (Joffe, 2003), which has been observed globally during the pandemic. The development and growth of media have brought about so many contributions and positivity to society in a multifarious way. The existence of traditional and modern communication media has made it possible to create platforms that produce, disseminate, and circulate information about any pandemic like COVID-19. A review of media studies literature shows that the media is a platform through which communication messages are created and shared with different audiences. While this literature is applicable, there have been several changes in the media during the national pandemic. With the advent and development of modern communication media, media's role in society has been redefined, reshaped, and reinvigorated due to the multiple capabilities attached to modern media, unlike traditional media. There have been several developments in the media during the pandemic. New media has been immersed in disseminating and circulating pandemic-related information during this period and has significantly influenced societal dynamics. It has influenced the rise of alternative media in which netizens become both producers and consumers. However, there is a literature gap in the fields of language and communication and media on the pandemic-related discourses and their circulation in media and consumption as both parts of COVID-19-related information and pop culture semiotics. This study, therefore, investigates how South African citizens repurposed governmental speeches into pop culture semiotics during the COVID-19 lockdown by analysing selected texts from government officials' discourses; this research uncovers the remediation processes through a unique theoretical framework, Critical Semiotic Remediation Discourse Analysis (CSRDA). This study employs a qualitative research methodology to collect data from new media platforms using purposeful sampling and document analysis. The study demonstrates how South African pop culture and social media transformed these texts into various social and entertainment genres, highlighting the implications of this interaction in promoting media text production and consumption in a multicultural and diverse society and making a significant contribution to the ongoing study of alternative media.
The right to education as a rehabilitative measure in prisons in Uganda
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Omita, Robert Okoth
This study examines the right to education as a rehabilitative measure in prisons in Uganda. It elaborates the theoretical and conceptual aspects of education in prisons, rehabilitation, and related concepts. It is anchored on a critical analysis of the historical evolution of rehabilitation programmes in prisons in Uganda, exploring the chronology of reforms that eventually enabled promotion of the prisoners’ right to education.