Browsing by Author "Madyibi, Siphe"

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    Evaluating the impact of facility and household-level factors on early learning development in Philippi, Western Cape
    (University of Western Cape, 2021) Madyibi, Siphe; Bayat, Amiena
    Early learning opportunities in South Africa are both inaccessible and unequal in quality due to facility and household-level factors. With minimal resources, Early Childhood Development (ECD) facilities in poor communities provide low-quality ECD services to children. Part of the reason that ECD facilities are under-resourced and of poor quality is their inadequate funding. The disparity in quality means that poor children may still lag behind children who have had access to high-quality, well-resourced ECD facilities. Beside facility-level factors, the process of early learning is also influenced by household factors. Studies have found that low-cost stimulations such as storytelling, singing and playing with household objects can be used as tools to promote early development within the confines of the household.
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    The home environment and parental involvement of preschoolers in Philippi, a low-income area: Do they hinder or support early learning?
    (AOSIS, 2022) Bayat, Amiena; Madyibi, Siphe
    Successful interventions targeting families can only occur through informed research findings. It is important that policymakers understand the unique household dynamics that low-income households face and the kinds of assistance they need to foster early learning and development at home.To investigate the extent of parental involvement in the early learning of preschoolers in Philippi and the role of the home environment in promoting or hindering early learning and development.This study was conducted in Philippi, one of the biggest poor urban settlements in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.The researcher visited 20 early childhood development (ECD) facilities and 40 caregivers in Philippi. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the ECD principals, practitioners and caregivers.
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    The Relationship between Conspicuous Consumption and Poverty in Developing Countries: Evidence from South Africa
    (University of the Western Cape, 2017) Madyibi, Siphe; Bayat, Amiena
    For many years the word poverty was synonymous with deprivation and the inability to satisfy basic necessities. According to Alkire and Santos (2014:257), about 1.67 billion people in developing countries lived below the then poverty line of $1.25 per day, while a staggering 2.74 billion lived on less than a higher poverty line of $2 a day, using the US Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). In the midst of the hunger and constrained resources implied by these statistics, it is alarming that the poor allocate a significant share of their limited income to expensive visible consumption that does not effectively alleviate poverty or increase their well-being. This puzzling behaviour was first identified by Veblen (1899) as 'conspicuous consumption', and is described by Kilsheimer (1993:341) as 'the motivational process by which individuals strive to improve their social standing through the conspicuous consumption of consumer products that confer and symbolise status both for the individual and surrounding significant others'. Unlike the affluent, when poor households engage in conspicuous consumption they are forced to neglect basic needs such as education, nutrition and health care, as they are under severe monetary constraint (Linssen, Van Kempen & Kraaykamp, 2011:61). For this reason Moav and Neeman (2012:936) argue that conspicuous consumption by poor households in developing countries is to blame for persistent poverty as well as inequality. Against this backdrop, this study sought to determine the degree of correlation between conspicuous consumption and poverty. Specifically, to what extent does conspicuous consumption contribute to increasing poverty in South Africa? In addressing this research question, the study used officially published data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), starting from the first wave in year 2008 to the last during 2014/2015. The study found that South African adults, including the poor, have gradually increased their household expenditure share on visible consumption (personal care, cellphones, shoes and clothing). This increase in visible consumption among the poor coincided with a decline in food consumption, suggesting that food consumption was reduced to engage in conspicuous consumption. This consumption behaviour is most prevalent among the poor and the African population group. Hence a correlation between poverty and conspicuous consumption in South Africa is postulated.